Is There Much Market for Assembled MTL 1015 couplers?

[MichaelWinicki]

I agree with what others have posted... No, this isn't your market. 


Test the premise on eBay.

[JanesCustomTrain]

1015 are way too easy to assemble, they even hold together with a 'click'. Why not offering 2004 ?

Jane

[LV LOU]

+1
I agree, Lou.    I think you could make some money at it, Kiz, but not on TRW.   I like Lou's eBay idea.
You have almost nothing to lose if you will use the couplers yourself in the event that they don't sell.

Actually,if you put 5-6 sets like I suggest on Ebay,you're almost certain to sell them sooner or later,just depends on who's looking.You can't loose at it..I put pistol grips on there I made,sat for months with a buy it now,Christmas rolled around,sold all ten sets in 4 days..

[Kisatchie]

Actually,if you put 5-6 sets like I suggest on Ebay,you're almost certain to sell them sooner or later,just depends on who's looking.You can't loose at it..I put pistol grips on there I made,sat for months with a buy it now,Christmas rolled around,sold all ten sets in 4 days..

If I didn't have to take PayPal, I might give selling on eBay a try. As it is, I've heard too many horror stories from sellers about PayPal.


Hmm... Kiz is really
paranoid tonight. He's
hiding under his rock...

[glakedylan]

been trading on thEBay for over 7 years now
only 1 horror story and PayPal did not cause it, but was in fact the one that saved my money in that one
PayPal has been my best resource for thEBaying
fwiw...

p.s. I for one would probably buy assembled couplers, as I have on thEBay some years ago. whoever was
doing it has not for some years now. I do confess, however, I am thinking of going Z Scale for the couplers.
nonetheless, I cannot assemble those N scale ones to save my life!

kindest regards
Gary

[LV LOU]

 I'd say the only true "horror story" I'd have about Ebay or Paypal is that in the end,they want a cut of your sales.I've been buying/selling for over 15 years,other than their rates getting a little crazy,I have no real complaints about either.The biggest problem on Ebay is simply the idiot buyers,and sellers who improperly describe what they're selling.And in both cases,if your description is accurate,or theirs isn't,you have recourse through Ebay/Paypal,which makes their rates a little more bearable.....

[MichaelWinicki]

If I didn't have to take PayPal, I might give selling on eBay a try. As it is, I've heard too many horror stories from sellers about PayPal.

I've been a Paypal customer for 15 years.

For every "horror" story there are thousands upon thousands of successful transactions.

And many of those "horror" stories that I've read are self-inflicted. 

If you're going to do any sort of business on the net, then Paypal is highly suggested.

[LV LOU]

I've been a Paypal customer for 15 years.

For every "horror" story there are thousands upon thousands of successful transactions.

And many of those "horror" stories that I've read are self-inflicted. 

If you're going to do any sort of business on the net, then Paypal is highly suggested.

I do transactions off Ebay all the time.I'm into a lot of different stuff besides trains.I've bought/sold everything on forums from parts I took off guns and replaced with custom stuff,to motorcycle,RC car, & Saab parts.I probably wouldn't do any of it without Paypal,I'd be nuts sending money orders.Nothing to it to send money off Ebay,type in the sellers E-mail address,amount,done..If someone doesn't have Paypal,I pretty much won;t even deal with them..If they have Paypal,and they rip you off,Paypal will take the money right out of their account,and put it back in yours.Since you have to have a bank account or credit card,sellers can't just casually take your money and run..

[Kisatchie]

...Since you have to have a bank account or credit card,sellers can't just casually take your money and run..

My point is, I'd be the SELLER, and what's to keep a buyer from saying the couplers I assembled didn't work right, so they want their money back and they ship me a bunch of their old, defective couplers?


Hmm... I'm never selling
anything anywhere, any
time, ever again...

[LV LOU]

Kiz,Paypal protects both sides..If you require the couplers be returned for a refund,and they send you back a pile of scrap,Paypal will side with the more honorable party,as long as you have pics.I've only had two or three bad transactions all these years out of thousands,it was always taken care of by Paypal..Right now,first time this happened,I didn't get a package..It was shipped,and tracking says it was "delivered"..Now,my mailman is an idiot,I'm having problems with him.He won't ring my doorbell for a signature because I have dogs..I complained about him,all of a sudden,my package is supposedly stolen off my porch..I contacted Paypal,I'll probably get my money back..

[Denver Road Doug]

I use 903's 

There might be the hook....assemble the Z couplers?   A check online shows basically street price of $1.70/pair unassembled vs $2.85/pair assembled.   So for ten pair it's $17.00 vs $28.50.   Maybe you could do them for...$22.50?  Not sure how many you could do in an hour...guessing if you were pondering this that you have some skill and "system" down...if you could knock out one every 5 minutes that's $11/hr...not bad for something you can do at home and at your leisure. (no people, no boss, no dress code, etc.)  And I'm guessing you could build them in bulk faster than that?  (I couldn't, but that's another story....lol)

PayPal is good, IMHO.   I hate doing transactions outside of that realm, since it takes away much of the risk.    Why anyone would use a money order simply baffles me.   I've had infinitely more problems with money orders, and I refuse to use them anymore, as seller or buyer.

Anyway, I'll be your first customer if you put together some of the Z couplers.   

[MichaelWinicki]

My point is, I'd be the SELLER, and what's to keep a buyer from saying the couplers I assembled didn't work right, so they want their money back and they ship me a bunch of their old, defective couplers?

I sell stuff through Paypal every single day and I can tell you the above scenario is incredibly rare. 

I've had a couple packages (out of thousands) that were lost in the mail (not Paypal's fault) and I either replace them or refunded them, but I've never had a customer send back items that I had not shipped to them... In other words trying to play the old "rope-a-dope".  Simply hasn't happened over the course of 15 years.

The bottom line is that capitalism involves some risks... there are no gimmees.

[LV LOU]

I sell stuff through Paypal every single day and I can tell you the above scenario is incredibly rare. 

I've had a couple packages (out of thousands) that were lost in the mail (not Paypal's fault) and I either replace them or refunded them, but I've never had a customer send back items that I had not shipped to them... In other words trying to play the old "rope-a-dope".  Simply hasn't happened over the course of 15 years.

The bottom line is that capitalism involves some risks... there are no gimmees.

My experience is,I give a description that points out every defect,and good pics of an item..If it comes back not looking like it left,they won't even get it back without paying the shipping,let alone a refund..By the way,I've never had anything actually returned,but in a few instances,I took the item back because the buyer didn't understand what they were buying..They were all motorcycle parts..Ebay/Paypal always goes out of their way to get a fair settlement between both buyers and sellers,since hurting either is bad for business..

[robert3985]

Kiz,

I think what you're offering is reasonable, but, don't forget, TRW is a small community.  Plus, there's a good number of us that have just about stopped buying couplers while we await the release of DKS' Protomate couplers.  I've even got truck mounted couplers on my layout now, which would have been taboo at one time, because I don't want to waste any effort or money on something that I would require changing again when DKS' couplers become available.

Hope this helps,
DFF

Yup.  Me too.