# $200 aster A4? Probably not



## dmk092 (Jan 5, 2008)

Was just doing some Ebay window shopping when this came up: http://www.ebay.com/itm/ASTER-LNER-...7763#payId

No reserve, 3 day auction, price in pounds when the seller is allegedly in the US. Am I missing something?


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## Scottychaos (Jan 2, 2008)

Seller has zero feedback..anyone who sends this person money is a fool.. 

Scot


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## iceclimber (Aug 8, 2010)

Could be a scam OR it could simply be that the seller is in the UK selling the engine for a relative or friend who is in the states. Who knows. Why not ask them and come back and tell us what they said.


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## David Leech (Dec 9, 2008)

It does not appear on the Ebay USA site when you search which seems strange if you are trying to sell something. 
Also they list shipping by Parcelforce Global Priority, which as far as I know is NOT available from the USA. 
I would tread with care too. 
Regards, 
David Leech, Delta, Canada


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Well, I asked a couple of questions, let's see how he responds. 

Greg


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## ntpntpntp (Jan 14, 2008)

A difficult one: everyone's got to start somewhere so simply dismissing it because the seller has zero feedback is a bit of an over-reaction IMO. The thing to do is to ask plenty of questions (as Greg has done) before deciding to commit to bidding, but even then my policy is never to commit more money than I could afford to lose if it all went wrong.


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## dmk092 (Jan 5, 2008)

Alright, I also asked him a few questions and will update if he responds. The issue is not just that he has 0 feedback, but that the auction has several other features that make it highly suspect.


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## Scottychaos (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By ntpntpntp on 11 May 2013 01:45 PM 
A difficult one: everyone's got to start somewhere so simply dismissing it because the seller has zero feedback is a bit of an over-reaction IMO. 



Yes, its possible the seller is legit, and it *just happens* that this is his very first ebay auction ever..
but..the odds of that being true is about 1% IMO..

this is a classic ebay scam setup.. 
If you are bidding on something worth more than $5, you should seriously consider avoiding sellers with zero feedback..
and if you are bidding on a big-ticket item, you should *always* avoid sellers with zero feedback! 

yes, all sellers have to start somewhere..and all sellers at some point make their very first auction..
but when a sellers first auction is a very rare and expensive item, and the seller doesn't even live on the continent as you! 
then yeah..absolutely consider it a scam and keep far far away..

I would only consider an ebay seller with zero feedback if I was buying a $5 item with free shipping..
otherwise the risk is just too high.. and for this Aster..no way should anyone, ever, consider it a legit auction..
even if it is one..because the odds are very high that it isn't.

Scot


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## cocobear1313 (Apr 27, 2012)

The very first auction I had on Ebay was selling my Austin Healy 3000.


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## Mk (Jan 7, 2013)

Well.... the postage seems a bit over rated!


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## East Broad Top (Dec 29, 2007)

I just spent $57 to ship a 5-pound box to the UK, so the cost of shipping a live steam loco from Montana to the UK might not be that far out of line. 

I won't speculate as to the legitimacy of the listing. Payment's through PayPal. 

Later, 

K


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## Charles (Jan 2, 2008)

Asked several relative questions but no response received. For me that would be a deal breaker if one was going to make an offer.


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

Well the bidding is up to over $900 

It's also in Missouri (MO) .... er not Montana.... (MT) 

I can see this as legit; Hey where can I sell this? Take it to ebay. Ok. 

It's a French loco, are they very popular over here? Could explain the pounds... he was going for a European market, but being a rookie didn't set it up right. 

John


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## aopagary (Jun 30, 2008)

Posted By Totalwrecker on 12 May 2013 09:41 AM 
Well the bidding is up to over $900 

It's also in Missouri (MO) .... er not Montana.... (MT) 

I can see this as legit; Hey where can I sell this? Take it to ebay. Ok. 

It's a French loco, ...

pretty sure it's British, LNER class A4.


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## Gary Armitstead (Jan 2, 2008)

Still no questions ASKED or ANSWERED by buyers or the sellor.


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

Thanks aopaGary, I knew it's furren.... makes more sense to ask in pounds, to me. 

John


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## parkdesigner (Jan 5, 2008)

I asked a few questions - no response (yet). 

And yes, it's British, not French.


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## iceclimber (Aug 8, 2010)

Posted By Charles on 12 May 2013 07:28 AM 
Asked several relative questions but no response received.  For me that would be a deal breaker if one was going to make an offer. 

Maybe they are just busy and don't answer at the drop of the hat. A very wise man once told me that.


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

Note that today (5/13) the price is already over $2,000. I will bet there will be a lot of bids in the last 5 seconds, pushing it into the normal price range. 

And Aster A4s for low prices do happen. I found an electric A4 in a Maurer auction among the Lionel and AF stuff once. I put a bid in with a limit of $1,000 [the wife had a fit until I told her Andrew in the UK had just paid $4,000 for a similar loco on eBay.] I didn't get it - some lucky guy who also recognized it bid $1,250. Sigh.


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## nyccollector (Apr 5, 2013)

I've owned one of these Aster A4s (Silver Link) for quite some time now - display only with no run time. I would be very surprised if it went for less than 3500 to 4000 pounds sterling given it's current inflated value in the UK. Even without the original Aster box its a very valuable engine especially for operators and collectors in the UK. However, as a first time ebay seller, I do think it somewhat unusual he or she chose to list it on ebay's UK site, and as someone already mentioned, the shipping charges to the UK or Europe are very expensive.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Interesting, at the bottom of the auction, it says: "No questions or answers have been posted"..... I think that is pretty crummy of eBay to not show that people have asked questions and there has been no response.... 

I thought it used to show ALL questions asked.... 

Greg


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## Dr Rivet (Jan 5, 2008)

Greg 

It depends if they sent the questions directly to the seller through "Ebay PM system" or actually used the link on the posting. IF they did not use the "ask the seller a question link" it will never show up.


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## Charles (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Dr Rivet on 13 May 2013 01:27 PM 
Greg 

It depends if they sent the questions directly to the seller through "Ebay PM system" or actually used the link on the posting. IF they did not use the "ask the seller a question link" it will never show up. 

Jim

I posted questions through ebay option to make an inquiry (not email) using "other" yet no response. I don't think the question post unless the seller decides to do so.


Other:sent a message about AsTER LNER A4 SILVER LIVE STEAM

Dear 47jam8ea,[/b]

What is the serial number
Was it kit built
Has the locomotive been run
Is it in mint condition
Any tools or shipping box available with the purchase


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

I used the ebay to make an inquiry... it really makes no sense that the seller gets to control whether your question shows or not, and to top it off the auction says no questions or answers have been posted (what is missing is posted by the seller, not just posted... I DID post a question)... 

Oh well, I guess you have to throw the sellers a bone once in a while. 

Greg


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## Charles (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Greg Elmassian on 13 May 2013 04:08 PM 
I used the ebay to make an inquiry... it really makes no sense that the seller gets to control whether your question shows or not, and to top it off the auction says no questions or answers have been posted (what is missing is posted by the seller, not just posted... I DID post a question)... 

Oh well, I guess you have to throw the sellers a bone once in a while. 

Greg 
Greg

Think about it the seller is in control...simply by not responding!


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Yep... I figured that out right away... I'm not confused, just disappointed that the message of "no questions or answers" is misleading. 

Greg


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## iceclimber (Aug 8, 2010)

Intresting indeed! Could be Ebay just might not be this seller's day job eh Charles?


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## Dr Rivet (Jan 5, 2008)

The results are in: 

Ended: 
May 13, 2013 19:37:55 PDT 
Winning bid: 
GBP 2,199.00 
Approximately US $3,376.34 
[ 20 bids ] 
Shipping: 
GBP 110.00 Parcelforce Global Priority 
Item location: 
Belton, MO, United States 

Still don't know how he/she proposes to use a shipper that does not do business originating inside the USA. 

FAR more money than I spent on my Silver Link.


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## Garratt (Sep 15, 2012)

As far as questions asked on a eBay item are concerned: The seller has the option when answering via the ebay message system whether that question and answer are published in the listing. The way eBay states there have been no questions is annoying as it is not necessarily true. EBay is an Orwellian system. A hidden answer to an unspecified question would only make one suspicious so eBay avoids stating the entire truth of the matter.

Half the time it is not in the sellers interest to answer the smarter questions so they choose not to have them published. 
Most of the time it is not what the seller states in a listing that creates a problem but more what a buyer assumes to be the case without asking. eBay is often a game of charades in the age of global communication. 

As for the shipping for about US$170. That sounds quite reasonable for a heavy hunk of metal like an A4 live steamer. I have paid twice that from USA to Australia. You guys who feel butt hurt over $20 shipping always makes me think WTF? 

Aster model: LNER Class A4 2509 Silver Link reached a record speed of 112 MPH 
Sister engine LNER Class A4 4468 Mallard reached a record speed of 125.88 MPH 

''This was a great point of national pride for Britain since the previous record of 124.5 miles per hour had been set by a German DRG Class locomotive on the Berlin–Hamburg line in 1936. With tensions between Britain and Nazi Germany escalating in the lead-up to war, Mallard, built at London and North Eastern Railway’s Doncaster Works in March of 1938, was chosen to defeat the Germans on the railway battlefield. Mallard's record still holds today." 

She's a beauty!
Andrew


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## iceclimber (Aug 8, 2010)

Well put Andrew. Assumptions make all look like the proverbial beast of burden.


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## cocobear1313 (Apr 27, 2012)

In addition, if all questions were "just posted", any rediculous assertation or comment goes up blemishing the product ( in this world of virus's, see Bachmann thread, yes it was/is real). It is really quite simple, Don't like it,Don't buy it. I answer all questions privatly, yep 100% when I have an auction. Do I post em, Nope. I am there for me. It is not my job to educate the fool and his money. Sound cold? Not really, just honest. Me, the same guy has given away two Rubys to help others get started. Greg and others, Just buy new or go to your local dealer and pay what they ask.


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## nyccollector (Apr 5, 2013)

Live steam enthusiast, especially in the UK or Europe, are more than willing to pay 2200 pounds sterling or more for this Aster Silver Link engine. Believe it or not the winning bid was a relative 'bargain' for someone looking for this particular engine. The auction results clearly show operators and collectors on the other side of the pond are willing to dig deeper into their wallets for this A4 engine and other live steam engines. Also condition is not necessarily a determining factor in the price as there are excellent restorations services available in the UK for these engines and prices generally are not comparable between the USA and Europe even with the high shipping charges factored in. 

And yes the A4 Mallard at the National Railway Museum in York is truly a beautiful engine with no small thanks to Bugatti's design input.


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## Larry Green (Jan 2, 2008)

ny c--I posted a reply for you on the new member forum. 

Larry


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