G4 German staff car 1/24

    Thank you all, sounds like if I research a bit that EBay isn't as scary as some have made it out to be. The one kit I saw and was going to buy was from the Ukraine, that is until the wife said "NO!" I will do my homework and ensure I create a PayPal account for my protection. Thanks again.

Hi,

I addition to what the others have said above, I have had nothing but good experience with eBay.  Though as CapnMac has also stated, I have only bought from people/vendors that accept Paypal and not anyone that insists on some other form of payment.

Only twice have I ahd anything close to an issue.  In the first case, I believe that the vendor had some sort of family emergency or something and I didn't recieve my order, so I contacted eBay.  They opened a ticket on it and after a short period of time, refunded my money.

The second time, something got lost in the mail, so the vendor refunded my money.  Eventually after a month or two, they package eventually showed up, slightly crushed, and when I contacted the vendor to let him know, he let me keep it free of charge 

PF

Looking at Scalemates, ICM released the kit in 2013, and prices are under US$40/40euro mailorder.

Eyeballing ebay, there's several--more than 4--under $40

Link:  https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=ICM+1%2F24+German+G4&_sop=15

(note, link my expire).

GMorrisson is correct.

The only turnoff I'll have is if the item is on the Chinese coast (Shanghai, Maccau, HK, etc.) as that means they will use asian surface mail, which is 6 to 8 weeks, if you are lucky.  "Air Mail" is typically DHL or Flying Tiger and will run you $30-50, and still take 7-10 days.

Also on the "don't go there" are sellers that require using Wells Fargo, Western Union, or postal Money Orders--just too many risks with all of those payment methods.  And no protection for the buyer.

I have right at a thousand transactions on eBay, going back to the beginnings of eBay.  I can count "bad" experiences on one hand.

Mind, research is your friend.  You have to know what market prices are for a thing (you can search for "completed" auctions to see actual sale prices).  Be really careful if it's "too good to be true."  (a Tamiya 1/350 USS Enterprise for $10 would be TGTBT.)  Never ever forget to allow for shipping as a cost.  Buy It Now trumps waiting to bid.  Read the Feedback.  Read Negatives for sure.  Check the last 5-10 Positives, too--"D_mning with faint praise" has become pretty common on positive fb.

Oh, and always bid your maximum you will pay including shipping).  Never ever get into bidding wars--unless you are keen on overpaying. 

No doubt there are bad experiences, but I find eBay completely reliable. Use the Paypal service, it protects you.

EBay usually lists the basic things to watch out for. I'd add, I don't use sellers who won't take returns. I look at the source, if it's say in Asia I figure that it'll probably take a while before I get the item. Last, when comparing prices, do the math to include shipping. Ten bucks plus ten bucks shipping isn't any cheaper than fifteen bucks and five bucks shipping.