Before you buy on E-bay be sure to check the sellers feedback..My cut off is 99% positive based on the volume of business they do.Be sure to figure in the shipping and handling costs as well. IMHO there are some good deals there, alot of okay ones and some guys who are plain dishonest .. Check your local hobby store, if you have one and try to go to some swap meets; it will give you a chance to get your feet wet so to speak..A few cars to stay away from: Tyco, LifeLike, Bachmann,but not Spectrum. Good bang for the buck..Athearn blue box, cars and engines, Accurail (sp), MDC all good stuff to start with, not state of the art but good runners. Finally if you go DC a good MRC power pack # 260 or the like. Have fun and be patient, there is always another deal around the corner. My .02 worth
Tom