I have been purchasing antique padlocks on Ebay for the last three years. And because I have been burned by so many bad sellers, I have decided to put a list of guidelines together to assist other would-be purchasers. These guidelines are not perfect, are full of personal bias, and are intended for those living in the U.S.A. I welcome others to add some other rules should they feel that the rule was not covered. There are some good collector/sellers out there, so I don't wish to offend anyone. If anything else, a potential Ebay seller should read this thread before attempted to pull the wool over people's eyes.
1.) Don't buy from sellers West of the Rocky Mountains if you want a virgin antique. Reason: The industrial revolution in America began in the New England states. Many manufacturers were out of Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey. If I went to the beach I would feel much better finding a shell in the ocean water as opposed to the side of the road.
2.) Don't buy from sellers that are selling padlocks in lots. Reason: Ebay has allowed a huge network of purchases among fellow collectors who also purchase locks on Ebay. Most likely you would be buying another collector's discards. Don't be fooled by quantity. Focus on quality.
3.) Be careful if buying from a collector. Reason: Why would a collector part with their collection? There is a good chance the lock has some serious flaw.
4.) Beware of sellers who don't take lots of pictures. Ebay allows lots of free pictures, so why wouldn't a seller show all sides. However, I once bought a lock from a seller who took several pictures, but the one picture that he didn't take was were the major flaw was. I had to believe this was done intentionally. This guy was an antique dealer on top of that.
5.) Beware of sellers who don't offer returns. Reason: There's a good chance the padlock is broken. I don't even know why sellers even bother not offering returns. With "Buyer Protection", if the lock wasn't described correctly and is broken, and even if the collector pleads ignorance, the lock was "Not Described" correctly, and Ebay will make the seller give you your money back plus shipping. You will have to pay to ship the lock back however. This is what sellers who don't offer returns don't want you to know.
6.) Beware of sellers who dance around your questions prior to bidding or simply don't respond to you at all. Ebay should suspend sellers who don't respond to emails. I once asked a seller some mechanical questions about a padlock that I was bidding on and had some doubts about. The seller got scared and immediately cancelled the listing and my bid. He had the nerve to re-list the padlocks moments later.
7.) Beware of sellers who don't use flat rate postage and ask for high postage with low starting bid. This is called hide the pea, and is why Ebay gets a percentage in postage fees to discourage this practice. If you email the seller, most will make changes to their listing to offer flat rate. The boxes are free from the post office, so they can't claim cost for materials. Those sellers that refuse to adjust the postage at your request should be avoided.
8.) Beware of sellers who put too little description in their listing. This practice doesn't protect the seller from you returning the lock if it is not accurately described due to damage.
9.) Beware of sellers who put too much information in their listing. I once bought a lock from a collector that was damaged and to this day, I believe he knew this was the case prior to listing it. I knew he was a collector because he stated things like, "a key could probably be made", "the hasp has spring back in the locked position", and "the dust cover has strong spring action". This is clearly a seller who was a collector. I didn't want to get my money back because of the hours I spent making the key for the lock.
This seller was betting that he would not have to worry about returns because of the rare engravings on the back of the padlock.
10.) Beware of sellers with less than 100% positive feed back. Sometimes sellers with low sales get treated unfairly with this system of rating.
11.) Beware of loss of patina. This is one of my favorite observations. Always look at the edges on a bronze cast padlock. Nothing is worse than getting a lock that has been man handled by a locksmith. Look at the sides of the keyhole for use of tryout keys. Try to get pictures of levers inside the keyhole on pancake locks for evidence of picking.
12.) Beware of fuzzy photography. Need I say more?
13.) Beware of shiny locks. Antiques go down in value when sellers use metal abrasives to make their locks stand out in the listing.
14.) Beware of collector sellers who are trying to hide the fact that they are a collector. Look at their other listings to form an opinion.
15.) Beware of sellers who don't post the questions and answers in their listing. I have asked some great questions from sellers and the information doesn't get posted. I believe the seller controls this as they form the listing. Why even make it visible at the bottom of the page Ebay?
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Always good to learn from others experiences.
