Which one of us is nuts?

[i_b_larry]

At present, there is a seller offering twelve Abloy #241 locks with an opening bid of $650 (item number 330904126581). But he has no keys!

I have no experience whatsoever with Abloy, but it was my understanding that these locks were designed to be pretty much pick-proof. It seems, then, that a pick-proof lock without a key is what most people call a paperweight. But the seller offers free shipping.

This same seller also offered three very average number 2 oval Best brass padlocks for $150 a few weeks ago. My guess is they are worth about $10 to $15 each. Last week he lowered the price to $60 and still had no takers. Today I noticed he lowered the price to $57.95. If this pattern keeps up I will put in a bid in about 3 months.

[GWiens2001]

Larry,

C'mon, be reasonable. It would cost almost $150 more to get 12 completely new 241's with keys and cards, and that is with the first place I found on Google. Are you saying that $650 is too expensive for these used locks without keys?

***removes tongue from cheek***

Gordon

[Squelchtone]

I saw that Abloy auction earlier tonight, without keys it's totally useless. You'd have to at least drill one lock out and decode it and have the means to cut Abloy keys and pray the others are keyed alike. It's funny, ever since the tv shows Antique's Roadshow and Pickers came out, everyone thinks their old crap is worth a million dollars.

Squelchtone

[i_b_larry]

Larry,

C'mon, be reasonable. It would cost almost $150 more to get 12 completely new 241's with keys and cards, and that is with the first place I found on Google. Are you saying that $650 is too expensive for these used locks without keys?

***removes tongue from cheek***

Gordon

Yeah, what was I thinking? I did not realize that I can save $150 by buying the ones without keys. Thanks for helping me see the light.

[ARF-GEF]

Go grab this wonderful deal man!
Seriously: even half the price would be ridiculous. They are pretty much useless without keys, but you could use it as scrap or as a paperweight. What a great deal!

[phrygianradar]

Hey, quit dissing my ebay auction! All I need is one suck...er, I mean smart shopper to "buy now" and I've got it made!

[GWiens2001]

Wonder why it is that when someone tries to sell ABLOY locks like this, they don't even bother to show a picture of the keyway so you can at least figure out which generation it is. Classic, Profile... Think those were the two profiles used in 241 series, but not sure.

Does anybody here have a reference to tell which ABLOY keyways were available on which padlocks?

Gordon

[i_b_larry]

Hey, quit dissing my ebay auction! All I need is one suck...er, I mean smart shopper to "buy now" and I've got it made!

Where did you steal them from? Seriously, any time I see padlocks without keys offered on eBay (and there's a ton of them) my first thought is that the seller is not the real owner of the lock.

In this case, the seller seems unaware that these locks have value only if you have the keys. If you were the legitimate owner of these locks you would know that and you would take a fair amount of care to keep the keys and their duplicates in safe places. This seller knows only that these are expensive locks but does not know why.

[i_b_larry]

Wonder why it is that when someone tries to sell ABLOY locks like this, they don't even bother to show a picture of the keyway so you can at least figure out which generation it is.

I look at locks on eBay daily and wish there was an app to reach out and slap some of the sellers. I know what a freakin padlock looks like so I do not need 23 out-of-focus underexposed photos of the front and back. I want to see the keyway and the bottom of the lock. I want to see whether the shackle catches on just one side or both and whether it uses pawls or a ball locking system. I want to see the key so I can tell whether it is 4-, 5-, 6-, or 7-pins. But do I get to see these things? Noooooooooo!

Would the proper term for an app that slaps the seller be a "slapplication?"

[fgarci03]

I think the best name would be SLapp

[GWiens2001]

For iPhones and iPads, the app could be called iSlap

Gordon

[phrygianradar]

Hey, quit dissing my ebay auction! All I need is one suck...er, I mean smart shopper to "buy now" and I've got it made!

Where did you steal them from? Seriously, any time I see padlocks without keys offered on eBay (and there's a ton of them) my first thought is that the seller is not the real owner of the lock.

In this case, the seller seems unaware that these locks have value only if you have the keys. If you were the legitimate owner of these locks you would know that and you would take a fair amount of care to keep the keys and their duplicates in safe places. This seller knows only that these are expensive locks but does not know why.

Could be somebody found them at a garage sale or estate sale, knows nothing about locks (like you said) and is thinking they made a big score, but is now wondering why nobody seems interested... The average joe thinks that you can just pop over to the local hardware store and make a key for any lock just like that.

[Squelchtone]

Hey, quit dissing my ebay auction! All I need is one suck...er, I mean smart shopper to "buy now" and I've got it made!

Where did you steal them from? Seriously, any time I see padlocks without keys offered on eBay (and there's a ton of them) my first thought is that the seller is not the real owner of the lock.

In this case, the seller seems unaware that these locks have value only if you have the keys. If you were the legitimate owner of these locks you would know that and you would take a fair amount of care to keep the keys and their duplicates in safe places. This seller knows only that these are expensive locks but does not know why.

With Abloy locks, you'll see this a lot actually, someone with a vending machine or newspaper box route will have 20 or 30 locks and only buys the 1 or 2 keys, the padlocks are all keyed alike and one person drives to all the locations to restock the machines so there's no need to have keys for each lock.

If you ever see an Abloy padlock laser engraved with the words "The Enforcer" it is something a company named Transport Security stamps on their padlocks which it markets and sells to 18 wheeler drivers and transport companies. Abloy is such a goofy name for Americans to wrap their brains around, that Transport Security came out with that gimmicky name to make it sound real manly and tough. I do like their very creative products though, everthing from trailer door locks using Abloy padlocks to air hook up locks and king pin locks so someone doesn't hook up to a parked trailer and drives off with it.

Squelchtone

[phrygianradar]

That makes a lot of sense. At my local locksmith, he has 6 abloy padlock for sale that only have two keys, all keyed alike of course. I had wondered about that when I saw them. Don't remember how much he is selling them for, but I have no need for them anyway.

[i_b_larry]

I have purchased quite a number of Best padlocks from eBay sellers. Many locks came without any keys at all and most without a control key. A lot of these sellers will list the number face-stamped on the core, such as ER577, implying that your local locksmith can look up that number and make a key. I always wonder if they think it is that easy, why did they not do that before listing it for sale?

On eBay I once bought a lot of ten Master Locks with removable cores, like the American Locks. These were brand new in the box but the seller said he acquired them at an "estate sale" and pictured the face of one of the locks. When they arrived, they were, in fact, new in the box but on the reverse side each lock was stamped with the name of a well-known lumber manufacturer. I guess "estate sale" sounds better than "I pilfered these from the stockroom at work."

I have a whole laundry list of pet peeves with eBay sellers. Among them:

“Best” spelled “Beast” or “Beat.” Is it that difficult to spell?

American Lock! Which model?

Used keys! The chances that one of them fits your lock is much lower than being attacked by a polar bear in Hawaii while simultaneously being struck by lightning.

Seller offers one new lock. “Keyed alike!” I am sure I will sleep soundly knowing that five million other people have a key to my lock.