The Forum at Handcuffs.Org

EBay Review Guide

22 visible archived posts · 22 preserved total · topic ID 1661

Mark Lyons 07 Jan 2007

I keep forgetting to sign in....almost as bad as writing 06 instead of 07 at the beginning of the year.
Please respond to this post and ignore the untitled one.

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Hi everyone!

I hope your New Year is off to a nice start.

In June, I wrote a review on eBay about cuff collecting and how to spot fake and fraud handcuffs on their site. I updated it and recently earned an icon that goes next to my eBay name. I hope that future cuff collectors will find my article informative and get the collecting bug as all of us did. The icon will direct them to the article which is awarded by a tabulation of votes.
I hope that many of you will read it and advise me if you think any corrections or additions should be made. I value your opinions.
Most of all, I hope you will take the time to look it over and give it a YES vote.
With that, I will be able to maintain the icon in hopes that it will attract new collectors and prevent someone from getting burned by bidding $500 on "Authentic Slave Irons -Civil War era- found in the attic of an old barn in the Deep South, by Marshal Dillon and worn by members of the James Gang just before they went to the gallows at Yuma Prison". If people continue to buy this trash in good faith and find out they got ripped off, they may become turned off from cuff collecting forever and the hobby will suffer as a result.

I sure hope that in a small way, this will benefit the hobby in general and I figure that even if it helps out only 1 person, it was worth the effort.

Thank you for your time and for your YES vote.

http://reviews.ebay.com/Handcuff-Collec ... 0001203284

mark
O-O

Jack.Tanis 07 Jan 2007

Dear Mark,

I gave your guide a yes vote. Would I do otherwise? Maybe so, but not to someone who unblushingly writes:

"Unfortunately, even on eBay, there are fakes and frauds being sold at any given time." [Emphasis supplied.]

Not on eBay! Not now, not ever! Perish the thought!

Really?

Cheers,

Jack
http://www.editing.org.uk/tanis/collectibles.htm

Edgeplay_Cgo 07 Jan 2007

Good work, Mark. You got my Yes vote. It was particularly nice that you had the tag from my favorire fake slave collar peddlar.

Brad Darling 07 Jan 2007

Mark, definitely a "YES". Thanks for doing it, we do need to protect our hobby or we will become like badges, vaseline glass and gambling paraphernalia, new collectors won't come and old ones get discouraged because of the junk and rip-offs.

That said, here's a couple things I noticed: in the first part of the first paragraph you referred to Union Hardware as "Union Handcuff Co". It might have been well to add Beans as the Chevy.

The last sentence in the first paragraph has "...so unfortune..." should have been unfortunately.

Perhaps in closing you could mention Handcuffs.org and maybe even Yossie's site, or even Lars' and Michael Busch's site, as good places to go to see pictures of the real items as well as additional id's of fakes.

Anyway, good job, Mark.

Brad

Mark Lyons 08 Jan 2007

Thanks for your support!

I will make the corrections.

The review-guide rules are very clear about directing people to a non-eBay site or leaving contact info. My message about finding out the answer if I do not have it, was as close as I could get to letting the buyer know about this site. I was able to direct them to my "me" page where they can write to me directly. Once they contact me, this is the place I will recommend them to go to!

Thanks again for your help...hope we get some new blood here!

mark
O--O

Ian McColl 08 Jan 2007

Hi Mark, I gave you and your article a big YES because it read correctly and because you're a big Narnagoon.

Ian

Mark Lyons 08 Jan 2007

In 2001 there were only 604 Nar Nar Goonies. Probably not too many other families moved there recently, so you may be 605 and 606. If you are making me an honorary Goonie, it would be a pleasure to have that title bestowed upon me. Maybe now I can be the Grand Marshal at the Christmas Parade in Gooneyville!

Mark, Honorary Goon

Ian McColl 08 Jan 2007

I really meant a big Koala, cute and cuddley. not a goon, though you do look a bit like Harry Secombe.

Ian

PS do you have a hit list of those who access you review so you know that there are many reading it?

Mark Lyons 09 Jan 2007

Ian,
Cute and cuddly is good! I can go for that.
Not sure who Harry Secombe is yet. I will either think the world of you or put a picture of your smiley face on my dart board very soon.

There is a counter on the review and it is at about 1550 right now but only 55 yes votes. That equals about 1 vote per 28 readers.
Once I hit the 100 mark, a permanent icon will appear and it is my hopes that people will be attracted to it and learn a thing or two about cuff collecting.
I realize that this is not much of a solution to the fake cuff problem, but it can't hurt much.

The response has been very good from fellow collectors and I certainly appreciate it. I also collect some badges and I can tell you that collectors in that field are a tough bunch. Everyone seems to be jealous of one another and always has bad things to say about each other. Our group is much friendlier and helpful.
I have gone to many badge shows and they can be fun and interesting, but when cuff collectors get together, it is an event that stays in our memories for years. So much so that DVDs are even available to relive the moments. Never heard of a badge show DVD!

Thanks again for all the votes so far. I knew I could count on you guys!

mark
O--O

Key-Biz 09 Jan 2007

#10

Mark. The guide info says in order for the vote to count
the user has to have a feedback rating of 5 or more.
You may be getting a lot of voters who didn't have their
votes count.

Ian McColl 09 Jan 2007

#11

Hi Mark, check out http://www.thegoonshow.net/cast.asp

if you like Monty Python, then they got their influence from the goons.

Ian

Anonymous 09 Jan 2007

#12

Ian,
I will check that out in the morning...I am up way too late.

Harry Secombe will have to wait too.

This conversation reminded me of a cartoon character that I forgot all about. This will date me, but do you remember Alice the Goon from Goon Island in the Popeye show?

I hear that all your new neighbors look like this.

mark
O--O

Neddy 10 Jan 2007

#13

For it is none other than I, Ned Seagoon, Son of Houdini!

Mark Lyons 10 Jan 2007

#14

Ian,
I will take the Harry Secombe comment as a compliment.
He was somewhat rich and famous, lived 79 years, had a full head of hair, and worked with Peter Sellers while having good times and making jokes.
I would have traded lives with him....as long as he had collected cuffs too!

mark
O--O

Margarette 11 Jan 2007

#15

Mark, lots of good information there! I'll share it with a co-worker. He brought in a lock to show me that he picked up at a flea market. It had an "Alcatraz" identification on it. He said he paid a fair sum for it. I told him to be careful about anything like that...too many forgeries and out there.

Margarette

Mark Lyons 11 Jan 2007

#16

Hi Margarette,

Too bad about your friend, I hope he did not pay something like $200 or more. That would be a hard lesson to learn, if so.
In your business of building jails, the item would be a great conversation piece if he had it hanging on the wall, but only if he paid the $25 that it is worth.
I guess that sort of rip off can happen at flea markets even in................what city are you from?

mark
O--O

Margarette 11 Jan 2007

#17

I don't think he paid over $100 for the lock. He told me that is was something "this guy had stored in his attic..." I actually had the same style lock that I brought in the next day...one I paid only $7 for. I was telling people all day that the lock on my desk was MY lock, not my co-worker's lock. We talked about how easy it would for me to put an Alcatraz identifier on the lock. He asked me if I thought he got ripped off, and I told him I couldn't be sure, but to not pay that much for anything like that again.

As for my location...I'm in Southaven, MS, a suburb of Memphis, TN. You don't remember looking at my name tag at the convention trying to figure it out???

Mark Lyons 11 Jan 2007

#18

Of course I do!

That is why I wrote the teaser at the end of my last post.
The next time I see you in person, I want to look you over to see which block you live on and get your zip code too!

mark
O--O

Nils 12 Jan 2007

#19

Right, the frequent repros on ebay are a nuisance. I'll agree to that.

But why would I want to encourage people to collect handcuffs? My collection isn't that big,
and as soon as more people collect, the higher prices will get. If you're somebody who already
has it all, that'll be fine with you, because your collection will be worth more.
So, thanks, I think I'll pass. I hope I didn't get you wrong.

Mark Lyons 12 Jan 2007

#20

Hi Nils,

Let me ask:
What is your favorite antique cuff in your collection? How did you acquire it?
I suspect you got it from somebody who collects handcuffs.

What cuff do you really hope to find one day?
What are the chances that it will be sold to you on ebay or other auction?
A good probability says that it will come from another cuff hobbyist.

If you want to identify or know the history of a rare cuff, where would you seek information on it?
Most likely someone with a cuff collection.

When you wish to sell your collection no matter its size, who's going to give you the most money for it.
Maybe it will be someone with an interest in handcuffs.

Makes sense to me that as the hobby grows, the benefits outweigh the negatives.
From an investment perspective, You might pay high prices due to competition, but the item will increase (most of the time) when you go to sell it. If there are fewer collectors out there than the price plummets no matter what you paid for them.

This is a great hobby that is shared by Escape Artists, Magicians, Houdini Collectors, Gun Collectors, Police Officers, Locksmiths/Padlock Collectors, Lawyers, and everyone in every profession. A very diverse group and I believe encouragement and education is the key to keeping the hobby alive and to let it grow to the benefit of everyone involved.

Letting people be aware of the fakes and frauds is the basis of my article and by providing a source of information to prevent another rip-off artist from applying his trade is my goal.

Sorry that you do not see it my way.

mark
O--O

PoliceHistorian 13 Jan 2007

#21

Mark

I 100% agree with your assessment, of the value of bringing in new members, to any hobby. As you mentioned, without new members, hobbies do not grow, and sometimes can become stagnant. With new collectors, new enthusism, new energy, and even sometimes new and unfound items can result. New collectors often times have boundless energy, wanting to build their collection, and spend lots of their time and money looking for and acquiring new items. New collectors are often times the ones who scavenge here and there, get up early to go to yard sales, flea markets, and the like. Seasoned collectors sometimes rely on their network, and often have developed such sophisticated collections that they are not in the hunt mode, like they were when they began. And, new collectors are the ones who want to buy those duplicates that older collectors might have, or who allow a more seasoned collector to upgrade condition, by being a happy and willing buyer, for the lesser condition items, that the older collector now wants to upgrade.

For all these reasons and more, I applaud you for your committment to maintaining the integrity of your hobby, and for your willingness and desire to bring in "new blood", and for the time and effort you put into your GUIDE. I voted YES, and I hope more YES votes come your way, so that your GUIDE remains very visible to all who are interested in collecting!

Nils, while I understand and agree in concept that adding more collectors can make acquisitions more difficult and expensive sometimes (I have paid the price, either monetarily, or by losing out on an item to a new collector who was willing to pay more than I thought something was worth), I welcome them, for at least in my primary hobby, collecting Police Badges, I welcome and encourage new collectors, for it does add some life to a hobby that can easily stagnate, in todays hectic personal environment, and like Mark said, fewer collectors equals, at some point, lessened demand, as everybody finally gets what they want.......

I joined today, so that I could both post a comment, and so that I might improve my knowledge of handcuffs, which I sometimes collect, as an adjunct to collecting badges, thru nthe use of this site.

Extremely well done site, here..........I wish we had a similar one, for Badges. Thanks for making it available!

Nathan

Mark Lyons 13 Jan 2007

#22

Nathan,
Welcome to the forum.

You will find not only handcuffs here but conversations about eBay, police procedures, geography, prisoner transportation, politics, duty gear, goons, magic and escapology, and an assortment of other topics.
While handcuff history, technology and collectiblity is obviously the core of our discussions, if you need an answer, bring it on!
As the kids grow up and get into their money making ages, they seem to have no desire for collecting mechanical devices like padlocks, cigar cutters, phonographs, and other such things. A lot of them are into computers, iPods, DVD PlayStation's and other electronics. Handcuff collecting has an advantage as it fits in and compliments so many other collections and hobbies. If it is going to grow, it needs to be easy and knowledge on the subject needs to be plentiful.
Thanks for your letter of agreement and stop by often!

mark
O--O