Well as I have said I've become obssesed with handcuff collecting the past few weeks and I decided it was time to bid on what would be my second pair to start my collection. I bid on a pair of Andrew Rankin handcuffs on E-bay and much to my dismay I got outbid with about 7 seconds to go and missed putting another bid in by litterally a second or two. Now with that said I believe my bid of $1,060 max was an overbid BUT I really did not want to lose my auction DANG IT TO HECK lol. Anyways, Im in it for the long haul so off to hunt I go again.
Joshua
P.S. If whoever outbid if interested in selling them at anytime hit me up LOL.
There are valuable points on both sides of the equation, however I'm not sure why I have the phrase " a fool and his money are soon parted" every time I read one of your posts running through my mind. You seem awfully anxious to drop a large amount on some rare cuffs, but I have to wonder why you're in such a hurry . In handcuff collecting, while some cuffs may be valuable because of relative rarety, unless it's the original houdini mirror cuff, there is and will be another one, somewhere , sometime.Yes there is something to be said for being quick off the mark, but you'll go broke pretty quickly collecting that way.
My first real collectable set of "handcuffs" of any value other than some odd darby's and modern cuffs was a set of Makenzie Mitts. It cost me the painting of an entire house ( interior and exterior) over the course of two months, but I got them. I later lost them .That set came from Kingston Pennitentiary originally, one of 8 sets in total .They meant something yes because I worked hard for them, and I LEARNED everything I could about them, who they may have been used on, how they came to be int he public domain ( I collect corrections/police items so this is actually important at least to me).
When my set disappeared I spent alot of time looking for them, to no avail, in fact it's what originally led me to this board.The information I knew about them though eventually led me to TWO sets in far better condition.The cost? One tim hortons cup of coffee and the promise to never return her late husbands "scrapmetal" as she had seen enough of them on her mantle for 25 years.Yes there are collectables to be found out there, but it's really really unlikely you'll find them on ebay.
In the first little while I looked at this board I spent some time and was actively increasing my collection, and it didnt take very long at all to realize there's a ton of expert knowledge here, but there's also a dark side , in that there's at least one or two of the frequent posters here are in it for profit.And they know the value of the cuffs they have, and if they think you DONT know the value, they'll take you for more than they are worth every time.And ebay sellers very rarely are any different, in fact many of those ebayers are also regular posters here.Not to mention that the word "handcuffs" is searched and every resulting item scrutinized weekly by same.
If nothing else, I'd encourage you to find out everything you possibly can about any collectable before you decide to purchase, and that is very difficult with Ebay.Find out where they were used, by whom, and for what. What you'll find is not only do you spend alot less money in the process ( $700 for a set of cuffs on ebay versus maybe $200 in gas and $50 for a better set, that come with traceable provenance from manufacturer all the way to your hands) so that when someone asks " that set is worth $1500? why? " you'll have a much better answer than "just because they are rare" .This to me is the essence of collecting, yes there is a value to any collectable, but that is secondary to what you can tell about a collectable that makes it special. I probably have at least 25-30 $1000+ valued items, none of which I paid nearly that amount for.
If you're serious about collecting, a first good step is figuring out where they were used. then go there , and simply start asking questions. If it's corrections items you're after, try talking to a few prison guards and find out what they know, especially the older ones ( the really really old guys know things that will amaze you, I once had one ) . Then follow up on the leads they give you. Even posting on places like craigslist or kijiji will likely bear better results than off ebay or from here, though you'll learn alot more from here undoubtedly.One lead will lead to another, then another, and sometimes the guy you spoke to three or four years ago will call up out of the blue and say "Hey, watch the crown auction, I just sent 3 old sets of Beans there" or somesuch. At the very least the cuffs you do collect will have more meaning, because you'll know alot more about
them.In my case it's rather helpful that a large part of my family WERE either police officers or corrections officers, but honestly that didnt help much. LOTS AND LOTS of legwork definitely does, plus it's fun.
Edri
