The Forum at Handcuffs.Org

Selling Safely

8 visible archived posts · 8 preserved total · topic ID 7388

Jeff Sinclair 28 Jan 2022

I had one bad experience selling something via the Internet so I'm gun-shy. Nevertheless, I have some collectable cuffs that I need to find a new home for. How do you guys go about selling items and assuring that you get paid and the buyer gets his merchandise?
What methods are available and what is your opinions of the best way to transfer ownership of items? I might prefer to keep sales restricted to the U.S simply because I've heard and read about issues with other countries and confiscation due to their shipping rules and regulations. If you know of a safe way to ship and get paid when dealing with other countries, I'm willing to consider that option.
Thank you for any suggestions you can share with me.

Tom

ssbaldwin 28 Jan 2022

Tom

You might consider posting what you have for sale here on the forum and perhaps one of us might be interested. As far as getting paid you could demand a method like PayPal or even a money order to ensure getting your funds.

Spencer

ronspitz 28 Jan 2022

Tom

Several people have sold various items on this Forum. Be aware that if you are in the States, it is illegal to ship cuffs to other countries, except Canada, unless you have a license. A lot of people do ship anyway, and if caught at Customs, it's not pretty.

Ron

PaulJDavies 29 Jan 2022

It is a complex issue if you are not familiar with certain rules, laws and fees.

I am in Australia where laws vary by State, but in my State of Victoria there are no laws against buying, selling or owning restraints. The biggest issues for me are US and UK export laws. Nearly all of my hundreds of purchases have come from US and UK. The only times I have not received my purchase is when eBay's Global Shipping Program gets involved. So if anyone wants to use eBay, don't use GSP for shipping, use your national postal service and call them old locks and chain (as an example). Be honest but vague in your description. I've even heard of cuffs arriving described as a sex toy! Make sure there is tracking on your parcel in case there is a dispute and keep all postal receipts.

My preference at the moment is only selling to collectors that I know from this forum. That avoids scammers who claim not to have received their goods. For cheap items, I just put them on eBay. For items of local interest I use a real auction house where prices are much better and negates auctioneer fees. That may not be the best option in other countries where restraints were mass produced.

If buying or selling overseas, be aware that Paypal or bank fees are high if you are converting one currency to another. If you can get paid using the Paypal 'Family and Friends' option, there are less fees for the buyer they you may loose some rights to claim. Postal costs have gone up a lot in recent years and also because of reduced plane movement worldwide due to the pandemic. A package or letter from Australia to USA takes 2 months at the moment.

Paul

djhalfdead 29 Jan 2022

Tom, I would also say that you could start by posting up the items you are selling through here. The best market for the wares, will be other collectors. As far as current market pricing, thats a bit harder to figure out. I try to do a 5 day auction on most stuff I sell through Ebay. My goal when I sell a cuff is to at least break even. When I auction something on Ebay, i start my bids at the break even price. Now, there have been times where I have had to drop lower and lose some money to get the item out of inventory. But, i have also had bidding wars break out and I have made a nice profit. For shipping, I tend to use the flat rate boxes through the Post Office. I have an assortment of boxes here at the house and have an account set up through the USPS website. I can pack the box, arrange the shipment and print the label all in hose. The next day, I have the package picked up at my door and it comes with a 2-3 day priority shipping and tracking included. In all my years of buying and selling, I have only had 2 packages lost in shipping. One was recovered 4 months later and delivered. I have never had anything lost from packaging or damaged in shipping. But, a lot of that is on me. I pack everything very carefully. All of my packing material is recycled from the packing material that come in the packages i receive from my purchase. So, tape, paper and printer ink are my only extra expenses. As far as payment, Paypal is nice and I also use Postal Money Orders quite a bit. Postal money orders are more difficult for someone to make a fake version of due to the holograms, watermarks, etc. I document everything, every time i pack and ship a cuff. I shoot a video of the cuff and showing the condition and its working. Then I shoot a video of packing and labeling the box for shipment. This practice has saved me from a couple of claims against me on Ebay, that were buyers trying to cover up that they snapped a key or broke a cuff's mechanism, etc. Its some extra work, but it pays off when needed. Feel free to email me if you would like to discuss payment/shipping/selling in greater detail. Ive done this for a long time. Both in the United States and Internationally. im at iambiohazard@yahoo.com
-Richard Knip-

Jeff Sinclair 30 Jan 2022

Thanks guys. I'll be putting together a list in the next few days and post it here to see if it generates any interest. If so, I'll try a sale or two to see how it goes. I might be contacting you, Richard, if I need some help. Thank you for the offer.

Tom

james.slips 30 Jan 2022

djhalfdead wrote: ↑
Jan 29, 2022
Tom, I would also say that you could start by posting up the items you are selling through here. The best market for the wares, will be other collectors. As far as current market pricing, thats a bit harder to figure out. I try to do a 5 day auction on most stuff I sell through Ebay. My goal when I sell a cuff is to at least break even. When I auction something on Ebay, i start my bids at the break even price. Now, there have been times where I have had to drop lower and lose some money to get the item out of inventory. But, i have also had bidding wars break out and I have made a nice profit. For shipping, I tend to use the flat rate boxes through the Post Office. I have an assortment of boxes here at the house and have an account set up through the USPS website. I can pack the box, arrange the shipment and print the label all in hose. The next day, I have the package picked up at my door and it comes with a 2-3 day priority shipping and tracking included. In all my years of buying and selling, I have only had 2 packages lost in shipping. One was recovered 4 months later and delivered. I have never had anything lost from packaging or damaged in shipping. But, a lot of that is on me. I pack everything very carefully. All of my packing material is recycled from the packing material that come in the packages i receive from my purchase. So, tape, paper and printer ink are my only extra expenses. As far as payment, Paypal is nice and I also use Postal Money Orders quite a bit. Postal money orders are more difficult for someone to make a fake version of due to the holograms, watermarks, etc. I document everything, every time i pack and ship a cuff. I shoot a video of the cuff and showing the condition and its working. Then I shoot a video of packing and labeling the box for shipment. This practice has saved me from a couple of claims against me on Ebay, that were buyers trying to cover up that they snapped a key or broke a cuff's mechanism, etc. Its some extra work, but it pays off when needed. Feel free to email me if you would like to discuss payment/shipping/selling in greater detail. Ive done this for a long time. Both in the United States and Internationally. im at iambiohazard@yahoo.com
-Richard Knip-
Click to expand...

I've purchased quite a few cuffs from Richard... can concur.. the advice above is solid, he knows what he's doing.

KruegerKuffs 30 Jan 2022

I trust everybody actively posting on this forum. Selling overseas has become quite difficult, but it's painful so see an interesting cuff and not being able to at least bid on it. I agree that posting / selling on the forum with paypal friends & family appears to be the best option at the moment.

Recently, I put an add for a valuable antique cuff on The Bay Classified Ads (not sure if you have that in the US); some guy with a Polish cell phone number contacted me 2 minutes after the listing went online and wanted to buy it. He wanted to use the "The Bay Classifieds Payment Option"; he sent me a link that said something like "www.PaymSecTheBay124/track123456". There it said "Your item has been paid", with a screenshot of my post. That was a scam. So be careful, and insist on payment types that you know and accept. I might put some cuffs soon here.