Anyone have experience selling online? My company has been running a little slow and we're all looking for things to do to improve business. We have a massive backstock...
celem83 replied:
Just as a random tip. If you look into amazon/ebay then consider bundling up some stuff in the format wanted by the locksport community, which is in serious boom right now during the lockdown.
In particular we like keyed-different, single or small bulk lots. adding the term 'locksport' to the title is a good idea, we often search by it as more smiths notice the demand. Ebay and Amazon are our primary source if our local smith is not picker friendly (plenty are not) and we are probably the only private citizens who buy lots and lots of locks. We gladly buy used, compromised and keyless hardware.
Edit: to give you an idea, there are European pickers currently throwing 75$+ at amazon to ship American 1100s. If you have the fun stuff with decent security pins, we are buying it. Kit like EVVA, Assa, Dom, Medeco and MTL are in high demand. Our interest scales with the difficulty of single pin picking and the rarity of the lock. (We don't care if bypasses exist or a padlock is shimmable). If you really want to cut out the middleman, check r/Lockpicking sidebar and get into our Discord, where we have a dedicated sales room.
novel1389 replied:
This was literally my first job (helping my locksmith dad). It was like 20 years ago but we used eBay. I remember keypad/numpad door locks were always top sellers.
canute_the_viking replied:
eBay no longer makes any attempt at impartiality in the disputes system and they almost always side with the buyer. Expect a massive headache selling stuff on there. Having said that, it may still be the best of a bad bunch for refurbished/2 nd hand. Just know what you're getting into. Sell new/as new stuff to other locksmiths. Much less hassle.
parakelian replied:
I'm having the same issue. For example, I have 30 unused weslock knob trim just taking up space. I tried some of the sources you listed but nobody buys them unless they are free. I had some offer me $50 bucks for an "A series" Schlage lock HAHA told him to keep dreaming.... Maybe offer the locks to people that are in need. I have some people right now that don't have much to offer anymore from this pandemic wiping out there income. I put together used locks for them to use for the time being. I know most people don't buy used locks, but this act of kindness for what I believe will bring back dividends once things get back to normal.
Chensky replied:
Terrible idea and waste of time, nobody wants to buy that shit except other shmucks like us. And even then, the reality is used shit is mainly garbage. Also, anyone can get shit almost as cheap as most of us get directly from our dealers online, if not even cheaper.
I got a 73 FLH that came w/ a padlock stamped AMF, HD. No numbers or identifying mfg. Got tagged in 09 and lost key. Does anyone know how or who could make a key. I...
Bob L. replied:
If theres no numbers on the cylinder then your only hope is to have a Locksmith impression a key..I Would try another locksmith..If that doesn't help then try this website.. www.clearstar.com