I am writing from the perspective of someone who buys heritage woodworking tools from eBay to use in freelance interpretation at a variety of Ontario museums and historic sites. More often than not (by far!!!) the item descriptions on eBay are incorrect. Virtually ANY old plane is likely to be listed as a "moulding" plane or "block" plane. eBayers learn very quickly to ignore adjectives such as "rare" and "unique", especially when used for an article stamped on the blade quite conspicuously in the accompanying photo as "MADE IN INDIA"!!!. Few sellers take the time or have the equipment to offer a variety of photographs or even one DECENT photograph. One very quickly learns which dealers to trust and these I contact off-eBay to tell them of specific items I'm looking for, so they can let me know when they come up. They are invariably truthful, willing to answer questions if they can and supply additional photos if asked for them. Prices on eBay are HIGHLY variable. For instance, I recently paid less than $US15 for an early Disston No. 7 crosscut saw, one of the very first made during or immediately following the Civil War, and in excellent condition. Last evening, another collector outbid me to acquire an 1885-1920 Shurly & Dietrich panel saw for $US23 - with a cracked handle and poorer quality blade - NOT a very good buy. So selling on eBay can be a chancy business, just as is buying. On the other hand, one can find real treasures and sometimes at low prices. Last evening I bought an early commercially made wooden-bodied router plane - for $US38! Such planes are quite rare, unlike most other planes, as most joiners made their own router planes. In this case, the seller frankly admitted he had no idea what the object was and, clearly neither did most potential buyers. I would happily have paid at least double the price. Can eBay be used as a source of artifacts for museums? Yes, but there are usually questions of provenance as few dealers can tell you much about the history of anything they sell. An exception was a shipwright's tool chest offered recently by a dealer in Nova Scotia. It contained a VERY complete set of tools used for mould-making and sandcasting in a Lunenburg NS shipyard. I alerted the head of the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax and told him I considered this collection of such importance to the history of NS shipbuilding that I thought he HAD to acquire it and offered to donate half the price. The museum accepted my offer, bid for the item and acquired it for the reserve bid amount of $US500. Since some of the tools were marked with the craftsman's name, they were able through local industrial and census records to document the provenance and have now filled an important gap in their collection of shipbuilding tools. eBay is like anything else. CAVEAT EMPTOR!!! -- Harry Needham, Principal ([log in to unmask]) Harry Needham Consulting Services Inc. Solutions for Heritage Institutions - and Others! 74 Abbeyhill Drive Kanata ON K2L 1H1 Canada (Voice) +1.613.831-1068 (Fax) +1.613.831-9412 ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).