Would you buy a used Bullet Mold from EBay

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I haven't ever bought one from ebay yet. I probably would have if there weren't so many other options. Many times, the ebay auctions go for near retail, then why not buy new??? and if you are OK with used, if you are patient, the best place is our Sellin & Swappin forum, you are far more likely to be dealing with an honest person and are more likely to find the best price.

To me, it seems that ebay is the best place to look for expensive dis-continued "collectable" molds, but not so much for other molds.

[sniper]

I've had very few problems buying things on Ebay. Examine the pictures closely & read the ad completely. For sure look at the customer feedback on the items the seller has sold. Only pay with PayPal so you can more easily get your money back if item is not as you expected.

My experiences, exactly! Again...clear photos, feedback above whatever you feel comfortable accepting...me, I say 95 % or above, and check the feedback! There are some persnickety people out there, who will give negative feedback just to be contrary! I bought 2 molds from eBay in the days before PayPal, when daBay wasn't that interested in arbitrating a bad deal for their customers. One, as new, the other had some problems, which I somewhat corrected with the help of forum members. I finally, sent it to RCBS, telling them what was wrong, and they fixed it! Great Customer service from RCBS, always! Like in boxing..."Protect yourself at all times"= Caveat Emptor!

[John Boy]

I buy Ideal molds exclusively for the calibers I shoot off eBay that are no longer made. But if the seller has no picture of both cavities or the picture is out of focus - don't touch it. There are also sellers that price Ideals as if they were made from gold. The expensive Ideal's are the multiple weight Ideal Perfection Molds.
Also, Ideal didn't make many multi cavity molds greater than double cavity. For these molds with the caliber I shoot most frequently, I buy the single Ideal cavity ones - cast the bullet and send it to Tom at Accurate Molds to 'clone' for a 4 cavity mold
And finally, I won't buy a Lyman mold they made from an Ideal specific caliber because they tweeted the original design - specifically rounded GG bands instead of square bands
Also SAECO made several molds that were clones of Harry Pope's design - good investment cause Pope molds are very collectible and expensive. So if you find one on eBay - buy it

[pworley1]

I have bought several on ebay. You have to look closely at the pictures. I am very pleased with what I have bought.

[Tom W.]

I'm not so brave. I'd rather get one from Midway or off of our S&S thread. I've bought and sold several molds and die sets from and to members here, and never had a problem......

[merlin101]

I've bought a few molds off fleabay and am happy with all of them, only time I've ever gotten burned was from a seller here on this site! I guess there's good and bad everywhere.

[RogerDat]

I Don't have a massive mold collection. so I tend to buy new as I'm still working my way through the basic choices. Lee molds suit me well enough and the prices are hard to beat. There are companies such as NOE, Mi-Hec, Accurate that have so far provided what I needed when it was a more specific need. I have bought some used from members here and they were pretty good. This was when I wanted specific mold such as Lyman 12 gauge slug or a certain Lyman WC mold for .38

I have purchased reloading equipment on eBay and been satisfied, as others have mentioned the purchasing did require that I perform my own due diligence. Some of the items were no longer available so eBay was pretty much my best shot. I do find it useful to check the Sold listings to see what the market price is. As someone already pointed out here in the US we can often purchase the item cheaper new. A commercial US store might not ship reloading or casting items to some restrictive countries, a private party from eBay will, with a better chance of the item getting through too. This means the items may be priced for that more expensive "gray" market rather than the US market.

[tazman]

Which other Canadians get, and no doubt some, selling moulds, are as good as anybody.

There is a definition in the Item Specifics of every listing, of how eBay understand the stated condition in that category. For correctly categorised moulds, "used" says:

"An item that has been used previously. The item may have some signs of cosmetic wear, but is fully operational and functions as intended. This item may be a floor model or store return that has been used. See the seller’s listing for full details and description of any imperfections."

You are entitled to a fully functional mould, and if he doesn't declare cosmetic faults, you are entitled not to have them. eBay will back you up in a misdescription return for either and that takes care of a seller with limited expertise not knowing what is functional. There may be differences in coverage from what I know from the British eBay site, but I think the seller is still liable for return postage if he wants a misdescribed item back. In the UK they can't generate paid labels for return to another country, but nothing in the policy lets the seller out of funding it in some other way. Nobody enjoys sending his money on a brief vacation, but it shouldn't be any worse than that.

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/e...policy?id=4210

A lot of people have bought moulds on eBay, and it has worked out well far more often than badly. Of course I've never bought on a title that says "Wow!" Just compare what's available with the prices and likelihood of finding what you want, when sellers do it alone and publishes lists of what they have.

It wasn't a mold but I have ordered several items from the UK and Canada. So far, never a problem.

[gnostic]

I have a theory about old bullet molds and I'm sure some people on this forum will disagree. I'm not trying to rub anybody the wrong way. But, I think older molds, cast small bullet, as a result of better alloy being easily available years ago. In the late 60's, linotype an wheel weights were a lot more available. I'd pick up a 5 gallon bucket of them from the scrap yard, obviously, you can't do that anymore in most states. Also, I've noticed that newly purchased molds, cast huge bullets with soft range scrap.

[BrassMagnet]

I have a theory about old bullet molds and I'm sure some people on this forum will disagree. I'm not trying to rub anybody the wrong way. But, I think older molds, cast small bullet, as a result of better alloy being easily available years ago. In the late 60's, linotype an wheel weights were a lot more available. I'd pick up a 5 gallon bucket of them from the scrap yard, obviously, you can't do that anymore in most states. Also, I've noticed that newly purchased molds, cast huge bullets with soft range scrap.

The usual suspects, Lyman and RCBS, are only offering generic designs in varying calibers.
I am not sure if the sizing issues are alloy related or tolerance related. It could be alloy, but I suspect tolerances.
I have purchased non-functional moulds from both.
NOE is great.

[EDG]

You can look at mold photos to determine condition but that does not tell you the size cast, roundness, ease of getting bullets out of the old.
I bought one custom mold that was a bargain price. A new mold is about $200. The bullets are very accurate when you can get them out of the mold. I called the maker and he was not much help.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

I have bought a few and several sets of dies as well...

I look at my ‘saved searches’ daily for good deals...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You shouldn't have to do this. It may be a preference you can set up, but you can have notifications e-mailed to you. It is a marvellous facility, which the science fiction of the 50s could never have predicted. This has found me, sometimes years later:

Various books by my favourite shooting, fishing and South American revolutions author, Thurlow Craig.

A replacement for the volume of a cherished encyclopaedia which I left in my grandfather's leaky shed at the age of eight.

A copy of the memoirs of Captain von Rintelen, the saboteur of the US arms trade in 1915, which the seller hadn't detected was signed by the author.

A copy of Lissagaray's "Commune de Paris de 1870", owned and signed by the left-wing French deputy Marx Dormoy, who was let out of jail on parole by the Vichy government and blown up by person or persons unknown.

What may now be the only left-handed Pflueger Summit fishing reel in the UK.

The movement of a verge pocket watch, retailed in my home town of 9000 people, and with the repair mark and date 1845 of the shopkeeper's younger brother, who 51 years later qualified for a tombstone a couple of hundred yards from my home.

A Bausch and Lomb mount to put their 1950s external-adjustment scope on my 1926 Mannlicher-Schoenauer.

Unfortunately for US sellers, export sales aren't inflating prices as much as they once did, due to large increases in overseas postal charges. It seems against the national interest, when the US is further into e-commerce than most of the world. In fact even a lot of private sellers now won't export, which is a pity, since in the UK only things which bear gas pressure at the moment of firing are gun parts, and shotgun parts never are. It recently became impossible for anybody without an expensive export licence to export a barrel blank, which for us is totally uncontrolled unless threaded or chambered plus rifled.

Care is needed as long as we are dealing with two-legged creatures without wings, but it mostly works out, and the means of redress is there.

As to the size of cherry-cut moulds, I think the most likely explanation is like the groove dimensions of rifles made under the stress of wartime conditions. The cherry, like a broach-rifling cutter, is an expensive tool. So they make it oversize, to stand the maximum number of resharpenings before it has to be replaced.

[BrassMagnet]

You shouldn't have to do this. It may be a preference you can set up, but you can have notifications e-mailed to you. It is a marvellous facility, which the science fiction of the 50s could never have predicted. This has found me, sometimes years later:

Various books by my favourite shooting, fishing and South American revolutions author, Thurlow Craig.

A replacement for the volume of a cherished encyclopaedia which I left in my grandfather's leaky shed at the age of eight.

A copy of the memoirs of Captain von Rintelen, the saboteur of the US arms trade in 1915, which the seller hadn't detected was signed by the author.

A copy of Lissagaray's "Commune de Paris de 1870", owned and signed by the left-wing French deputy Marx Dormoy, who was let out of jail on parole by the Vichy government and blown up by person or persons unknown.

What may now be the only left-handed Pflueger Summit fishing reel in the UK.

The movement of a verge pocket watch, retailed in my home town of 9000 people, and with the repair mark and date 1845 of the shopkeeper's younger brother, who 51 years later qualified for a tombstone a couple of hundred yards from my home.

A Bausch and Lomb mount to put their 1950s external-adjustment scope on my 1926 Mannlicher-Schoenauer.

Unfortunately for US sellers, export sales aren't inflating prices as much as they once did, due to large increases in overseas postal charges. It seems against the national interest, when the US is further into e-commerce than most of the world. In fact even a lot of private sellers now won't export, which is a pity, since in the UK only things which bear gas pressure at the moment of firing are gun parts, and shotgun parts never are. It recently became impossible for anybody without an expensive export licence to export a barrel blank, which for us is totally uncontrolled unless threaded or chambered plus rifled.

Care is needed as long as we are dealing with two-legged creatures without wings, but it mostly works out, and the means of redress is there.

As to the size of cherry-cut moulds, I think the most likely explanation is like the groove dimensions of rifles made under the stress of wartime conditions. The cherry, like a broach-rifling cutter, is an expensive tool. So they make it oversize, to stand the maximum number of resharpenings before it has to be replaced.

This is likely and it can still be classified as "tolerances."

[lightman]

I would but I would look closely at the pictures. Blurred pictures or not having pictures of both halves would cause me to pass. Also, check the shipping charges. Some of them are extremely high. And be familiar with the mold that you want and its value. I browse there pretty often and their prices and shipping are often more than buying from someplace like Midway.

[wendyj]

I think I'll just post an add on here. The used one sold and new ones are now higher than midway. I can't find a 240 or 255 grain 4 or six cavity mold in 44 anywhere. I think I'll just stick with the Lee dies until I get more experience. The aluminum heats faster and I'm not sure but the steel ones I read about say several molds full to get heat up enough. Usually after getting off hot plate my first two have a wrinkle and then go away. New pot and thermometer helping a lot.

[Bohica793]

The best mold I ever bought is a 45-70 Govt 420gr round nose made in the late 19th century. I got it from EBay and use it regularly for my 45-70.

[gwpercle]

I have bought several , all were good buys. But I examine the photo's very carefully and if I have questions I contact the seller for additional details and/or photos. All the moulds I bought had several clear photo's showing all the sides and the cavities. If the photo's are lacking detail...I pass . With Ebay if there is a problem they will help you.

[RED BEAR]

i buy off ebay all the time great deals. if it is not what is advertised or something is wrong with it eather the seller or ebay will give your money back. i bought about 30 or so molds and had one that was bad.got money back. it is a good place to find molds not still in production.

[sigep1764]

Just bought one on Saturday night, a Lyman 280473 two cavity. Pics look good, had a very high rating as a seller, came in the box with the wrapping which supports the sellers statement it was NIB. Will find out on Thursday.

[tward]

Wendyj, I’ve had good service from Titan reloading. The people know Lee products and will talk to you if you have questions. They are also sponsors on this site. If you want New I’ve never had a problem with them and their prices are better than Midway, also they are very close to Lee Precision. Tim
PS 6 cavity Lee $36.99 Titan. $42.99 midway.