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• Identifying and Grading your Lunch Box
  
• Lunch Box Cleaning and Care
  

It can be war in the trenches of commerce.

When buying a lunch box on-line, it is very important to know what you are getting before you actually hold it in your hands. Most on-line sellers will have descriptions of their items, and many even have pictures-- the more the better!

Whether you are buying from a web site or an on-line auction, it is important to remember a few things. A picture is worth a thousand words. Pictures from all angles will usually give you a good feel about the item. But pictures on their own don't tell the complete story. Sellers will sometimes take the best sides of an item to showcase what good condition the item is in. This is OK, as long as the seller mentions the flaws or damage the item may have on the other sides.

Most descriptions are usually brief, and some are downright deceptive. It is a rare occurrence when a description is fully detailed and completely accurate. However, it is the buyer's job to make sure they know all the information about the item. The seller isn't going to harp on the item's bad points, it is up to the buyer to bring these out. Again, most sellers are honest people and don't intend to deceive. But being sure is better than being sorry.

The next best thing to actually holding the item is to ask questions that will help you make an informed purchase. Since I mainly buy unused and/or mint, the items I go after usually don't display many signs of wear, if any. These items' descriptions may be vague, and simply state the item is in mint condition. One thing I've found out... mint is an over-used term. There is a difference between being subjective and being loose with the truth. Before I purchase any item that I'm interested in, and one that claims to be unused or mint, I e-mail the seller with a variation of the following text:

Under close examination of this lunch box/thermos (preferably under light), please describe any scratches, dings, dents, rust, flaws, shelf wear, or any other wear that was not listed in the description. Please describe any wear as thoroughly as possible, including inside the box.

Since the item I'm interested in is supposed to be in the best possible condition, these two sentences will aid me in making my decision to buy or bid. From time to time a seller may question why I e-mailed when they already described the item as mint. As I said, it's better to be sure than sorry, and an e-mail is an easy way to find out about aspects of the box that the seller did not mention beforehand. If a seller does not reply to my response or becomes angry while answering my questions, I stay away. If a seller can't satisfy my inquiry, I probably would regret the transaction anyway. As it's not my intention to nag or knit-pick, I also hate packing up items that don't meet their description and sending them back. A few moments worth of e-mail is better than a trip to the post office!

If the item was advertised as excellent condition, of course I would already assume that this item has scratches, maybe some rust and dents, and would not ask the questions I ask of items proclaiming to be mint. I would modify my questions, or simply ask questions based on the seller's own description, and then elaborate-- making each inquiry not a generic one, but being relevant to each case. Since the word mint usually refers to the best available, a generic message is good enough for those items, and may also be expanded to incorporate the seller's own description.

Thermoses

What you don't know can hurt you.

A point you should consider when buying thermoses is the fact that some older metal thermoses with glass fillers may have rust on the inside wall. In most descriptions, rust on the inside of a metal thermos isn't dealt with as equally or commonly as rust on the outside. Rust on the inside can be just as deadly, and if it's bad enough, the rust can eat through the metal.

Metal thermoses made before 1965 will have metal tops, called collars, as opposed to the plastic collars of the late sixties and beyond. These are the tops that screw onto the thermos sleeve itself, containing the glass filler. In older metal thermoses, rust in the collar threads can make it difficult and near impossible to remove the collar, so there is no way of actually seeing inside the thermos. If it's hard to remove, a seller will most likely not risk damaging the thermos, and will not remove the collar. An easy way to tell for rust is by shaking the thermos. If you hear rattling sounds inside the thermos, either the glass filler is broken (loud sound), or more commonly, their is rust present. The rattling sound is the rust that has fallen off the inside wall and is now present on the bottom of the thermos.

When buying thermoses, always ask the seller if there is any rust present on the inside of the thermos. If they can't remove the top, ask them to shake the thermos, and note any rattling sounds. This will aid you in your purchase, and help you select the best item for your money.

It's always a good idea to ask one too many questions than one too few. Knowledge is the only way to make an informed purchase. If the seller doesn't want to be forthright with information, it is wise to stay away from such business. As you do more and more business on-line, you will come up with your own questions, never making the same buying mistakes twice. If you can learn from your mistakes, they were worthwhile mistakes!

A final note, save all e-mail correspondence. If you have the seller's own words, it will be harder for them to dispute any information they may or may not have given you.

Happy boxing!

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