Among vintage fitness equipment purchased recently via eBay, a reproduction of an old equipment ad mounted on barn wood, left, was mysteriously delivered twice. A set of five records outlining the 1920 "Wallace Exercise Course" requires a turntable that can play 78s. A wood Indian club, center, and dumbbell, right, supposedly are from the late 1800s.

My inaugural foray into eBay (www.ebay.com), the largest auctioneer on the Web, started with what I took to be a good omen. Though surprised that my first search for "exercise equipment" yielded only three results, I took heart when I bypassed the "aerobic stepper" (minimum bid, $26) and "Tummy Roll-Off abdominal-exercise equipment" ($29.95) to click on the ambiguously labeled "Exercise Equipment" ($4.99).

An original Bullworker!

I have a soft spot for this contraption from the 1960s, green plastic grips on each end of two nested chrome bars for pressing exercises, green plastic cords on each side for pulling movements. I'm apparently not alone - after a reader wrote in a couple years ago looking for the wall chart of its exercises, I heard from more than a few others likewise in search of instructions, or a Bullworker itself. (A new chart with 20 exercises, I learned via an eBay link, is $20 from www.thebullworker.com.)

Accompanying the Wallace Exercise Course records were a list of forbidden foods, an ideal-weight table and original letters from Wallace to a Mrs. Bessie Chappell, presumably the original buyer.

As my shopping spree continued, I soon realized I was unlikely to buy any major equipment via eBay, uBid.com, www.Bay9.com or any other online auction.

First, much of the equipment I didn't recognize by name or photo. Given the proliferation of wobbly, uncomfortable machines on the market, I would be extremely unlikely to pursue a product I had not tested.

Second, many larger items weighed so much shipping would likely take a sizable chunk out of those auction "bargains." A Vectra 1270 multistation weight-lifting machine, whose description said it was purchased in 1994 for $3,800, looked like a pretty good deal at the current bid of $1,150 - until I noticed it was in Arlington, Va.

A search for "exercise" yielded both comic-book heroes and a variety of Vargas Girl prints promoting "Better Exercise."

Finally, frankly, at our home we don't really have room for more equipment.

I did search for an old favorite, the Concept II rowing ergometer, which I might buy on impulse at a good price. There were two, one at $510, another up to $750 (a new one from the factory goes for $765, plus shipping). Not tempting enough.

More intriguing from the same search was "The Challenger 2000," an 81-page book supposedly with step-by-step instructions on how to build an imitation Concept II. Suitable for "anyone with a limited ability to work with steel, basic metal-working tools and read blueprints." That let me out.

One potential bargain that did catch my eye, if not my credit-card number, was a used Reebok Ridge Rocker, a $2,495 stationary bike designed to ride like a mountain bike. I've tried a different model from I think the same manufacturer, and if I were a serious cyclist, I might have joined in the bidding. One was up to $800. But a second was at $282, though the minimum bid ("reserve") had not yet been met, the bike wasn't pictured (a warning flag) and was in Boca Raton, Fla. Remember the shipping!

Some "vintage" items may be best bypassed, such as these exercise shorts.

Online auctions may be useful for researching exercise equipment: The parade of ab machines from years past is worth keeping in mind when next year's model entices.

eBay in particular appears to be flush with used exercise videos. A search can yield some interesting juxtapositions, such as "Regis Philbin My Personal Workout" (starting bid, $1.99), "Rita Moreno Fit & Fabulous Forever Workout" ($3.99) and "Joan Collins Personal Workout Exercise Video" ($3.99). Then there was, for just $2.99 minimum bid, a used copy of "Muscle Motion - The Men From Chippendales Exercise Video," which the seller described as "guaranteed to get your heart beating faster ... even if all you do is watch." Clearly this isn't, as claimed, "A brand new concept in exercise at home."

I'd have a hard time bidding on, not to mention actually paying for, any of the used workout clothing posted, especially one particularly unsavory pair of "Men's vintage squarecut swim/exercise shorts." Amazingly, they'd received three bids, starting at $8.99, and were up to $15.50 with four hours to go.

A 1956 Good Housekeeping magazine offered some interesting "shower and tub exercises."

Search terms matter. While checking for "exercise" I saw a Giant Run-A-Round Exercise Wheel for pet rats ($2.99), the 1966 book "Lyndon B. Johnson: The Exercise of Power" by Rowland Evans and Robert Novak ($5) and a series of 1940 magazine ads with the slogan, "Exercise Less - Buy Girdle."

But that search also pulled up an item that finally pushed me from lurker to bidder: a "Muscle Building Exercise" reproduction advertising sign, on old barn wood with an antique finish. I bid the minimum, $9.95, and one day and three hours later, it was mine, for that plus $5 shipping and packing. Oddly, the seller sent me a second one a few days after the first arrived; I guess it wasn't a limited-edition repro.

That inspired searches for actual vintage and antique equipment - there's always room for those, right? - and within a week I had bid on nine items and was top bidder on eight. (Most auctions last about a week.)

I paid $9.99 ($15.04 total, including shipping) for an Indian club, a piece of wooden gymnastics equipment perhaps from the late 1800s. "Exercise without Exercises," a book from 1937, was only $1 ($5.60 total) and a Good Housekeeping magazine on diet and exercise from 1956 was $3 ($7). Mighty Marvel Comics' Strength and Fitness Book was $5 ($6.75) and a set of five 78 rpm records from 1920 on something called the "Wallace Exercise Course" was $20 ($27.10, which included an optional $1.10 for insurance). Now I need to find a turntable that can play them.

Endearing illustrations were the highlight of a 1937 book, "Exercise Without Exercises."

I also bought two wooden dumbbells, likewise probably from the late 1800s. For the first I bid $9.99 ($16.25 including shipping), then I found a second, smaller one for $4.99 ($9.05). The latter was listed with this background: "This is part of my great aunt's estate and it was her father's before that. In 1903 he suffered a small stroke and this was used for his rehabilitation at a spa in Rhode Island. He kept very few things as mementos of his life and like this piece, they usually involved a hardship. I am told he felt the memories kept him humble. ..."

Some sellers accept online payments but others allow only cashier's checks or money orders (which, depending on your bank, may add a fee to total costs) or personal checks, which must clear before the item is shipped. Most of my items arrived within two weeks of their auction closing dates.

One - an exercise book from 1915 called "My System for Ladies" - I lost to a more experienced bidder. We engaged in silent one-upmanship (raised 50 cents a pop) when I placed my first bid at $13 and she'd already registered a higher maximum. When I got to $15.50 my bid became the current high, but she cleverly waited until the next day, just before bidding closed, and trumped me by another 50 cents. She paid a little more than she had intended, she told me later in an e-mail exchange, because she'd lost out on two other books. She was shopping on behalf of her sister, who collects old books showing how women saw themselves and were seen in the past.

I don't have any old books or magazines to sell, but seeing the variety of gear at online auctions did make me think of a way our old blue Ab Rocker might bring in a few pennies. And I think I have some old shorts that someone, somewhere, might want.

Molly Martin is assistant editor of Pacific Northwest magazine. Barry Wong is a Seattle Times staff photographer.