FBEye,
Unless you are trying to be devious, just be upfront with the guy. If he's got stuff you're interested in buying say so. Ask if you can take pictures for reference. If he says no, respect the guy and don't be sneaky.
As for the refrigerator itself, Firestone and many other retail stores would have lines of products for sale in their stores that were made by other companies but with the retail name on them. Firestone had appliances, radios, and other household goods they never manufactured themselves but contracted them to be built. The guts would be identical but the outward appearance would be altered in design and/or color scheme.
A couple years ago I bought an old Firestone radio antenna out of a local antique store, it had been in that store used for the store radio back in the 30s/40s and was still attached to the wall.