BUYING CHINA, Procced with extreme caution

[NuevoMundo]

I know next to nothing about Chinese history, but that piece is really neat! I love the third eye.

[Ajo]

Your information is great. Keep in mind also that china is a major producer gems and jewelery.  You see at all the major gem shows. I live in Tucson and I see scams all the time at the local shows. Imitation beads passed as real,  glass gems that are passed as gem quality, etc. I would buy from a source that you know and have established a relationship with. I test  stones during the gem show to see if they are real,(from clients). I also check them for the quality that the vendors are telling the buyer. I get a couple of fakes and a lot of misrepresented items. Most are bought from Asian sources. Buyers beware it right.

[Bentiron]

One of the things that I need to keep before me is that there are honest and dishonest people all over the world. One thing the world wide web had done is to allow the dishonest ones a wider area of operating. If my one beloved uncle were alive today I'm sure he would still be cheating people with his "antiques". He was a master at faking antiques and selling them at local auctions in Indiana in the sixties and seventies. He was my favorite uncle but he was a lier and a cheat when it came to antiques. He kept all the really good stuff for his own collection, fixed and faked up the rest to sell at auctions and made a ton of money, just think what someone like that would do today on the internet? This kind of action is not confined to one ethnic group or region of this planet but wide spread. I may be more deeply seated in some regions due to poverty but it is not only an Asian trait.  We have all fallen short of the mark at one time or another, we just need to be watchful and mindful of a deal too good too be true. You get what you pay for.

[Mark]

Where in Indiana did your uncle operate?  My Mom was a well known antiques dealer in southern Indiana probably 70s thru 90s.  I have most of her really good stuff.  I was the one son interested in antiques and then i married into a MA family that was into antiques.  So i got most of the good stuff via the will and dealing with my brothers.  I was fair with my brothers who didn't know anything about value, plus Mom split most of the things up before her death so there would be no disagreements, even though we were all very fair and mostly got the pieces we each wanted.

Now onto unscrupulous dealers.  Bent you are so right, they are everywhere.  There may be some higher concentrations in some areas, but there are good and bad people in every country, city, and neighborhood.  My one really bad deal from hundreds, no thousands of rock deals, was with a woman who didn't ship me the Morrisonite slabs and cabs i won from her auction.  She had good input from others and i believe they were real, but she screwed me out of about $70.  Paypal gave me my money back, though i really wanted those slabs and cabs, as they were great deals.  Every Chinese dealer i dealt with was fair and honest, though the last one that i got Pietersite from for the New Twist cab contest, had crappy Pietersite.  I learned my lesson and will only run a contest with slabs that i have seen or know are top rate.

Mark

[asianfire]

 The last one that i got Pietersite from for the New Twist cab contest, had crappy Pietersite.  I learned my lesson and will only run a contest with slabs that i have seen or know are top rate.

Mark

Dear Mark,

Just read about your entry on Pietersite. Can you tell me from whom you bought?
There are not many sellers, but two are flooding the market with dubious material, and
I think I bought from them all in the past (cabs as well as rough).

Greetings, Kurt

[Taogem]

 The last one that i got Pietersite from for the New Twist cab contest, had crappy Pietersite.  I learned my lesson and will only run a contest with slabs that i have seen or know are top rate.

Mark

Dear Mark,

Just read about your entry on Pietersite. Can you tell me from whom you bought?
There are not many sellers, but two are flooding the market with dubious material, and
I think I bought from them all in the past (cabs as well as rough).

Greetings, Kurt

I think it may be best to not openly flame even those that appear to be the worst of the bad sellers..

I got a little heat for singling out a seller whom I purchased from and shared his EBay username here. Turns out most people are more than pleased with what they have purchased from him.
Guess I just had bad luck..

Just my two cents worth, but maybe we should ID unsatisfactory sellers via PM ?

[asianfire]

Dear George,

Understood and will not happen again.

Tried to PM, but I am still too green for this site. Still have to figure some things out.
Send Mark email before posting above message.

As said, will behave better in future!

[Taogem]

As said, will behave better in future!

You did nothing wrong at all..

It really has not come up much before. Just thought it a good idea.

No need to behave better.. No worries, all is well.. !

[asianfire]

Has not come up before,
because everyone focuses on the positive and vents steam only when things really go wrong for a moment!

So lets go back to that, and enjoy the lovely things that the members os this fabulous site have to offer. 

[Mark]

Kurt emailed me, it was not done via this forum.  I replied back to Kurt via email.  It was not posted here publicly. 

For future reference.  Personal emails and PM/IM messages should not be repeated for all to read.  When i email someone or IM them, its meant to be private and not reproduced for the world to read.

Mark

[DrJoe]

  The head so reminds me of Davros from the BBC Doctor Who series. http://www.dashdotslash.net/photogallery/data/media/43/Davros_refSheetsm.jpg 

Dr Joe

.

[asianfire]

Yikes, a time traveler! 

No wonder I could not find any reference to this "Lohan".   

So come 16 years of research to an end!!!! 

[DrJoe]

Your 

[DadOhs]

Has anyone here set up a list of reputable dealers here on this site????

Just a list made up by people her with say... at least 150 comments with names or websites of people they have had good dealings with.
I have seen it done at other forums after having issues with ... shall we say less than honest dealers.


just my 2 centavos!!

[3rdRockFromTheFun]

That's a good idea super Mario - I wish someone would - I don't buy a lot from eBay but I do buy nearly everything online. I'd gladly add my 2 drachma senator