Trusted ebay seller?

[efraimsdotter]

Hi
I'm completely new at this, and I'm looking for a pair of nice pearl studs.
Does anyone know if the ebay seller "Auctionpearls" is reliable? Does it look like the real thing? Does the pricing seem ok?
Very grateful for any assistance you can offer.

 

[pearlescence]

Whereever you are in the world, and even allowing for the fact that I am obviously biased, buying from an ebay seller carries risks not present when dealing with a reputable online shop. Your best option to get some pearl studs is to buy from an online seller in your own country, so that you have legal, financial and practical protection.
Of course you might be auctionpearls advertising yourself....

 

[KarinK]

Hi and welcome,

I absolutely agree with Wendy. I would buy pearls from a trusted on-line vendor anytime (all posters with links on this forum are to be trusted). If anything on eBay looks too good to be true, or even good, it will almost always be the case.

I have bought much from eBay through the years but almost only used things, never for very much, and always with the knowledge that I could be wasting my money. I use eBay to buy salvar kameez made directly in India, cheap freshwater pearls for craft projects directly from China, vintage clothes, shearling slippers directly from Uzbekistan, skunk fur directly from the hunter, etc. I would never buy anything that was supposed to be of value, unless I was an expert in that field and knew the seller.

- Karin

 

[efraimsdotter]

Thank you for your advice, Pearlescence and KarinK! I am not advertising myself, I have no connection whatsoever to auctionpearls. I live in Sweden, and I have not found any online vendors in my country. (Maybe KarinK knows if there is a Scandinavian site?) I totally agree with you when it comes to ebay. I never buy anything valuable there without doing thorough research on the seller and the items. Though with the help of experts on forums like this I have bought other kinds of goods from well-known ebay sellers and had very good experiences. That's why I wanted to know if this seller was known to you.

Kind regards, Efraimsdotter

 

[KarinK]

Hi Again Efraimsdotter,

Yes, living in Europe can be a bit annoying as far as VAT and duty goes. I have the same problem. You can still buy from the on-line vendors but need to add the extra cost. Wendy is based in the UK, so no extra cost there. I would never buy from a Danish seller if I could help it. Their overhead is just too high.

- Karin

 

[pearlescence]

Hi again. What KarinK says is absolutely right, thanks to the EU there is no duty or other tax to be added on any goods moving between different member states of the union.

 

[efraimsdotter]

Thank you again,
I had a quick look at your store, Wendy, looks really nice!
I'm looking for studs with round, white pearls with warm overtones, preferably around 7,5-8 mm. If you can recommend something from your shop, please write me a message
/efraimsdotter

 

[mausketeer]

i'm still waiting to recieve them but i just bought a strand of tahitians from 'auction pearls' - thought i'd take a shot - they were a good price - they had lots of really good quality photos (plus they sent me many extras when i asked for them including specific views that i asked for). and i had great service from laura (i asked if she had any purple thread - she went and bought some special for me and strung them on it). we'll see if they live up to the photos....... should be receiving them soon......

- jodie -

wanted to add i've also purchased a few single tahitian pearls (to wear on leather cords) from 'pearl society'. they also posted many high quality photos (they show all angles of the item and even mark the back with a pen so you know which is the front, back, side, top, etc). i got the actual item that was shown and it was EXACTLY as shown in the photos - no surprises. shipping was really quick. i trust them at this point.....

 

[Caitlin]

Where's the link?

 

[mausketeer]

for my strand you mean caitlin? (auction pearls?) here's their store:
http://stores.ebay.com/auctionpearls?_trksid=p4340.l2563
(only thing is they call everything "AAA" - whatever..... i use my own eyes anyways no matter who i buy from, doesn't mean anything to me either way)

here is 'pearl societys' store:
http://stores.ebay.com/PEARL-SOCIETY-ONLINE

- jodie -

 

[efraimsdotter]

i'm still waiting to recieve them but i just bought a strand of tahitians from 'auction pearls' - thought i'd take a shot - they were a good price - they had lots of really good quality photos (plus they sent me many extras when i asked for them including specific views that i asked for). and i had great service from laura (i asked if she had any purple thread - she went and bought some special for me and strung them on it). we'll see if they live up to the photos....... should be receiving them soon.......

Oh, I'm so excited - please don't forget to post your opinion when you receive your pearls!
/efraimsdotter

 

[mausketeer]

Oh, I'm so excited - please don't forget to post your opinion when you receive your pearls!
/efraimsdotter

see my thread about the "circled peacock tahitians" in "show us your pearls". "Auction Pearls" gets two big thumbs up! i told the woman i dealt with there, laura, about this website and she checked us out. she's going to join as well. she said they are shutting down their ebay account soon because their retail locations are taking up all their time..... so get the deals while you can (they have great prices! and nice pearls..... i need some earrings!)

- jodie -

 

[waimeamomi]

I think you really need to eyeball the strands very carefully. A strand like this http://www.ebay.com/itm/52-10-7-8-0...es_Pendants&hash=item35b63abd7b#ht_5747wt_915 for instance.

This strand contains many D grade pearls (by Tahitian standards,) and some don't even make that grade, which means they should not have been exported at all. https://www.pearl-guide.com/south-sea-pearl-grading.shtml The price is very low for that many pearls, and you might even be able to make one nice necklace from them, but it bothers me the way they are described and graded.

There are also keishi Tahitians that are described as not being cultured, but by definition that does not exist. A keishi pearl is one that begins with an implant, but the pearl result does not contain the implant. Still cultured. Hopefully if this vendor joins the site, they will clean up their descriptions.

Jodie, glad you were happy with your strand, but I would not recommend this site to the novice pearl buyer.

 

[mausketeer]

oh...... yeah, i see what you mean........ i guess since i don't really read descriptions much, that wasn't really a factor for me anyways (the grades - for either this vendor, or ANY of them to be honest. seems a lot of them tend to fudge the grades to me but that doesn't mean that the pearls with the fudged grades aren't still nice, right?). i found that after a while my eye was the only thing i was going by. i mean, i personally wouldn't dream of buying a triple strand of this size for that low a price, of course they're not going to be very good pearls, no matter what, you know? but i hear what you're saying (and i didn't know that about them being exported - or that they shouldn't have been exported - so my bad.....)

caveat emptor as always........

- jodie -

sorry

 

[waimeamomi]

No need to be sorry! I really think it's awesome that you are a discerning pearl buyer and know what you are looking for. It's just me wanting to make very sure that we are very clear in our "reviews" for those that aren't as well versed. For me, luck shouldn't be a part of buying, but that's just me!

I wish there was a standard for grading that was concrete and all people understood. I see more and more (and more and more) Tahitians that I'm positive did not go through legal exportation, I've probably bought some myself without knowing. Since I started buying them ... 4 years ago (?), there seem to be so many more lesser quality pearls out there. The first time I exported from Tahiti I was amazed at how difficult it was, and how they arrived in a bag that looked like it was out of James Bond, with all the metal tags holding it closed and paper work. I never did it again (sorry Josh), but went through dealers such as Sarah at Kojima, that I trust.

I don't put grades on the pearls I sell because it seems to be such a fluid process, unless someone asks me, and then I use the system described here on the Guide. I try to be very clear since I often sell pearls that would be graded B or C by the Tahitian standards. That is also reflected in the price. When you buy pearls in mixed lots, you get mixed quality, whether they come from fine farms such as Kamoka, or where ever. They cost less that way, and it's standard in buying. I wish I could only carry grade A pearls - gem quality! If the market would support it, I would. I just made a pair of earrings for a client and fretted and fretted about pitting in the pearls, even though I was clear that they had some, and the price definitely reflected it. The luster is good, and the pearls look awesome on, but I still fretted.

Sorry if this sounds like a lecture, I am a teacher after all! I love your posts, Jodie and you have found amazing pearls. Don't stop looking!!! The pearl grading info right here on PG is definitely worth a read for all, and I go back to it anytime I'm not sure.

Too much caffeine, post?

 

[jshepherd]

Hi Sheryl,

I completely agree. If you were to go to the Hong Kong show and check out some of the booths, what is being sold would make you cringe. There is one company in particular (that shall remain nameless) that must have had 5000 or more strands at the last show, and I am certain none of the pearls passed export. Some of them had more bead showing than nacre, and many of the pearls that were fully encased had heavy lines and webs though the nacre = incredibly thin.

Importing from Tahiti is definitely difficult. The shipping alone can cost you well over $1000 for even a small lot. But when they are properly imported and you break the seal on the bag yourself and have the official report detailing the grade on every pearl, you can always feel good knowing what you have.

 

[mausketeer]

okay, i won't feel dumb! (for THIS anyways! fortunately i still have lots of other things to feel dumb about - lol) i was just excited that i got such a great deal on my little black beauties (and that they WERE as colourful and lovely in real life as they were in the photos - i was SO relieved when i got them!) that i wanted to share, and got a bit too big for my britches there for a minute i think. i hadn't really considered the uneducated pearl buyer. i know there is a reason for the standards and gradings.

i think i'm one of those people who see something interesting and my natural inclination is "i want to learn MORE about that!" (or in my case, OBSESSIVELY as much as i can!) but not everyone is that way....... my sister is the latter for example. her sister-in-law is going to china soon and my sister told her to pick her up some "black" pearls. i said "oh gosh no! let me get you some NICE ones!" my sister's reply was "do you really think i'd know the difference????" nope! probably not! lol

- jodie -