Ebay Sellers Worth Your Buck

[Mandy]

Hello everyone :)
In a previous thread I offered up the idea that maybe we as members at the Pearl-Guide forums ought to hanker down and name what Ebay sellers we have found worthy of trust and possessed honesty. If anyone has any names to offer up or remember finding success in purchasing pearls on Ebay please post them here and eventually a list will come out of it for new and old Ebayers to see. Links to Ebay sellers can be provided as well (to the feedback page or their store) for easy access and to see what current goods are currently up for auction.

If you don't remember a worthwhile seller's name was then that's okay ;) Perhaps they may be mentioned by someone else or you'll find them again while surfing Ebay. Just make sure to let us know so that we can prevent newer buyers the potential of being led astray.

Stick this too please, if it becomes a popular thread <3

[Kathleen Conway]

Hi Mandy,
I have found that on various forums to which I belong, people are not forthcoming about eBay sellers they like because (except for Buy It Now) eBay is a competitive, auction enviromnent. So many people are like the guys on fishing shows who will only say their big bass is from "a little spot up North".

As mentioned in previous post, I use Toolhaus (www.toolhaus.org) to read all negative and neutral feedback, and this has saved my bacon a time or two.

Who you like and trust also depends on what you are looking for. I recently bought a single big, fun keshi for a great price from a seller called floridapearlgirl.

[Mandy]

Hi Mandy,
I have found that on various forums to which I belong, people are not forthcoming about eBay sellers they like because (except for Buy It Now) eBay is a competitive, auction enviromnent. So many people are like the guys on fishing shows who will only say their big bass is from "a little spot up North".

I do understand what you're saying, even though it is rather selfish. I was hoping to open this up for people so they would have at least a little help when surfing Ebay.


As mentioned in previous post, I use Toolhaus (www.toolhaus.org) to read all negative and neutral feedback, and this has saved my bacon a time or two.

That's a pretty nifty link there, Kathleen. I'll be sure to bookmark it myself ;)

In any case, what Ebay sellers I find I'll be sure to post them here for everyone. Anyone else is welcome to participate as well.

[pattye]

Hi Mandy and Kathleen and all,

I do buy on ebay--but mostly "buy it now" usually because I may want more than one, if it is a strand of pearls, especially. Sometimes I will do an auction if it is something unusual and I am buying other items from that seller. We know from the other posts on this forum that feedback is only one factor to consider. The quality of the photos when buying pearls is a huge factor, and if the photo is actually the strand or pearl that actually is being sold!!! We all probably would love a great ebay bargain. Because there is potentially a lot of profit in pearls, especially for that guy in China, it leaves a lot of room for fraud with little protection for the buyer.
I guess my point is like Kathleens, that there is a lot of subjectivity in evaluating ebay sellers, and the quality and value of each offering is up to us to decide, especially when it comes to pearls. There have been several sites mentioned previously, Pearl Emporium, which has a range of lower cost pearls, but not rounds. I personally think DruzyDesign has great photos and the site is an education in itself, because of the variety of gemstones and pearls she offers. I don't personally think anyone has found any ebay site so wonderful it's overflowing with fab bargains that they are keeping it top secret!!!:D

Pattye

[Caitlin]

Hi All I too use eBay to buy. In addition to Pearl Emporium I have used Integrity Pearls, Beadaholique, Cool beads, and a few others. I generaly get after postage, about what I wold have paid in a local store, but I have a bigger choice and it will be delivered to my door. I look for bargains, but rarely find them. What I do get is market value pretty much everytime.

I use every tool I can get to search eBay for me. So far I hacve found nothing I'd recommend for search. There are several feedback sorters, the above one is fine. I search for ebay tools fairly often because I find the pearls section of eBay too ungainly, even with all the limits I put on a search.

[Mandy]

There is one ebay seller I frequently look at, known as wildflower_hill, which is a store managed by a woman named Cindy. She sells a variety of beads as well as plenty of freshwater strands which, from my experience, are attractive and pretty for beading. A lot of what she sells are dyed but I do believe she has carried some natural colored strands but usually her freshwater products have a lot of variety for color and size.

DruzyDesigns really has a lot of what appears to be great stuff! Certainly it's a bit on the pricy size but from what I gather on the forums her merchandise isn't cheap in quality.

I also caught one seller before (name is hugepearls) and for the most part they sell undrilled or pendants of south sea pearls. A lot of their products aren't round and show a number of the blemishes on the surface, but I believe the seller is honest in showing numerous photos of the merchandise as well as all the markings found on the pearl surface. Their pearls do look nice though and are posted with reasonable prices.

Ebay had the potential to be great; the premise to purchase things online via auction isn't a new idea anymore but like everything on the internet the possibilties are endless, in a way. Too bad it's bogged down with fakes and deceitful merchants

[Caitlin]

Hey! I was perusing the various pearl bead stores in this thread and guess what I found at Integrity Pearls! 12mm cranberry red potato pearls! I ordered 2 strands but think if I got about 5, I could really cherry pick for my faux faux Lop Noors. (Yes I intended to write faux twice- it is a joke waiting for those who read the threads throroughly);)

And just think! It didn't take me near as long as others to find them! And fairly decently priced at just under $11, $22 for 2 strands and $4 postage!

......click here (http://www.marketworks.com/storefrontprofiles/DeluxeSFItemDetail.aspx?sid=1&sfid=88340&c=115652&i=231549123) to see for yourself :cool:

[pattye]

Hi Mandy, Caitlin and All,
I can wholeheartedly recommend Wildflower Hill. I would have mentioned her before, but I thought you were focusing on pearls only. Her pearls are usually, but not always, part of a combined set. I have dealt with her for I think about 3 years, and found good quality, reasonable cost items.
I do recommend any time you purchase dyed pearls, to carefully check and see if they need washing before using. Sometimes there is an excess of dye, and the pearls even look better when washed. I mostly use a little dish soap and toothbrush. Caitlin, have you had experience with this??
Also Caitlin, I will expect to see a photo soon of the faux faux Lop Noors in a glorious necklace!! Of course you won't have to do a dye test on those!!:D
Pattye

[pattye]

Ok Caitlin,
I had to go for some of the red ones too! You have no idea how I longed for (faux)those amazing red Lop Noors. Now what are we gonna do about the padparadscha pearls ?????:(
Pattye

[Valeria101]

Hm... good question. I wonder if not many of the 'pink' freshwater pearls would not fit in the range of color hues assigned to Pad sapphire to begin with: namely a warm pink-towards-orange rather then cold pink-towards-purple.

Some pinks are more orange than others and those seem to qualify even better, in theory... but wouldn't that be a silly! After all, sapphire is not the only gem that comes in that range of color, yet nothing else is called 'Padparadscha'. :rolleyes: That's a rather high pedestal to put anything on...


PS. not sure how common this is, but sometimes pearls are called 'cream-rose' to describe a mellow peach color, not unlike the color of said sapphires. I am definitely not saying that color alone is good reason to use the name, definitely not (otherwise you'd have a bunch of topaz, spinel, tourmaline and even diamonds called 'pad' overnight just because they are light orange-pink in color - and what's the good of that?)

[perlas]

It's very difficult to capture the exact color in the picture but here is a pinkish peach strand with a silver rose overtone. White strands are placed beside the strand to show the color difference. Depending on lighting conditions, the strand looks peach or pink.

[perlas]

The next photo is a peachy pink strand with silver rose overtone. The pearls in the necklace is lighter than the pinkish peach in 1st photo. I also placed a white strand to show the color. The white pearls at the side also has a silver rose overtone. Depending on the lighting conditions, the peachy pinks look cream or pink. It looks quite white in the picture because of the high luster and overtone.

The peachy pinks and the pinkish peaches are hard to match because of the intensity of the overtones and luster. A strong silver rose overtone makes the pearls seem to "glow".

[Mandy]

Those are very pretty pearls you're showing us, perlas! Mind telling us where you got them?

[perlas]

Hi Mandy,

I live in the Philippines so I just got them at Greenhills. There are very few strands like those so you have to hunt them as most strands are a pure peach. Sometimes, a strand or two of these colors will be included in a honk but that is very, very seldom. The size of the pearls in the photos are approx. 9-9.5mm, which makes it more difficult to come by.

The peachy-pinks/pinkish peaches though are often seen in multicolor strands but rarely on a single colored strand because the matching is difficult.

[pattye]

Thanks Perlas,
Those photos are very helpful. I still find it difficult to judge the colors, sometimes the light seems too bright. I can see that comparing the strands side by side can be helpful. Do you have any helpful tips??
Pattye

[perlas]

Hi Pattye,

We have different monitor settings so it's very difficult. The problem with natural colored pearls is that they may tend to do a bit of color shift when it comes to lighting. A single flash in the camera may change the look of the pearls. Like the photo I took, the silver overtone and strong luster makes the pearls look a bit white when in fact they're obviously not at hand!

If you are buying the pearls in person, always bring a sample strand. Also, I check the pearls away from incandescent light to guage the luster.

[Valeria101]

Lovely pearls!

Is this even possible to dully 'translate' Padparadscha shades (http://www.agta-gtc.org/report_padparadscha.htm)among pearl body colors?

No real examples at hand... since no one calls any pearls 'padparadscha' officially there is none around to point to. In the back of my mind, the image of an intensely colored pink-rose pearl would be something like this:

Silly, no? (http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/1734/ppsve3.png)


Wouldn't dare use the 'P' word for pearls though :o Chances are I am wrong, but it seems that while the respective shade is rare and therefore valuable in sapphire, it is anything but rare for freshwater pearls, with the respective consequences on value. So the use of the 'P' word.... better forgotten?

Just a personal opinion, of course.

[Caitlin]

Hi Valeria
That was a great explanation of padparadscha. I had never heard the term used for pearls or sapphire except one source which has since been discredited. It may be very common as a color in CFWP, but it makes me think that one could keep an eye out for the occasional pearl that really magnifies that color condition so the undertones and orvertones shift over and enhance the main color. It will be a personal use of the color term though, and not an industry-wide one. At least, not yet.

Those multicolored strands sound better and better for beadmeisters to collect, don't they? It would take time to collect and match pearls of the same size and shape in any unusual color, so it becomes a wonderful pursuit for pearl lovers. The Pursuit of Color in Pearls. The Pursuit of Padparadscha Color in Pearls..... (Now I am trying to magine how to sort and keep all the different colored pearls in a collection and what to do with the extras. Sounds like a whole sub-industry possibility....

I like your links, they are educational. Thanks

[pattye]

Thanks everyone,
for your photos and comments, now back to ebay sellers--

Back to the original line on this thread, another person with variety of pearls is Rainbowislandpearls. I have purchased from her, she has an interesting selection, and often offers smaller lots, ie, less than full strand.
You will, of course, have to judge the values for yourself.
Have 1 strand of fw coming from hugepearls, my first purchase from him, he usually doesnt have fw, but photos in general are good. Thought i'd take a chance.
Pattye

[Texan]

Today I received 2 orders of pearls, from 2 different people on ebay. Like most everything there, it's a gamble. One order was from a vendor in Asia, and I was worried - and they were absolutely stunning and probably worth twice what I paid. The other was a seller in the States, and they were worth nothing at all.

Here's what I think: Most of the ebay sellers are making a profit (of course). Some can do this because they live in another area of the world where costs are cheaper. Unfortunately, the people in those areas are sometimes poor, and fraud runs rampant. Others live in areas where costs are more. The make a profit by simply knowing where to buy, and then passing stuff on to you for additional money, ridiculous shipping costs, no refunds - a different kind of fraud, in my opinion.

For an example, let's look at hugepearls (http://myworld.ebay.com/hugepearls). I have no idea what they are doing exactly... and no stake in their company of course. But he is selling 2 "south sea" pearls that are black. He shows a lot of closeup photos and measurements - they are about 9mm x 18mm each, and the bid is $57 - and they have 5 hours to go. If you don't like them, you pay for shipping both ways, must return them within 3 days, and pay a 15% restocking fee... and you wind up with nothing.

Now, over at www.icgems.com, there are 2 "tahitian" pearls - also black, about 10mm x 13mm each. You can buy (not bid) the two of them for $27. The refund policy is that you return them within 15 days, and you get a full refund. Which sounds better?

Again, I have no idea what hugepearls is doing, but... what if he bought pearls from ICGems? Then he's making 100% profit, and his return policy really prevents many returns.

Food for thought...

[pattye]

Hello Texan,

You make some really good points. I think, however, that the pearls in your example are not the same size, hugepearls offering being larger and apparently with fewer flaws. Also the hugepearls are closely, although not perfectly, matched so that they would make good earring charms. This adds to the value as a matched pair. The icgems pearls are sold together, but are obviously not a pair, have obvious large flaws, and you can't see what is on the other side at all. The icgems pearls in your example I would not be interested in at even a lower price. I didn't look at their other items, so am just referring to the item for $27.

Pattye

[Texan]

I should mention that the ebay seller who sold me the absolutely beautiful strand of pearls is Monsoon-Collections ( http://stores.ebay.com/MONSOON-Collection ). I bought several different strands, and every single strand was better than I could have hoped. I recommend them to the group, even though this means I may win fewer auctions later. Has anyone else on this board bought from them?

[jshepherd]

They do seem to have pretty nice stuff, and it is fairly priced.

Their grading scale standards are perfect as well. But I think that is because they lifted it from our Site:p

[Texan]

I chose to try them in part because their grading scale looked similar to what we have listed on this forum! :) My pearls absolutely shine - I can see my reflection in each pearl. Beautiful! (er, the pearls... not my reflection).

[pattye]

Hi there,
I ordered some k-gold beads from them, they were a fair price in my mind, and what I needed, very small ones. Also a few strands of lavender flat keshi pearls. They were buy it now items.
I check them out every now and then. I personally think their ss keshi are very over priced. But my biggest gripe is that they list bead nucleated ss with a little keshi-type growth tail as a ss keshi pearl. I have emailed them about the dishonesty in that. Doesn't seem to have changed anything, though.
I'm glad you are happy with your pearls, Texan, did you get akoya and what size??? I really don't think you will start a mad rush to their site!!!
I think their finished jewelry can be extremely expensive-IMO:)

Pattye

ps the spice pearls are rather intriguing, but I haven't seen the large size I like.

[Texan]

The pearls I bought were freshwater. One strand is not offered anymore - in color it was graduated from white to the spice colors, to a mauve. It was stunning enough that I turned right around the same day and bought their last strand of that one. I also bought some white freshwater buttons (for earrings), a strand of tiny seed pearls (for the ongoing beading projects), and some stick pearls. So, quite a variety but all freshwater. I also bought some other beads, but these were gemstone beads. I was pleased. It stood in stark contrast with the purchase I made from the other ebay seller (both arrived on the same day), which was not at all as advertised. You are right, monsoon-collection costs a bit more, but the quality was there, in my opinion. I guess everyone has to balance what they want, and what they want to pay... but there should be no surprises. What I hate is when a seller pretends to sell "AAAAA++" and it turns out to be the pearls you can by ready-strung in on Miami Beach, 3 strands for $10. <sigh>

I just saw that you mentioned the spice color - that drew my attention the most, too! They are just stunning in person.

[Bodecia]

Hi Perlas,

Love the double strand of pearls Perlas. Really stunning. Would love to get some of those :)

Bo

[Caitlin]

I have bought from Monsoon too. I was worried because they are in Malaysia or somehwere like that, but I got my order and I got it in a decent time frame.

I ordered a baroque pearl shaped like a little Dumbo for a "very wealthy":p friend of mine to repay her for all the fancy pearls she had sent me. She had said she loved the pearl and it would fit it her collection. Neither of us was disappointed. I actually think the Monsoon paragon pearl was more than equal as trade. What a fantastic luster. It cost almost enough to hurt though. What a fantastic luster... It is worth saying that twice.

I looked at their site regularly for a couple of weeks, but have not bought again because their prices are not low. With all the endorsement from here, and my own good experience with them, I may look again, because quality was what I remember. The pain of the money spent is gone.

It does not look like we will buy out from under each other- we all seem to have different tastes!

[perlas]

=Off Topic=

Attention: lucyryalls

Fancy the white strand at post #12? It's yours!

Happy Birthday!

[lucyryalls]

THANK YOU SAM!!!!

:D :D :D

Im having a great birthday! 24 Today!!!


Sorry for going off topic! :o

[jerin]

Quote: Im having a great birthday! 24 Today!!! Quote

Have a really nice birthday, Lucy and enjoy Perlas gift.

[Bodecia]

Hi All,

I will second rainbowislandpearls . . Can totally trust her and her pearls. I have bought from her a number of times and always been happy with pearls and service. So I totally recommend her. :)

Have also bought from Monsoon and have been happy but mostly bought gold from them as many of their prices are on the high side but they are good and I think trustworthy.

druzydesign has beautiful things and I have also bought from her and been totally happy. She does get some really hard to get items in and has a huge number of followers.

There are, in my opinion, a lot of small sellers that do their best to describe items they have but many don't know much about pearls and just try their best on descriptions. So it can be hit or miss and no sense blaming them if it turns out wrong.

It has been my experience that 95% of Chinese sellers are crooks. Sorry any honest Chinese sellers out there. Just my experience. I recently had one Chinese seller recommended to me and I am waiting on one necklace to arrive so I can't recommend them yet. Would need to buy more than once to be certain they send what they advertise. :(

Bodecia

[Casey.R]

I haven't bought pearls from her but I did buy a pair of nice earrings from druzydesign and recently I bought something Robert Elliot, I think his store is called 22k 18k. not pearls but great goldsmithing at a fab price. He did a custom ring for me with a hessonite.

Just thought I'd share.

[pattye]

Other ebay sellers I like in general:

for pearls-wats2luv

for gems

Briarwood Artgems-has a few pearls, but mostly nice quality strands of gemstones

Superstarlooks-has a few pearls, mostly gemstones

A*Cut*Above

Rock Candy Gems and Jewelry

Crystal Cottage

These are ones I have purchased from repeatedly and been pleased, and have had very few occasions to return anything, and if so it was handled promptly and courteously. Each buyer has to judge for themselves whether it seems a good value for the items, of course.

Others I use on a regular basis have already been mentioned,

Pattye