[pattye]

What's the story with this woman? Not much info about her here on pearl-guide--anyone bought from her? I looked at her website, www.pearlgoddess.com but evidently one has to call in person with particular requests? I see Blaire is a Mega Fan!!!!

Thanks
Pattye
so many pearls, so little time

[jshepherd]

Betty-Sue King was on the GIA Alumni trip and is definitely "good people". I have stopped by her booth in Tucson as well. She has a great operation and is a really great person.

[GemGeek]

Betty Sue has all kinds of wonderful pearls and exotics, and she is, after all, The Pearl Goddess. She has a wonderful booth in Tucson and she does several big gem shows around the country. Why not send her an email and tell her what you are interested in, and what your budget is, and see what she says.

Betty Sue holds the office of Secretary in the American Gem Trade Association and has the highest integrity. And she's a terrific travel partner.

I'd include a picture, but I've exceeded my quota. I was keen to write another picture article, but I guess I'm out of room.

Cheers,
Blaire

[jshepherd]

What do you mean "exceeded your quota"? I did not know that was possible.

Keep the picture articles coming!

[pattye]

Thanks sooooo much, Jeremy and Blaire, that is a great endorsement! Another honest pearl seller to add to the short list. I will look forward to seeing her booth in Tucson, too.
Yes, Blaire, we love your articles, and photos, please bring us more!

Pattye
so many pearls, so little time

[Raisondetre]

Sorry to hijack, but I think there was the idea to have consumer reviews of actual experiences with the vendors. Are we starting that at all? E.g. dedicated forum with individual threads for vendors for people to post about.

[pattye]

Admin,

Please move this inquiry if it is under the wrong subject--it seemed, in looking back at previous requests here, that it might be the correct place, but perhaps not????

Pattye
so many pearls, so little time

[Caitlin]

I think this is the right forum unless we do start a dedicated one- but we don't need it just yet, esp. if the business name is in the title of the thread.

I just went to her web page and she has an excellent resume in the About Betty Sue section.

Referring to another thread we are doing today- Betty Sue King's is the kind of quality autobiography I like to see before I would buy--- which is a huge contrast to *** *****, for instance. I was totally unable to find any kind of good honest material about her.

[Caitlin]

I am just curious about this page on Betty Sue's site.

She requires her customers to not only give their resale number, but their social security number to be in compliance with the Homeland Security act. . What is that about? We are going to have to give our SS numbers to people to do business with them?

That does not sit well with me.

[Kevin Canning]

to be in compliance with the Homeland Security act

That is not true and even if it was I never comply with such a ridiculous law. Oh I'm biting my tongue trying not to get political on this one.

I am sure she would make the sale even if you didn't provide that information, I couldn't see anyone refusing because of no SS#.

[GemGeek]

Maybe you didn't know about the jeweler's part in the Homeland Security Act. One tactic of money launderers is to make large jewelry purchases to put their funds into something that they can carry that would be less likely to arouse suspicion. Later, they can sell it and get money back out of the "investment". The government requires all businesses involved in the sales of jewelry to take complete information from their purchasers. This applies to large dollar amounts, so little guys like me are okay for now.

If I am not mistaken, AGTA members have to adhere to a higher standard of documentation. She has that statement for wholesale purchasers who would surely be buying in quantity, thus meriting the scrutiny of the government.

I think Betty Sue would be willing to sell retail to individuals looking for something special on an occasional basis. Why not ask and see? Or wait until Tucson. Last year I had a hard time getting close to her booth, so I didn't say hi until the GIA Alumni dinner.

In any case, she is a lovely woman, inside and out. And she's the most photogenic woman I have ever photographed. When someone raises my photo limit, I'll post a couple of pictures so you can see what I mean.

Betty Sue is giving a talk on Monday the 11th in Tucson if anyone is still in town.

[boo]

Originally Posted by GemGeek

When someone raises my photo limit, I'll post a couple of pictures so you can see what I mean.

Blaire, did you ever look into something like a Photobucket account? I don't think that would count against your photo limit here, since you are posting a link to an image stored off-site (but I am not nearly the computer geek I would like to be, so I could be *completely* wrong about that). Then you could post to your heart's desire, and we could bask in the glory of your pictures

[Caitlin]

What is this photo limit? I never heard of it before. Is that one of the new things that's going to happen?

I hope there is no limit. Blaire's pix and prose are nice and no one has ever abused the photo thing by posting too many.

Is it a daily, weekly monthly or yearly or forever limit? I would like to understand what it is.

[knotty panda]

Originally Posted by Caitlin Williams

I am just curious about ... [s]he requires her customers to not only give their resale number, but their social security number to be in compliance with the Homeland Security act. . What is that about? We are going to have to give our SS numbers to people to do business with them?

That does not sit well with me.

It's a brave, new, world out there, Caitlin. Compliance requires either the EIN (Employer's Identification Number) OR a SSN (which is tied to the EIN because you have to provide it when you apply for the EIN). The EIN is used by the feds to track payroll, income, etc., records of a company. If it's just you, the SSN will do just fine.

This really isn't a new law at all. The government has always had reporting limits on single cash transactions just as banks have to report single deposits over a certain limit.

It's nice to see someone who not only knows what needs to be done but stands firm in keeping those standards.

[GemGeek]

Originally Posted by Caitlin Williams

What is this photo limit? I never heard of it before. Is that one of the new things that's going to happen?

I hope there is no limit. Blaire's pix and prose are nice and no one has ever abused the photo thing by posting too many.

Is it a daily, weekly monthly or yearly or forever limit? I would like to understand what it is.

When I go to Manage Attachments, it has a big red bar at the top and says: Sum of all attachments owned by GemGeek: 14.72 MB

This bulletin board software has a pre-set limit which the admin should be able to adjust upward. It would cheer me up if I could write another little pictorial article. I'm glad you like the articles.

Of course this means I am the first "abuser". I love seeing photographs here. Being able to share our pearls makes me feel like I'm right there with my friends when they make a new find or get that package in the mail. It's fun.