[Armand]

deleted

[jshepherd]

Wholesale, and if you are discussing a round pearl, you could pay from around $30 up to $500 (per pearl in a small lot purchase). But it really depends heavily on the quality of the pearl, and AA and AAA mean absolutely nothing on eBay.

[Valeria101]

With no independent grading, pictures revealing next to nil in most cases and that mind boggling range of mostly crud quality... wouldn't trust my uncle if he was selling pearls on Ebay! I did get some... oddities but do not have any secret recipe for getting your money worth on FleaBay, nor I believe there is such recipe. If you know the seller from elsewhere, yeah... alright. But that is beyond the point here.

As for Ebay's ratings, it really is mind bending how can anyone put much value in it: every seller seems to have next to flawless ratings, yet Ebay sales have the darkest reputation of any Flea market and even legislators had to agree that no one can enforce any standards there. Those ratings are engineered, faked and bought every day... don't even bother. Well, at least that's my 2c and what I do.

Basically, have yet to find any tempting offer of round South Sea bead nucleated pearls on Ebay (maybe I didn't look much...). A few for baroque's seem half tempting and for relatively low prices might not be much of a gamble (say, &100-$150 or so). Why I tend to look for baroque ones... because I prefer them anyway, but also because these appear less in usual jewelry stores which makes them both harder to find and more likely to appear in alternative sales online, Ebay included.

High quality round South Sea are hard to find anywhere... so I would not expect any in a discount venue like FleaBay, nor there seem to be many. This being said, it is still a gamble. And no, I don't believe high prices on Ebay guarantee anything about the pearls either - just prove that the seller is bold!

My 2c


For what it is worth, Ebay looks like a shortcut but buying there looks like professional buying: what, say, a jeweler would face taking a trip to China or Banghock to buy pearls and precious stones directly (which relatively few do anyway). And the better merchandise never makes it online anyway, it goes into the established trade pipeline. Some serious seller have Ebay shops too for advertising, some work... some not. But it is definitely NOT a revolutionary market where everyone has nearly perfect reputation LOL, like those ratings would read taken at face value. Those ratings are as good as buyers are good telling good from bad - and that still comes down to the professional buyers that don't go Ebay anyway.

Sorry for the long post... There is a whole forum here about Ebay misses and near misses. Take a look, if you wish.

[jshepherd]

Originally Posted by Valeria101

And the better merchandise never makes it online anyway, it goes into the established trade pipeline.

I do not know if 'online' is the right word to use. Large online dealers have access to the bulk of the quality simply because they have a volume market for it, and we pay cash. It is impossible for the 'traditional' sellers of pearls to compete on a price for quality basis. I know I will probably get a few B&M'ers sending me nasty emails about that statement, but we all know it is true.

Finding quality pearls on eBay, however, is nearly impossible.

The problem with eBay is simply that it is nearly impossible for quality to be sold. You have thousands of sellers selling junk for pennies, claiming to have amazing quality etc. It would not be possible to sell freshadama even at cost on eBay. How can buyers distinguish from the honest sellers from the con artists when they are all screaming the same thing, and even sellers as blatantly dishonest as Pearl_Society and Es_Store have high feedback ratings?

[Valeria101]

Originally Posted by jshepherd

I do not know if 'online' is the right word to use.

No, it wasn't... I didn't intend to make such generalization and wouldn't know how to make it if I wanted - there are lots of things 'online'.

I am quite surprised at Ebay & pearls: there are a few serious gems listed (for fun?), but respectable pearls are even more scarce than that. Besides, it is easier to skip the 10cts 'gem quality Burmese rubies' for $10/ct than decide what's up with a $400 12mm SS pearl shown in a picture that could as well be that of a marble, shell pearl or simply a good drawing.

[Valeria101]

Originally Posted by Armand

If e-bay are rip-offs then I guess every pearls that are sold online are rip-offs as well. The goods are passing the same channels.

Well, no... Leaving good old common sense take a break, even rough 'facts' make a huge difference: Ebay rules don't rule out fraud, let alone rip offs; sellers only have to be as frank as their buyers are smart (or informed about pearls as it were). On a forum like this, there are no big numbers to hide behind and then... there is Zeide!


OK Ebay for the weird, crazy, twisted pearls that could be an 'acquired taste' rather than grace billboard advertising. 'Couldn't get them anywhere else.

At least, these are my rules of engagement with FleaBay - can well afford to miss out on the positive exception, can't imagine how much one would have to spend on failed 'experiments' to get that one true bargain from the chaff