Are these real freshwater pearls of low quality? Are they tissue-nucleated or bead-nucleated? I understand they are not high grade. I’m just considering buying them for fun.
My experience on Etsy...There was a seller with "representational" photos and good feedback......the pearls were horrible to me! It could be because I hate surprises and want to see what I am getting...but I did not like them at all. I gave them away...they were so bad! There also was a seller who # each pearl lot & took good photos..I wanted really great tahitians (could only afford ok) so I picked the one that I really liked. I even went back a bought more. I still love them! I think if the seller thinks they have good enough pearls to photograph...they will do that...if it is only representational...they might not be good. Winter is the harvest time for some pearls...so check Etsy...see what you are getting. For those rice pearls...get on eBay and buy used, broken necklace or a lot ...you could even get some with lovely clasps..restring the way you want to go with the pearls you saw in photos that you loved!
As long as you're prepared for them to look nothing like the images, I see no reason not to go for it. I've only ordered from Aliexpress once(and not pearls), and it was a complete disappointment -- but you never know.