eBay's miki-of-the-day

[Caitlin]

This one has knots between the pearls.... 10 bids have it up to $457. This auction over May-22-06 15:44:04 PDT
http://cgi.ebay.com/MIKIMOTO-CULTURED-PEARL-NECKLACE-18-54-PEARLS_W0QQitemZ8937188176QQcategoryZ43084QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[Zeide Erskine]

Hi Caitlin,

Now these look expired.

RIP mikis,

Zeide

 

[shinju]

Could you please: tell those of us who can't tell and don't know what the RIP tell tale signs are (and please: keep up the good work-both of you!)

 

[Caitlin]

With 7 hours left in this auction, the bidding is picking up -15 bids have it up to $561.25. The poor dears, they don't even know what they could get for $550 instead!

Rather high price for a clasp and a box. Now this IS a lesson in Mystique. These folks are buying the brand and the hype, even if they get pearls that have lost their luster.

 

[Zeide Erskine]

Hi Shinju,

RIP stands for Rest In Peace. These pearls cannot be revived, they are lackluster beyond hope.

Zeide

 

[Caitlin]

Winning bid:US $1,325.00
With a bid history of 42 bids, This clasp and box were highly contested and went for a truly Mystique-laden price.

The winner? An eBayer named..................you gotta go to the page to see!

Now honestly. One would wear these lackluster pearls proudly because of the box and the clasp!

 

[shinju]

Hi guys,

I think I'm getting there, slowly:
R.I.P. pearls are likely to be a RIP (off).
R.I.P. pearls are lackluster beyond hope, expired, can't be revived, 6 feet under and pushing up daisies. May they rest in peace rather than suffer the ignoble fate of an e-bay rebirth etc.

What I don't yet get is HOW to SPOT a R.I.P. on an e-bay photo and I am in awe of those who can.
What are the tell tale signs???

I actually think not being able to "read" photos is a serious handicap to online and e-bay buyers.
We may end up with a R.I.P.or an ordinary rip off or miss a genuine bargain.


Most of us ordinary folk are able to interprete seller's texts and do some sort of check up on their credentials but I suspect most of us are pretty illeterate when it comes to visual representation of the wares on offer.

Do you out there in Pearl-guide land have any suggestions on how to wise up``````//

 

[Zeide Erskine]

Hi Shinju,

If you have a digital camera and own or know somebody who does own pearls, take plenty of pictures in different lighting and look at them. Compare to the originals. Of course, that won't help you with sellers that steal pictures from others, but it is a first step. For the second part, check ebay daily for an hour or so and you get a pretty good idea which pictures come up over and over again. Chances are that the original has never been for sale and if it is spectacular I probably own it. Prices are also a dead giveaway. If somebody charges US$1.00-25.00 for a spectacular strand of pearls with a solid 14k clasp, you may as well go on. Even a US$100.00 opening bid without reserve is somewhat unlikely because gold is a commodity and nobody sells below scrap value and even the pearl factories themselves have to pay at least something for the pearls.

Zeide

 

[youngster]

.....Chances are that the original has never been for sale and if it is spectacular I probably own it.

Zeide,
I love your posts!!

youngster

 

[Satine De La Courcel]

Zeide,

My dearest professor, I am already in awe of yoru knowedge and teaching, I also now hop eto someday meet you and hop eto be privelage to a viewing of your collection...



I am really glad you are on this list! you are awesome! I still have so much to learn.

Ash

 

[Satine De La Courcel]

shinju,

Like me all we can hope to do is Watch, Listen to what they have to say, Take TONS of notes, and eventually do start to stick and come naturally when suddenly you are chatting with a friend and something, Zeide, Caitlyn, Jeremy, Terry or one of the other "Pearl Masters" Suddenly pops out of your mouth in coversation. When that happens it's really a cool experience! then you know you are on the right track, my young "padawan friend".

The Star Wars movie reference of "Padawan" Learners and "Jedi" Masters seems at times appropriate to all of you "Pearl Jedi Masters" here...

Ash

 

[shinju]

Hi Zeide,Caitlin, Satine and all,

I personally couldn't cope with an hour's exposure to ebay pearls on a daily basis but fortunately it only takes a couple of visits to spot the standard photos recycled by the regular pearl sellers there.
I find the photos used by people who are offering their own or their nan's necklace for sale much more problematic.

But come to think of it, the bona fide online sellers presumably also use standard photos to illustrate their offerings. To my untrained eye they too look too good to be true. They all have what I think of as the slightly embarrassing Colgate ring of confidence look about them and were of no help at all in my recent agony over akoya or freshwater/hanadama or "freshadama"

This is what I mean by being illiterate when it comes to visual information for online buyers and we all know that illiteracy is a serious handicap.

However, I mean to overcome! With your help!
I've got the digital and the MM etc and I'll pester my friends for permission to photograph their pearly goods and perhaps Zeide will lend me a few choice items from her collection (for educational purposes only!)?

 

[Zeide Erskine]

Hi Shinju,

I may agree to a photo-op if you come by at a time when I am not overwhelmed with money-earning work. Otherwise, I don't think so.

Zeide

 

[Caitlin]

Hi Shinju
Your plan sounds good. Now you know why my first question to people who talk about their pearls, is always to say, “Show us a picture”.

Also, I have a private pearl gallery on my computer, of pix I have collected- I assume they are all copyrighted, so I would never repost them anywhere, or even email them to another, but they are great when I want to find an example of something, or to compare, or to rotate on my screen saver! Sometimes a necklace I thought was beautiful before I got educated suddenly rearranges itself into one I would no longer covet.

When I first began shopping to replace some family pearls, I often looked at strands with bling like ones with platinum and diamond clasps. Now I have come around to regarding those as detrimental to the pearls themselves, if not carefully stored in a box, because the diamonds and platinum can and will scratch the pearls if they all roll around in a silken bag together. (thx zespa)

Also the Strack book is really, really worth the $136 price (including shipping) Starting on page 375 there are fairly comprehensive statements and pictures of luster on akoyas- or “lustre” as she calls it-. Between the verbal and the picture, one can really begin to learn what someone means by “very good” or “poor”. Search "Strack" on this site for the correct links.

Regarding the miki above, the buyer probably got a Collectible worth the price, which is for the clasp, the box and the paperwork with a number- the beauty or lack thereof in the pearls themselves is a distant second for such buyers. If I were into mikis and akoyas-which I am not- I'd send the pearls to someone with a top online reputation and best prices anywhere- and get an excellent quality akoya attached to the clasp, especially if I wanted to wear it. Total price around $3k- including the eBay price- would get you a beauty at still less than half price of a new best quality miki....

You take any good pix, you post 'em, ok?

 

[PearlsAndJade.com]

Hi guys,

Do you out there in Pearl-guide land have any suggestions on how to wise up``````//

Shinju,

Here are some tips for you:

1, Study the educational material and posts on this forum.

2. If you buy peals, buy them from reputable online dealers. There are many on this forum and you will learn to recognize them.

3. Don't buy pearls on eBay. You will most likely not get what you pay for.

Bill

 

[shinju]

Hi Bill (and all),

I'm still photo iliterate when it comes to pearls so I leave ebay well alone.

It seems to me that on ebay one risks not getting aything at all in return for ones money or NOT getting what one paid for or - almost as sad - actually Getting What One Paid For (which was my mother's take on all "once in a lifetime bargain basement" offers and could apply to most pearls offered on ebay).
The "bargain" offers are easy to spot but the "quality" ones are so problematic for the likes of me that I'm not even tempted.

I feel that quality on-line sellers are not just a safe alternative to ebay!

So far I've bought three necklaces from on-line sellers who regularly contribute to pearl-guide.com. The service was excellent and I'm happy with my buys except for the clasps. Two of which simply aren't safe although the third one (of the same design) is still holding out.
My point is that I feel an on-line seller who cares enough to make regular contributions to a forum of this quality can be relied on to sort out minor problems like a faulty clasp.
It may cost me (double postage presumably, a more expensive clasp, restringing (?) etc,) but does anyone know of an ebay seller who might be expected to give that kind of after sales service to his buyers?

 

[Zeide Erskine]

Hi Shinju,

If sellers were to offer such service, they probably would not need to sell on eBay. Even department stores do not offer such service. Did you actually have to pay for restringing when you asked to have another clasp? Did the clasps actually break (strike this design from your inventories dear pearl sellers) or did they just come open at inopportune times?


Zeide

 

[shinju]

Hi Zeide,

Thanks for caring (!!!) but I was really just trying to say
that I had got the general idea that ebay was not the safest place for pearls for those of us who don't know a R.I.P when we see one and that I thought we ordinary punters were likely to be a lot better off with reputable on-line sellers

As to the clasp thing:

I would not expect a department store to provide the kind of service I was talking about but I would expect a specialist jeweler to offer it free of charge or at cost price if he sold it to me in the first place and I expect no less of a reputable on-line specialist seller.

The clasps are of the ball type (which I find very fiddly) and the rather flimsy looking hook at the other end that is supposed to click into the ball just won't stay clicked so the design effect is totally lost and I worry about the hook breaking off at any moment.
I haven't yet contacted the seller about this problem so I don't know what his response will be but I remain optimistic.

 

[Zeide Erskine]

Hi Shinju,

I agree that there are good clasp designs and ill conceived ones. The ball design works fine enough for me but I prefer big balls on big pearls where they work best. Smaller versions tend to be too flimsy. For pearls under 11mm I prefer a cast (not stamped) fish hook design or toggles. In appraisers' world the lack of diamond pav? and "frill appeal" devalues the overall impression but then, I actually wear my pearls on a daily basis and I do not have a lady in waiting to close any mystery clasps or the like for me. I also have hair that's over 3 feet long and easily gets caught in frilly clasps. As such I like to keep my clasps simple. After all, I am a pearl collector not a clasp or box collector.

Zeide

 

[Caitlin]

For pearls under 11mm I prefer a cast (not stamped) fish hook design or toggles.

Hi Zeide
How can you tell a clasp is cast, not stamped, and what is the difference? Any favorite place to get them?

Thanks to you, I have returned to using the classic fish hook clasps, as boring as they may be, for long strands because toggles come loose on long strands.

I have an interlocking magnet clasp I really like too. In the picture, it is not shut. when it is shut, it can't be pulled apart, it can only be opened by breaking it apart. So far, it has never come undone, and it is on the pearls I wear the most- 12-mm, B grade, dyed silvery blue black, CFWP.