This is for all you newbies out there seeing such wonderful things for pennies on face value, coming from China. Be dure and look at the shipping and handling costs, important. Because if there is some issue with you being disatisfied you are only entitled to the item cost after the item is returned (at your expense).  Some of my first purchases were of this caliber, actually recieving reproduction antiquities, with very low quality controls. The ads everything thing but stated, this item is exactly XYZ. But I was lured into decietful traps that cost me hundreds of dollars with several vendors. Being enculturated for the past twenty years around museums and curators, still I took the time and effort for 'experts in the field' to evaluate my acquisitions, not one was authenticated as original. With the feedback policies of Ebay and its sellers prudence and withstraint of feedback was my best alternative. Certainly the costs were absorbed by me. I did contact the vendors many times over in regards to my discoveries, results:

1    Seller almost groveling in sorrowful they did not know

2    Offer to refund purchase monies only, after reciept of goods to place of origination

3    Replacement after reciept of 'defective item' buyer paying again for shipping    

4.   Offer discount for additional purchases

5    It is a no win situation with thoses sellers of dubious intent, most stay just inside the rules

So newbies wait for a while before buying from China or check out the seller's reputation very closely, read the auction ads even closer before bidding. I am sure the majotity of business people in China are honest good people or they would not last, we think as Americans. I have only come across 1 with his shipping one third of the rest were charging. One can go to the shipping company in advertized in auction seeing what the real shipping cost factor is. So buyer beware of ALL SELLERS with ratings less than 100 or a satisfaction rating of less than 98%. We all have problems sometimes, but how do we handle them as sellers or buyers. I can not urge you enough to not allowed yourself to be pressured by time restraints or must have attitudes it will get you in trouble, resulting in your bank account being lightened un-neccessarily.

Items involved. paintings, books, tibetian 'sacred items', musical instruments, gems, and collectible weapons.

Note: Many of these same items are resold here in the States using the boiler plate auction ads they were bought with by unhappy customers whom purchased them from China. So look around and compare, real things cost real money. If it is too good to be true, is usually is.

These philosphies of buying should be used on all purchasing from anywhere and I am sure much more information can be found to insure yourself of fair trading. Thank you for your time and attenion,

Happy Buying