ARTIFACTS, ANTIQUITIES, ANCIENT ANTIQUES

There are many fakes in the market place, where even genuine items are sometimes banned due to new laws

Ancient Artifacts, especially Ushabti's supposedly from Egypt, Oil Lamps supposedly from Greek & Roman Times (more often they are Chinese), Roman Coins, Shards of Writing and all sorts of Antiquities, can easily be faked and taken for the real thing by the untrained observer.

The best thing to do is print out the Auction Page with all Photo's regarding the item you want to buy, and contact an Antiquities dealer (not Antique dealer) near you, and ask their opinion. There are tons of books with photo's and descriptions of the real thing - even pages on the internet.

You can also join the Antiquities Forum called Ancientartifacts at Yahoo, who give tons of advice and also list Sellers of Fakes (I would include a direct link here, but eBay does not allow outside links).

Report all Fake Sellers to eBay and the above Group.

PACKAGING

Make sure they pack the item very well, with polystyrene on all sides of the box, where they must separate all the parts (if any), so that they cannot bump into each other and cause them to be smashed during shipping. All items should be wrapped in plastic as well to protect them from water damage. Make sure the Seller also includes a note to Customs on top of the inside packaging saying "If you inspect, please handle with care and out back into original wrapping the way you found it" - otherwise they could just dump it back into the box outside of its cushioned wrapping.

Hope my own experience above helps you. Happy eBaying ! Mark Rose-Christie