Hi - I have done a lot of purchasing of porcelain, and sell some on okay too. All too often my purchases have not gone as well as I would like. Mostly due to poor descriptions, and poor wrapping of items for shipping.
First ask specifically about any chipping, crazing, or scratching. I have received a lot plates over the years with tons of utensil marks that you cannot see from pictures. A small amount are normal for antiques dinnerware, but if you could see it from accross a room it is not in acceptable condition. Most sellers will not include anything less than a crack or chip in their description, it is up to the buyer to ask.
Next ask for pictures of marks, or at least a good written description of them. Many sellers are novices and are not able to identify the actual merchandise they are carrying. Ask whether the piece is marked with indentation, signature, or a backstamp. Another good thing to ask is how the country of origin is labelled. Anything stated as older than 1920 should not have a "Made in ---". Prior to 1920 either just had the country name such as Germany, Japan or no marking.
The last thing I would make sure to request is how the seller is going to wrap the item for shipping. Just recently I got a great deal on a Noritake coffee pot. I was really excited to be receiving the piece, until one day I got home and the box was in my mailbox. The coffee pot was advertised as being 10" tall, so I thought it would need to gee in a fairly large box. The seller thought a shoebox with masking tape would do, as well as only wrapping the pot in tissue paper. I didn't even need to open the box to know it was going to be broken. Ask your seller to double box, and use either popcorn or newspaper to cushion between boxes. If you are buying a large set, make sure they ship it multiple boxes and do not try to fit too many things in a small box.
Hopefully this helps, any questions feel free to write. Greg G
No comments:
Post a Comment