Yixing

[pantry]

I don't know if you remember the book I purchased on Taobao (Tmall) about 45 days ago. Unfortunately, the seller does not ship it, so I had to ask for a refund today. Another reminder not to buy something directly from China even if the seller has good reviews... It's a pity that you cannot buy this book in the West.

I never bought from Taobao but have successfully bought a bunch of tea and teaware direct from China without problems. The only time the merchant was slow in responses was when they were up in the mountain picking teas. I’m sorry you didn’t get your book, but don’t let one incident discourage you! Besides, you are still able to get a refund, so that’s a good sign!

[Bok]

More likely it’s because you can’t ship anything to Germany or Europe with normal post, only courier services, which cost a lot more... your book with DHL is probably 80$ only for shipping!

[Mark-S]

@pantry

Maybe Taobao is as bad as it's reputation... I don't know. Hopefully, their customer protection is not that bad.

More likely it’s because you can’t ship anything to Germany or Europe with normal post, only courier services, which cost a lot more... your book with DHL is probably 80$ only for shipping!

I selected local shipping to a Chinese warehouse. The seller obviously sold something he did not have...

[Bok]

@Mark-S I think it is actually getting better than it’s past reputation. If you browse their selections carefully, you’ll realise many Western vendors source their stuff from there...

[Chadrinkincat]

pantry

Maybe Taobao is as bad as it's reputation... I don't know. Hopefully, their customer protection is not that bad.

More likely it’s because you can’t ship anything to Germany or Europe with normal post, only courier services, which cost a lot more... your book with DHL is probably 80$ only for shipping!

I selected local shipping to a Chinese warehouse. The seller obviously sold something he did not have...

There is normally nothing wrong with buying stuff directly from China. Shipping delays and missing items related to Covid-19 is an issue right now though.

You should be able to get full refund unless you used a shady service.

[Mark-S]

@Bok

Maybe I'll try it again some time if they refund my money.

@Chadrinkincat
Oh, I did not know that Covid-19 is still a problem in China. I thought they would have recovered from the crisis by now. Shipping from Italy works fine again. I paid via Alipay (credit card). It was the safest option available.

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Moved... viewtopic.php?f=36&t=1517

[Bok]

@Mark-S China is not the problem. No commercial flights in the air with which normal parcels travel. So only DHL and the likes with their own planes can still deliver. Inner Europe you have other means of transportation.

The rest of your question you should open up in a different thread, we’re going off-topic here...

[Mark-S]

The rest of your question you should open up in a different thread, we’re going off-topic here...

Sorry, I moved the question. Hopefully, to the right category.

[Balthazar]

Maybe Taobao is as bad as it's reputation... I don't know. Hopefully, their customer protection is not that bad.

I don't think Taobao's reputation is all that bad. I use it a lot (but mostly when I'm in China), never had a bad experience. But of course anything involving millions of individual sellers is likely to have more than a few that do not satisfy. But I'm surprised you were able to place an order with a European shipping address, I didn't think this was possible using the the default order form and that you would need to arrange something with the seller through private messages in advance of making the purchase.

More likely it’s because you can’t ship anything to Germany or Europe with normal post, only courier services, which cost a lot more... your book with DHL is probably 80$ only for shipping!

Is this still true? I've received packages from China in the last month where there is no trace of courier services being involved.

[Mark-S]

@Balthazar
I used a Chinese address.

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That's a very beautiful design from Yinchen...

[Jules_Ludwig]

Hello,
I wanted to show two pots I own of which I know less to nothing.

The Shuiping is supposed to be Hongni clay but I don't know the exact production date. I'm sure the experts here can tell me more about it.

With the second one I don't even know what clay it might be. The craftsmanship is rather poor and I basically wanna get sure that I can drink out of it without poisoning myself.

Thank you for your help, guys.

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[Balthazar]

Balthazar
I used a Chinese address.

My bad, I assumed you were trying to have it shipped directly from the seller to Germany

[Bok]

The Shuiping is supposed to be Hongni clay but I don't know the exact production date. I'm sure the experts here can tell me more about it.
With the second one I don't even know what clay it might be. The craftsmanship is rather poor and I basically wanna get sure that I can drink out of it without poisoning myself.

Shuping is no older than late 80s, I'd say. Is the clay as shiny, or is it patina from use? Looks, like it wants to be one of the (sort-of-famous) "please drink China Oolong" teapots, but not in an authentic way.

Brown is probably some sort of Zini. No idea about the vintage, probably modern.

[Jules_Ludwig]

The Shuiping is supposed to be Hongni clay but I don't know the exact production date. I'm sure the experts here can tell me more about it.
With the second one I don't even know what clay it might be. The craftsmanship is rather poor and I basically wanna get sure that I can drink out of it without poisoning myself.

Shuping is no older than late 80s, I'd say. Is the clay as shiny, or is it patina from use? Looks, like it wants to be one of the (sort-of-famous) "please drink China Oolong" teapots, but not in an authentic way.

Brown is probably some sort of Zini. No idea about the vintage, probably modern.

I don't think it's that shiny, probably just looks more intense on the pictures. I've been using it for several years now so there is a developed patina.

[TeaTotaling]

@Bok, and anyone else with experience. Does LQ/ER clay take time to awaken, before it really shines, as opposed to aged clay used for making modern pots. Bok, I know you mentioned in the other thread that 60's Hongni took a little time to come into it's own again. Linear thinking would have me to believe LQ/ER might take even more time before the true performance of the clay is revealed. Would this be mostly true?

Greatly appreciate everyone's valuable insight, it has been incredibly helpful thus far!