Crack on my newly acquired handmade Zhuni teapot

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mhegara
Posts: 27
Joined: Sat Jan 14, 2023 8:57 am
Location: Florence, Italy

Sun Jul 21, 2024 8:37 am

Hi everyone! I've recently bought this handmade teapot from mudandleaves: after some inspection I found out about a little crack between the body and the teapot upper aperture lip. In your opinion, is it a possible problem for the teapot? Would it cause the teapot to break in the long term? do you suggest to return it to the vendor ad ask for a refund? (photos of the inside is to show that the crack doesn't continue on the inside)
thanks a lot for your help!!!
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.m.
Posts: 887
Joined: Wed Oct 11, 2017 3:26 pm
Location: Prague

Sun Jul 21, 2024 12:13 pm

If it doesn't go through to the inside, I don't see an issue there. If I remember well, M&L has a considerable restockage fee on returns, so you'll be loosing money.
The most likely places for a yixing teapot to crack is along the base or across the wall. Hand built pots may be more prone to that. Sometimes there can be some hidden tension in the pot that gets released by cracking. It can happen out of nowhere, and there is not much to be done about that, although careful preheating can help.
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Vinski
Posts: 30
Joined: Tue May 02, 2023 3:41 pm
Location: Finland

Sun Jul 21, 2024 12:49 pm

You should always ask the seller if it is time specific. Mud&Leavs has a friendly service when I have been in contact with them for other matters related to delivery.

"While the vast majority of packages arrive safely, damage can sometimes occur when shipping ceramic abroad. In case of any product arriving damaged or broken, or in case of missing or incorrect item, please contact us within 48 hours of receipt and we will resolve the issue by either issuing a refund or replacement at our discretion and at no cost to the buyer."

https://mudandleaves.com/pages/shipping-policies
mhegara
Posts: 27
Joined: Sat Jan 14, 2023 8:57 am
Location: Florence, Italy

Sun Jul 21, 2024 12:56 pm

Vinski wrote:
Sun Jul 21, 2024 12:49 pm
You should always ask the seller if it is time specific. Mud&Leavs has a friendly service when I have been in contact with them for other matters related to delivery.

"While the vast majority of packages arrive safely, damage can sometimes occur when shipping ceramic abroad. In case of any product arriving damaged or broken, or in case of missing or incorrect item, please contact us within 48 hours of receipt and we will resolve the issue by either issuing a refund or replacement at our discretion and at no cost to the buyer."

https://mudandleaves.com/pages/shipping-policies
I've already contacted the seller and I'm waiting for his response! I'm asking to the community to know if it's a significant damage that can cause issues in the future or if it is worth keeping it in case M&L offer me to take the teapot back for a refund. This type of damage aren't caused by shipping but rather by the process of making the teapot (if one knows where the crack is, it is possible to see it from the seller's page teapot photos too)... but I'm not that expert to determine if it is problematic damage!
mhegara
Posts: 27
Joined: Sat Jan 14, 2023 8:57 am
Location: Florence, Italy

Sun Jul 21, 2024 12:57 pm

.m. wrote:
Sun Jul 21, 2024 12:13 pm
If it doesn't go through to the inside, I don't see an issue there. If I remember well, M&L has a considerable restockage fee on returns, so you'll be loosing money.
The most likely places for a yixing teapot to crack is along the base or across the wall. Hand built pots may be more prone to that. Sometimes there can be some hidden tension in the pot that gets released by cracking. It can happen out of nowhere, and there is not much to be done about that, although careful preheating can help.
I'm always careful about preheating my pots, but I'm concerned that I bought a new really costly teapot that came with a crack right at the start without even using it! :(
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Bok
Vendor
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Sun Jul 21, 2024 1:07 pm

It’s not a problematic crack, but on a modern new pot it is not to expected. A discount or some other similar thing would probably the fair and economic thing for all parties involved.
mhegara
Posts: 27
Joined: Sat Jan 14, 2023 8:57 am
Location: Florence, Italy

Mon Jul 22, 2024 3:38 pm

Bok wrote:
Sun Jul 21, 2024 1:07 pm
It’s not a problematic crack, but on a modern new pot it is not to expected. A discount or some other similar thing would probably the fair and economic thing for all parties involved.
Thanks for your opinion Bok! always really appreciated. As expected, Patrick from mudandleaves is always diplomatic regarding problems with their products and offered me a refund of 25%, which I toke considering what you and he told me about the relatively low gravity of the damage. Thanks a lot for your help!!!!
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pedant
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Mon Jul 22, 2024 5:09 pm

yeah, i'd take the 25% refund and call it a day. if you use it a few times, and it seems ok, the chance of it getting worse and becoming a functional issue is low.
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Baisao
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Mon Jul 22, 2024 9:30 pm

It doesn’t go through the wall and isn’t in a location that is likely to cause further problems. Too bad the seller didn’t take good photos or they might’ve found it in doing so.
mhegara
Posts: 27
Joined: Sat Jan 14, 2023 8:57 am
Location: Florence, Italy

Sat Aug 10, 2024 8:09 am

pedant wrote:
Mon Jul 22, 2024 5:09 pm
yeah, i'd take the 25% refund and call it a day. if you use it a few times, and it seems ok, the chance of it getting worse and becoming a functional issue is low.
that's relieving to be told. Thanks a lot for the advice!!
mhegara
Posts: 27
Joined: Sat Jan 14, 2023 8:57 am
Location: Florence, Italy

Sat Aug 10, 2024 8:10 am

Baisao wrote:
Mon Jul 22, 2024 9:30 pm
It doesn’t go through the wall and isn’t in a location that is likely to cause further problems. Too bad the seller didn’t take good photos or they might’ve found it in doing so.
Hopefully it won't change in time. the fun thing is that, if you know it's there, you can see the crack from the seller website photos!.
anyway, thanks for your reassurance!!
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