Bidding on Ancient Chinese Jades

The following are simple suggestions in bidding on ancient chinese jade items in e-bay:
(1) Buyer beware - Most ancient Chinese jade items posted on e-bay are possibly contemporary pieces and are possibly not made of real jades (jadeite and nephrite). Many of them may not be authentic without further testing.
(2) Definition of Real Jades and how to tell - Remember, only items that are made of Jadeite or Nephrite should be called jades. The rest are just stones. Since both jadeite and nephrite are harder than steel, a simple test to verify whether the item is jade is to use a sharp steak knife to scratch a line on the surface of the tested item. (*Be careful, if you do leave a line on the item, you may not be able to return the item) If it is truly jade, there should not be any white lines from the scratching.
(3) Tell a real jade piece by its density and by hefting - Both jadeite and nephrite have a very high density (jadeite - 3.3; nephrite - 2.95). Other stones that are used for jade carving such as serpentine and bowneite only have a density of 2.57 One can measure the density of any item by dividing its weight (in gram) by its volume (c.c.). Another useful skill to test real jade is by hefting the stone. Hefting is to toss a jade piece up in the air and catch it with one's palm. Most real jade pieces should have a much heavier feeling than stone pieces when caught by the palm.
(4) Red flags for fake jades - Each ancient jade piece should be unique, if a dealer repeatedly has pieces with similar looks and designs posted on their site, then this is a BIG red flag. If in doubt, ask the dealer in regard to the type of jade used and its actual age. If a dealer refuses to respond or avoid answer the questions directly, then that is another red flag. The rating of a dealer means little in the authenticity of the jade pieces his is selling. A honest dealer should always provide a certificate of authenticity for each piece he sells. Better yet, the best dealer will offer a life time authenticity gurantee for any pieces he sells. Another dead giveaway is if the price is too good to be true, then you will get what you pay for. Remember, no dealer is out to lose money and many of them know more than we do.Almost all of the Hongshan pig dragon pieces posted on e-bay are possibly replicates. Even the one with high tage prices mean nothing. After all, who can really tell a jade piece is truly four to five thousand years old?
(5) Judge a jade piece by its workmanship - It takes 8 to 9 years to begee an expert in distinguishing fake jades from real jades bylook and feel (i.e. mineral content,etc.) It is much easier to judge each jade piece by its workmanship and its artistic value. Therefore, forget about the age of the jade piece you want to bid on, it is almost impossible to find a piece of ancient Chinese jade piece (Ming dynasty or older) without paying a hefty price. Judge each piece not by its age, or even what type of material it is made of, but by the carving skill and love the artist in making the piece. If the pieceappeals to you, the workmanship is greatand the price is right, then goes ahead and bid on it.
(6) Know the dealer - there are even fade jade pieces in museums. Nobody can really tell 100% sure how old any jade pieces are. Therefore, you can only trust the opinions of the dealer from whom you buy the pieces from. Keep asking questions and try to develope a relationship with a dealer. A real jade expert and a true jade lovershould alwaysbe glad to answer your questions.
(7) Buy the books first - in any hobbies, knowledge is king. Therefore, buy the books about jades first before you make any serious biddings. A good jade book for beginner is "Chinese Jade Througout the Ages" by Stanely Nott. A good book about Liangzhu culture jades is "Jade of the Liangzhu Culture" by Peter Y. K. Lam. Both books can bepurchased on the internet for reasonable prices.
(8) If you don't like it, return it - make sure the dealer selling the piece has a money refund guarantee for any pieces you buy. If you do not like the piece, return the piece immediately. One of the current scam is for adealer to charge a hefty postage amount for shipping the piece you won and they specify that the postage is non-refundable. A honest dealer should never make money on shipping charges. Therefore, any dealer who will charge you an outragerous amount of shipping fees should tell you something.
(9) Just enjoy it - walking the Jade Road should be a long and happy journey. Bon voyage!