Suiseki, A Buyers Guide

dbz12fan

In a recent discussion with Chris Cochrane at the IBC galleries, Chris mentioned that novices to suiseki often pay too much for suiseki that they purchased. He even noted that some of the dealers overcharging were his friends. After doing a year and a half of purchasing suiseki online, I have come up with a list of things to remember when purchasing stones:

- Is the stone worked? This is the most important question to ask, even before asking the price. Even if the dealer denies it, DO NOT BUY ANY STONES THAT APPEAR TO HAVE BEEN WORKED! A cut bottom is ok, but factor this into the price. Rembember, an uncut stone is more precious than a cut stone.

- What is the price? Do not be afraid to turn down a stone that is overpriced. You can find a higher quality stone with more searching. Remember, searching for stones online is much like searching for stones in nature: There are millions of stones out there, that does not mean that every stone should be brought home.

- What are the forms of payment? I have purchased stones that were at a reasonable asking price, but after the wire transfer, the stone became overpriced. Rembember to calculate in the costs of wire transfers and western union before paying with these methods. FWIW, I recently purchased a stone from Luciana Queirolo that cost me $60 for the wire transfer. International transfers can have hefty prices, and should only be used if the price of the stone is low relative to the quality of the stone.

-What are the dimensions? This is one thing that is left out from this sale webpage. I would never purchase a suiseki without knowing the dimensions or seeing an object in the picture for scale.

-How many pictures can you see of the stone? Just becuase the stone looks good from the front, does not mean that it will look good from the back. How do we know that the waterfall stone on this for sale page only has water cascading down the front of the stone.

-DO NOT BUY STONES ON EBAY! There are only about two dealers on ebay that I would purchase stones from. One is Chiara Padrini. The other dealer's stones sell at prices much too high; also this dealer seems to make their daiza out of clay which is something that boosts the price, but lowers the value.

-Is the dealer reputable? Have you heard praises from other purchasers about this dealer? Have you heard complaints?

-Why are there no prices? Many suiseki sites do not post prices on their stones. I have thought of many reasons why these dealers do not provide prices, but I will not list them here as most of them are negative reasons. One easy way to find a few good deals is to ask the price of every stone. Some stones that you may expect to be priced high, could be fairly low.

-Is the stone glued to the wooden base? If this is the case, do not purchase the stone.

-Study, Study, Study!!! Read all of the suiseki books that you have available, discuss suiseki with other club members who are more knowledgable on the subject, talk on the IBC suiseki gallery, subscribe to the VSL mailing list (there has not been much discussion on this list recently), read all of the articles on suiseki in Bonsai Magazines. Do all of this before considering purchasing a high priced stone.

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"Success demands understanding"-Andy Rutledge

Charles Bevan
Vero Beach, Fl

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dbz12fan

I forgot to mention, the website mentioned in discussion was here- http://www.geocities.com/suiseki_pr/venta.htm .

__________________
"Success demands understanding"-Andy Rutledge

Charles Bevan
Vero Beach, Fl

Dale Cochoy

Gosh Charles, there are sooo many other aspects. That was a bit simple ( but a start).
Stones are still in "Hypism" world so costs are still greatly effected by "namedropism" ( My term:>), that is "WHO owns the stone and WHO says it's a valuable great stone. It's like any other art(work) , pretty blah stuff becomes pretty expensive depending on who says it's not blah! , or, I should say , who says it's a great "viewing stone" or "suiseki" and not just a wet rock!!
:>)

Also WHO made the daiza!

Dale

P.S. Your point about money transfers ( and shipping) is well taken. A deal can turn into an un-deal after the shipping is figured! and not just with stones!!

__________________
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If you want to be Different....
You have to DO something Different!
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Some people NEVER take the time to do a job right the first time....
but, they always seem to make the time to do it over again...
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Dale Cochoy
Wild Things Bonsai Studio
Yakimono no Kokoro Bonsai Pottery
Hartville, Ohio