eBay

mstcwrld7 · ‎11-24-2017

There is a kit available on ebay for about $25. which will enable you to test what you are selling.

We have one, and we use it to test every item we buy, If the item does not test as described, we return it. Usually times we do not file a SNAD case and we almost never leave negative feedback for this. But we could.

We test professionally by rubbing, not cutting, and no delicate piece of jewelry is harmed or marked by our testing. .

bnbsellingtime · ‎11-26-2017

I only sell early American pocket watches and I know my field well thank you. With all due respect some of my best buys from uninformed individuals were made from professional consignment sellers. In many cases it is not their item and they have little interest in maximizing the profit or properly researching an old tarnished pocket watch.

maxine*j · ‎11-26-2017

@sonomabarn67 wrote:
I didn't get that from what Maxine wrote. I took it as an acceptence of the reality of this marketplace... The stark reality is that no matter how much we want everyone to think like we do, literally millions of ebay members...don't... I have never heard of anyone returning money to a novice seller on ebay because they didn't pay enough.

Exactly.

Indeed, I have been a proud member of the reality-based community for over 70 years.

argon38 · ‎11-26-2017

@mstcwrld7 wrote:
There are little bottles of nitric acid in the kit. Do NOT get it on your fingers!

Good advice, and also don't leave it lying around. I'm surprised you can buy nitric acid on eBay, in any quantity.

mstcwrld7 · ‎11-28-2017

I have been buying similar kits through the mail for 35_ years.
I buy a new one when the old kit is empty of some acids, or dries out.

mstcwrld7 · ‎11-28-2017

The newer kits have the acids in plastic bottles with drip tops. It is not hard to keep the acid off your fingers. If you get a tiny bit on a finger (I have a couple of times) the skin turns brown and eventually peels off. It did not hurt as I remember it.

It does take all kinds of people to make a world, or a public site. From my experience on these boards,

most posters either want to learn or they post because they are having problems on ebay and want help. Some try to help the other posters and that is wht I thought I was doing with this thread.

IMHO if sellers know if they are selling precious metals it isa win win situation for buyer and seller both. and jewelry dealers do not go on ebay buying boxes of costume jewelry hoping to find precious metals. Some posters seem to think this happens frequently. That doesn't work, you can't tell metal compositon from photos if there are no readable marks or the seller doesnto photogrpah marks.

Using the kit is easy. This is not to say that every casual seller needs to learn the difference in jewelry styles and jewelry makers, and periods, and Victorian, and Mexican, and Native American, and so forth. Not to mention what silver colored collectibles and flatwre are made of. . Those are time consuming specalties. But is is so easy and cheap to find out if you have a precious metal or not, that seems basic.

Happy holidays! .

argon38 · ‎11-28-2017

@mstcwrld7 wrote:
If you get a tiny bit on a finger (I have a couple of times) the skin turns brown and eventually peels off.

348 Corrosives (Hazard Class 😎

348.1 Definition

A corrosive is any liquid or solid that causes visible destruction or irreversible alteration in human skin tissue at the site of contact, or a liquid that has a severe corrosion rate on steel. The term “corrosive” includes all items commonly referred to as acids, as well as most batteries. [...]

348.21 Nonmailable Corrosives

Nonmailable corrosives include the following:

[...]
Nitric Acid (UN2031, UN2032).

https://pe.usps.com/text/pub52/pub52c3_026.htm#ep899998

As I understand it, if a substance is prohibited by USPS for shipping then it can't be sold on eBay. I was just wondering how these kits get around the prohibition. I get that the quantities involved are small, but nitric acid is really unpleasant stuff. Professionals like yourself can handle it safely but I'm not sure I'd recommend it for the average eBayer who's clearing out the attic, especially if there are inquisitive children about.

johnnycb09 · ‎11-28-2017

Seems to me "caveat emptor" is still relevant when buying ANYTHING ,anywhere. Encouraging people to use testing kits will only lead to lovely antique jewelry being hacked and stained to death. Most people dont "do it professionally". If you are paying,oh lets say $50,for a ring you suspect is Georgian mine cut diamonds set in silver,then get it and find out its cubic zirconia and stainless steel,thats on you.

Besides,if a seller says something like "no marks,but I think its gold",doesnt that pretty much absolve them of responsibility? As an aside note,I loathe scrappers with the heat of a 1000 suns,not because they junk damaged or mundane stuff,but because you know that way too much lovely ,unique items get melted down.

All just my humble opinion,of course.

webuyitt · ‎11-30-2017

As the initial post here says, a new test kit is used by rubbing the item on a fine textured pumice stone included in the kit. You cannot see the rubbed spot on the item. You drip the nitric acid solution on the rubbing on the stone, you do not put nitric on the item. The solutions come in little plastic squeeze bottles that you squeeze out a drop at a time.
BTW the nitric solutions sold for this purpose are probably extremely dilute, as they have certainly been sold and shipped for many years before there even was an ebay.
Clearly the kit must be handled and stored with the care you would use to handle and store, e.g. drain cleaner, not to mention firearms and other dangerous things people have.
To whoever is interested. It is helpful mainly not for "scrapping" but to learn if you have something valuable and can sell it as such.
I would respect a seller who says "no marks, but I think it's gold". But I wouldn't pay much for the item unless it was a beautiful old gold filled piece.
"Hacking" items to test them is from the dark ages, sort of like using leeches.

argon38 · ‎11-30-2017

@webuyitt wrote:
BTW the nitric solutions sold for this purpose are probably extremely dilute

I don't think gold would react with dilute nitric acid. Wouldn't it have to be aqua regia?

webuyitt · ‎12-02-2017

I don't know the formulae for the solutions in the kits, I only know they work.
They react differently with the rubbings from different metals ( 10k, 14k, aluminum, etc.) and thereby show what the metal is.