On Aug 15, 10:10 am, Danica wrote:
I wouldn't buy just any pot labeled zhuni from him. I have one pot
that an expert looked at said was 50s clay and a good pot, I paid $109
plus shipping for it, and also a really nice zini pot, larger, that
was $125. Both were good pots. I've also got some cheap pots from him
that make really great tea--one in particular makes killer high
altitude taiwan oolong. But the little cheapies he sells aren't great
quality--he has even dissuaded me from getting them and made
recommendations for better ones. He does claim that they are all
authentic yixing clay. Keep in mind zhu ni means red clay and it's
just that--not necessarily good quality.

He claims they are not forgeries and I have no real idea whether they
are or not, maybe it's the custom to lie there. But I can say with
proof that he has some nice pots; they just cost more.

On Aug 13, 11:18 pm, Jazzy wrote:



On Aug 13, 9:43 am, Will Yardley
wrote:

On 2007-08-12, Jazzy wrote:

On Aug 12, 3:15 pm, Balt wrote:
I do believe, that his pots are faked - they are not genuine old pots,
or at least they are "made used" probably with some colourings,
pigments or maybe worse. I bought 3 pots from him, one was new (no
problem), the other two were "old" but when I looked into one of them
I saw, that "tea stains" ended pretty sharply...

the picture looked rather weird with the tea stains...
i wonder why one would like to fakely make a used pot..

wouldn't it be easier to sell them as new.

No - because of the mystique of old pots, and the fact that old, well
seasoned pots are worth more. Now granted, an old, well seasoned, but
properly cared for pot probably wouldn't look as dirty as the 5000
friend ones, but the fact that they're dirty maybe makes people believe
they /could/ be as old as he's saying.

Plus, it would probably be easier to tell that the pot is not antique if
it's not tea-stained.

And going back to what you were saying in another post about preferring
clean pots... a well cared for, seasoned teapot can be worth more than
an equivalent new or used "clean" teapot. Also, many types of clay that
are prized (e.g., zhuni) are now extinct or hard to obtain, and the
processing of yixing clay has changed, so older pots (most of which are
used) are prized over "new" pots.

I could be wrong, but from what I've heard, teapots of this type and age
(if genuine) are worth a good amount of money, regardless of condition;
I don't see why this guy would spend his time selling them to foreigners
on ebay when he could sell them in China for more money with less
hassle. Given that the Chinese have been experts at forgery for years, I
find it hard to believe that the 5000friend pots are not forgeries, even
if they are good ones.

Anyway, the only way to really resolve this is to have someone who is
expert with this stuff evaluate a few of the guy's pots.

Danica has posted about her experiences with him on here in the past;
she has been happy with some of the pots she's gotten from him. I wasn't
super happy with the one I got, but I haven't really used it in a while.

Anyway, if the pots brew good tea, I don't see any reason not to use
them... just don't think you're getting a steal on some priceless
treasure.

w

i had eyes on his zhuni pots as well. i have heard that yixing teapots
are cheap in yixing and expensive elsewhere in China.
so seller in yixing can offer a low price for old teapots. Anyone has
any thoughts on that?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

thanks for all the feedbacks. I am looking for a special zhuni pot for
my wuyi oolong tea especially for Da Hong Pao. I heard a good zhuni
pot is really great it. So I am hunting for one good pot for that.
5000friends has some zhuni pot at 24.90 not too big just the right
size for me o brew the tea for myself!