Here is a search string for Guang Yun Gong on TaoBao:

http://216.239.39.104/translate_c?hl...nd-0-all-0.htm

You have to enter Simplified characters and not Unicode for search
strings so it isn't as easy as it looks. Plus TaoBao only searches the
title and not description.

As of this post you will see 70's Guang Yun Gong for $20. You will see
a tong like bundle from 1980 for $110. What was your 60's price again,
something like $800. You pay alot for those blemishes. I'll stick
with fair market value and you buy from the collectors. If every
potential serious buyer wants a sample then eventually there is nothing
to sell. I think the wine analogy is essentially false because it is
ultimately consumed. The bottle and cork might be worth something.
One on my collection genres extends to the 1900s. Thank goodness you
can't eat or drink it. I can tell you haven't done any serious
collecting except paying too much for your tea. You're on the outside
looking in. High prices are simply for the gullible. No serious
collector will tell you what he paid for anything. You'll never get
your money back if you buy at auction. For insurance purposes I'm much
further ahead if my house burns down.

Jim

Mike Petro wrote:
> Space Cowboy wrote:
> > TaoBao is a market place where you can check prices in the current
> > Chinese economy. I've been doing that since I found it. All I'm
> > saying you can find plenty of 10 year pu for $30.
>
> TaoBao appears quite similar to our Ebay, as in buyer beware because
> the sellers may or may not be reputable and the goods may or may not be
> authentic. I would not trust their goods any more than I would trust
> somebody on Ebay, and Ebay is rife with scam artists especially when
> dealing in antique goods (such as aged puerh). Yes there are good
> dealers there but one would need to know the culture really well before
> venturing into those waters.
>
> > I think to pretend that there is any
> > real market for aged pu is misinformation. The high pricing is based
> > on limited collectors and not demand.
>
> Nobody is "pretending" Jim, it is a fact that I have personally
> confirmed many times over. To say that it is misinformation would be
> like saying that a "wine collector's market" in the USA is also
> misinformation. The two genres are extremely similar in their
> respective cultures, both in popularity and in fanaticism. Many people
> in China boast about their puerh collections, and it is quite true that
> few of them will ever really sell, only the speculators and those in
> need of cash actually sell. It is common for a guest to be shown this
> collection, although most Western guests fail to realize the pride that
> their host is really exhibiting. The high demand is further
> demonstrated by that fact that wholesale prices for young Puerh have
> tripled this year compared to the same time last year. This has been
> attributed to a bad growing season AND higher than ever demand. The
> existance of so many forgeries also substantiates the demand, if there
> were no demand there would be no market for forgeries. Finally let us
> not forget the laws of supply and demand, the reality is that the
> demand exceeds the supply hence the high prices.
>
> >I haven't seen any of the big ticket items on TaoBao sell.
>
> The main reason is that very few Chinese collectors will buy a cake
> without first seeing, smelling, and tasting it. To try a tea before you
> buy is definitely the custom in China, collectors will often bring
> their own teas to brew and compare to the prospective purchase as a
> means of authenticating it. So why would they buy an aged cake site
> unseen? It is like asking to get ripped off.
>
> Mike Petro