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The holiday season is here and I would like to caution all collectors to be extra careful before you purchase. Over the past year I've seen more dinosaur material improperly identified than ever before and not only from online auction sites but from respected online dealers. Watch those impulsive purchases and get everything checked out BEFORE you buy. Lots of great material out there but a few red flags Red Flag, most dinosaur eggs sold are fake, verify before you buy Red Flag, lots Spinosaur hand claws are fake or composite, verify before you buy Red Flag, most dinosaur poo is either not from a dino or is geologic, verify before you buy Red Flag, verify all Dino material from the Kem Kem lots of nice stuff out there Red Flag, hadrosaurian or ceratopsian material that is described to a genus/species other than from the Hell Creek/Lance Fm. Red flags should include sellers who identify moroccan abelisaurid teeth like the one shown below as RAPTOR or large Nano teeth from the Hell Creek as RAPTOR or Dromaeosaurus. They are either clueless in properly identifying teeth or trying to be deceptive in their listing. A red flag either way and raises questions with all the other items they are selling. If buying dinosaur material from the North America, always ask for the County (if USA) it was found not just the State or Formation. This helps to verify that the information provided is accurate. If buying Canadian material verify it comes with a Disposition and obtain a specific locality not just Province. Montana and Alberta have lots of different Dino sites of different ages and species so knowing specifics helps with an ID Always insure you can return the fossil for a full refund "in cash" Post all interests here and knowledgeable members can help in identification Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all fellow collectors.

Having bought fossils for years, I noticed that fossils are photographed or measured in a way that might exaggerate their sizes. Such methods include: 1 - Pinching their fingers or creasing their palms to create a small rise for the fossil 2 - Zooming in specifically on the fossil (Good to show details, but not good for size judging) 3 - Using a small hand, e.g. a child or woman's hand 4 - Giving a "by the curve" measurement instead of the straight line. E.g. a 4-incher tooth is in fact 3-inch if measured on the straight line As an example, here's a juvenile Rex tooth: Looks pretty big eh? Here's the real size: It's a hair under an inch long! I've been at the receiving end of this myself where a tooth I mistakenly assumed to be decently sized turned out to be pathetically small. To sum it up. if purchasing fossil teeth online in the future, ask specifically for the straight line measurement, or better yet ask for a photo next to a ruler. That's the only way to be fully informed about your purchase. Good luck, and happy buying!

Hi all, a friend of mine has lost a fossil of almost $1,000 in value because the parcel was delivered to a different address (in the same country) even though he had a tracking code. The local postal company claimed that they delivered to the address as stated on the parcel and the tracking code. They refuse to tell my friend which address they sent to as that is confidential information. The seller meanwhile stated he wrote down the address exactly as my friend specified, and that he checked my friend's online and Paypal as well to triple confirm that was the correct address. Right now, the seller claims he wrote the correct address. The postal company claimed they delivered to the address they were given (which isn't my friend's address). Neither side is giving in much to my friend's horror. This headache would be solved if the seller had only taken a picture of the address he claimed to ship to. It only takes 10 secs to snap a picture, but it could save you a $1,000 disaster. Sellers, please take a picture of the box. Buyers, please request for a picture.

Where would i buy fossils in Australia, money is not a concern but i'm just curious where i would be best off searching. Hayden

I was thinkin af buying some fish from lebanon and all I could find on the internet were fish already prepped and all in America or the UK. How does one find fossil fish of Lebanon from he source? RB

If you had $50 to spend on fossils what would you get? Please include price and pictures

I'm pretty new to buying fossils, and I noticed some nice looking trilobites and other stuff from this same seller. I can't tell if it's been painted or repaired or anything. Has it? It looks a little shiny. Not sure why... Thanks, Scott

I have a $25 ebay card. I want to buy 1 or 2 paleozoic fossils with it. But there are so many to choose from! What kind of pre-dinosaur fossil would you buy with a $25 ebay card? Thank you.

I've recently bought this fossil from a seller on Instagram and these are the seller's pictures, but after some recent digging, I was introduced to the reality of counterfeit and fake ones. Does this one look real or fake? The seller doesn't have location of discovery and I've been trying to google how to learn whether it's real or fake but I haven't gotten far. Thanks for your time!!

Hello, I am looking for reputable places to buy gem ammolite, specifically gem ammolite with a bluer color. A user had previously suggested to me two stores but I wasn't really seeing anything that caught my eye. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you.