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Hadrosaur Egg Scam?


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Hey guys!

If you have bids on hadrosaur eggs currently being sold on our favorite auction site STRONGLY RECONSIDER your purchase... There are several of them being auctioned right now from two different sellers. I bought one and received it on Monday. I was pretty suspicious from the get go, but my curiosity got the better of me.

It came from Malaysia (red flag), was packaged well, and came quickly. It looked nice, but a little sketchy. Texture wasn't great. Already I decided I wanted to return it...but I also needed to know if it was really a hoax. That's when I decided to take a knife and scrape away the matrix from the egg for a few hours (I don't have any prep tools). Eventually my knife plunged through a hole. Within the hole I could see there was a small space between the base of the egg and matrix. At this point I decided, what the heck, and grabbed a nail and a hammer. I hammered away until eventually the matrix came off in chunks. One chunk came away with a piece of egg shell. Under the egg shell there were large amounts of glue. It was quite obvious at this point that this was just a piece of junk...

With that said, don't make my mistake. I'm sure most people on here are wiser than I am, but the eggs looked reasonable, and the guy offered a full return. Maybe if I hadn't hammered at it I could have gotten my money back, but I had to know. At least I may save other people from getting scammed .

Kind regards,

Lauren

post-15415-0-29657800-1427905341_thumb.jpg

"I am a part of all that I have met." - Lord Alfred Tennyson

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If it were mine, I would contact the seller and send the photo you posted. Simply say that the egg is separated from the matrix and viewing the resulting hollow and the presence of glue has given you grave concern over the object's authenticity. Then ask for a refund. You have nothing to lose. In addition you may wish to contact eBay and ascertain your standing there, as to a return even without the sellers "permission."

Don't feel bad. From the photos it (overlooking the break and your revelations) has the appearance of a Hadrosaur egg.

I looked at an eBay listing by the seller you cited. I hope you did not pay as much as the one I saw. The listing looked pretty good (from the photos), however, in the piece I saw there was "spacing" between the shards of shell. This is certainly not the typical appearance of eggs I have handled. In those the broken edges abut, showing only a crack; not a matrix filled space, like grout on a tile floor.

Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, also are remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. - Douglas Adams, Last Chance to See

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Ouch!

Expensive lesson to learn. :(:shake head:

On the listing I looked at on the auction site, my eye was drawn to the statement under listing condition (ie: old, new, used, etc. ) where it was listed as used with a quote underneath stating:

Used because this is non mass manufacture.

Interesting choice of words, in my opinion. <_<

Next time, consult us here, before purchasing anything online in the fossil realm.

Sorry for the hard lesson.

Regards,

    Tim    VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

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Yes I have contacted the seller with that exact information. My fingers are crossed that I might receive a refund. I'd like to blow the whistle on the guy by way of feedback, so that others won't fall into the same trap. However, I'm going to work through eBay first, and see what they can do for me. Perhaps they will force the seller to take down the remainder of his auctions.

"I am a part of all that I have met." - Lord Alfred Tennyson

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Thanks for posting this. Im not going to lie, I've been looking for a dino egg to purchase, and eBay was one of my resources. Fortunately i haven't been burned yet. I usual PM a knowledgeable member from here before i get in too deep.

~Charlie~

"There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why.....i dream of things that never were, and ask why not?" ~RFK
->Get your Mosasaur print
->How to spot a fake Trilobite
->How to identify a CONCRETION from a DINOSAUR EGG

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i'm pretty sure EBays newer and stricter refund guarantees would cover this if the seller refused a refund. I do always allow the seller to privately refund my money before I go through the (somewhat automated) system.

Not that I have purchased a fake, but I have failed to receive items several times...the last one EBay 's automated system followed up (several times) after I contacted the seller, and gave a date when they would like me to appraise them by, after which they take action. Mind you, this is without filing a dispute, but the aftermath of contacting a seller. :)

"Your serpent of Egypt is bred now of your mud by the operation of your sun; so is your crocodile." Lepidus

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I'm not convinced it is a scam. Glue is commonly used to hold fossils together. The space in between that you mention might be just cuz whoever did the work did not get a good fit....

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I'm not convinced it is a scam. Glue is commonly used to hold fossils together. The space in between that you mention might be just cuz whoever did the work did not get a good fit....

Jpc, I'm not sure I understand what you mean by not a good fit, but the glue I mentioned covers the entire underside of the eggshell. It's like the seller mixed the matrix with glue to make it harden into a ball, and then covered the top with a layer of different glue in order to put the 'eggshell' layer in place.

"I am a part of all that I have met." - Lord Alfred Tennyson

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The dark substrate under the 'shell' is pretty suspicious...

post-423-0-31523600-1427925429_thumb.jpg

"There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant

“Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley

>Paleontology is an evolving science.

>May your wonders never cease!

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BTW: LINK

"There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant

“Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley

>Paleontology is an evolving science.

>May your wonders never cease!

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I'm not convinced it is a scam. Glue is commonly used to hold fossils together. The space in between that you mention might be just cuz whoever did the work did not get a good fit....

jpc makes an excellent point. It is possible that the piece was fractured on extraction and the "bottom" matrix glued back on with a bit of material missing, thus the void. I am encouraged in this thinking because, as I said earlier, it looks like an egg. However, this judgement is based solely on one photo. I would think the bottom line should be, if you have a bad feeling about it - send it back. If the seller is legit, he will glue the base back and call all of us idiots. If he is a dealer in spurious fossils, he will just grin and go on to the next victim. I hope you will be able to reach a satisfactory outcome.

Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, also are remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. - Douglas Adams, Last Chance to See

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The dark substrate under the 'shell' is pretty suspicious...

attachicon.gif~.jpg

I disagree. The thing in in a red sandstone. The dark layer on the inside could very well be a discolored rind... A halo, if you will. It happens a lot. Can we see some more pix of this thing?

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No problem. Here area couple more.post-15415-0-80857800-1427988738_thumb.jpgpost-15415-0-91195300-1427988775_thumb.jpgpost-15415-0-00828800-1427988802_thumb.jpg

"I am a part of all that I have met." - Lord Alfred Tennyson

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The smooth surface you have shown suggests to me that the matrix "pedestal" was added. Perhaps to make this piece look more like the "typical" offering of this material? Most of the eggs offered feature a matrix pillar holding the egg up. Actually this orientation is upside down. The preserved shell would have been the surface resting in the nest and the hatching window is now left covered with the matrix "base" in most presentations.

Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, also are remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. - Douglas Adams, Last Chance to See

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Okay, got it. Thanks for the information, but why is there a layer of glue underneath all of the eggshell?

"I am a part of all that I have met." - Lord Alfred Tennyson

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Okay, got it. Thanks for the information, but why is there a layer of glue underneath all of the eggshell?

The typical consolidant glue is under the shell because it was easily absorbed into the matrix.

I agree with JP that it looks like an authentic egg fossil.

image.png.a84de26dad44fb03836a743755df237c.png

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Dino egg specimens are often hatched eggs, with one side necessarily missing. These are often prepared and mounted to display the remaining, intact, side.

"There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant

“Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley

>Paleontology is an evolving science.

>May your wonders never cease!

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I understand why half the egg is missing, and I don't mind. I've read about the hatching window and how pedestals of matrix are used in presentation.

My main concern is the glue under the eggshell. Piranha, are you saying that the glue is there because it was absorbed through the matrix and pooled under the shell when it could not go through? If that is the case, I will consider keeping the egg.

The typical consolidant glue is under the shell because it was easily absorbed into the matrix.

I agree with JP that it looks like an authentic egg fossil.

"I am a part of all that I have met." - Lord Alfred Tennyson

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And thank you everyone for the information. I really appreciate your attention to this! ^_^

"I am a part of all that I have met." - Lord Alfred Tennyson

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This is exactly the sort of discussion that the "Is It Real" forum was meant to host; more threads like this one, and we'll have a heck of a resource for collectors!

"There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant

“Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley

>Paleontology is an evolving science.

>May your wonders never cease!

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A hatched egg would not be perfectly cut in half as this one is, looks fabricated to me.

Have not seen good pictures or discussion about the egg shell. Can you see texture on it and are the lines cracks or painted?

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Here is a photo of the shell surface of an egg I believe to be authentic. Eggs attributed to Hadrosaurs have relatively smooth surfaces compared to other types. However, visually there is a texture to my eye. It is hoped you will be able to compare the look of your piece. However, the one pictured has been prepped with matrix removed; but also a whitish mineral coating that covered much of the shell has been mostly removed.

post-8873-0-09570200-1428013151_thumb.jpg

Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, also are remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. - Douglas Adams, Last Chance to See

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Here is another photo of the same piece. The matrix is shown for comparison to your specimen. Note the pieces of shell showing (out of place) in the matrix. These shards from the hatching window (or perhaps other shells in the nest), may be randomly uncovered by "digging" into the matrix base. To my mind this is another clue as to the natural state of a piece.

post-8873-0-29018700-1428013562_thumb.jpg

Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, also are remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. - Douglas Adams, Last Chance to See

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Wow, that is a beautiful egg. By looking at it I can see that each piece of eggshell is very much an 'individual piece.' The surface varies in level because the fragments buckle and overlap in some places. Hardly any of the pieces on my shell do that. There are cracks that visibly allude to broken shell, but there is really no tangible evidence to indicate that...like a raised edge or overlapping. I'm sure eggs encounter different types of weathering as they fossilize that causes variation, but there is just such a difference... Here are some pictures. In the third picture it looks like there are tool marks of some kind.

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post-15415-0-69007700-1428017686_thumb.jpg

post-15415-0-30825800-1428017734_thumb.jpg

"I am a part of all that I have met." - Lord Alfred Tennyson

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