Another Keichousaurus thread? Why not?!

[britishcanuk]

I know, there are fakes everywhere and only a fool would take a chance on a keichousaurus auction. Well, I'm the fool that just did just that very thing. I didn't think I'd win with a $70 bid, but low and behold I am the proud new owner of an as yet to be inspected fossil keich. I thought I'd post it here and see what you all thought of it. When it comes in I will give it the acetone test, the microscope test, the hot pin test and the black light test and will post my impressions If it.

 

To be honest though, it looks decent enough that it could be a good buy and would make a nice shelf neighbour to my Hyphalosaurus... but only if it's real  Here's the auction photos...

[Aurelius]

Perfectly genuine. In reality, keichousaurus fakes are extremely rare (I am not at all convinced that believable fakes even exist). They are just usually badly prepped and often touched up with paint. 

 

I don't see any paint on yours, and it looks absolutely fine. In fact, I'll go further - it is fine

[Bguild]

Looks good to me. The veins running through the matrix and the breaks in the fossil itself seem natural. 

[snolly50]

I like it. It's the less common dorsal presentation. Of course it should be evaluated in hand. Check it with a 10X loupe. Any painted toes, etc. will be apparent. Find a very small area where the exposed bone should logically continue beneath the matrix. With a carbide needle or dental pick expose a tiny bit more bone. Positive results reflect that there is more of the beast still in the stone. To my mind that trait signals authenticity. Have fun, enjoy.

[steelhead9]

Definitely real, and although quite ground down, an absolute steal for $70.

[-Andy-]

It's real. I see no obvious red flags. The bones are in the right place, and I see good details.

 

Note that parts of it such as the neck or tail may have touch-ups, but that doesn't take away from the authenticity of the fossil.

[HamptonsDoc]

Great job! $70 wow!

[britishcanuk]

Well, it looks as though the seller wasn't happy with the final bid price and has decided to add a $35 shipping charge on tonthe total, despite the auction clearly stating that expedited international shipping is free. Maybe it was too good to be true after all! Out of principal, I will not pay that.

 

Ill keep you posted!

[Aurelius]

That's pretty lame. Could it be a mistake on their part?

[FossilDudeCO]

Grrrr!

Beautiful Keich.

I would not pay that shipping charge AND would report the seller.

I hope she ends up in your hands

[RJB]

Looks good to me.  Not a very good prep job, but like someone said above,,,  a steal for $70.

 

RB

[britishcanuk]

On 2017-03-06 at 5:57 PM, FossilDudeCO said:

Grrrr!

Beautiful Keich.

I would not pay that shipping charge AND would report the seller.

I hope she ends up in your hands

Not getting a response from seller.... smells scammy

[Aurelius]

Could you just not pay the agreed fee, minus the postage? If not, I would open a case on eBay. I have dealt with this seller before, and they were fine.

[britishcanuk]

They have sent me an invoice for an additional $35, for a total of $105. I'm worried that if I pay $70 before they agree to remove their unjust shipping charge that I will just end up being out $70. I don't know how to report it, I've tried but eBay just leads me around in circles. 

 

i don't know what to do. 

[Bguild]

I mean it's definitely wrong for this seller to up the shipping when it clearly stated that shipping was free. Try the "Resolution Center" you have to click through a lot of options to eventually get to filing a complaint/talking to a person.

 

That being said, I would pay the $35 in a heartbeat if I could get an authentic Keich for $100ish. Still an unbelievable deal! Similar Keichosaurus fossils at my local rock shops are selling for 10x that amount .

[HamptonsDoc]

28 minutes ago, Bguild said:

I mean it's definitely wrong for this seller to up the shipping when it clearly stated that shipping was free. Try the "Resolution Center" you have to click through a lot of options to eventually get to filing a complaint/talking to a person.

 

That being said, I would pay the $35 in a heartbeat if I could get an authentic Keich for $100ish. Still an unbelievable deal! Similar Keichosaurus fossils at my local rock shops are selling for 10x that amount .

I agree. $70 is amazing but $105 is still a steal! Yes, I too would hate to give the dishonest seller the extra $35, but I wouldn't want that Keich to get away either over $35. 

[Laboratary FODERE]

Price depends to quality... sometimes ^^

[FossilDudeCO]

I would pay it, then open the Resolution Center.

Auction sites lean HEAVILY towards the buyers perspective in my experiences.

 

I sold some old golfballs one time, the buyer left me 5 star feedback with a nice message then without contacting me opened a complaint through the Resolution Center. Boom, before I could even counter the buyers issues the auction site refunded them, added a fee to my account and I was out the $40 + the box of golfballs.

 

This has been 4 or 5 years maybe they are better now, but they used to ask no questions!

 

If you pay through PayPal they also offer coverage up to $2,000 no questions asked!

[FossilDAWG]

Would you have been willing to pay $105 for it without the shipping?

 

I agree it sucks to feel like you have been taken advantage of.  On the other hand, if the seller pays $35 shipping they are only making $35 on the sale.  I'm sure they paid a lot more than that for the fossil in the first place.  Perhaps that's just the risk you take when you put things up for auction.  If it makes you feel any better about being scammed out of $35, maybe you can take satisfaction in knowing the seller is likely out several times that amount.

 

If you don't want to pay $105, I'm sure there are a number of forum members who would be delighted to get a Keichousaurus for that price.

 

Don

[Troodon]

If you look at that auction the note on the shipping charges states economy shipping is free and express shipping is $65.  So you state that you're getting an expedited shipping for $35 looks like a bargin to me but a bit confusing.  Great price and specimen.

 

If others are interested most of this sellers Keichousaurus have been going at reasonable prices some are still up.

[Aurelius]

There's no possibility of you losing your money if you pay the amount minus shipping. eBay have stringent rules and will simply pay you back if it doesn't arrive.

[JohnJ]

Issues between sellers and buyers regarding shipping should be worked out between them.  The authenticity of the fossil is the focus of this subforum, and from all experienced opinions offered, it looks like a good specimen.     

 

I've removed uncropped images identifying the seller.  Please keep in mind the guidelines in this subforum header.  Thanks all.

 

 

Quote

 

Is It Real? How to Recognize Fossil Fabrications

 

This forum is devoted to illuminating the pitfalls to be avoided when considering the purchase of fossils.  Please do not post links to websites, nor identify a seller in any way.  For our educational purposes, the sellers' identity is immaterial; this is all about the specimens.

 

 

[britishcanuk]

Thanks JohnJ. The thread took a turn, my fault, sorry about

that. 

 

Since the seller simply ignored every message I sent, I just paid up and will hope for the best. If/when it arrives I'll be sure to post closeups, microscope shots and share my impressions/observations. Thanks for your help everyone, you convinced me that it's still a good deal.

[JohnJ]

9 minutes ago, britishcanuk said:

Thanks JohnJ. The thread took a turn, my fault, sorry about

that. 

 

Since the seller simply ignored every message I sent, I just paid up and will hope for the best. If/when it arrives I'll be sure to post closeups, microscope shots and share my impressions/observations. Thanks for your help everyone, you convinced me that it's still a good deal.

 

Looking forward to the photos, and I hope it works out as well as the last one. 

[aplomado]

Yeah, let us know how it comes out!