For those who love to peruse eBay, dreaming about or even buying points not native to your region, let my tale serve as a warning.
In my early days of arrowhead mania, I wasn’t content to settle for just the local quartzite & quartz points the coastal NA hunted with. I coveted the dovetails, Thebes, Pelican Lakes, etc. with their graceful lines & colorful lithics.
I read the various postings on the forum & jotted down the names of a couple of sellers some of us “trusted”. One seller (who shall remain nameless) seemed legit and I spent more than I care to admit on several of his postings. When I had filled a large case, I suddenly quit, a persistent, nagging feeling that I had not only spent too much but questioning whether everything I had was legit.
Last month I decided to sell my collection, keeping only those points I had personally found or been given by some generous folks on this forum. I contacted Overstreet and arranged to send them my collection. My first gut wrench came when I opened my case and found a few of the points had “bled” onto the glass, etching it. Others had turned the foam underneath odd colors. 🤨 The second gut punch came when the good folks at Arrowheads.com inspected my pieces. Many of the more expensive points were frauds, including the ones with those infamous Baker COAs. They made me a kind offer, but well below my “investment”. I accepted their offer and have chalked it up to lesson learned. I’m just glad I stopped buying when I did.
My advice to you newbies and eBay lovers, run away! Find your own artifacts, trade with friends, attend shows, read books, and study artifacts in museums. Don’t waste you hard-earned money on shysters who sell you a bill of goods.
In my early days of arrowhead mania, I wasn’t content to settle for just the local quartzite & quartz points the coastal NA hunted with. I coveted the dovetails, Thebes, Pelican Lakes, etc. with their graceful lines & colorful lithics.
I read the various postings on the forum & jotted down the names of a couple of sellers some of us “trusted”. One seller (who shall remain nameless) seemed legit and I spent more than I care to admit on several of his postings. When I had filled a large case, I suddenly quit, a persistent, nagging feeling that I had not only spent too much but questioning whether everything I had was legit.
Last month I decided to sell my collection, keeping only those points I had personally found or been given by some generous folks on this forum. I contacted Overstreet and arranged to send them my collection. My first gut wrench came when I opened my case and found a few of the points had “bled” onto the glass, etching it. Others had turned the foam underneath odd colors. 🤨 The second gut punch came when the good folks at Arrowheads.com inspected my pieces. Many of the more expensive points were frauds, including the ones with those infamous Baker COAs. They made me a kind offer, but well below my “investment”. I accepted their offer and have chalked it up to lesson learned. I’m just glad I stopped buying when I did.
My advice to you newbies and eBay lovers, run away! Find your own artifacts, trade with friends, attend shows, read books, and study artifacts in museums. Don’t waste you hard-earned money on shysters who sell you a bill of goods.
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