> I should say like John Wolff: Use Paypal ! You are sure the dealer get your
> money anyway. If you don't receive the shells that's another problem !!! I
> already ordered to chinese dealers but apart the poor locality data I was
> always very pleased with the shells.
> All the best to all of you.

Poor locality data is pretty much guaranteed with fishing fleets...
the fishermen are not going to separate each haul and write GPS data
etc to go with it. They're just going to pile all shells from every
haul into the same tubs as they move around the China Sea.

Phlippines data is notoriously bad, as the fishermen generally falsify
it to keep their favorite spots secret, and ayway the shell markets
aren't going to spend any effort at all to keep data and shells
together. The only way a dealer is going to ha accurate data for the
PI is to colect himself or have someone honest do it for him. I think
this is why Top seashells (who has just for a second time not received
a DRAFT for the same lot of ordered shells!) stopped giving detailed
data, as I imagine they consideredit to be suspect at best.

Some people consider a shell without data to be tourist-grade trash.
However if you don't already have the species, the shell in itself is
data. I don't LIKE not having good data (and when I exchange shells
that I have dredged myself I include GPS lat/long and accurate depth
data... and guarantee that the operc fitted belongs to that very
shell!

Now I'll have to cancel ANOTHER draft... so far taking out two and
cancelling the first have cost me $70, for nothing... and that will be
$90 when I cancel this one. I'm NOT goping to try a third time.

A collecting friend in Astoria says that I must have heap bad karma...

--
Andrew Grebneff
Dunedin, New Zealand
Fossil preparator
Mollusc, Toyota & VW van nut

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