toddler68 Posted June 7, 2005 Report Share Posted June 7, 2005 Bought a bunch of fret markers on eBay recently and thought I'd share my experiences. I'll be brief: • Unless you crave disappointment, Don't buy from this seller: taisamlu on eBay - out of Taiwan. Crappy Abalone dots More crappy Abalone dots The pics might look good, but the real things are total crap. Thin, flaky, full of holes, not round, edges are pitted and uneven. I really hate flaming people, but this stuff was totally lacking in quality. I'm curious to hear if anyone else has dealt with this eBayer. I should have given him negative feedback, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it (if for no other reason than it shipped fast). I should have at least settled for neutral. On the opposite end of the spectrum... • I've bought several items from this seller: guitarmakingstuff on eBay. Good quality but you will pay. Nice Abalone dots • Also good stuff from: primegoods which sells mostly jewerly, stones & shell • Definitely Buy from this seller: candy033 on eBay. They even have a website: MOP Supplies I bought 100 1/4 inch abalone dots ($14) and 9 abalone blanks ($21) plus about $8 combined shipping from Australia. I'm no Craig Lavin, but to me they were stellar! At least as good as stuff I bought from guitarmakingstuff and Stew-Mac - probably better. The inlay blanks practically gave me a seizure they are so flashy. Absolutely no comparison to the garbage I got from Taiwan. Awesome Abalone dots Superb Abalone blanks Their website says they will do custom cutting from a drawing or computer file. I'm going to try out their services soon on a headstock logo. I'll report back on the results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikhailgtrski Posted June 7, 2005 Report Share Posted June 7, 2005 In my (limited) experience, I've found that Andy DePaule - Luthier Supply - has excellent shell products and selection. I purchased a couple of ounces of paua blanks and some assorted MOP from him recently, and it was all top-grade, really nice stuff. You might find it a little cheaper elsewhere, but I doubt you'll find better quality. His advice and personal service is a plus, and he's a great guy to talk to. Sometimes you get what you pay for... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blazingblake Posted June 8, 2005 Report Share Posted June 8, 2005 In my (limited) experience, I've found that Andy DePaule - Luthier Supply - has excellent shell products and selection. I purchased a couple of ounces of paua blanks and some assorted MOP from him recently, and it was all top-grade, really nice stuff. You might find it a little cheaper elsewhere, but I doubt you'll find better quality. His advice and personal service is a plus, and he's a great guy to talk to. Sometimes you get what you pay for... ← ← I found that guitar heads who sells on ebay has some good stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted June 8, 2005 Report Share Posted June 8, 2005 Andy DePaule has top-quality stuff and is a good sort of fellow. He was almost hesitant to sell me the larger blanks simply because he knew that the smaller (and much cheaper) ones would suit my needs. Honest dude, too, he freely admitted that it's good for him to be able to sell off the small stuff, too (hence the low price) because after so many projects, so much of it accumulates. In any event, I ordered the small AND the large blanks, plus a set of block inlays, just so that I'd for sure have what I needed. I suspect Andy is somewhat forgetful, though-- I also ordered a custom headstock inlay which he never got back to me about, so I'm going to try making it myself. He didn't charge up-front for it, though, so I wasn't out any money at all. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mutronboy Posted June 8, 2005 Report Share Posted June 8, 2005 I don't know if this guy is normally ok, but I bought a 'rosewood' headstock veneer with flower inlay from 'inlaidartist'. It was totally warped and unusable. I'm also a nice guy and gave him a positive feedback before I'd checked it out...other people seemed happy with his stuff... but you'd think they'd trash something this warped... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted June 8, 2005 Report Share Posted June 8, 2005 DePaule is the best I have found. You can count on the quality every time and the prices are very good. I am willing to pay for Andy's knowledge and assurance of great material, it is well worth it. Peace, Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batfink Posted June 8, 2005 Report Share Posted June 8, 2005 (edited) Not that i'm any great expert but inlay's and materials from Taiwan and the surrounding are in no way as thick and uniform as we in the west have come to expect. If you look at the history of inlay there seems to be two very different school's of practice between the west and the east and this includes not only the methods but also the materials and techniques employed. As far as Ebay goes i'd avoid anyone who is from Asia, not because they are trying to rip people off, which i don't think they're intentionally trying to do, but what they sell is not what we expect. Over the past couple of years since i started dabbling in inlay i've brought the vast majority of slab from MOP Supplies, Small Wonder and David Dykes and never really had any major headaches with any of them although each has thier pro's and con's. Jem. PS: I do have one problem and that's recon stone. Masecraft only sell bloody great blocks of it (well, they seem massive for an amatuer like me) and Rescue Pearl don't seem to want to sell to as they don't reply to my mails. Anyone else i can try...Craig, help ! Edited June 8, 2005 by Batfink Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devon Headen Posted June 8, 2005 Report Share Posted June 8, 2005 I've ordered some blanks from 'inlaidartist' in the past, and I wasn't too impressed. They weren't too thin, but they weren't flat, and the thickness was all over the radar. Some of it was 1/8" in one place, move over about a half inch, and you were down to 1/16". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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