Hello, I'm fairly new to Puerh teas and extremely new to Yixing Pots. I bought some cakes and a yixing pot from Yunnan Sourcing earlier this year and am happy with them, but I'd also like to get an older pot without spending $500-$1000. 5000Friend comes up everywhere on ebay. It looks like they have a fairly mixed bag of pots. Some look great and some very suspect. I'm also very skeptical of how old they say all their pots are. Do any of yo have much experience with this company? I saw only a couple posts about them but not a lot of info. As a newbie, is it worth taking a chance with them?
BTW, this is my first post on this forum and I want to thank all of you for the loads of knowledge I've already gotten from here. Thank you!
Sep 19th, '09, 15:26
Posts: 796
Joined: Sep 3rd, '08, 11:01
Location: Washington, DC
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Maitre_Tea
Re: Thoughts on 5000Friend Yixing Pots?
Hi,
Here are some past threads that discuss buying Yixing from online vendors, as well as some information regarding 5000friends:
http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?p=101509
http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?p=9980 (not much here, but still kinda helpful)
http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?t=6951 (a little more comprehensive, and there are some comments here particularly about 5000friends)
I will say this though, that even though an expensive pot does not always equal great pot, great pots are not cheap. The pots on 5000friends seem too cheap to be what they say they are (made from old clay and stuff). If something sounds too good to be true, it probably isn't. If someone was selling authentic old pots for that cheap, they would've been bought up a long time ago.
IMO, Yunnan Sourcing is a good place for well-priced modern pots. In addition to some of the vendors mentioned in the threads I linked, http://www.nadacha.co.uk/ is also a good place, but a lot of stuff has been bought already. Hope this helps, and I'm sure the more experienced members can chime in as well.
Here are some past threads that discuss buying Yixing from online vendors, as well as some information regarding 5000friends:
http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?p=101509
http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?p=9980 (not much here, but still kinda helpful)
http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?t=6951 (a little more comprehensive, and there are some comments here particularly about 5000friends)
I will say this though, that even though an expensive pot does not always equal great pot, great pots are not cheap. The pots on 5000friends seem too cheap to be what they say they are (made from old clay and stuff). If something sounds too good to be true, it probably isn't. If someone was selling authentic old pots for that cheap, they would've been bought up a long time ago.
IMO, Yunnan Sourcing is a good place for well-priced modern pots. In addition to some of the vendors mentioned in the threads I linked, http://www.nadacha.co.uk/ is also a good place, but a lot of stuff has been bought already. Hope this helps, and I'm sure the more experienced members can chime in as well.
Re: Thoughts on 5000Friend Yixing Pots?
Aren`t they the one who use shue polish to make their pots look old? 
I suggest to stay away from them, they are as fake as Hollywood {Moderator Edit for content}.
I suggest to stay away from them, they are as fake as Hollywood {Moderator Edit for content}.
Re: Thoughts on 5000Friend Yixing Pots?
I'd rather pay extra money to support a reputable vendor than take a chance on a company that actively deceives customers. Thanks for your replies.