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Hello ,new to the site could someone tell me how to describe and ask for information about my items.i have listed a few things and have been disappointed in getting no responses,i felt i had some interesting items but found myself quickly back on the list with no responses.I saw that some had responded that this was not an appraisal site ,i understand that ,just wanting to know if i am doing something wrong,and or is there a pay area on the site that i could get some information on my items,thanks so much,MANUERA

I learned a long time ago never to flatter myself by thinking that other forum participants ignore me because they don't like me, because I never got by on my good looks anyway. Most people, myself included, don't see any reason to reply to a post in the absence of any first-hand information to contribute. If the post is seeking a complicated translation, I'm inclined to pass up anything that would require a significant input of original research to support a response. This includes poetry and other inscriptions, which need an enormous knowledge of literary reference to make sense of. My maid don't do windows, and I don't do poetry.

My advice for the present is don't take it so personally, and in your future posts why not start off telling everyone else how much you already know from your own research. Then triage your expectations. If you just need a date and an artist's name, which will give you a leg up on Google and other search engines, you're apt to get an answer quicker than if you throw out a long inscription that nobody has time to do. Many of us have day jobs to attend to and would rather be making money for ourselves that somebody else, in case you are a dealer.

Finally, if you can't support your post with decent photography, forget it. To tell you something about your treasures, others have to be able to see the fine details. And for me and many others, being able to learn something from an exchange here is the only reward for offering an informative response. This forum is not exactly a free service, though lots of posters seem to think otherwise.

Best regards,

Bill H.

Well said, Bill H.

Recently, I had not done too much translations myself because:

(1) Many posters posted too many items at one time, some time posted several items in one message, some time posted several messages at a time;
(2) Many of the items posted here lately are very modern and mass-produced commercial items with no collector's values;
(3) Posters either posted no pictures, not enough pictures or pictures of only part of their items; I refuse to translate items I cannot see their complete picture.
(4) They asked for others to translate a lot of stuff for them, without understanding that to do so requires a lot of time, time is money or time we can spend with our families or on things we like.

(5) Many posters seemed to believe that this forum is a free translation service. Many are dealers or sellers who post their items for free services before they sell them on eBay. To me that is simply not right. Many do not even have the courtesy to respond to the translators after they got what they wanted.

In short, the demands (for translations) simply outweigh the supply (only about five to six translators to translate from Chinese to English and much less to translate Chinese poems)

If any of the posters really want to find out about their "arts", they should pay some of the translators or other professionals to do it for them because like I said time is money and the time spending on translating some of these items being posted in this forum can indeed take a lot of time. I know because I once was paid to translate two items, thinking I could do it in about 4-6 hours, ended up spending about ten days. I did enjoy doing it though because I not only learned a lot myself but also made a new friend. Therefore posters should not expect a lot since you always receive what you pay for which in this case is FREE. No pun intended.

Super

As others have already pointed out, it's a question of time and the value of the reply to the poster.
Many posters do not say anything about their item. This always surprises me. They will not take the few minutes to examine, measure and type the information for this board, but expect many of us to spend our time helping them identify their piece for their benefit.
Unless a scripted Asian message is more than six characters long and would probably inform about the maker and country, I don't see the benefit of a long and arduous translation if you are selling. It's probably about a poetic reflection about the piece or the maker.
I think people here are kind, but do not suffer being taken advantage off or disrespected.
If I see five pieces from the same seller in a row, and they are all low value modern pieces, I pass. No news, is bad news.
If I have an idea, but I'm still guessing, I pass. Hoping someone else will help.
Identification is a process we have all gone through, most of us use our own resources. The better question would have been, how do I find something out for myself?
Once you have done that, it's easier to pinpoint what you need to know.
What I learned as a seller in the Asian field is not to try and guess what is going to be worthwhile, I'm always wrong...

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