1) Is
CeramicMarksFinder.com secure?
We are an Approved & Verified Business member of PayPal and
2CheckOut, both reputable Credit Card Banking companies, and accept
all major Credit Cards. Also, our
company is registered in the State of California, USA. All Payments
and related Log-In procedures, including verifying any personal or
account details, are made exclusively through PayPal's and
2CheckOut's
payment systems only. CeramicMarksFinder.com does not have access to that
information other than being notified when a payment goes through to
activate a member's User ID and Password to access this website in
an automated "back-end" process. No personal and payment
details are available to this website's staff and no such data
crosses our website's Servers. For more information on PayPal's
Secure Payments please visit PayPal's site at
www.PayPal.com and for 2CheckOut
visit www.2CheckOut.com.
Top
2) Does it work on a PC
or Mac?
CeramicMarksFinder.com works on any Computer or Laptop or other
Portable Device regardless of Browser, Platform, Version etc. There
is no need for any special requirements or additional Software to
make it work.
Top
3) Is the
GALLERY-of-MARKS Search easy to use?
The Gallery-of-Marks is a large album of Porcelain, Pottery and
Ceramics Marks. All Marks are divided into Shape Categories
according to a mark’s shape or form. Some marks appear in several
Categories to make it as objective as possible. This is the easiest
and quickest method to identify a Mark - simply compare your mark to
others at a glance - see our
"How it
Works" page.
Top
4) What other ways can I use on this website to identify a mark?
In addition to our Gallery-of-Marks Search that locates a mark based
on its overall shape, CeramicMarksFinder.com also offers a unique
and proprietary "Name Search" tool. This tool is very similar to an
Index Search and works by the member entering (typing) a Name of a
Pottery or Porcelain Manufactory in the Search box provided. Our
website will search through our entire database instantly and will
display all images of the marks that contain this Name.
Top
5) What happens if the mark I am looking for is not included in the
database?
If your mark is not included in our database, there is a link for
members to communicate with us directly. We will research your
mark(s) and respond to your email within 3 business days and at no
extra cost.
Top
6) Why is CeramicMarksFinder.com website better than a Book?
Cost vs. Completeness: There are several
generalist books on the market that contain most common
Porcelain & Pottery marks for under $20. However, most specialized Ceramic
Marks books
are usually available for specific countries or a certain region
and cost upwards of $70 each. This means that these books
usually contain information limited to
manufacturers from that specific Country or Region (Britain, USA,
Germany/Austria, France etc). In contrast, CeramicMarksFinder.com
contains more than 10,000 unique western-world marks from all
regions and of most Oriental Importers' marks or Logos at your
fingertips - literally!!
Interactive experience: If your mark is not included
in a book you have purchased, there is no recourse in contacting the
Author or Publisher to ask questions or advice. As a member of
CeramicMarksFinder.com, in addition to several useful resources and
links contained in the members-only area, if your mark is not
included in our database, you can contact our Research Group and get
a personalized response at no extra cost (see #5 above)
Always current: It took us several years
to put this site together and we are constantly adding more marks,
some of which are either newer ones or newly discovered rare marks
that we find during our research.
Top
7) I have found some websites on the internet that offer Pottery &
Porcelain marks as a Free Service. Why should I pay?
We have visited other related websites and soon realized that most
of these are "come-on" pages to someone's Antique Shop or
Gallery/Auction site. The marks they contain are usually very few and
very common. As a member of our website, you only pay for your
monthly or annual Subscription. We do not sell anything else and we
do not offer any other services that require additional payments.
Yet, once a member, you receive access to a vast database of over
10,000 unique Porcelain & Pottery Marks, which is being continuously
updated. Furthermore, there are links to several specialized Dating
Systems and Historical Notes, a proprietary "Name Search" feature
that lets you search for images of marks from a specific Pottery or
Porcelain Manufactory in an instant and many other easy-to-use
Ceramics Research Tools.
Top
8) Can I access this database when I am away from my home or office?
Yes, this is one of the unique advantages of this service. Unlike
books that you will have to carry with you, this site is available
anywhere you can access the web and from any computer or laptop,
including public PCs such as in Hotels, a friend's computer etc. For
example, if you are traveling to an auction and need information on
a Porcelain Figurine or China Service you saw during the Preview,
you can Log In to CeramicMarksFinder.com to identify it and then
search the web for potential value information.
Top
9) Can I use this website to distinguish between genuine pieces and
forgeries?
Since the early 1990's there has been a huge renewal of interest in
Ceramics and there are thousands of pieces, made mostly in Hong
Kong, that resemble some very old/antique pieces. However, these are
fakes or forgeries and of decorative value only. Knowing the exact
mark used originally helps in avoiding costly mistakes. In addition
to several of these newer marks that are already included and are
available to members, we constantly evaluate new ones entering the
market or examine those sent to us by other members. If we determine
that a mark is indeed on a recent replica or on a reproduction
piece, we immediately include it in our database. This way a
member's experience becomes a lesson to another.
Top
10) Once I have identified & dated the mark(s) on my Porcelain or
Pottery or China, what do I need to do?
In addition to links related to specialized Dating Systems used by
some specific Companies (Mintons, Sevres, Wedgwood, Royal Worcester,
Rookwood etc), you may use our Search Links for Google, Amazon or
eBay or your favorite Search engine to locate additional information
and potential Market Value. Our service is primarily an
Identification and Period database.
Top
