kalimantan

Many people said jade got power, etc I also want to believe it (i love jade too) ...but i want to be rational as well. Cheap and real - I think it is better u define this. The word "real" - then u must buy Type A then. But you want cheap - that means you can only get the lowest rank of Type A. For Li-hong shop i went to their shop, then i pass my contact to them more like a customer in a database. Wah lau, everytime call me over phone to go and have a look. The words is "everyday". Until they gave up on me. Try house of Phua - no pressure, take your time. Discuss with them 1 hour also can. I did not buy anything, and they even write down the grams, price, parameters (with singapore independent cert) for me to compare around. What is the cheapest you are willing to pay ? At least a thousands ? Or hundreds or a few dollars ?

Sorry if i did not read all threads, but started a simple thread on air-con serving I would like to know the following a) what type of gas to put into condenser ? does it matter any standard gas ? b) how are prices determine in selection of a air-con agency for servicing ?

How to check NW ? From which angle ?

http://www.jojojade.com/ buy cheapest will do

The rule of thumb to buy a jade is a) see see see first. Don't buy at first sales talk or glance. No matter how nice/colourful they are. b) http://www.ngi.com.sg/ - singapore independent checks. That is why never buy from online until you SEE it physically. Therfore patronise shops that provide http://www.ngi.com.sg/ cert. c) When buy a jade, have a mindset of using jade as a "cheap jewllery for wear" first. Don't go in thinking yourself as a COLLECTOR. YOU ARE NEVER A COLLECTOR and to be a collector - you have to suffer losses first and gain experience. If you do not wish to suffer losses, then you cannot be a collector. (a collector is someone very wealthy and can afford losses and knows many people in the jade industry - common people like us - don't try to out-bid them) d) Parkway parade shop - never been there. Don't listen to saleman speech even though u like the jade stone. What rare ? If it is rare, it won't end up in their shop. rare things always end up in wealthy collector or state musuem. e) if you really want to buy, consider buy cheapest first. Then go to http://www.ngi.com.sg/ to authenticate it for the fun of it. Cert price is about $5 - I think so. From there you will learn lesson. For point (e), an analogy is about telling a youngster not to buy car in singapore, take public transport. But still they insist on a car and then realize monthly payment is harsh and they live with it for the next few years. Some people just need to put their feet and fall into a pit, then can appreciate the truth behind it. Theory won't help.

yes they have. But burmese quality are better (at most times) according to research. Unfortunately i did not go there and authenticate.

I am NOT an expert in jade, although i love jade myself. Always wanted to buy, but no chance / time to buy. I am not saying reputable shops are there to con anyone, but jade stone itself has no ceiling price (tom dick and harry can shout any price). If I am a retailer, and i find you like it, I can try to convince you on the "hope and benefits" like a insurance salesman (i am not against insurance people) For diamond there is a proper 4c or 5c GIA inernational chart - you buy what you pay for and you can shop around by comparing. Jade - what chart ? Therefore the only way is to get independent valuer (buy property also got independent valuer). I want to share experiences when I went to reputable stores to look at Jade Li-Hong - all Type A jade (with consumer trust case logo, good craftmanship) - good for consumers. But to ask for independent cert, they do not have. What this means is you are not sure on what "grade" of type A you are paying for. They told me they will buy back at 30% price if resell back to them. (seller is always smarter than buyer). How about alternative : http://www.jojojade.com/ House of Phua - ask for Type A jade and given cert. Nice- each items comes with independent cert and you can verify the parameters in all Type A. Craftmanship similar to Li-Hong although House of Phua has limited items. For purple jade - it is just color and individual preferernces - this site explains more. (http://www.buyjadeite.com) to add further : http://www.enijew.com/jade/pendant. If you see this site, everything they said is Type A - but why within Type A - differs in price from hundreds to A thousand ? So no cert, consumer can buy on impulse. And worst, all sellers try to say "jade give u luck, fortune, etc" . BTW natural jade comes from Burmua. They treat it like a natural resources stone which can sold for cash (they don't care what jade myths can provide), only Chinese who buy from them start to create MYTHS. (we are chinese right and we believe in these myths !!!!)

I will try to answer Jade from a stone point of view (novice), rather than FS first 1. Jade itself has no market where you can buy and sell and preserve value (unlike gold). Always ask the reputable retailers what is the buy-back scheme. (Diamond buy-back scheme means your wife can sell back to same retailer and then upgrade to a bigger stone, etc.) Jade itself - what can you "upgrade" ? Therefore those FS shops selling jade, you can forget it. 2. Jade has a few parameters, which explains why prices are different. Just a natural Type A jade, some are better than the other due to "differs" in parameters - like transparency, color, etc. Always look for Jade that has independent cert. Not cert from the shop itself. When they have independent cert, all you need to look at is cert (without looking at Jade most of the time). With cert, you can then bargain on pricing. Of course workmanship is subjective to anyone. 3. Good jade is expensive because of the "stone gambling' market. Note that entrenepeurs takes risks to buy UNCUT STONE at a price which cannot guarantee to produce anything. Eg you go durian shop, durian seller open the durian a little bit and u put your finger in and try out. You say ok, later bring home inside the durian got worms, you lan lan. This is similar at the source market. Now back to FS topic for jade, most FS seller try to sell you "A HOPE" by saying Jade works for you, etc. And furthermore jade are curved in ANIMAL design which impress you. Animal design - u can find anywhere in the jade market. Any lousy quality is fine as well. Where to buy reputable jade ? Li-hong and house of phua. - i've not buy yet because i got no money to let them cheat me. It is good to be poor at the right time.

http://www.lihongjade.com/HTML/Lihong_jade_DS_galleria_DS_SJB001053.html li-hong jade is expensive because of the DESIGN. But you put outside at entrance, anyone can steal. Ask FS master whether can wear jade on your body instead.

bees - no idea. first thing is not to let them sting any of the family members. Maybe it is unlucky because you may have to engage a pest control to remove it (which cost $)

Burmese jade = if seller tell you it is natural jade, ask them for a cert. They always tell you it is Type A. Now most natural jade comes from Burma. Even if it is Type A, within Type A, there are "different grade" as they differs in parameters. If the price quote you less than $200, therefore it is the "worst" of Type A. As for the dragon DESIGN - which you want, you can choose from House of Phua (people park complex, 2nd floor) - the glass door got Visa / Master logo (those shops that sell lousy jade don't have credit card facilities). Alternatively go to Li-hong jade ($200 unlikely). So for your $200 budget, it is probably Burmese jade, but Type B or lower

Bee nests - no idea. Last year, a bat hung at my door at night. Morning also there, fly off, at night came back same spot. Everyday until my family use to it for 2 weeks plus. Call my FS master, he say very good sign. Buy random toto 50 cents - kenna some money.

Well, bank offer lower loans mean they have first charged to your flat if you owe the payments. You cannot switch to HDB loan if you owe bank loans. Bank is profit-oriented and can raise interest rate if it deems fit to do so.

some choose to eat, some choose to throw. In the April Qing Ming, we bring food / coffee / fruits / whatever you can think of to pray to the late. Eg in Mandai, those ah neh sweepers hungry also take and eat. Nothing wrong with that.

Since you contribute this site on JADE tianlu, let me give a few opinions on JADE as a STONE itself. Everyone knows Jade has different classes, so when the url said it is natural jade, i assume it is Type A Burmese Jade. If you want to buy tianlu for good luck perspective (which i am not going to stop u since it is YOUR MONEY), I would like to make buyer-aware of the following on JADE STONE itself. (treat it like a jewellery) a) Natural jade - please get an independent party to verify the authenticity of the jade stone itself. If the shop shows the cert (http://www.ngi.com.sg/) of natural jade, you can be assured of natural jade. This cert cost less than $5. Ask the shop to prove it. b) with the cert (no need to look at jade stone), it shows the various parameters of the jade. Like Diamond stone, there is a GIA cert on the 4C (women know this well). Thus for jade, one parameter to look out for is TRANSPARECY parameter. Most natural jade falls under Transuclent (3rd catagory), which means you should MINUS 40% PRICE first. c) in a jade industry (assuming Type A), jade has NO market price compare to Gold which has indexes. Why jade price go up or down - there is THIS "jade stone gamble". Go to library and borrow the DVD and it shows how the market works. d) In singapore, i went to famous Li-hong Jade, yes they sell Type A, but without cert, difficult to fix a price on the parameters. Jade price can quote from small few hundred to $7-8k per piece. They can sell/call any price they want. I ask them whether they buy back own product and they told me "take back at 30%" ..what the heck man ! I go to another Chinatown shop (House of Phua) - who also sell Type A with (http://www.ngi.com.sg/) cert. And a small peice of jade cost $3k plus. This shows one thing : anyone can "shout or sell" any price. Back to Tianlu Jade, if you break into 2 parts : Jade STONE and the DESIGN of it, it is nothing more than a Jade Curve into animal-SIGN. Why not buy Jade Buddha or Jade GuanYin and bless in temple instead ? Somemore there are Jade Dragon, isn't this more of a fortune object ? Just because it is a Tianlu, it talks so much story ? Do not let Tianlu sway your rational emotions. If you believe in Tianlu as a lucky animal, go ahead and buy. But look from the perspective of a jade LIKE A GEM STONE and pay according to what a proper STONE PRICE should be. If the jade tianlu cost less than $100, i think it is ok. But do not overspend your hard-earn $. How about if there is a real 999.99 GOLD Tianlu ? at least u can measure the gold price in the market and know what it is worth. But jade has NO market price. Unless you can an independent party (http://www.ngi.com.sg/) cert and shows there is 100% transparency, good craftman, etc - then that jade is worth a FEW CITIES !

Hi I want to buy a new sofa set for my hdb apartment. But i do not intend to get top grain since I am not staying there. No fabric as it is too hot if skin contact fabric or lie there for too long. Any "just good will do leather" sofa - that is cooling to the skin if sits for too long ? Of course i do NOT expect CHEAP and EXCELLENT leather to come together. But i am looking for one that last only 2-3 years and do not wish to spend a bomb on it. No 2nd hand sofa please. Any recommendation ?

no change. seller is a bank who possess the condo unit (and i bought it from a bankruptcy)

i don't believe. Let me give u a true case. according to my last agent for my unit condo, there are only 2 buyers, me and a christian family. That was in Sars period, that time only few buyers to this current unit (last owner bankrupt - overpaid for the price of condo in year 2000) i m staying. I was informed that the christian family pass a cheque to the agent first, then i came in later. Both gave the same amount. It is up to agent to decide which cheque to give to bank to confirm the purchase. The agent told me that he is piss off with that family because nothing confirm yet, they start to scatter rice as a ritual, etc all over the place as though they own it . I did not scatter any rice, except paying agent extra commission and i win the bid. Money talks !

1. isn't buying a hdb cheaper ? Sometimes renovation can make your inner house "condo-style" 2. maybe they pass it to their children

some fs said there will be a 3rd party in a relationship. for those not married, it is good to have 3rd party since either party in a relationship can make a choice before marriage :-)

good quality no cheap cheap no good quality i think we should stop living in the dream that "wah i got a good deal mentality " ...remember the chinese saying "seller is always smarter than buyer". my statement is not against any vendor here, but just a comment to forum members.

i am really curious to know how many manage to rent out for SB. And what kind of rents the owner are gettng compare to what they paid ?

actually i only buy mutual funds and it is deducted from bank account.. For insurance - only term insurnace. There is no investment element in it. Currently the financial planner charges .08% and give advices. Whether the advices is consider good or bad, no one knows. AFter all the financial planner CANNOT CONTROL THE MARKET. during the 2008 crisis, my investment drops to 50% left. The financial planner told me that it is UP TO ME to decide whether to HOLD OR SELL. (crisis comes, financial planner get all kinds of rude calls). From this experience, it is up to individual to learn to make decision - which i happens to hold and buy more. I started this thread because i want to know what are the wrap fees provided to other individuals for comparison.

http://www.barossasingapore.com/ i customized tv console from them. Took them 3 months. Be prepare to wait if u customize as David is passionate in woods

China products may take another generation to be acceptable. Right now, they simply produce without quality. That is why even the chinese buys foreign brands. as for china prc ..hmmm hahahahah