Life In 19x19

Chinese mail order site, sometimes pops up in full English but mostly it is in Chinese. There is a yuan to dollar converter that changes with the product selected.

There are four styles of stones, Uni and biconvex, each in a pure white or a warm white. You can try to figure it all out but I think the pure white sets are labeled B, the warmer color is A. The biconvex stones have a character in the name that looks like “XX” and run about 3 time the cost of the uni version. No clue what shipping to the States would be.

Anyone have the chops to do a thorough translation for us?

https://www.engtb.com/?go=item&tp=taoba ... 5684054033

And try this one, too, (HUGE selections of good looking weiqi gear, toys to the very top end with everything in between except shell stones):

https://www.engtb.com/shop.html?action= ... &key=yunzi

Seems I can get all the way to finalizing an order but there's no indication of shipping costs ro tariffs until I actually make payment. Not that I can tell, anyway.

Hi David,

Is that all the relevant info or did you intend to post more ?

( and have you tried the phone app google.translate ? )

Sorry, EdLee, left out the URL. Edited.

Hi David,

The first webpage uses simplified characters ( mainland ).

The biconvex stones have a character in the name that looks like “XX”

Wild guess: you were referring to this character, 双:

simplified: 単面凸 plano-convex ; ( traditional: 單面凸 )
simplified: 双面凸 biconvex ; ( traditional: 雙面凸 )

I've tried to do the Engtaobao math and the result is not encouraging. If I order US$500 through Engtaobao's agency, the fees and commissions add up to roughly 15-20% in surcharges, or $550 to $600. Add shipping and the total costs could push the total to 125-150% over the low published prices or $625 to $750. I could save a bit by using land/sea transport but what's the point? I could also fly to China and pick up the goods myself.

You can also buy Yunzi stones on AliExpress at much higher prices than Taobao but you're ordering from a retail aggregator (not unlike amazon) instead of an agency so there seem to be fewer hidden charges. AliExpress appears totally reliable but you must do your own consumer research.

It's possible to find genuine Yunzi stones from sellers in many different countries on Ebay. Just takes time and multiple searches over several days as posts and inventories come and go. For instance, right now on Ebay (2020.01.27), someone in Ontario, California, has an inventory of five sets of double convex Yunzi for sale. At what cost? If you absolutely MUST have Yunzi double convex stones, the cost really doesn't matter, does it?

Hi David,

If you absolutely MUST have Yunzi double convex stones, the cost really doesn't matter, does it?

This rhetorical question is a bit confusing (for me).

Plenty of shops in Europe:

https://www.mastersofgames.com/cat/boar ... ineral.htm
https://hoylesoxford.com/products/yunzi-go-stones
https://www.go-spiele.de/en/go-stones-y ... -9-mm.html
http://en.aobo-shop.com/go-game-stones/ ... 50125.html
https://zenminded.uk/products/zen-minde ... mboo-bowls

Can't you just get some from Amazon or something?

EdLee wrote:Hi David,

If you absolutely MUST have Yunzi double convex stones, the cost really doesn't matter, does it?

This rhetorical question is a bit confusing (for me).

Yunzi stones are not my cup of tea, which doesn't help with the question.

I don't like playing with them much either. I prefer the Japanese style of glass stones, glossy white and matte back. But I've seen folks who absolutely MUST have a set of Yunzi stones in their collections or as beginners. They will pay over $100, plus shipping, so, $125. A few years ago, Yunzi sets were available from many vendors in the State for $30-45 with a pair of jujube bowls or those bamboo monstrosities.

Anyway, the Ebay vendor in Ontario CA is now sold out; I bought all the remaining stock.

bogiesan wrote:Anyway, the Ebay vendor in Ontario CA is now sold out; I bought all the remaining stock.

Heh, I grabbed the last Yunzi single-convex set from (probably) another vendor, for ~57 €, 20% off and w/ free shipping …

And then I found this just today, Mateusz Surma’s shop in Poland:

Double-convex: https://polgote.com/en/shop/ceramic-sto ... ble-convex — 150,00 € (Way too expensive if you ask me.)
Single-convex: https://polgote.com/en/shop/ceramic-sto ... gle-convex — 32,00 € (Looks like a real bargain to me.)

Both prices without shipping cost … which varies between ~5 € within Poland and 17–29 € for other European countries (other continents not listed)

At least my eBay purchase comes with nice straw bowls while the PolGote stones come in plastic bags.

My wife is originally from Yunnan. Maybe 8 years ago she brought back a bunch of yunzi sets (flat on one side) and sold some of them, but we have several sets left. Maybe one day I'll dig them out of the attic and offer them up on eBay.

mhlepore wrote:My wife is originally from Yunnan. Maybe 8 years ago she brought back a bunch of yunzi sets (flat on one side) and sold some of them, but we have several sets left. Maybe one day I'll dig them out of the attic and offer them up on eBay.

You could likely sell most of the sets here on the forum.

Just remember to test them on lead …

Also, I couldn’t resist purchasing a set of the single-convex stones from Polgote (see my last comment above) … Mateusz said they are NOT Yunzi but doesn’t know what exactly it is:

The producer wrote that they have patent for this material, but I don't know more than that that the material is some "strengthened ceramics".

I, a bit cheekily, as this is one of my traits, replied:

Tell them that this is Europe and you won’t be able to sell them if you cannot tell us at least the ingredients. We don't need the actual recipe

and

Honestly, after the lead problem in Yunzi, and after lots of problems with Melamin in products from China, I’d at least order a lab test.

Also, on his YouTube introduction of these stones (see below), where I asked the same question, he answered:

They aren't Yunzi. They are made by Luoyang Shuangyuan. Material is some kind of "strengthened ceramics".

I presume you will post your thorough observations when your stones arrive. I wonder if existing vendors such as Yellow Mountain Imports, are investigating these other sources. Mateusz might send YMI a contact. The American go community would benefit from a new and reliable source for perhaps inexpensive weiqi stones.