Without a doubt, working with someone who is difficult can be mentally draining and stressful. Anyone who has held a job, any job, is certain to have more than one story about an unreasonable, angry or demanding person in the workplace, be it a boss, co-worker, employee or customer.

The post office usually delivers a glossy new retail catalog or two (or fifty) to most homes during the holiday season. Whether offering children's toys, jewelry, or country hams, the cover of a commercial catalog will suggest itself to be full of superlative items for gifting or entertaining. What would one tend to think if inside the cover of a "Country Smokehouse" catalog the full page display of an item for sale had only a two word description:

We know you have seen it – the photo of a brooch taken from five feet away in a dark cave. According to the title, this might be just the piece you want, but the dark, unfocused image provides no clues as to the design of the piece, the material from which it was made, or its condition.

As described in a previous article on this topic, "Preventing False Item Substitution: Part One – Your Photos," illustrating specifics about an item with multiple photos is the primary way you can protect yourself from return item substitutions. There are others ways to prevent fraud which when combined with good quality photos can reduce your risk even more.

Can you remember a singular Christmas season or an approaching birthday as a child when you were convinced that one gaily wrapped present in particular held the ultimate object of your desire?

Providing good, clear photos of an item Is an important aspect of selling on-line. Some of the most common photo errors and omissions that we see in online site listings again and again, are these:

The month of  December, with all its Holiday shopping, is known for offering a wide range of choices in everything imaginable. The same holds true with the birthstone for the month. Those born in December are offered 5 different choices! Lapis and Zircon are the two most traditional choices, with turquoise being a bit later addition.  The most recent additions to the list are Tanzanite and Blue Topaz. We won’t confuse the issue anymore with the additional stones which are related to the natal sun signs or star signs of those born in December.

Online you will find e-commerce antique and collectible site owners who sell as authoritative individuals in their chosen field, and some who are just starting out. The Internet plays host worldwide to respectable and serious minded professional individuals, malls and galleries, as well as 'Mom and Pop' shops. Some sell full time as established businesses, while others see their online shop as only a part-time endeavor to supplement their income.

Many experienced collectors and dealers of pottery say it is important to not only research the mark or backstamp but to consider the shape, decoration, and type of ware as well, before coming to a definitive conclusion as to maker.

Sometimes folks will just make a wild stab or guess at when an item might have been made, even though a more reliable way to estimate age is available to them if the piece has a patent number printed on it.

The US Patent Office opened for business in 1836, and since that time people with great ideas for useful tools or nifty gadgets have been obtaining patents for those items.