Originally Posted by Mike Petro

Space Cowboy wrote:
Those are typical aged prices you see on the Chinese auction site
TaoBao.

Jim, I can assure you that even in China you will not get a 50 year
old bingcha for $200. If someone offers you one at that price they are
ripping you off somehow. I am extremely confident of this fact.

Auction sites are the least trustworthy place to buy antique puerh
anyway. Remember the compressed block of red tea you found on TaoBao
that was being passed off as a 1950s puerh! Scams like this are common
on the auction sites and they are often much more subtle than this and
harder to detect.

http://tinyurl.com/9g73z

The only way to buy aged puerh, should you so desire, is to buy it from
someone you know and trust, OR to taste the actual tea you buying
BEFORE you buy it, assuming you have a taste memory of other authentic
aged puerhs.

Also dont forget that aged cooked puerh will seldom develop much more
maturity after 7-10 years, so paying extra for 20 -30 year old Shu Pu
has little return on the investment. It is only the Sheng Pu or raw
puerh that *continues* to develop and mature after 20-30 years. I have
30 year old samples of both Shu and Sheng and I can say that only the
Sheng is worth the premium.

Mike.
www.pu-erh.net