wrote:
> I don't normally respond to these posts replies myself, but I had the
> unexpected luxury of a little free time this afternoon, so I figured
> I'd take a stab. The Makaibari Silver tips first flush we are offering
> is the last of that tea that has not already been purchased or sold
> elsewhere. Take a stroll around the internet and try to find it and
> you will see what we're talking about. Can you buy Makaibari FTGFOP1S
> silver tips somewhere else?

Yes it is available elsewhere, a quick search yielded several sources
who make the exact same claims that you do, including vintage, and
every single one of these is much less expensive.
http://tinyurl.com/l9now
http://tinyurl.com/znucq
http://tinyurl.com/hd9zj (yes this one is sold out, but look at their
price compared to yours)
http://tinyurl.com/gxbyh (very similar)

> In addition, if you manage to find it, how
> has it been stored? In a bag or some sort of "airtight" container?
> And is it the tea they are actually claiming it to be?

Why should we trust you more than we would trust these others? EVERBODY
"says" that they store their teas well, and they all say that their
teas are authentic. There is an old saying that "the tea doesn't
lie", which means that really the only way that we can know that your
tea is better than anyone else's is to try it. However, since the
price of admission is so high with your teas I strongly recommend
offering a sampler assortment. As Dominic stated, many of us are true
aficionados who WILL spend top dollar on tea, but you are unknown to
us, and EVERYBODY out there claims their tea is the best!

The thing you must understand is that most of us have been ripped off
too many times by vendors who claimed to offer great tea but only
delivered mediocre leaf at best. So, we are naturally skeptical when a
new kid comes on the block making fantastic claims. Since we can't
see, touch, smell, or taste your tea before we make our purchase we
have every right to be skeptical until we get to know you! You may have
the best tea in the world but this group is getting very street-wise
about our mail order purchases, and while many of us are willing to pay
top dollar for top leaf we also expect you to prove yourself before we
shell out the big bucks. The easiest way to prove yourself is to
offer/sell some samples or sample assortments.

The tea doesn't lie!
____
Mike
http://www.pu-erh.net