Seriously, please read this before buying amulets online
I'll start by saying that I have long felt that my relationship to these objects is very different than that of other foreigners (by which I mean non-thais of all types).
My small blog that almost no one reads is one of only a few (only?) blogs talking about thai amulets which is written by someone who does not sell thai amulets.
And one reason I wanted to make this blog was because I wanted to write a serious article about this topic.
So first I want to talk about the price discrepancy between how much these items are when acquired in Thailand vs acquiring them in foreign countries.
So take a look at this shopee post listing this lanna in-koo amulet for 1300 NTD. 
Clicking on the image that I circled above, you can see that this seller posted an image of the original announcement for this amulet.
But it looks like the image is cut off on the bottom... is that because of shopee's website..? or was the original announcement cropped for some reason?
Let's use google and see if we can find the original announcement somewhere else online.
Well, right off the bat I found this:
Look at the bottom, it shows quite clearly how much it is to reserve one of these models.
Take an even closer look and you will also notice a smaller image of another model very similar to the one being being advertised on shopee. See the red box, it is distributed as a gift if you reserve eight of the other amulet, they value the gift amulet at 79 thb. เฉพาะจอง รับฟรีรายการที่ 8 (มูลค่า 79 บาท)
The one on shoppee does not have the yant written on the reverse, so I'd like to ask, is the yant itself what is being valued at 1200 ntd ? I don't think the discrepancy between these numbers is because of the waterproof frame.
There are many many examples of this.
The truth is, these might be great amulets, and I actually have a simlar lanna in-koo of my own and it's great.
And lets be honest, for those maha saneh amulets, if it works even just one time then I think any guy would agree that 2 or 3 thousand nt is very well worth it!
😉
Back in the days when amulet magazines were popular, they would often say that the newest amulets would be available at Wat HuaLampong (they still have alot of those types of new amulets there), these days there are sites like this this doing pretty much same thing. Of course I can understand that there may be an amulet from some far away province that a person would like to have.
I was once chatting with an amulet dealer who I really respect and appreciate so much, I picked up some very unique item in his shop (I forget how much he was asking for it) but anyways, I made some remark that he probably acquired this for less like 200 thb. I retracted my remark when he told me where he had traveled to in order to acquire it.
So it isn't like I totally don't understand.
Even if the price for some items is in the difficulty locating it then what accounts for listings like this?
For anyone new to thai amulets, you should know that the shrine to Er Ge Feng is in Bangkok's Chinatown a few blocks away from the blue line. A very popular area for tourists and very easy to get to.
And I'll tell you that these are available on the street below at around 40-50 thb/per piece. And alot of these listing show that the seller has hundreds available, so I'd imagine one could make a deal if one got 100+ of them.
These four listings, showing four difference prices all use the same pictures and are all listed as being in Taoyuan. The ones listed at 831 ntd says there are 6000+ in stock.
At 831 ntd, at least make it a 100 note!
Oh, here we are, listed for 1212 NTD
What in the world?
Who is buying this stuff?
Here is a listings for talismans from Wat Bang Phra. Nakhon Pathom isn't Bangkok, but it isnt that far out either. I dont remember how much these are sold for at the temple, all I know is that the one time I was there, me and two of my good friends were all given a set of these as gifts.
I took a picture of the sign so I could remember what each one was for.
These last two items bring us answer a very important question: YES, alot of the sellers of these items online really are beautiful girls!
From what I've seen when I have visited these two places I talked about above, they are all mainlanders, but it looks like those shopee accounts might be from taiwanese girls too.
Wat Bang Phra will often be full of sexy mainland girls who will sit on the floor posting the items on wechat.
Maybe buying them from the cuties means they come with extra maha niyom and maha saneh. 😙
Gotta get that picture and video to prove that "all the goods I sell have been properly blessed!"
A few times I have seen some mainland cuties at the Er Ge Feng shrine too buying amulets to sell.
(Its worth adding that alot of those stalls on the street that sell those things are run by really pretty local girls.)
And I have also been in a few amulet shops in Taiwan where the clerk is a cutie that the boss hired to sit there.
Interestedly enough in at least one of the examples of this I am talking, about the girls showed no knowledge and little interest at all in amulets and would have to text the boss to even find the price.
(get the amulet and then wear it and come back the next day to ask her out?)
Anyways, those three items discussed above are just to illustrate a few of the points that I think are worth considering before buying amulets online.
But these examples are maybe not the types of amulets that a person who may read this blog would be interested in. So how about for those very old or special amulets. Generally, it seems that those types of amulets when listed online are still quite a bit higher than what one would get them for at Pantip.
Part of this of course is just that everything is cheaper in Thailand.
Sometimes alot cheaper.
Compare these screen shots from one of my favorite youtubers compared with this shopee listing:
Here is the same amulet with the current price of 40thb being listed on shopee for 350ntd. Still quite a mark up.
Here is another 40 thb amulet in a very ordinary, not waterproof case listed on shopee for 600ntd.
Some sellers only do a modest 75% mark up:
We could easily do this for any amulet and any temple, so here is my last examples,
Last time I was there was about 5 months ago and there was still plenty of series 6 and 7 in a variety of different cases available for about 400-800 thb.
But for a person is thinking of ordering amulets online, cost shouldnt be the only consideration, look at this screenshot (again from this awesome channel)
Now, I have a very good relationship with the employees at my local convieneince store, but they have never handed me a package this way.
I feel like a person really loses something if they buy amulets online.
And while the examples I used above are all from the sinosphere, one can also go on western websites like ebay and etsy, set the ship to location to the US and find things listed for 20 or even 50 USD that could be purchased by the dozen at Thaphrachan for a few hundred thb.
Those listings on those western websites are mostly from thai sellers who, unlike their chinese counrerparts, dont even bother to take a picture of the items in front of some ajarn's shrine.
(This reflects a perception, or maybe a reality that people in those western counties arent interested in what ritual the amulet has been through?)
I'm not even trying to say people shouldnt buy these things online. I just want to point out somethings that people should consider before spending their money.
I once joked to a friend that I was going to roll up a donation reciept and wear it as a takrut.
But really, the best amulet in the world is true refuge in the three jewels.
I know someone who has so many amazing amulets and bucha in his office. He has never bought any of them.
He works in construction business and so aside from amulets he has received while making merit, the temples his business works with will often give him and his employees amulets as a show of thanks. Sometimes if a new amulet has been made, the abbott will give him several for him to give to his family. And he has given me some when I go visit He is older now and so some of his amulets are now 50+ years old, and some of them were given to him into his own hand by quite famous teachers who have now passed away.
Doesnt that make the amulet more special?
Some people used to say, we dont choose the amulet, the amulet chooses us.
I myself has recieved most of my thai amulets from making merit at temples, as gifts from friends, and occasionaly as gifts from strangers.
One time, I was at a Buddhist event in Taiwan and when I commented on a thai amulet that someone was wearing, he reached into his pocket and gifted me a nice 1993 LP Koon.
Another time, I was was chatting to some local Thais as we were all going downstairs leaving the Er Ge Feng shrine at the same time. This guy, basically a stranger I met on the stairs gave me an awesome Er Ge Feng amulet. He was a local devotee and had commissioned some amulets to be made out of his own devotion and was giving them to people he thought should have them.
(I would doubt he was giving them to those sellers I mentioned, but if he had they probably would have taken a picture of it and put it up for sale on wechat right there!)
A few years ago I commissioned 1000 amulets to be made to commemorate the passing of a monk I really respect.
I spent some serious money on them, and gave them all away. I just did it to honor my teacher and make merit.
One time, I was walking in Geylang and met someone who knew this monk and was just about to go to nepal to visit some other people I knew, who themselves also knew this monk, I gave him a handful for him to take, so that some of those amulets actually went all the way to the Buddha's own homeland!
And of course I have also acquired amulets when I have went to make merit at different temples.
To me, these are the best ways to acquire amulets.
And while I know that alot of people enjoy buying things online. For me even if I went online and ordered a 100 year old Wat Rakhang, I would still treasure the amulets that I was gifted more. (and I would know they are original too!)
And ignoring the cost for a minute, if I were to buy something that is not super easy to find, like real cat placenta or real beeswax, would I really want to get it from someone who is also selling rian coins at a such high mark up?
How would I feel using it while knowing that the person I bought it from for 5000 paid closer to 500 for it?
These are all things I think should be considered when deciding to buy amulets online.
Most of the amulets I have that I treasure the most are ones that the circumstances of me acquiring it are special, or that something awesome happened while I was wearing it.
It is my merit from past lives that I have the amulets that I do and to have acquired them the way I have.
We keep these things to help us, to change our lives in serious ways. Should they really be purchased the same way one purchases socks?
I mean, at least going to Pantip is fun and an interesting social gathering.
And even in Taiwan and Singapore, there are a few amulet shops that I do really like going to. And shops have a social component, we can learn about amulets and they can help put your amulets in cases.
And Wat Palelai in has amulets that one can ask for, I myself have one of these from 1982 and right now they are collecting donations
And if a person isnt attatched to having a Thai amulet many temples in Taiwan have amulets available.
But how about a person who would like these types of items, doesnt want to buy them online, but doesnt live in a central land?
Many foreign countries have a Thai temple where one could go and ask for an amulet. One could even ask the monks to take refuge and precepts!
But if a person really wants a Thai amulet and their only way to get one is to order it online then I am happy to send them one from my own collection.
I will choose what I send, but you have to tell me a little bit about yourself, that way we are like friends and you are getting an amulet as a gift from a friend. I will probably include a dharma book (or a few dharma books if you want) so also let me know if there is some language other than english that you prefer.
Also happy to send some amulets from Taiwan as well if you'd like.
I dont want any money, and I'll pay the shipping myself.
I am just happy to be able to help these things be with people who value them.
Like I said, my relationship with these types of objects is really very different from many other people who like these things.