quote ..................... "PS what I should but don’t do is shop eBay. I understand amazing things fall within the cracks all the time, often because they’re incorrectly described."

On occasions that's true, but the cracks aren't signposted, and you're just as likely to fall into an abyss as slip into something nice. Most of the time on line auction sellers don't share our care and integrity, and one bad deal can ruin half a dozen bargains.
With a subject like glass, it's far more sensible to be able to see and handle what you're buying before parting with the shekels - it beggars belief the difference in description that two people can arrive at when speaking of the same piece - it really is a minefield, and not for the faint hearted.
That's not to say honest folk don't populate ebay etc., but there is a minority for whom descriptive honesty seems to be on holiday, permanently.
caveat emptor!!
Antiques markets, bric-a-brac sales, boot sales and the old fashioned dealer, have a lot to recommend them.
