Q of the D: Talismans and the Internet

I was wondering what your opinion was on buying, rather than making, blessed amulets, talismans, etc. I was browsing Pyramid Collections not too long ago, and found that they were selling "Magickal Weight-Loss Necklaces," made from a variety of different gemstones, each associated with some attribute I was unaware of. This seems, to me, rather uncouth, especially when considering the fact that most people who undergo considerable weight loss eventually end up gaining all of their weight back, plus more. Would you say this is acceptable as long as results weren't guaranteed, or simply right out?

I think some of these people are outright frauds, There is a large market for such items, so some people will hang a rock on a string and sell it on the internet as specially blessed, attuned, etc. Obviously, fraud is wrong, and one of the problems with buying magical items, particularly from strangers, is that you have no way of verifying that you have received the services for which you have paid. It isn't merely a question of "do blessings work?" but "did the seller even bother blessing it to begin with, regardless of the efficacy of blessing?"

For this reason, I personally will never, ever buy an item supposedly magically altered by the seller. I'm certainly not saying all sellers are crooks. I just have no way of separating the good from the bad. (On top of which, I'm not a big believer that strangers can effectively work the kinds of changes these sellers claim.)

In the example you give, there is actually an additional layer to this question. This seller doesn't seem to promising to work any kind of magic upon his or her wares. Instead, these talismans are being sold on the idea that the substances from which they are made do all the work. So whether or not you should buy it will depend on whether you think stones have inherent magical properties and if you think these particular stones have the specific qualities that are being advertised. It is my experience that if you find ten internet sellers selling magical amethyst, for example, you'll find at least five different claims as to what amethyst can actually do.

Does that make me personally skeptical and suspicious? You betcha!

Does that make this particular seller unethical? Not necessarily. He or she may honestly believe those combination of stones cause the effect they advertise. They can be ethical and still be wrong.

Now, if they *insist* their product will work, then they are probably frauds, although it's possible they are just really out of touch with reality...which is still a good reason to not buy their product! If they don't understand that magic influences rather than guarantees, what are the chances they got the other details correct?