FAQs

The British Geological survey defines a fossil as:
"The preserved remains of plants and animals whose bodies were buried in sediments, such as sand and mud, under ancient seas, lakes and rivers. Fossils also include any preserved trace of life that is typically more than 10 000 years old."

We couldn't put it any better than that! Most of the fossils we sell are far older than that; the vast majority are dated to many millions of years old.

We are extremely diligent and experienced in the sourcing of our fossils. We are often able to get our fossils directly from those who are finding them, which helps us guarantee their authenticity.

Faking a fossil is not an easy thing to do. The fossils most likely to be faked are the large, rare and expensive specimens. The vast majority of what we sell is abundant in the fossil record and just not worth faking when it can be found in nature for a fraction of the cost of a fake.

The real pitfall of buying fossils is unscrupulous enhancement. This is where preparation (perhaps removing some surrounding rock to reveal the fossil) tips into addition (using colour enhancement, or resins to 'complete' a specimen).

As we are extremely experienced, buy direct and hand pick every fossil we get, we are able to ensure that we never sell anything that has been added to in this way.

We are of course also bound by the The Trade Descriptions Act. This UK law prevents consumers from being misled by inaccurate descriptions of goods and services. So if we say we are selling you a fossil or a crystal, we are!

We have fantastic network of people that we work with and whenever possible, we buy directly from the people who are finding the fossils. This has become simpler as our business has grown and fossil diggers find us, as well as us seeking them out.

We include an information card with the details, provenance and age of each fossil that we sell. It matches the description you see on our website.

This is a guarantee -backed by law- that what we are selling you is authentic and as described on the card.

We don't call it a 'certificate' as its not issued by an outside authority. And the same is true of anywhere you might buy a fossil, even if they tell you your purchase includes a 'certificate'.

Yes! We have a much much bigger collection in our store than we are able to put online.

Our shop is in a busy part of central London, which means we often sell specimens before we get the chance to photograph them for the website.

Probably! Email us at hello@fossilslondon.com and we will let you know.

We are always happy to take a look at any items you may have to sell, particularly if its something unusual and you don't see anything similar on our website. Just email us a few overview photos at hello@fossilslondon.com and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.