Seven Sins of Agarwood Fraud & an Avoiding List

Agarwood is scarce and pricey, so it is a fraud hotspot. The seven common tricks: oil injection (forcing resin into wood), dyeing/aging-fakes, splicing (gluing chips), imitation wood, misgrading (Sinitic passed as Hue-an, cultivated as wild), fake "sinks" claims, and forged or reused certificates. For the full logic see the 鉴定支柱页.

Practical spot-checks

See if resin looks naturally translucent with coherent grain; feel for abnormally greasy room-temperature surface; smell for distinct cooling-sweet-transparent layering rather than one blast of perfume; a tiny shaving should burn to a clean, moist note, not plastic. Put "scent first" in your order — see the 沉香百科.

Avoiding list (save it)

1) Any "kyara/wild/sinks" claim needs third-party testing and provenance; 2) refuse "story-for-price"; 3) prefer trusted channels that let you smell small amounts first; 4) check the certificate's lab, items and conclusion against the actual piece. More boundaries in 中华香学·产区 and 鉴定支柱页.

(This is industry observation and popular-science summary, not investment advice. Buy agarwood through legal channels with traceable, testable sources.)