Brass is considered an unfinished product, and will be sold as-is. If you are ordering brass items, please keep in mind that brass can vary greatly in color. It may be a bright and shiny gold color, bright and shiny copper color, or dull and dingy dark patina (dark and spotty) over a gold or copper color. All items are machine made and some may show marks from the machines (marring or scratching) and will need to be buffed or polished. There is no way to control the way the brass comes in. We make every effort to note any significant flaws (bad tool marks, corrosion, spots that will not polish out, etc.). Sometimes brass findings will come in with markings made in permanent marker; these marks can be polished out with a jewelry polish or dip. We have had great success with polishing brass using a generic jewelry dip which can usually be found near the jewelry counter of a big-box retailer (Target, Wal-Mart, etc.). Occasionally in an assembled brass piece (multiple parts used to make one item, i.e. a linked bracelet), the different components will be different shades of brass. Again, we have no control over this and do not consider this a defect. The manufacturers assume that all brass findings will be plated, oxidized, patina'd, or enameled. If you prefer consistency in colors, you may prefer to order plated items. However, we deal with a number of manufactures as well as platers and the colors of the plated items are not always consistent from one batch to the next. In addition, especially with vintage stock, there may be items that have dark spots that may require a dremmel to polish out or they may not come out completely.