We started in July 1998, and Simon's Specimen Shells became a limited company in December 2004. We are the only registered company in the UK devoted to specimen grade shells.

In the very unlikely event that you should have a grievance with your shell order, remember that you are much safer dealing with a limited company than with a private individual.

Currently we attend the British Shell Collectors' Club shows on the last Saturday of each April and each October. For more information about these shows, please see the BSCC website and click on Programme. We usually attend the Paris show in March, and we shall be attending the Antwerp show starting in 2009.

Our flexible payment options make it easy for collectors around the world to purchase our shells. Currently we have customers in 49 different countries. About half our customers are in the EU, 30% in North America, and the others are spread throughout the rest of the world.

The most pleasurable thing about selling shells (apart from the shells themselves of course!) is that we correspond with absolutely all types of collector. We have total beginners who buy a few shells and then get hooked by the hobby; we have retirees who collected seriously many years ago and are now starting up again; some of our customers collect every single molluscan family, and others have specialised for many years in just one family. We are proud to supply shells to many of today's best-known conchologists who are recognised experts in their fields, and to ten museums around the world. We're also delighted to sell certain aesthetic shells to boutique jewellery manufacturers, and to supply fine specimens to professional photographers.

Just E-mail us and ask to receive regular lists. It always helps us if you can tell us what families you collect.

Just drop us a quick E-mail and we will remove your name from our records. You may also request to receive no communication for a certain period, eg one year.

Almost never, although occasionally we buy a section of a collection such as all the Cypraea. The data from old collections range from excellent to totally non-existent, so this is always the first thing we check before considering a purchase. A very high proportion of shells on our list are freshly collected, and the price for specimens from old collections may be significantly lower. This is because the colours of most shells tend to fade with age.

There are some really amazing websites selling shells now. However, our intention is to stick with a simple format and offer a lot of information without the need for you to spend hours downloading from the internet. The images on this site are very much a personal selection. However, we can supply a digital image of any shell priced at €20 or over, or of any shell where the ID may be questionable.

No. We'll be happy to recommend sources of books, and sometimes we can help you choose the most suitable books for your molluscan library.

No – I certainly cannot claim that! My formal training is in vertebrate biology. My non-professional work in malacology includes being a Research Associate at the Delaware Museum of Natural History, and a Visiting Scientist at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.