Fake Sterling Silver Jewelry

Recently I purchased some jewelry and it was stamped 925, which normally means that it is sterling silver, and you might already know I am a collector of silver. The jewelry was very heavy and even though I don't have a good knowledge yet of the industry I felt that at the time the price was right so I bought some of it. I take it to a local dealer that i know and he ends up buying it, with the knowledge that it is sterling silver jewelry. One week later he informs me that the jewelry is counterfeit sterling silver, I was shocked because I purchased over $100 of it. I then do some research and find out that there is a lot of fake sterling silver jewelry going around, and even though it is stamped 925 it doesn't mean that it is real sterling silver. There are a few tests that you can do to prevent yourself from falling for the same scam that I fell for, the first is not to buy silver from China, especially if the price is well under the spot price of silver. The second test is the acid test, you have to buy a silver test kit. Please do not buy jewelry if you feel that the price is too low because chances are that it is not real.