Differing prices of gemstones

[Kwant]

I love bidding on ebay for stones, choosing only those suppliers who have very high positive feedback and a large number of sales. I set my limit and only bid in the last few seconds so I do not get tempted to overbid. I have built up quite a nice collection of stones this way, and "touch wood" to date have not been disappointed. Of course they could all be glass and I would be none the wiser :0)

As to lab grown stones, I have bought a few and they have been very impressive, all round great value for money.

[medusa]

I bought a huge lab grown emerald from the USA to set into a PMC pendant I was making. the damn thing came out looking like it had melted (this was about three years ago and my second go ever with PMC so I was completely clueless). Thinking I had been cheated I dropped it into the hydrofluoric acid to dissolve my expensive glass but it remained. I ground out the bits where it had stuck to the mesh in the kiln (don't ask!) and it kinda looks OK now. I still wear it as a reminder of how rubbish I was but that i am slowly improving!

[Melanie De Castro Pugh]

So Kwant, you're an eBay sniper too ;-)


Melanie

http://www.spinysharklythings.com

[Dennis]

I still wear it as a reminder of how rubbish I was but that i am slowly improving!

Not rubbish just impulsive I guess.
I had a brief fling with PMC when it first came out, partly because the agency was so resistant to anyone getting hold of it other than 'trade'. I put red glass eyes into a Teddy Bear, and they glowed brightly while firing. Dennis.

[Kwant]

Yes Melanie it seems I am, though I did not know it until a week or so ago when I was study and studio less while some work was going on, and having some time on my hands I read some of the ebay forums. Ha, and I recognised that yes indeed I am a sniper, hated by some and, considered wise by others :0)

Of course like all my vices it is done manually :0)

[medusa]

Yes Melanie it seems I am, though I did not know it until a week or so ago when I was study and studio less while some work was going on, and having some time on my hands I read some of the ebay forums. Ha, and I recognised that yes indeed I am a sniper, hated by some and, considered wise by others :0)

Of course like all my vices it is done manually :0)

computer aided sniping is actually rubbish. I tried it once and the closest you could get to the line was 7 seconds and then it sometimes didn't do it. Plus you miss out on the sheer excitement. As an ebay seller, I much prefer the two people on ebay who get so competitive that they end up buying something for four times its value. The flurry of snipers at the end of a sale is also really exciting when you see something go from £60 to £600 in the space of a few seconds.

[Wallace]

Yes Melanie it seems I am, though I did not know it until a week or so ago when I was study and studio less while some work was going on, and having some time on my hands I read some of the ebay forums. Ha, and I recognised that yes indeed I am a sniper, hated by some and, considered wise by others :0)

Of course like all my vices it is done manually :0)

I am a sniper too! Lol - need to limit what I spend so I can't get hooked into the potential price war and end up paying four times the value of something and never get it back.. I do get out sniped several times, but at least I am not sat on the auction waiting for it to go higher and higher and get drawn into it.

There is also opal auctions, I like that site as I am a bit of an opal fan.

[ps_bond]

computer aided sniping is actually rubbish. I tried it once and the closest you could get to the line was 7 seconds and then it sometimes didn't do it.

On the rare occasions I use EBay, if it's not BIN I'll snipe - usually using jBidWatcher. 1s from the close and the highest price I'm prepared to pay; I've not seen it fail to try to date.

[Kwant]

Ooooooh Wallace I am worryingly addicted to opals of late and have bought .... well let's just say probably too many of the Ethiopian types, which just fascinate me, luckily I have, I think been getting them for what seems to me really good prices.

Here is a pic of a couple I got not so long ago:


opals by kwant, on Flickr


not the easiest of things to take photos of but they are absolute beauties.

[Julian]

Hello

I'm looking to buy gemstones, but am finding that the prices for the same sized stone vary so much between 3 or 4 reputable suppliers. E.g. the same sized stone ranges from £15, to £40 to £65 depending on where I look.

As a general rule, does this mean than the higher price you pay from a reputable supplier, the better quality the stone?

Not really sure whether to go for the most I can afford or find the best bargain?

Thanks..

To be honest for most the seller is not going to make a loss, though some may try to tempt buyers with a loss leader or average their sale price when they calculate their profits.

Have an idea how much per carat you are prepared to pay and stop. ( remember more per carat for larger sizes )

Build a small group of sellers that you trust. Test buy and be prepared to write off. Recommendations and reputations count.

People keep a 100% reputation on eBay by using customer service and communication to resolve issues!

If you really want great stones, learn everything you can, and be prepared to pay for them.

Just some thoughts, I know it's not much help, but there are no easy answers other than education.

Julian