.99 spinel auctions from Hong Kong on ebay...are they real?

[makemepretty]

I notice a lot of gemstone auctions start at .99 on ebay and come from Hong Kong or Thailand. Are the gemstones real? Has anyone purchased any of these?

 

[leggs]

In my amateurish opinion they are but they are lighter than shown usually or very dark.They are cut badly sometimes have windows and usually poor quality luster. But what the hay you can say they are real and if you are lucky they will look good for the money.
And you know what the best part is,IMO the money you give them for shipping helps them make a living.
On the other hand are the dealers from North America
who are charging way too much shipping unfairly and selling Lab Created for real.doesn't that make you want to bid on a Thai gem?
Private message me and I will give you a list of dealers I have had success with.

 

[BWise]

You really need to check the feedbacks those sellers received to get a sense of their business. I''ve noticed some sellers may sell synthetics without noting it in item description. However, there are some really good sellers who have quality stones and honest return policies.

My 0.20 - never buy from someone who does not allow return.

 

[Edward Bristol]

Sorry, but what kind of a prescious gem can cost .99 cents?

Thats a contradiction in itsself! It is like hot icewater.

What you pay there are the "cutting costs".

That means you pay just enough for a very poor bastard who has to sit 14 hours a day, 7 days a week, in a dimly lit stuffy room, on a wooden bench, ruining his eyes and his back on the oldest machines in order to cut as cheap as possible, so that someone in the west can buy a gem for 0.99.

There is no beauty or creativity involved. Its simple slavery.

The guy running the factory earns only a few cents a stone, but what the heck? He does not ruin his back! So why not?

Human raw material there is enough. So if that guy is done, we get a new one. As long as we can make a cent, that will be fine.

So much about: "buying on cutting cost", an insider term used to imply that you carry your business on the back of those that have nothing and will never have anything but a ruined health. (not to speak about healthinscurance...)

I doubt that this has anything to do with fair or helpfull trade.

People buy six pack t-shirts from asia for $3. On the same day they get upset that 11 years old girls are forced by their parents to work in garment factories for 1 dollar a day instead of going to school. And thats not because the parents are bad thats because they are poor right to the bone.

Enough of it, I guess it is clear what I think about 99 cents gems: They are no gems and they help nobody!

Edward Bristol
www.wildfishgems.com

 

[BWise]

Date: 7/21/2005 10:02:36 PM
Author: Edward Bristol
Sorry, but what kind of a prescious gem can cost .99 cents?



Thats a contradiction in itsself! It is like hot icewater.



What you pay there are the ''cutting costs''.



That means you pay just enough for a very poor bastard who has to sit 14 hours a day, 7 days a week, in a dimly lit stuffy room, on a wooden bench, ruining his eyes and his back on the oldest machines in order to cut as cheap as possible, so that someone in the west can buy a gem for 0.99.


There is no beauty or creativity involved. Its simple slavery.


The guy running the factory earns only a few cents a stone, but what the heck? He does not ruin his back! So why not?


Human raw material there is enough. So if that guy is done, we get a new one. As long as we can make a cent, that will be fine.


So much about: ''buying on cutting cost'', an insider term used to imply that you carry your business on the back of those that have nothing and will never have anything but a ruined health. (not to speak about healthinscurance...)


I doubt that this has anything to do with fair or helpfull trade.


People buy six pack t-shirts from asia for $3. On the same day they get upset that 11 years old girls are forced by their parents to work in garment factories for 1 dollar a day instead of going to school. And thats not because the parents are bad thats because they are poor right to the bone.


Enough of it, I guess it is clear what I think about 99 cents gems: They are no gems and they help nobody!



Edward Bristol

Edward, I think you may have a point on slavary/child labor, but you also missed the word ''starting''. I''ve seen many sellers employed no reserve, 0.99 starting bid auctions to reduce insertion fee and to attract bidder. However the auctions usually end with a price that has nothing to do with .99

Just a thought, which will be a better way to help some ''poor cutters'' - to let them profit from whatever the sale can generate, or to fight against the cause so they can starve with dignity? I really have no answer on that.

Yes there are still people starved to death in today''s world, and this is a forum for luxury items?! Anyone feeling guilty? I doubt and I don''t think anyone should, as long as we''ve done our share to do any help possible.

 

[maxspinel]

Wow, this has evolved into a very controversial and serious topic. I love gems but I admit that I do feel guilty sometimes about lavishing a lot of $$$$ on a frivolous item while a vast majority of the word population are still living in poverty. A child in Africa needs only $1 per day to survive and one ring will support him for years. When I look at things in this perceptive, it is very hard to convince myself that I have done my rightful share

I guess Edward can identify and sympathize the qualify of life of that poor cutter as he must have known what it is like. However, as consumers, we are unaware of where the item came from, how it was made, manufactured and sold; we admire the beauty of the final product and our prime objective is to get the best item at the best value, be it a T-shirt, a dish washer or a gem. Besides that poor cutter, there is probably a poor underpaid soul who spends his life in a dungeon trying to dig roughs off the ground. No one has answers to that. Ignorance is bliss.

 

[makemepretty]

.99 is more than I make as a SAHM. That''s why my sister is finishing up her education to be a Pharmacist, she sees raising the next generation isn''t very financially rewarding Volunteering at our public school doesn''t pay either. Being a good person doesn''t make you a wealthy person, darn it. The auctions do start at .99 but rarely stay that low, it''s just an incentive to make people feel like they can afford the item. I just wanted to make sure the gemstones are real because it would be nice to own something pretty like so many on here, but I can''t afford a $500 plus stone. I think I''ll risk it and buy one. Thank you all.

 

[Edward Bristol]

It is a of course natural and not bad at all to try and get good deals.

Everyone does and has to, if doing business.

However, as a rule of thumb, if a natural handcut stone costs less than, lets say $10 or 15, there is hardly a fair share left for the cutter and the miner.
(That is of course without paying ebay-fees, google-marketing, cert, transport and so on)

Edward Bristol
www.wildfishgems.com