Ebay vendors that you''ve been happy/unhappy with

[T L]

Date: 11/1/2008 8:45:38 PM
Author: cushioncutnut
That sphene is really lovely. It has a nice sparkle factor to it. Widget has some asbsolutely stunning jewelry. If you tourmaline looks like her sapphire... YOU HIT THE MOTHERLOAD!! AWESOME!!!

I too am an Ebay junkie.
It took a few bad auctions in my early Ebay days to know what to look for, but now I think I have gotten quite a knack for weeding out the junk and somewhat fishy sellers.

I wouldn''t say it''s as nice as her sapphire in terms of sparkle and the deepness of color (my stone has more grey in it), but the purple, when it is purple, looks an awful lot like her stone''s purple, and the blue violet on the right, while my stone changes to blue violet, it does have a bit of grey in it. Not quite as rich royal blue, but still lovely. Again, it''s a rare stone for a tourmaline, so I''m thrilled with it.

 

[T L]

One more ebay find from several years ago. I got this blue 11mm Tahitian pearl with great orient and skin for a great deal. The setting was on a home shopping channel that went out of business. They were liquidating their inventory, and I got this gorgeous setting with a half carat of squeaky clean VS white diamonds in a SOLID heavy baguette ballerina setting for around $270. The workmanship on it is tremendous as well since the baguettes look precision fitted. I remember this ring originally going for around $2000 when it first aired on the shopping channel (just goes to show you how much they mark up). It already came with a pearl (more pitted and not as nice a color as my ebay find), so I replaced that one with this one. It''s kind of dirty, but the diamonds are tdf. I LOVE this ring!! Sorry if I''m being obnoxius, I just wanted to show off this ring to pearl lovers like me.

 

[Clairitek]

Thanks for starting this thread! I think I will end up spending far too much time tonight lurking around ebay.

 

[T L]

Another ebay find - Uruguayan amethyst - 12mm round (I forgot the carat weight) with lots of blue and red flashes. You have to be very careful of amethyst on ebay though since there's lots of synthetic material out there. I don't remember this seller.

 

[T L]

Cuprian tourmaline with GIT memo of 7 carats from Thaigemcity. The cutting on it isn't the best, but the color is great. There's a few inclusions, but it's mostly a very clean stone. I had some cutters offer to recut, but the weight loss would be too great, and I love the color. The setting is from Yigaljewelers on ebay, and those diamonds sparkle like crazy in any light even though they're small. The stone wasn't cheap, but I have to tell you that if I purchased it in a store, or on a retail shopping channel, I would pay a ton more!

 

[T L]

Thaigemstore and Thaigemvilliage is a decent store, and the seller is very communicative. These two stores are owned by the same vendor. The pictures of many of the stones look awful, but like multicolour.com, you can sometimes find that stone that stands apart. She will also get a GIT memo for any tourmaline if you request it (I think it''s like an extra $10), and that means a lot. I got the above stone from her, and it has nice colour.

I found someone buying copper bearing stones from this vendor, setting them in rings, and reselling. All the buyers went ga ga over his rings. I emailed her to tell her of that, and now she''s selling rings.

 

[CharmyPoo]

Two more reviews:

settgold - I purchased two red spinels and a pink tourmaline. All arrived quickly and turned out like the photos. I am not super excited about them but the stones aren''t complete crap. I have to look at the two red spinels more but the round spinel I posted about looks like it could have potential.

gemdesignstone - I purchased a green, pink tourmaline, and 3 huge purple amethysts. The stones were actually better than pictured. I love the green tourmaline and the pink one turned out nicer than expected too (but the photo wasn''t great). I would buy from them again.

roelbestbid - I purchased a lot of cheaper stones such as citrines, mystic topaz, aquamarines and amethysts. The seller is great and I was pleased with the stones. They are actually pretty nice stones for what they are. I might try to pick up a sapphire from them.


Update on some of the other sellers:

gem_cove - I am trying to discuss the more expensive super dark spinel but apparently he has been out buying stones for weeks. His wife isn''t helpful and hasn''t responded to my last 2 emails.

vivid-diamonds-jewelry - I have been trying to get a refund on my pearl pendant (they do have a return policy) but I can''t get a hold of them. No one picks up the phone or returns my email. I just filed a dispute through ebay.

royalauctioneers - Great custom service. I asked for 50% refund on the stones that were misrepresented since I didn''t want to return them. I also asked for my money back on the stones I didn''t receive. He refunded 100% for the misrepresented and missing stone. All in all they dealt with the problem well and I am happy.


To come .. 2 more ...

 

[T L]

CharmyPoo,
I would love to see some of your acquisitions! Especially the ones you''re really happy with.

 

[newsboysgrl777]

Date: 11/15/2008 11:53:39 AM
Author: tourmaline_lover
CharmyPoo,
I would love to see some of your acquisitions! Especially the ones you''re really happy with.

*BUMP* *BUMP*

I second tourmaline_lover''s request, Charmy!! I <3 pictures! (who wouldn''t?)

 

[norman$]

I''ve bought maybe $20K in stones from ebay sellers. Here are a few that I have been especially impressed with for various reasons and would recommend to my closest friends and family. I know of a bunch of others, but these are the tops of my lists and are still active on the increasingly moribund eBay system. Nevertheless, caveat emptor!!!! Always!!

american-thai
real stones, unusually well-cut and often very rare materials.

coloreddiamonds
Have bought a few nice garnets from them, and all was good.

gemlineinc
real stuff from a real US company- I''ve gotten both rough and cut stones with no problems. Items are accurately represented.

gemsmystery_imperial
Got 2 really nice large (~5 ct) colored natural spinels that I had ID''s and recut in the US with breathtaking results.

facetorjay
A US gem cutter. Specializes in unusual stones, and I''ve met him and seen more of his stuff at local mineral (NOT GEM) shows. "Wow" is far too feeble to express what the guy can do with a chunk of cuprite...

freakingcat_gems
Sells everything from ugly rocks to fabulous rarities, and everything in between. Honest and communicative. Accurate desc''ns.

mastercutgems
Another US gemcutter who is also a gemologist with a full ID lab- he does not provide "certs" but for a reasonable fee, he just might- never asked. Scrupulously accurate descriptions (verified by other gemologists) - his photographs leave much to be desired but thats a GOOD thing, if you know what I mean. I''d buy every last thing he has if I could find the cash and even a passing excuse.

opaldoveling
I''ve bought a couple loose opals and one or 2 loose other gems- I was and remain very impressed. Never bought his jewelry but I''d expect them to be just as good as the unset stones. And when he says "bright" opal he means it.

orcagems
A part time opal guy- neat stuff- not bleeding edge styles, brightest insane stones or anything, but another scrupulously honest seller of rough and finished opals of all types (lots of faceted ethiopian stuff these days) from mid to low price points

tanngocviet
mostly a seller of mineral specimens but some rough and cut unset stones, too. I got a super nice pink spinel for a reasonable price (3 cts, ~$350), good native cut (no window, but US re-cutting would triple the value), and a nice bright scissors-cut yellow beryl, too.

suroori
Nice spinels, fair values and better-than-average cuts. Have not yet had the stones checked out by a 3rd party but my own observations indicate accurate ID. Images are a bit lighter than in my hand, so expect 1 shade darker than you see. Never tried their sapphires. They also have a small, crappy looking website with their nicer and larger stones at Jewelsapphire.com

weblorn
A seller of nice, primarily custom US-cut stones. Higher priced than most on ebay, but still very very reasonable for really nice and well-cut stones. Nice lady, too.

 

[glitterata]

I haven''t bought that many loose gemstones on ebay, but I''ve bought a lot of Victorian jewelry. I''ve found some amazing deals.

The best deals are have been from individuals, not dealers--for example, people who are selling their personal collection or a few items from a relative''s estate. But you have to really know your stuff, or it''s easy to make mistakes and buy reproductions etc.

There are a few dealers I''ve had good luck with. I like the seller nalfie. Her prices aren''t the absolute lowest, but they certainly could be worse, and her stuff is beautifully chosen, rare, and completely genuine.

 

[T L]

Date: 10/28/2008 11:03:54 PM
Author: Harriet
I buy from ParaibaInternational and am happy with them. Buy from their website rather than their ebay site, though.

I''ve been browsing their website lately, and although the prices are pretty high, they do seem to have some quality rare items you cannot find anywhere else. I really hear lots of good things about them from many people, and also how great the customer service is. I also like the fact that they have videos of each stone.

 

[Harriet]

Unlike certain other ebay vendors, Adam''s photographs and videos are accurate representations of his stones.