Tell us the ebay gem sellers you''ve had good experiences with!

[Novel]

As I try to talk a friend into not using a $4 ebay gem for an e-ring, I was thinking that maybe it would be good to have a list of sellers on ebay that people have had good experiences with, where the gem looked reasonably like it did online and was not synthetic, BE diffused, coated, etc.

If I'm missing where this is, I apologize, and please let me know!

ETA: please also mention what type of gem you bought and if it came with a cert or you got it certified afterward (or if you just have it as a fun stone!).

 

[mousey]

used vallejo916 a couple of times and really liked what he sent me. he s also a v. nice person.

 

[cellentani]

Date: 10/21/2009 7:01:35 PM
Author: mousey
used vallejo916 a couple of times and really liked what he sent me. he s also a v. nice person.

I've gotten fantastic stones from him too - what did he send you, mousey? He hasn't been on ebay much.

 

[T L]

What's up? He finally learned to take pictures so you can SEE the stone. LOL!!

 

[morecarats]

I guess it''s not surprising that this thread has drawn less interest than the many threads about eBay fraud.

But it would be interesting to hear from more buyers who''ve had good experiences on eBay. In the interest of giving the discussion a bit more substance, I would define "good experience" as: (1) the item was tested as described by the seller; and (2) the price was at least 50% below what you pay from a recognized reputable dealer (such as the many well known dealers selling from their own websites). Since it''s acknowledged that buying on eBay can be risky, you expect to get a very good price (hence the 50% suggestion).

 

[Novel]

Thanks, MoreCarats. I like your substance. Of course, fraud is more titillating, but I think reliability and insight into where to go are just as useful.

 

[mousey]

Hi Cellentani. I got my stones from him a while ago. He sent me a sunstone and a pink tourm. The sunstone is just beautiful- its a pale yellowy orange, and it sparkles like mad. the tourm is nice, but is a little grey. I have sent both, along with a lovely 4 peaks ammy, to julia to set into a pendant. I found Vallejo to be really nice, and i really liked his cutting. I used a different ebay seller when trying to get the ammy, and it was horrible- almost black with a chip. Thankfully he let me send it back, and i decided to invest a bit extra and go with gary dutton.

 

[T L]

Date: 10/22/2009 9:36:08 AM
Author: morecarats
I guess it''s not surprising that this thread has drawn less interest than the many threads about eBay fraud.

But it would be interesting to hear from more buyers who''ve had good experiences on eBay. In the interest of giving the discussion a bit more substance, I would define ''good experience'' as: (1) the item was tested as described by the seller; and (2) the price was at least 50% below what you pay from a recognized reputable dealer (such as the many well known dealers selling from their own websites). Since it''s acknowledged that buying on eBay can be risky, you expect to get a very good price (hence the 50% suggestion).

Hi MC,
I have a thread floating around the CS forum someplace that I started on great ebay finds. I have to locate it. I, for one, have found major deals on ebay. Way better than I could have ever done even being a wholesaler. Many of these items came with certs or from very reputable sellers that now have successful online businesses, but got their start on ebay.

 

[gemguy24]

small thing, but vallejo916 doesnt have anything for sale right now....just as a heads up

also i think dan stair has an ebay account but nothing on it right now either i dont think?

i have gotten some stuff from rockstooriches before, hes very easy to communicate with, but has nothing for sale now

 

[Liane]

I have also had good experiences with vallejo, whom I found through TL''s recommendations on Pricescope (thanks!). I''ve bought four gems from him (a beautiful peachy-pink tourmaline, a slightly muddy green-yellow-brown tourmaline that I''m keeping just as an inexpensive oddball, and two zircons, one orange and one brown) and I have liked them all.

The pink tourmaline is one of my most favorite gems. The others are not going to knock anybody''s socks off on color, but were very reasonably priced for what they are, and I like having them as inexpensive but beautifully cut starter stones to help me get used to seeing the different colors and types of gems in person.

The only criticism I would have about vallejo is that he used to package his stones horribly (I think there have been other threads about this -- he''d just stick them in a paper envelope and drop them in the mail, bam, done. It is a wonder my pink tourmaline wasn''t destroyed in transit). After getting bugged about it by me and probably some other PS''ers, he''s a little bit better now because he at least uses padded envelopes, but man, I wish that guy would get some gem boxes.

I have also heard good things about weblorn but have not purchased from that eBay store myself yet.

 

[cellentani]

Date: 10/22/2009 12:11:33 PM
Author: Liane
I have also had good experiences with vallejo, whom I found through TL''s recommendations on Pricescope (thanks!). I''ve bought four gems from him (a beautiful peachy-pink tourmaline, a slightly muddy green-yellow-brown tourmaline that I''m keeping just as an inexpensive oddball, and two zircons, one orange and one brown) and I have liked them all.

The pink tourmaline is one of my most favorite gems. The others are not going to knock anybody''s socks off on color, but were very reasonably priced for what they are, and I like having them as inexpensive but beautifully cut starter stones to help me get used to seeing the different colors and types of gems in person.

The only criticism I would have about vallejo is that he used to package his stones horribly (I think there have been other threads about this -- he''d just stick them in a paper envelope and drop them in the mail, bam, done. It is a wonder my pink tourmaline wasn''t destroyed in transit). After getting bugged about it by me and probably some other PS''ers, he''s a little bit better now because he at least uses padded envelopes, but man, I wish that guy would get some gem boxes.

I have also heard good things about weblorn but have not purchased from that eBay store myself yet.

Glad to hear your gems survived, Liane - I did have a gem get crushed in the mail.

Fortunately, ALL of his current items for sale promise a gem jar, along with a padded envelope!

 

[T L]

Date: 10/22/2009 11:55:35 AM
Author: gemguy24
small thing, but vallejo916 doesnt have anything for sale right now....just as a heads up

also i think dan stair has an ebay account but nothing on it right now either i dont think?

i have gotten some stuff from rockstooriches before, hes very easy to communicate with, but has nothing for sale now

You can always look at his completed ebay auctions and email him to see if he has anything available.

I've also heard welborn is good as well, not cheap, but fairly priced.

Check out facetorjay on ebay from time to time as well for precision cut collectors gems. I purchased a 5 carat cuprite from him for my colleciton.

 

[Lady_Disdain]

Ok, I am looking through my ebay sellers list.

Valleja has been mentioned (Bob Kast)
Dan Stair ocasionally puts up a few stones, but mostly opals
GemlineInc is trustworthy, but they generally have buy it now sales, not auctions (but I have some great bargains from their auctions)
TipTopGems (David) is run by a certified gemologst of good reputation. I have always been satisfied, specially now that he has better stones up in ebay
MastercutGems also has nice stones
Weblorn (Gemnut) is also trustworthy and has some nice stones up
TheGemTrader is great for unusual stones (but not perhaps what one usually looks for in a e-ring)

Now, for a controversial seller. I have had some luck with ThaiGemstore (a few nice stones, for the price, but 2 were very dark) but other people have received stones that were significantly different from the photos.

 

[GliderPoss]

Can you pretty please post links to those sellers coz I cannot seem to find them through the store search! Thanks.

 

[Indylady]

If you''re looking for diamond accents, Mlopros is awesome. He''s even got a phone number up, and is great to talk to. I''ve bought from him and been extremely satisfied.

 

[autumngems]

I bought a smoking .39 diamond from MLOPROS, I have it set in a bezel pendant I wear everyday, it was a K but it''s white as my other diamonds. That was 250$. I have purchased others from him as well and was just as happy with those, he has great prices.
I have never gotten a bad deal off Ebay and buy all the time. I will have to login and make a list of sellers I have dealt with to post.

 

[Arcadian]

I''ve had lots of luck with bob Kast.

exportgems is pretty good but I''m very selective with their stuff. They did send me the wrong stone once but they are accomodating as long as you explain the problem to them.


bkkgemstones also has some nice stuff. They have a lot of unusual stones too. They have a website outside of ebay.


From both, shipping can take a while if you''re in the US. You can find a decent deal, but it won''t be the most awesome deal you ever had though.

I can''t rightly say that thanex is ok. I''ve had luck with him only once. Only 1 stone checked out to be natural with no BE or heat. Unfortunately the stone color/cut was also not even close to the picture. the reason I kept it because it checked out and would have cost me more than I paid to send it back. I am forever grateful my jeweler has the stuff to properly check this stuff out for me.

The available cert doesn''t even tell you about treatments, so I always just assume treated. I will only say that each time I sent a stone back he has been quick to refund once recieved. You do have to know what your getting and unless you''re willing to spend the money its probably just not worth it.


And I''ve made my feelings known about mydiamondzone....ugh! I do not recommend them at all!

With any ebay seller it pays to be on your p''s and q''s.


-A

 

[T L]

Date: 10/23/2009 12:28:55 PM
Author: Arcadian
I've had lots of luck with bob Kast.

exportgems is pretty good but I'm very selective with their stuff. They did send me the wrong stone once but they are accomodating as long as you explain the problem to them.


bkkgemstones also has some nice stuff. They have a lot of unusual stones too. They have a website outside of ebay.


From both, shipping can take a while if you're in the US. You can find a decent deal, but it won't be the most awesome deal you ever had though.

I can't rightly say that thanex is ok. I've had luck with him only once. Only 1 stone checked out to be natural with no BE or heat. Unfortunately the stone color/cut was also not even close to the picture. the reason I kept it because it checked out and would have cost me more than I paid to send it back. I am forever grateful my jeweler has the stuff to properly check this stuff out for me.

The available cert doesn't even tell you about treatments, so I always just assume treated. I will only say that each time I sent a stone back he has been quick to refund once recieved. You do have to know what your getting and unless you're willing to spend the money its probably just not worth it.


And I've made my feelings known about mydiamondzone....ugh! I do not recommend them at all!

With any ebay seller it pays to be on your p's and q's.


-A

I know lots of people trust Thanex, but I do not. Did you get other stones from them that were BE treated? I find they will say "heat only", but that can mean BE treatment as well.

 

[Arcadian]

TL, the last one I sent back, my jeweler it had signs of high heat, which from what he told me usually means a treatment has been involved. He also said on closer examination the outside of the stone was a differnt color than the inside. His advice was to send it back, or, if I wanted to take it further,he could send it to a lab for me. I declined because what he told me was more than enough.

So these days if I DO purchase from him which is rare, its a stone that I won''t give a crap if its treated or not (which means I never bid over 20 bucks)

However, the baby pink one I purchased was the real deal. Its got one hell of a window in itin no way matched the vendor pic, but no evidence of even heating. It would be a stone that I would bezel set, so not bad for 16 bucks really.

From my experience, he''s got a mixed bag of stuff, and I don''t really think he even knows it.


-A

 

[cellentani]

Date: 10/22/2009 10:16:13 PM
Author: HotPozzum
Can you pretty please post links to those sellers coz I cannot seem to find them through the store search! Thanks.

Which ones can''t you find, HotPozzum?

Dan Stair only occasionally auctions stones on ebay, and there''s a direct link on his website.

Mastercutgems also has a link in their sidebar menu to any current ebay auctions.

Bob Kast used to sell under Vallejo916 on ebay, but he''s trying a new venue. There''s info on his site, www.bobkast.com to his current stuff.

Weblorn is a seller on ebay - just do an advanced search.

Gemline has a link at the top of their site, but they go by the seller name gemlineinc on ebay.

 

[Lady_Disdain]

Finding ebay sellers can be a pain.

So here are a few:

Our very own Amethyst Guy
Dan Stair
Gem Line
Lembeck(great eyecandy!)
MastercutGems
ThaiGemStore
TipTopGems
Vallejo
Weblorn
TheGemTrader

 

[beaujolais]

--- Lembeck(great eyecandy!) --

Do you mean the stones or the fellow in the left upper corner?

 

[Lady_Disdain]

Not my style, but I could totally go for a guy who knows fine gemstones

He could do better than a "hold camera up to the mirror" photo, though.

SHould we start a different "eye candy" thread? It seem that several vendors and cutters could feature in it.

 

[beaujolais]

Go for it, LD.

Say, anyone know about a seller called nicegems 1960?

http://myworld.ebay.com/nicegems1960/

Thanks.

 

[autumngems]

emerald-imports
gemdesignstone
xdiamonds
sam_sun_gems
facedgem
americanset

 

[Arkteia]

Date: 10/24/2009 8:09:34 PM
Author: sonomacounty
Go for it, LD.

Say, anyone know about a seller called nicegems 1960?

http://myworld.ebay.com/nicegems1960/

Thanks.

I have not dealt with nicegems 1960 but bought a citrine from nicegems. The citrine cost me $ 5.00, the shipping cost was $ 16.00. Worse, I still have not received it.

I have recently bought a nice spessartine from aaagems888. Has anyone else bought from them?

 

[Selkie]

I would add:
Seriously-gemented
Rixrox (also has a website, Earth''s Treasures, and frequently goes to various California gem shows.

I also tend to stay away from overseas sellers, but have been lucky with two pairs of small sapphires, one from Ploythai, and the other from Thanex.