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What do you think of this tsavorite?

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Richard M.

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Hi,

The color''s nice but I think the seller may be a little wiggly about clarity. I see what might possibly be a surface-reaching crack in the table. The stone is described as "VS" but the seller has categories for VS1 and VS2 and no plain VS. I know that may sound picky but I''ve learned that very close reading of descriptions is essential with EBay. What''s not mentioned often has great importance. At the very least I''d email to ask what is meant, and for a clear description of the stone''s clarity.

Tsavorite (grossular garnet) is a GIA Type II stone. That means some eye-visible inclusions may be expected though eye-clean stones are preferred and bring higher prices. Depending on your personal preferences the stone may suit you.

Richard M.
 

Harriet

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Hi,

Thanks for your input. I''m a coloured stone novice, so I may be bothering you and others further with naive questions.
 

pyramid

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Date: 4/15/2007 1:08:01 PM
Author: Richard M.
Hi,

The color''s nice but I think the seller may be a little wiggly about clarity. I see what might possibly be a surface-reaching crack in the table. .

Richard M.

Richard

Do you think the surface-reaching crack is in the red area or the yellow area I have circled? Just interested to see.

43200540_o.jpg
 

Harriet

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Me too. Also, is the table assymetrical?

Pyramid,
Are you going to steal it from me?
2.gif
 

Richard M.

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Date: 4/15/2007 3:18:25 PM
Author: Pyramid
Do you think the surface-reaching crack is in the red area or the yellow area I have circled? Just interested to see.

Note my careful use of the word "possibly." I had the red area in mind but it could also be the reflection of a pavilion facet junction. That''s why I recommended asking the seller about the issue of clarity before bidding.

Richard M.
 

Harriet

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Richard,
I''ve e-mailed the seller per your suggestion. Does the table seem assymetrical to you, or is it just the way the stone is tilted?
 

Harriet

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Thanks. Threadjack away!

I don't understand -- the seller has 99.8% feedback. Is buying semi-precious stones on ebay bad?
 

Kaleigh

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What''s the return policy??
 

Harriet

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7 days.

Help -- the auction ends in 3 hours.
 

Kaleigh

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I don''t buy from ebay.
 

pyramid

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Harriet
11.gif



No, honestly, I was asking more to see what Richard M was seeing for the technical side of seeing it. No I am not bidding.




Richard M

Thanks just wanted to see the bit on the table you were speaking about.
 

Harriet

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Pyramid,
I was just joshing with you. What do you think of the stone? The auction ends soon.
 

widget

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Date: 4/15/2007 5:29:28 PM
Author: Harriet
7 days.

Help -- the auction ends in 3 hours.
Well, I wouldn''t ....I don''t know the seller (who''s located in Thailand), and I don''t like what I saw in the link I posted above.

If you do go for it, Harriet...do follow up. I''d love to be proven wrong!

widget
 

Kaleigh

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Most the times the pics look way better than what you end up getting in the mail. That''s why I don''t buy from ebay. Just my 0.2. I would love to be proven wrong too.,
 

Harriet

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Kaleigh,
I've never bought anything on ebay.

Widget,
I don't want to prove anyone wrong! Btw, where do you get your coloured stones?
 

pyramid

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Hi Harriet

Well I like the outline of the stone, the shape looks nice, colour looks nice but that is just my opinion I don't know anything about garnet and what is the best colour. It depends what I wanted to spend but I would probably go to a local jeweller or try Wink at Winfields or Bob at Whiteflash if I wanted to buy a really nice one.

In the past I have bought gemstones just on if I think they are pretty but then I was not paying much for them and I could see the colour with my own eyes. (e.g. about $200) and I probably liked the setting style as much as the stone. I don't think I would go over about $100 on ebay myself.

Yes and as Kaleigh just said, this may be a sample stone they are showing and you get one nothing like it.
 

widget

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Date: 4/15/2007 5:50:18 PM
Author: Harriet
Kaleigh,
I''ve never bought anything on ebay.

Widget,
I don''t want to prove anyone wrong! Btw, where do you get your coloured stones?
Well, my first wish is to find them happily ensconced in an antique.
1.gif
For serious stones, I''ve gone to www.cherrypicked. Slightly less serious: AJS (linked above) and ACStones: http://www.acstones.com/

widget
 

pyramid

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Another thing, they have the one picture and it is showing the glare of the table. If I was selling a stone on ebay and got that picture I would have taken another one to try to see the green on all of the stone.
 

ger100

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I''m not a gem "expert" but I have a good eye (Radiologist). The table looks assymetric, for sure. Also, consider the possibility of a WINDOW, since the stone is not shown square-on. MOST of the stones these guys (ebay) sell have windows, ESPECIALLY if they don''t show the face-up view.

As far as ebay, **be extremely cautious. I''ve been buying and selling there almost since the beginning. The last 2-3 years has brought a lot of creatures out from the woodwork. One guy wouldn''t answer my emails when I didn''t like a piece of glassware which I bought. It was chipped, although he said that it was "perfect." I sent him 3 emails, which he did not answer. Finally I left hiim a neg feedback (FB). He quickly proceeded to leave me a neg FB in RETALIATION, and an email saying that neg FB''s can be mutually withdrawn...sound a bit like a shakedown? You betcha!

If you look at this (gem) seller''s FB record, he has a lot of "MUTUALLY WITHDRAWN" FB''s. This is what these guys do. They leave you a neg FB. THEN, like the seller I got my glass from did, they submit it to Square Trade (pay them $25) to "negotiate" a mutual withdrawal of the FB''s, so that they can keep they 100% rating. In my case, I refused, saying that the seller "hinted" at a mutual withdrawal, without outright saying that it was in retaliation. I paid immediately with paypal and should have gotten an immediate pos FB for fulfilling my end of the bargain! Obviously it doesn''t work that way.

I said that all I wanted was what he offered, a "perfect" piece of glass. It was a stinkin'' $20 item and the lazy seller said he didn''t have another and couldn''t find one. I can''t count how many emails I got from ST threatening to remove the seller''s neg if I didn''t respond. I responded EVERY tiime, often getting messed up on their site. They asked for a password, which was not given to me (!); they sent me back to ebay (ST is supposed to be independent); I finally wrote a SNAIL MAIL to be sure that they got it.

Meanwhile, Ebay would not remove the neg FB left for me, without removing the seller''s
29.gif
Ebay is useless in misrepresentation and fraud!! AND, in international stuff...yuck...you can''t even complain to the Better Business Bureau. Meanwhile, my FB looks like crap (97.5%) because I am a low volume buyer with this particular user name. I used to (not much anymore) sell with another name...not uncommon to use more than one user nick (something to remember when buying there)!! Mind you, one neg FB screwed up my FB bigtime. My only consolation is that at least now the seller has lost his "perfect" 100% rating. As a Power Seller (which means bupkus for quality...only that he sells over $1,000 per month), his FB is now 99.9%, since all his other negs were "mutually withdrawn."

In other words, they use neg FB as coercion not as a legitimate tool for quality.

I have a couple of "screens" running on Ebay, because there are certain glass items (parts) which I need. But I don''t spend much time just perusing there anymore...it''s just too treacherous.

Beware of something that sounds too good to be true. And look at ALL FB''s including "mutually withdrawn."

Ger

PS: Widget: How does one get that tool you have for isolating the "bad" FB''s??
 

Harriet

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So would I. Thanks!
 

Harriet

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Date: 4/15/2007 6:11:21 PM
Author: ger100
I''m not a gem ''expert'' but I have a good eye (Radiologist). The table looks assymetric, for sure. Also, consider the possibility of a WINDOW, since the stone is not shown square-on. MOST of the stones these guys (ebay) sell have windows, ESPECIALLY if they don''t show the face-up view.

As far as ebay, **be extremely cautious. I''ve been buying and selling there almost since the beginning. The last 2-3 years has brought a lot of creatures out from the woodwork. One guy wouldn''t answer my emails when I didn''t like a piece of glassware which I bought. It was chipped, although he said that it was ''perfect.'' I sent him 3 emails, which he did not answer. Finally I left hiim a neg feedback (FB). He quickly proceeded to leave me a neg FB in RETALIATION, and an email saying that neg FB''s can be mutually withdrawn...sound a bit like a shakedown? You betcha!

If you look at this (gem) seller''s FB record, he has a lot of ''MUTUALLY WITHDRAWN'' FB''s. This is what these guys do. They leave you a neg FB. THEN, like the seller I got my glass from did, they submit it to Square Trade (pay them $25) to ''negotiate'' a mutual withdrawal of the FB''s, so that they can keep they 100% rating. In my case, I refused, saying that the seller ''hinted'' at a mutual withdrawal, without outright saying that it was in retaliation. I paid immediately with paypal and should have gotten an immediate pos FB for fulfilling my end of the bargain! Obviously it doesn''t work that way.

I said that all I wanted was what he offered, a ''perfect'' piece of glass. It was a stinkin'' $20 item and the lazy seller said he didn''t have another and couldn''t find one. I can''t count how many emails I got from ST threatening to remove the seller''s neg if I didn''t respond. I responded EVERY tiime, often getting messed up on their site. They asked for a password, which was not given to me (!); they sent me back to ebay (ST is supposed to be independent); I finally wrote a SNAIL MAIL to be sure that they got it.

Meanwhile, Ebay would not remove the neg FB left for me, without removing the seller''s
29.gif
Ebay is useless in misrepresentation and fraud!! AND, in international stuff...yuck...you can''t even complain to the Better Business Bureau. Meanwhile, my FB looks like crap (97.5%) because I am a low volume buyer with this particular user name. I used to (not much anymore) sell with another name...not uncommon to use more than one user nick (something to remember when buying there)!! Mind you, one neg FB screwed up my FB bigtime. My only consolation is that at least now the seller has lost his ''perfect'' 100% rating. As a Power Seller (which means bupkus for quality...only that he sells over $1,000 per month), his FB is now 99.9%, since all his other negs were ''mutually withdrawn.''

In other words, they use neg FB as coercion not as a legitimate tool for quality.

I have a couple of ''screens'' running on Ebay, because there are certain glass items (parts) which I need. But I don''t spend much time just perusing there anymore...it''s just too treacherous.

Beware of something that sounds too good to be true. And look at ALL FB''s including ''mutually withdrawn.''

Ger

PS: Widget: How does one get that tool you have for isolating the ''bad'' FB''s??
This explains a lot. Thanks for your help!
 

Harriet

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Date: 4/15/2007 6:08:27 PM
Author: widget

Well, my first wish is to find them happily ensconced in an antique.
1.gif
For serious stones, I''ve gone to www.cherrypicked. Slightly less serious: AJS (linked above) and ACStones: http://www.acstones.com/

widget
Thanks! Can I assume that you''ve been satisfied with AJS? They have some nice items.
 

widget

Ideal_Rock
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Wow, Ger...interesting and INFORMATIVE post about Ebay! Thanks.

I've had this website saved for ages: http://www.toolhaus.org/cgi-bin/negs

It's always worked for me, but according to a notice I read today, sometimes they're blocked by Ebay from collecting data...I hope this site continues to work. It's a great tool.

widget
 

Harriet

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Ok -- I''m not bidding. It would be dumb to put a $100+ stone in a Leon Mege setting.
 

icekid

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Date: 4/15/2007 7:00:51 PM
Author: Harriet
Ok -- I''m not bidding. It would be dumb to put a $100+ stone in a Leon Mege setting.
haha, seriously! not worth it.

the color looks really nice... but unless it was someone REALLY reputable, I''d avoid ebay.
 

ger100

Shiny_Rock
Joined
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Thanks for the link Widget!
WONDERFUL tool to have...a lot easier than scrolling through page after page.
1.gif
 

Harriet

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The bidding has ended at $358.
 

Richard M.

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Date: 4/15/2007 5:21:12 PM
Author: widget

Check out the seller''s feedback I found. Not much there, but what is ain''t pretty: http://www.toolhaus.org/cgi-bin/negs?User=gem-earth&Dirn=Received+by


widget

Hi Widget,

I''m not sure I agree with your assessment of the feedback. The negatives are only a small percentage of the total FB. In nearly every case the buyers failed to take advantage of the 7-day return policy.

The return policy seems very clear to me. Why is it so difficult to spend another eight bucks and send a stone back rather than engage in a disagreeable feedback dispute? For a total of $16, not much more than you''d spend on gas and parking to go shopping at a brick and mortar store, you can have a gem delivered from Asia, study it in your own environment for nearly a week, then send it back for a refund if you don''t like it. (I''m assuming the seller can be taken at his word).

One person left a negative because a .65 ct. stone was smaller than expected! Don''t buyers have the responsibility to read and understand descriptions (including measurements!) and policies, regardless of the apparent size of the image? I don''t wish to start a big dispute but it seems to me that satisfactory dealings are a 2-way street. I doubt anyone could sell stones on EBay and maintain a 100% positive rating.

Richard M.
 
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