Hi everyone,
Have you ever purchases gems from Etsy? I saw one with a GIL Canada certificate. The pictures and video look good, but I am leary. The seller is based in the US.
1 Like
I have. Came from Tucson. But the stones where in rough. The stones them selves were from over sea, ruby saph auqamarine and Ethiopian opal. All came as should but I would always be cautious of any online market for gemstones sometimes people sell stuff not knowing themselves if it’s authentic or not just for a doller
Thanks Jacob,
I appreciate your input. I am relatively new to collecting unset gems. Having a good time learning and making a few purchases. I’ve used the gemrock auction site, and have been pleased with my purchases. Etsy seemed a little more risky, but I might try it. Have you been collecting long? Do you facet the stones you purchase?
Regards,
Daniel
1 Like
iv always had a fascination with anything old. the science of gemstones and faceting them im new to. later today im enrolling in igs"s cert course for colord stones. i always assumed a jewler took a rock or crystal and just cut and polish it. o boy was i wrong. i love doing this and plan on doing this till i die.i do have a slight uper hand becouse i self tought basic chemistry and organic chemistry and some college grade chemistry so i understand the molecule aspect a little more then some. like the fact you can create anything from nothing with the right equipment and knowledge. and patience.
as far as etsy check where the seller is located for instance tusan az holds a large gem show every year. so after then gem show some of the people will sell online at cheaper prices to get there stock sold. ofcourse you wont get to pick of the crop but you will get good practice material. items in the auction to me is more of a risk for practice you dont want to win a bid for a 1200 rough gemstone to end up with a pile of dust and a few slivers of the gemstone after u work on it.
i had a problem starting out with always thinking just another mm or nm and the beauty will pop just another and another till i had a pebble left 
nothing worth calling a gem.
now i tend to undercut and take more breaks and observe the stone more indepth till i continue on the work.
1 Like
Thanks Jacob.
I sell Oregon Sunstone and a few others on Etsy as well as my own website.
Be sure you’re buying from someone with more than a few sales and that has a refund policy posted.
Etsy offers some protection as well.
Be sure it looks like a good deal, but not an AMAZING deal. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
1 Like
Thanks Brian
We have had mixed experiences with buying from Etsy. For US based dealers it’s worked out well, or pearls from China based dealers. We’ve had terrible luck with semi-precious stones from India. The dealers seem to be creating false accounts and sending fakes. Repeat photos between accounts can be found as well. I would rate Etsy a 2 out of 10 for reliability. We’ve had much better luck on Instagram with quality stones.
2 Likes
Etsy does not guarantee that the goods which sellers are selling are authentic and true to name. So as long as the seller promises to refund the purchase cost then you have some come-back - minus your postage costs. However, Etsy does nothing to prevent misrepresentation by sellers - it relies on buyers getting burnt and thus finding out that a particular trader is a liar. Amazon is exactly the same and so is Ali Baba. They allow sellers to offer “natural zircon” for sale when it is simply cubic zirconia ie synthetic zirconium oxide as distinct from natural zirconium silicate aka the real zircon. There is room in the jewellery industry for natural gems and synthetics but the scale of fraud thanks to the Internet is mind boggling - and confusing to the uninformed person. Welcome to the age of social gullibility!
1 Like
Etsy is unreliable at best, Ebay is 10 times worse, for a person trying to buy real stones. Look at the price, if you think it’s a great price, that is because your buying worthless junk! Sellers use “certificates” to let you know the stone is real. What they don’t tell you is that the “certificate” is 100% fake, phony, worthless.
They sell super cheap Howlite, dyed blue, and say its Turquoise. You buy that blue stone and after some use, it turns white, the blue coloring wearing off. Emeralds, super cheaply priced. That is dyed green. Put it in water overnight and you will have clear stones and very green water!
I agree. I think the vast majirity of US based sellers are serious and not scammers. Anything from overseas im so leary of. Belive it or not I’ve gotten a few request on here for what i have, i send a list tgrn hear nothing. I think they are scams and now ask even if there isnt anything that interests you at least give me the common courtrsy of a reply. I have my inventory im trying to liquidate if anyobe is interested let me know.
Hi Daniel. I just noticed your post. I have a large inventory of stones im trying to sell at excellent prices. I used to go door to door in NYC but have since moved and therefore would like to sell the majority of my stick ive collected. A few im going to keep for myself.
Regards,
Ken