Hello everyone, I’m just curious, is anyone using Gem Rock Auctions to buy gems (or sell)? I recently found it online but I’ve never used their website. If anyone had any good/bad experience using their services please let me know.
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Personally, I love gem rock auctions. I’ve had an extremely positive experience and have found every seller to be very reputable and helpful.
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I buy faceting rough from GRA all the time. The dealers are honest, but sometimes the shipping costs are excessive because of the world-wide range of buyers & sellers.
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I mostly sell on Gemrock and am always impressed with the quality of the other dealers.
I buy occasionally when I need to fill a small order for a client or need something for a piece of jewellery I am making as the prices are competitive and often cheaper than calling dealers for small orders in BKK/Hong Kong/NYC etc.
Good luck and enjoy!
Here is my gemrock store if you are interested:
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Hi.
I use Gemrock Auctions mostly all the time. It is a very good site for gemstones. Most of the sellers is honest, not like Ebay where there is a good chanse to get scamed.
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Thank you all for replying, they definetly seem to have good prices and a wide variety of gems
We use it from time to time, and find that their rating system keeps most of the dealers honest (those with very high %'s are often very keen to keep them). I would not say their prices are that cheap though, you do have to shop around. I am often surprised at how high the prices get on some of the no-reserve auctions for example. Would also echo the comments on shipping - this can be a substantial input when buying single stones.
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Yeah I have to agree with you on that, do you also have other suggestions for websites to buy quality gems online for cheaper prices?
Coco - we are manufacturing jewelers so often buy in parcels from established websites when buying at the mid/low range - topaz, peridot etc - are you more a single stone buyer (we sometimes buy like that too)? Recently we have found that there are a number of gem cutters on Instagram who provide good prices and often very good quality. If you haven’t gone down that route I would start with Alex Weber at premiergemstones (in turn he follows a lot of N.American and Aussie stone cutters who’s Insta IDs you’ll be able to get from his site). He wife also runs an auction site on GRA, although they seem to be happier selling direct these days. Hope that helps 
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I should just add when using GRA (you have almost certainly worked this out but it is worth repeating for newbies) - when bidding direct on a particular stone (rather than on a timed auction) never bid at what the seller wants - instead start at say 50% of the value and then work your way up - these successive bids will be unacceptable until you hit the bidders ‘low’ sell point - often set 10 or 20% below the advertised price - at which point you will get the buy. In these very difficult times I expect more and more sellers to set these points progressively lower as their business dries up. You can of course get an idea of how their business is going by looking at their recommendations - how many recent compared to say 4 months ago. Most sellers on GRA show very few sales in March/April compared to what they were doing a few months ago (as you would expect as business hit a lock down wall). Going forward it may well pay to make direct approached via the GRA messaging system if you see a stone you like but which is still set too high for your liking. Stone sellers have to put bread on the table like everyone else and a few more months of these business conditions will focus minds wonderfully.
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I’ve used them a little more than 40 times and never had a problem. Addressing the shipping issue, I usually try to work out a deal with the vendor to pick up the cost of insurance and shipping before closing the deal. If they’re interested in moving stock and converting it to cash, they’ll usually be receptive.
One point that I would make, is that once a lowball offer is refused the only time I will increase my offer is if I’m outbid. I never bid against myself chasing a reserve price. If I’m the high bid and no other bids are forthcoming, vendors interested in moving inventory (rather than waiting to get their price) will often PM me with an offer; at which point we can work out a price and insurance and and shipping details. Hope this helps and good luck.
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I sell on Gem Rock Auctions and have had good experience with the buyers on there. Shipping overseas can be expensive, but if you are in the US then it is not a problem. Having said that, I sold gemstones to 12 countries on GRA last year. I rarely auction stones because I would lose money, so I use the buy it now. Of course, I am willing to negotiate on any stone in my inventory or to take a special order where I will find the rough and cut the stone for you. You can see my store at Rsagems Store
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As a novice to gemology and collecting, I just want to thank you for going above and beyond with your descriptions of each of the gemstones in your store. It really helps in the learning process and knowing the “story” of a gemstone, for me anyway, really adds to the value by making it even more unique and special. Thank you!
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Yes, I did sell and buy gems from Gem Rock Auction. They have the very strict rules about gems…no synthetic and gems sellers must provide all detail about the gems they sell. But they have dishonest sellers on there as well. You just have to be sure and clear all details about the seller and the gems you are about to do business with.
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I have purchased rough material from them at least a dozen times in last 2 months and have very good results each time.
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While I have not yet completed a purchase on GRA, and expect to do so, I find it interesting that an auction for a stone with a “sheriff audit” pending still allows bidders to bid.
I asked GRA support about this, and was told:
"If it is not as advertised (which is very rare) you can still place a bid. If you do win it, you do not have to pay for the item until the audit comes back.
If the audit did come back, then you can cancel the sale"
I find that a bit strange, and, personally, would not bid on an item with an audit pending.
Perhaps years of living in Thailand have made me over-cautious ?
cheers, Bill (newcomer to gemology)
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Hello .
I use Gemrock Auctions for fiews years now It is a very good site for gemstones .
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Thank you all for replying
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Of interest: I know someone who wants to start selling on GRA and they are now asking for new sellers to put up a ‘bond’ so that if anything goes wrong, GRA can refund buyers.
A couple of people have said prices are a little higher there (which I don’t really agree with), but there are not a lot of places that you have the same kind of guarantee with. Not even the big auctions like Sotheby’s and Christie’s, if you buy from Sotheby’s online, and you don’t like the item when you receive it, you are out of luck! No refunds, no exchanges!
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Thank you for that bit of information, but how do you actually sell on GRA? I’ve recently created an account but when I go to my profile I can’t find a way to open up an online store. I’m new to this website so any help will be appreciated.