How can this person sell these gemstones? for such a low price?
http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZemeraldcreekusaQQhtZ-1
example, half pound bag of emeralds for 7.95.
huh?
Well, to begin with the description is designed to mislead; why go on and on about **DYNAMITE CRATES FULL OF UNSEARCHED UNCUT GENUINE BRAZILIAN EMERALDS ** when in fact you’re not getting a crate of emeralds, you’re getting a little bag. Also, the photos show gem-quality cut stones, whereas the auction is for rough stones still in the matrix (which I presume is included in the item weight).
OK, the feedback appears to be good, so maybe you’ll get real emeralds, but everything about the auctions screams avoid to me.
If you want little chunks of emeraldy green stone for a craft project, or a sample of emerald bearing ore, the bags are cheap way to get a hard to find item. If you want to strike it rich, the bags are a good way to relieve yourself of excess money.
Some gemstones simply aren’t as expensive as you’d expect. I have a 1.0-ct cut sapphire which was bought for $9 at a gem show. The color is a little off, tending to be greenish-blue, but the clarity and cutting job are superb. It’s an oval brilliant cut, perfectly executed.
Thanks for the responses! A little bag of dirt for 7.95? I think I get it now.
Caveat emptor, my friend: if it looks too good to be true, rest assured it is.
There are numerous gem scams like that operating in Thailand {although directly rather than over the internet} - the mark is approached and chatted up by the conman, and is then taken to his brother-in-law’s office {the conman’s, not the mark’s}, where he is offered the chance to buy uncut Ceylon sapphires for only $1500, and assured that these will fetch ten times the price in the US. Sappo, eyes agleam with avarice, parts with his money {why yes, they do take credit cards}, on returning to the States takes the stone to a jeweller for appraisal, and is informed that he’s the proud possessor of the world’s smallest and most expensive paperweights.
These scams are so rife that there are numerous official posters warning of them, all the guidebooks tell you not to touch them, and yet the suckers still keep rolling in. Heh.