It seems to me that some decent gems and jewelry can be bought on eBay, but most of those are not auction items. They are "Buy Now" items at somewhere between wholesale and discount retail prices.

Yes, my preconceived notion is that you get no more than you pay for, and I think I found that to be true.

But, and it's a very big but... you can get much less than you pay for.

When buying gems or gemstone jewelry on eBay, be on the lookout for the words "lab," or "created," or even "CZ," and other terms that indicate the stone is not a natural gem.

Then there is the problem of the seller that misrepresents the items offered for sale or at auction. Misrepresents is a gentle word for a nefarious act such as selling an artificial stone as natural. A better term is fraud... or bare-faced lie.

Next is the problem of quality. People in the gem and jewelry industries are always looking for quality goods at a competitive price. Gems on auction sites may be the stones rejected because of quality.

For example, some sellers would have you believe that you can get lucky and buy a quality ruby or other gem at auction for ninety-nine cents.

I compete with some of these people in buying the rough gem stones, so I know how much good rough costs. Then there is the cost for cutting, and at least two costs for shipping. It just isn't possible to sell a $300 ruby for ninety-nine cents and make a profit... even if you charge $7.00 for shipping.

So my sincere conclusion is that there are significant perils in play when buying on eBay. I think I offer better deals through my business strategy of buying gem rough (worldwide) at the mine or an in-country rough broker, having the material faceted to my requirements in Asia, keeping my overhead very low, and applying a smaller markup.

I offer thousands of loose gems, and some nice finished jewelry such as birthstone earrings, colored stone studs, and pearl strands. Send me an email to tell me what you want.

Click on the box... and have Google start putting money in your bank account!

You can prove it to yourself... a Google search for the keyword phrase auction sites + gems returns a number of internet listings and ads with additional information and photos.

Gem Industry News...

$7,000,000 Pearl Necklace

A two-strand pearl necklace, known as the Baroda Pearls recently sold at auction for the impressive sum of 7 million dollars.

The Baroda Pearls were billed by Christie's as the "most important natural-pearl necklace to ever be seen at auction."


The Baroda Pearls is a natural-pearl necklace strung with 68 of the" finest and largest pearls" from a seven-strand natural-pearl necklace once in the collection of the Royal Treasury of the Maharaja of Baroda.

The prolific collector who was at that time the Maharaja of Baroda, was actually named Khande Rao Gawkwar. He is considered possibly the most prominent jewelry collectors of the 19th century, according to Christie's.

Jewelry Dealers

JCKonline.com features an article headlined "Survey: Women Hesitant to Buy Jewelry Online" http://www.jckonline.com/article/CA6442847.html

Curiously, the data in the article does not seem to back up the assertion contained in the headline. Of the ladies surveyed, only 7% said they would never consider buying jewelry online.

However, the article contains some interesting insights and information. If you sell through a website, you should find the information informative.

The item related to stolen credit card numbers is especially alarming. Even a perception of poor website security threatens all online sellers. That is why we use PayPal. They have developed excellent security measurers... and I never see a customer's credit card info.

Jewelry Dealers Program

Do you enjoy jewelry and gems?

Do you enjoy talking with friends and co-workers?

Could you use an extra income source?

Take a look at our great Jewelry Dealers Program.

Carolyn Doyle

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