rocknewb101
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since October 2022
Posts: 1,368
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Post by rocknewb101 on Jan 20, 2024 10:36:20 GMT -5
So I participated in my very first live auction via zoom last night (It went for almost 5 hours!! I fell asleep lol). It was quite an interesting experience and I had no idea what to expect. Lot's of highrollers in there with budgets that far surpass mine lol...but I did play a little once I understood how it all worked and managed to come away with a piece of Indonesian Petrified Coral, a small chunk of red marcosite, a pretty chunk of blue tiger eye and a small Argentinian Banded Plume Agate. Other than regular Tiger eye I've never worked with any of these so am excited to receive them and see where it goes.
Anyone have experience with these live auctions and do you feel they are worthwhile? I'm pretty positive HPL is a great company and I feel excited to receive my goodies - but I'm new enough and wonder what others have experienced. I'll share pics of what I got once it arrives.
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Post by jasoninsd on Jan 21, 2024 10:36:46 GMT -5
I think stardiamond has a thread on here about those auctions. Congrats on the new "acquisitions"!  |
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geoff59
spending too much on rocks
Member since October 2022
Posts: 288
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Post by geoff59 on Jan 21, 2024 11:33:00 GMT -5
Not to pick nits, his thread is about HPL slabs and the resulting cabs more or less.
I’ve participated some in the auctions, for now I am backed off. Mostly because I have so much rock on hand at this time, I can’t really justify buying more. I’ve got a new saw I am playing around with, so there’s plenty to do, but with some of the HP rough I need to be sure before I cut.
The Alimajo and Gambiri agates in particular, are very similar and it’s hard to distinguish between them. Rough nodules I mean. Once inside though, it’s a bit easier I think. They both need to be split/cut, to bring out the best of each. They are mostly small enough so that hand-pushing through a trim saw is going to be the way to go with them.
Of course, some of them, especially the Gambiri, actually are big enough for the 10” saw I bought.
I have a few pounds of various, assorted pieces of rough from HP, the jury is out on whether or not it’s worth the cost. Some no doubt is, others…well maybe. That Charolite from Russia is incredible looking, I have a few pounds of it on hand. And you’re right about those high-rollers! They must be resellers and have buyers, is all I can figure.
The HP twin, 3 lb tumbler, on the other hand, I would stay away from. Mine ran from late October til the mid-December, at this point it is not running. The bearing-bushings are completely worn out. They have not responded to my message I left them, on their “contact us” customer service page, so I’ll be following up by phone. There is no owner’s manual for it, and they said they’d be putting one up online as a pdf file, but have not done so. I lubed the bearings once during the time it was running. I know they’re short staffed (who isn’t these days?) so for now I’ll remain patient.
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Post by stardiamond on Jan 21, 2024 12:19:49 GMT -5
Sometimes I consider the auctions infomercials. I was on for part of it last night. Saturday night is supposed to be slabs but a lot of the items were rough and the slab selection was uninspired. Some of the prices on what I was interested can be described as 'dream on'. They bought a lot of material from Indonesia so that is what they are pushing. They also buy collections and offer some tough to find material.
I usually play online poker when the auctions are on. One time, I didn't buy anything but won $100. I also question the buyers who bid on a lot of auctions including some very expensive ones. I have a buying formula based on what I know I can get for a cab. The math on the prices is way off.
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ThomasT
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2022
Posts: 616
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Post by ThomasT on Jan 21, 2024 13:07:40 GMT -5
Is not anything "worth" whatever you can get for it at time? Caveat Emptor
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iamchris
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2023
Posts: 722
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Post by iamchris on Jan 21, 2024 13:27:02 GMT -5
I've not found the HPL customer service to be very good. They returned calls when they had a sale to make, but it's a bit harder if you want to talk to them afterwards.
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rocknewb101
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since October 2022
Posts: 1,368
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Post by rocknewb101 on Jan 21, 2024 17:46:45 GMT -5
I think stardiamond has a thread on here about those auctions. Congrats on the new "acquisitions"! At the very least I was able to see some new stuff - I can totally see how easy it would be to get sucked in and over buy! Not to pick nits, his thread is about HPL slabs and the resulting cabs more or less. I’ve participated some in the auctions, for now I am backed off. Mostly because I have so much rock on hand at this time, I can’t really justify buying more. I’ve got a new saw I am playing around with, so there’s plenty to do, but with some of the HP rough I need to be sure before I cut. The Alimajo and Gambiri agates in particular, are very similar and it’s hard to distinguish between them. Rough nodules I mean. Once inside though, it’s a bit easier I think. They both need to be split/cut, to bring out the best of each. They are mostly small enough so that hand-pushing through a trim saw is going to be the way to go with them. Of course, some of them, especially the Gambiri, actually are big enough for the 10” saw I bought. I have a few pounds of various, assorted pieces of rough from HP, the jury is out on whether or not it’s worth the cost. Some no doubt is, others…well maybe. That Charolite from Russia is incredible looking, I have a few pounds of it on hand. And you’re right about those high-rollers! They must be resellers and have buyers, is all I can figure. The HP twin, 3 lb tumbler, on the other hand, I would stay away from. Mine ran from late October til the mid-December, at this point it is not running. The bearing-bushings are completely worn out. They have not responded to my message I left them, on their “contact us” customer service page, so I’ll be following up by phone. There is no owner’s manual for it, and they said they’d be putting one up online as a pdf file, but have not done so. I lubed the bearings once during the time it was running. I know they’re short staffed (who isn’t these days?) so for now I’ll remain patient. Ohh! I didnt' realize their CS was lacking. that's not cool. The auctions I saw had a ton of that Alimajo and they were hot items - went very quickly. Too small for me to do anything with but tumble though... Sometimes I consider the auctions infomercials. I was on for part of it last night. Saturday night is supposed to be slabs but a lot of the items were rough and the slab selection was uninspired. Some of the prices on what I was interested can be described as 'dream on'. They bought a lot of material from Indonesia so that is what they are pushing. They also buy collections and offer some tough to find material. I usually play online poker when the auctions are on. One time, I didn't buy anything but won $100. I also question the buyers who bid on a lot of auctions including some very expensive ones. I have a buying formula based on what I know I can get for a cab. The math on the prices is way off. Yeah - Friday night was rough and Saturday slabs - was on then too. Got some new to me slabs, but stuck in the $5 save a small chunk of river jasper that I can slab myself. I'm not selling anything I make "yet" so this is all for me to experience new things - but I can only make one cab at a time so have to be careful what I spend lol...Someone bought a piece that was priced at like 3,500 - I can't recall the material now, but holey moley! Is not anything "worth" whatever you can get for it at time? Caveat Emptor THey "said" a lot of the material was no longer available. Not sure if that was true, but it went for a pretty penny. I've not found the HPL customer service to be very good. They returned calls when they had a sale to make, but it's a bit harder if you want to talk to them afterwards. Well that's frustrating! I'll keep that in mind. The only thing I've ordered from them outside of the auction were templates for cabs. |
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Post by stardiamond on Jan 21, 2024 18:40:42 GMT -5
I buy most of my material on FB. It's generally hobbyists selling to hobbyists. HP is in business to make money. There is an excess of hype regarding scarcity and value. Some of the pricing is capricious. There was a Guadalupe slab that I bid on that didn't make their minimum. It didn't sell. Next time it was offered, John was running the auction and he offered it for less than my previously rejected bid so I snagged it. Before bidding, know the material and what is a good price for it. I bought some pieces that were misidentified at a good price. My biggest mistake is misjudging the size of a small piece. If the auctions aren't blood in the water, ask for size before bidding. There is a lot of bidding before the item is shown. There was some Indonesian Blue plume that looked good. I had my finger on the trigger and was too late multiple times. It took me three days of auctions to have a winning bid. I didn't get a good look at it, but the size and seeing previous pieces made it worth a gamble. I know what I can sell a cab for and the cost of material is ideally 1/3. I don't buy collector slabs so when a large Blue Biggs slab is being offered at $1500, I don't see evenb getting my money back on cabs.
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rocknewb101
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since October 2022
Posts: 1,368
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Post by rocknewb101 on Jan 22, 2024 8:41:45 GMT -5
I buy most of my material on FB. It's generally hobbyists selling to hobbyists. HP is in business to make money. There is an excess of hype regarding scarcity and value. Some of the pricing is capricious. There was a Guadalupe slab that I bid on that didn't make their minimum. It didn't sell. Next time it was offered, John was running the auction and he offered it for less than my previously rejected bid so I snagged it. Before bidding, know the material and what is a good price for it. I bought some pieces that were misidentified at a good price. My biggest mistake is misjudging the size of a small piece. If the auctions aren't blood in the water, ask for size before bidding. There is a lot of bidding before the item is shown. There was some Indonesian Blue plume that looked good. I had my finger on the trigger and was too late multiple times. It took me three days of auctions to have a winning bid. I didn't get a good look at it, but the size and seeing previous pieces made it worth a gamble. I know what I can sell a cab for and the cost of material is ideally 1/3. I don't buy collector slabs so when a large Blue Biggs slab is being offered at $1500, I don't see evenb getting my money back on cabs. I need to reopen my FB. I deactivated it years ago, but might be worthwhile checking out some auctions on there. YES!! There was a massive slab of blue biggs being sold this past weekend that was about that if not more in cost. CRAZY! It was pretty amazing to look at, but that's just shy of two house payments lol... The one thing I did notice is that if you want something you gotta be quick, which sometimes means not really getting a great look at it. I got a slab of cryosolla (spelling...) very colorful, but was a lesser quality due to less blue - the other slabs were just not cost effective for me so I grabbed what I could afford. At the end of the day it's fun - if I can grab things that are worthwhile, all the better. If not, I"m seeing things I've not seen before. As soon as I feel good about my cabbing ability I'll try to sell them, until then it's just me learning. |
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pantagruel
starting to shine!
Member since November 2023
Posts: 34 
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Post by pantagruel on Feb 1, 2024 22:54:07 GMT -5
Not to pick nits, his thread is about HPL slabs and the resulting cabs more or less. I’ve participated some in the auctions, for now I am backed off. Mostly because I have so much rock on hand at this time, I can’t really justify buying more. I’ve got a new saw I am playing around with, so there’s plenty to do, but with some of the HP rough I need to be sure before I cut. The Alimajo and Gambiri agates in particular, are very similar and it’s hard to distinguish between them. Rough nodules I mean. Once inside though, it’s a bit easier I think. They both need to be split/cut, to bring out the best of each. They are mostly small enough so that hand-pushing through a trim saw is going to be the way to go with them. Of course, some of them, especially the Gambiri, actually are big enough for the 10” saw I bought. I have a few pounds of various, assorted pieces of rough from HP, the jury is out on whether or not it’s worth the cost. Some no doubt is, others…well maybe. That Charolite from Russia is incredible looking, I have a few pounds of it on hand. And you’re right about those high-rollers! They must be resellers and have buyers, is all I can figure. The HP twin, 3 lb tumbler, on the other hand, I would stay away from. Mine ran from late October til the mid-December, at this point it is not running. The bearing-bushings are completely worn out. They have not responded to my message I left them, on their “contact us” customer service page, so I’ll be following up by phone. There is no owner’s manual for it, and they said they’d be putting one up online as a pdf file, but have not done so. I lubed the bearings once during the time it was running. I know they’re short staffed (who isn’t these days?) so for now I’ll remain patient. hi geoff59, re: your tumbler, I had a problem where the motor struggled to work, and they exchanged it with a new one quickly. if you're still waiting for a replacement, I agree that the "info@" address does take a while to get replies to, but if you write to "zeke@hplapidary.com", he replies very quickly and can get your RMA started. good luck! |
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rockbrain
Cave Dweller 
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Post by rockbrain on Feb 2, 2024 10:26:39 GMT -5
I buy most of my material on FB. It's generally hobbyists selling to hobbyists. HP is in business to make money. There is an excess of hype regarding scarcity and value. Some of the pricing is capricious. There was a Guadalupe slab that I bid on that didn't make their minimum. It didn't sell. Next time it was offered, John was running the auction and he offered it for less than my previously rejected bid so I snagged it. Before bidding, know the material and what is a good price for it. I bought some pieces that were misidentified at a good price. My biggest mistake is misjudging the size of a small piece. If the auctions aren't blood in the water, ask for size before bidding. There is a lot of bidding before the item is shown. There was some Indonesian Blue plume that looked good. I had my finger on the trigger and was too late multiple times. It took me three days of auctions to have a winning bid. I didn't get a good look at it, but the size and seeing previous pieces made it worth a gamble. I know what I can sell a cab for and the cost of material is ideally 1/3. I don't buy collector slabs so when a large Blue Biggs slab is being offered at $1500, I don't see evenb getting my money back on cabs. I need to reopen my FB. I deactivated it years ago, but might be worthwhile checking out some auctions on there. YES!! There was a massive slab of blue biggs being sold this past weekend that was about that if not more in cost. CRAZY! It was pretty amazing to look at, but that's just shy of two house payments lol... The one thing I did notice is that if you want something you gotta be quick, which sometimes means not really getting a great look at it. I got a slab of cryosolla (spelling...) very colorful, but was a lesser quality due to less blue - the other slabs were just not cost effective for me so I grabbed what I could afford. At the end of the day it's fun - if I can grab things that are worthwhile, all the better. If not, I"m seeing things I've not seen before. As soon as I feel good about my cabbing ability I'll try to sell them, until then it's just me learning. I highly recommend checking out Brian Rhode's live auction on FB. Him and his wife owns Lapidary Central and he is a member here. He has an auction most Saturdays at about 5pm on the FB site Cabs and Slabs the Slab Depot. HERE I say most Saturdays because Brian and Abbey just had a baby and the last 2 Saturdays haven't happened. I would check a little early to see when the live feed is. It usually starts a little late. Brian has some really nice material and you can get some great deals at this auction. Plus, it's a lot of fun. I've gotten to know some of the folks on there and even though I have been put on a hiatus from buying rocks I still enjoy watching this sale. I can't say the same for the HP auction. They have some nice rocks but it just seems boring and impersonal to me. Brian usually has slabs and rough for sale and sometimes some fossils and polished specimen stones. Usually some nice give aways too. |
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rocknewb101
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since October 2022
Posts: 1,368
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Post by rocknewb101 on Feb 2, 2024 11:03:41 GMT -5
I need to reopen my FB. I deactivated it years ago, but might be worthwhile checking out some auctions on there. YES!! There was a massive slab of blue biggs being sold this past weekend that was about that if not more in cost. CRAZY! It was pretty amazing to look at, but that's just shy of two house payments lol... The one thing I did notice is that if you want something you gotta be quick, which sometimes means not really getting a great look at it. I got a slab of cryosolla (spelling...) very colorful, but was a lesser quality due to less blue - the other slabs were just not cost effective for me so I grabbed what I could afford. At the end of the day it's fun - if I can grab things that are worthwhile, all the better. If not, I"m seeing things I've not seen before. As soon as I feel good about my cabbing ability I'll try to sell them, until then it's just me learning. I highly recommend checking out Brian Rhode's live auction on FB. Him and his wife owns Lapidary Central and he is a member here. He has an auction most Saturdays at about 5pm on the FB site Cabs and Slabs the Slab Depot. HERE I say most Saturdays because Brian and Abbey just had a baby and the last 2 Saturdays haven't happened. I would check a little early to see when the live feed is. It usually starts a little late. Brian has some really nice material and you can get some great deals at this auction. Plus, it's a lot of fun. I've gotten to know some of the folks on there and even though I have been put on a hiatus from buying rocks I still enjoy watching this sale. I can't say the same for the HP auction. They have some nice rocks but it just seems boring and impersonal to me. Brian usually has slabs and rough for sale and sometimes some fossils and polished specimen stones. Usually some nice give aways too. Thank you rockbrain! I have been considering doing this. I despise FB so I really try not to go to it, but it may become necessary! I'm always open to a fun time! I'll check it out this weekend and see if there's anything happening. Congrats on the new baby, Brian and Abbey!! |
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rocknewb101
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since October 2022
Posts: 1,368
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Post by rocknewb101 on Feb 2, 2024 11:26:20 GMT -5
I highly recommend checking out Brian Rhode's live auction on FB. Him and his wife owns Lapidary Central and he is a member here. He has an auction most Saturdays at about 5pm on the FB site Cabs and Slabs the Slab Depot. HERE I say most Saturdays because Brian and Abbey just had a baby and the last 2 Saturdays haven't happened. I would check a little early to see when the live feed is. It usually starts a little late. Brian has some really nice material and you can get some great deals at this auction. Plus, it's a lot of fun. I've gotten to know some of the folks on there and even though I have been put on a hiatus from buying rocks I still enjoy watching this sale. I can't say the same for the HP auction. They have some nice rocks but it just seems boring and impersonal to me. Brian usually has slabs and rough for sale and sometimes some fossils and polished specimen stones. Usually some nice give aways too. Thank you rockbrain ! I have been considering doing this. I despise FB so I really try not to go to it, but it may become necessary! I'm always open to a fun time! I'll check it out this weekend and see if there's anything happening. Congrats on the new baby, Brian and Abbey!! so I went ahead and signed into my regular FB - but I want to be sure. tHe Slabs and Cabs group says Sunset Ridge Lapidary - is that the same? I joined the group - so I'll be ready |
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rockbrain
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Post by rockbrain on Feb 2, 2024 12:43:45 GMT -5
No Peta rocknewb101 , that doesn't sound right. I'm not familiar with Sunset Ridge. It's Cabs and Slabs and there's 3 different ones. Cabs and Slabs, Cabs and Slabs Cabochons and Cabs and Slabs the Slab Depot. The auction is in the Slab Depot one. The link I put in my last post should take you there. I also despise FB but man there's a lot of nice stuff for sale there. Jeremy Able has some sweet deals and Roy Kessel, another forum member sells some really nice slabs through The Full Moon Rockshop. I've purchased quite a bit of stuff from all these places and have always been happy. I've purchased a lot of slabs and a little rough from the members' auctions on Cabs and Slabs Slab Depot also. The 3 San Carlos Agate Cabs I've posted recently here are from Jeremy and Brian, the Indian moss and Black Skin Agate are from Brian. All were purchased as rough. Most of the sellers I've dealt with on there will "hold boxes" too. If you see a little something you like, you can pay for it and ask them to hold it, come back a week or several later and purchase some more to get the best use out of your flat rate shipping box. |
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rocknewb101
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since October 2022
Posts: 1,368
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Post by rocknewb101 on Feb 2, 2024 13:37:28 GMT -5
No Peta rocknewb101 , that doesn't sound right. I'm not familiar with Sunset Ridge. It's Cabs and Slabs and there's 3 different ones. Cabs and Slabs, Cabs and Slabs Cabochons and Cabs and Slabs the Slab Depot. The auction is in the Slab Depot one. The link I put in my last post should take you there. I also despise FB but man there's a lot of nice stuff for sale there. Jeremy Able has some sweet deals and Roy Kessel, another forum member sells some really nice slabs through The Full Moon Rockshop. I've purchased quite a bit of stuff from all these places and have always been happy. I've purchased a lot of slabs and a little rough from the members' auctions on Cabs and Slabs Slab Depot also. The 3 San Carlos Agate Cabs I've posted recently here are from Jeremy and Brian, the Indian moss and Black Skin Agate are from Brian. All were purchased as rough. Most of the sellers I've dealt with on there will "hold boxes" too. If you see a little something you like, you can pay for it and ask them to hold it, come back a week or several later and purchase some more to get the best use out of your flat rate shipping box. Hmm interesting. I used the link - it did take me to Cabs and Slabs Slab Depot, but under the big pic it says "Group by sunset ridge lapidary arts - maybe they created the group and other shops join in? But I see a live from July by Brian in there so I'm sure it's the same site. I'll keep looking at it. There were items posted today as buy it nows, but they've already been grabbed. Thanks for the intel! |
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rockbrain
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Post by rockbrain on Feb 2, 2024 14:08:50 GMT -5
I just looked and see where it says Sunset on the bottom of the pic. Never noticed it before, that's the right place. I would expect something to be up soon about the live auction
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rocknewb101
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since October 2022
Posts: 1,368
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Post by rocknewb101 on Feb 2, 2024 14:33:34 GMT -5
I just looked and see where it says Sunset on the bottom of the pic. Never noticed it before, that's the right place. I would expect something to be up soon about the live auction GReat! Thank you!!! I look forward to checking it out! |
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Post by stardiamond on Feb 2, 2024 15:37:32 GMT -5
Sunset Lapidary is Russ and Ben Kuniuth. The two pages are cabs and slabs (cabs) and cabs and slabs the slab depot. Guests are allowed to post offerings and are limited by day and number. I buy from the slab depot, Wild West Slabs and Rocks, Full Moon Rock Shop and Creative Slab Connection. Each has multiple sellers with days assigned to each. I buy at the seller level and follow their listings. Soem really good people.
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rocknewb101
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since October 2022
Posts: 1,368
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Post by rocknewb101 on Feb 2, 2024 16:09:37 GMT -5
Sunset Lapidary is Russ and Ben Kuniuth. The two pages are cabs and slabs (cabs) and cabs and slabs the slab depot. Guests are allowed to post offerings and are limited by day and number. I buy from the slab depot, Wild West Slabs and Rocks, Full Moon Rock Shop and Creative Slab Connection. Each has multiple sellers with days assigned to each. I buy at the seller level and follow their listings. Soem really good people. Thanks stardiamond! I ripped my facebook bandaid off and signed up with the group - looking forward to seeing (and maybe buying) some fun items! |
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Post by stardiamond on Feb 2, 2024 16:47:36 GMT -5
Sunset Lapidary is Russ and Ben Kuniuth. The two pages are cabs and slabs (cabs) and cabs and slabs the slab depot. Guests are allowed to post offerings and are limited by day and number. I buy from the slab depot, Wild West Slabs and Rocks, Full Moon Rock Shop and Creative Slab Connection. Each has multiple sellers with days assigned to each. I buy at the seller level and follow their listings. Soem really good people. Thanks stardiamond! I ripped my facebook bandaid off and signed up with the group - looking forward to seeing (and maybe buying) some fun items! I am not a social media person. I don't collect friends. I had a spat with a FB seller who also sold on ebay. He misidentified a slab and I posted a correction. He banned me partially because my friend count was low. I signed up for FB a while ago trying to find some long, lost real friends. FB changed and has a lot of corporate advertising and merchandise for sale through interest groups. I usually don't use marketplace but will when I'm trying to buy something difficult find. I get directed to web sites that have what I am looking for. I stay far away from Craigslist. I have never had a bad experience or any experience but prefer to remain anonymous. |
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