Buying lapidary material on the internet
Mar 24, 2022 14:43:21 GMT -5
catskillrocks, drocknut, and 5 more like this
Post by stardiamond on Mar 24, 2022 14:43:21 GMT -5
I was contacted by Highland Park to do a cabbing webinar. They suggested design and I said I would be interested in one on finding lapidary material. They are interrelated. I don't rockhound or go to shows so all the material I get is internet related. I started putting together notes and picture for a presentation. I haven't heard from them. These are my notes:
Background: I’ve been making cabs for around 20 years and selling for over 2. My related hobby was taking pictures. I looked for an image that I found interesting that could be cropped. I got into lapidary after my wife started collecting cabs. I thought it was something I could do. My business plan is buy rocks, make cabs, sell cabs and buy better rock. Selling allows to spend more on the hobby than as a hobbyist.
First rule of buying is yield. What is the potential value of cabs sold from the purchase vs cost and cost is cost delivered. Calculating the yield involves knowing the desirable attributes of a particular material. For example Morrisonite it is orbs, streamers, colors and light/dark. Some sellers tend to do glamor shots or make the pictures lighter than actual. Morrisonite also tends to fracture even though no fractures are visible from the picture or the actual slab. Combining items from the same seller reduces shipping per slab so I look at their other listed items before completing the purchase, but I don’t buy what I don’t need so I avoid listings that contain different material. When a slab isn’t a good example of the material I am not interested. My shopping list contains over 60 different types of material and I keep adding to it. What I am looking for is the patterns on a slab not the appearance of the slab. A slab only needs to contain one great pattern for a preform. When I go down my list I might find anything acceptable by characteristics or yield. A slab may contain great scenes/patterns and saleable ones they all add to the yield.
Networking to find sources.
Establishing good relationships with sellers; asking questions about the item before purchase, asking about material that isn’t listed. Sellers have more than they have listed. Asking for better quality.
I prefer to buy slabs vs rough because the yield is more difficult to calculate on rough than slabs. When I can’t find acceptable slabs I look for rough. A lot of the rough I buy is close to the person who dug it. Trust between seller and buyer is very important. Ask for pictures and other information before buying.
When considering whether to buy a new material, I do research on the asking price of cabs made from the material to calculate yield. As an example, I couldn’t find any acceptable Willow Creek and some Mescalero that was a good alternative and reasonably priced. I researched.
Small rough and heel slabs. Difficult to accurately calculate yield but a heel frequently produces more than one slab.
Collector slabs vs cabbing material. a person will generally get a poorer yield buying collector slabs because there are two groups of people interested;‘ cabbers and slab collectors.
Auctions. Determine yield and calculate the highest price a person is willing to pay. Sniping is not as effective as it was. There are lots of opportunities to buy, so avoid bidding wars.
Searches. Results vary in precision by site. Play around with widening and narrowing criteria and results sequence.
Background: I’ve been making cabs for around 20 years and selling for over 2. My related hobby was taking pictures. I looked for an image that I found interesting that could be cropped. I got into lapidary after my wife started collecting cabs. I thought it was something I could do. My business plan is buy rocks, make cabs, sell cabs and buy better rock. Selling allows to spend more on the hobby than as a hobbyist.
First rule of buying is yield. What is the potential value of cabs sold from the purchase vs cost and cost is cost delivered. Calculating the yield involves knowing the desirable attributes of a particular material. For example Morrisonite it is orbs, streamers, colors and light/dark. Some sellers tend to do glamor shots or make the pictures lighter than actual. Morrisonite also tends to fracture even though no fractures are visible from the picture or the actual slab. Combining items from the same seller reduces shipping per slab so I look at their other listed items before completing the purchase, but I don’t buy what I don’t need so I avoid listings that contain different material. When a slab isn’t a good example of the material I am not interested. My shopping list contains over 60 different types of material and I keep adding to it. What I am looking for is the patterns on a slab not the appearance of the slab. A slab only needs to contain one great pattern for a preform. When I go down my list I might find anything acceptable by characteristics or yield. A slab may contain great scenes/patterns and saleable ones they all add to the yield.
Networking to find sources.
Establishing good relationships with sellers; asking questions about the item before purchase, asking about material that isn’t listed. Sellers have more than they have listed. Asking for better quality.
I prefer to buy slabs vs rough because the yield is more difficult to calculate on rough than slabs. When I can’t find acceptable slabs I look for rough. A lot of the rough I buy is close to the person who dug it. Trust between seller and buyer is very important. Ask for pictures and other information before buying.
When considering whether to buy a new material, I do research on the asking price of cabs made from the material to calculate yield. As an example, I couldn’t find any acceptable Willow Creek and some Mescalero that was a good alternative and reasonably priced. I researched.
Small rough and heel slabs. Difficult to accurately calculate yield but a heel frequently produces more than one slab.
Collector slabs vs cabbing material. a person will generally get a poorer yield buying collector slabs because there are two groups of people interested;‘ cabbers and slab collectors.
Auctions. Determine yield and calculate the highest price a person is willing to pay. Sniping is not as effective as it was. There are lots of opportunities to buy, so avoid bidding wars.
Searches. Results vary in precision by site. Play around with widening and narrowing criteria and results sequence.