waterboysh
spending too much on rocks
Member since April 2021
Posts: 386
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Post by waterboysh on Feb 8, 2023 11:56:03 GMT -5
After a batch is done, we pick out the ones we want to display in the house. I pick out a few to take to work. The kids pick one out to give to their teacher. They also have a small display case in their room that they sometimes want to put new rocks in. We usually give some away for Christmas and birthdays... but we still have a lot left over. Not enough to have a side hustle selling rock or anything, but enough that I'm considering trying to sell them. I probably won't even sell them for profit. I raise money every year for my local Children's Miracle Network Hospital through a program called Extra Life. I'm thinking of selling them and having the proceeds just go towards that. But I know literally nothing about selling stuff on the Internet. What are people using for stuff like this? Etsy still? I briefly looked into shipping options because I had a family member that lives several states away message me on Facebook saying they wanted to buy some of my rocks. That's actually what got me thinking about this. But I couldn't find any cheap shipping options. It seems like shipping a package has a price floor of about $10 - $12. Even if I use my own small box, it doesn't seem to help the price at all. I just don't think people will want to pay that much for shipping.
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hypodactylus
spending too much on rocks
Member since July 2021
Posts: 467
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Post by hypodactylus on Feb 8, 2023 12:39:12 GMT -5
I've never sold any tumbled rocks, but I've seen plenty listed on Etsy, Ebay, Amazon, etc. I am not sure how well they sell.
Many of the rocks are probably from commercial tumblers, so you probably couldn't really compete on price for the more common tumbled rocks.
If you have unique or rare tumbles, you might do okay listing them individually. Just an assumption.
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jimmie
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since August 2021
Posts: 233
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Post by jimmie on Feb 8, 2023 12:39:54 GMT -5
I give my stuff to people who like it on Instagram. $16 flat rate box. I don’t charge for anything.it’s a good feeling to get people stoked!
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Post by susand24224 on Feb 8, 2023 14:23:20 GMT -5
If you run a search on Ebay for tumbled rocks, the list of what's for sale will come up on the main part of the screen. If you scroll down (look on the left) you will see a number of boxes you can check to limit the search to specifics. One of the boxes is "sold." Why not have a look?
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Feb 8, 2023 16:03:51 GMT -5
I Sell my tumbles as a vendor at gem and mineral shows. That is really the best way.
Selling them online is too labor intensive with the photos and listings required. Trying to sell a really nice golf ball size botswana agate for $8 with $9 shipping is kind of silly. The only thing I have done successfully is to sell obsidian or tiger by the pound. That way one photo gets rid of a bunch of rocks and $9 shipping does not sound as bad on a $25 purchase.
Chuck
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khara
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2022
Posts: 1,979
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Post by khara on Feb 8, 2023 16:48:57 GMT -5
I would try eBay. All selling platforms have something frustrating about them but I’ve had the most sales through eBay, selling household items. There is also Mercari, in addition to Etsy and Facebook. I’ve bought rocks on eBay (a lot), Etsy (a few), and Mercari (once), and don’t do Facebook. Shipping is unfortunately a real hindrance but I’ve found if people want the item they are willing to pay shipping. You can always offer “free” shipping and just increase your price a bit or split the difference so you are covering some and the buyer is paying some. Rocks are heavy and that makes shipping costs worse but there are tips you’ll learn. (YouTube has a ton of sellers sharing their tips.) For example, using usps padded flat rate envelopes, you can put a box inside the envelope and save a little. Unfortunately Usps has discontinued their regional rate shipping which was cheaper for in state or the state next door. You could also make sure your listings are just under a pound when fully packaged and labeled, and ship them first class in a padded envelope. Fedex, if they are close to you, also has their home delivery shipping rates which aren’t too bad. Also, just fyi, because eBay is so big they are able to negotiate discounted shipping rates with usps. So if you are researching shipping costs now, it will actually be a little cheaper to ship if you buy the label through eBay rather than going down to your local post office. You can also use discounted shipping apps like Pirate Ship to buy your label and print it from home.
Anyway, it’s a pretty low risk thing to try. If you are interested, pick a platform, take some pictures, set aside some time to learn how to make a listing and just try it. Then when you sell something, figure out how to ship it. You could even have a friend buy your first item for a buck or so. Get their feedback on how your listing looked, learn how to use the platform and how to ship, and see how safely your item arrives to your buyer the way you chose to package it. It’s definitely a little bit of a learning curve as is probably obvious by my rambling here but it can be worth it. I was able to save for and buy my cabbing machine just from doing online sales of used household items. I’d also recommend buying something from the platform you are considering as a very first step so you can see the buyers perspective, see how the seller ships an item, the whole process, and hopefully even receive some positive feedback to kick off your profile. If you do plan to use usps, order some free shipping supplies ahead of time to have on hand. You must use them only for the usps service they are labeled for (for example, a usps “padded flat rate envelope”, you must buy a label for that when you ship, do not try to ship first class or any other way in their free shipping supplies.)
Probably overwhelming but some of those tidbits will stick in your brain and hopefully help you later on if you choose to give this a try!
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Post by HankRocks on Feb 8, 2023 17:06:44 GMT -5
For me it's a hobby I enjoy and selling in person at either Craft Shows or Gem and Mineral Shows is the only way I have sold. Online sales are a no-go for me, as described by Chuck, the added hassle is just not worth the effort for lower dollar sales. That and with my picture taking skills I would be bound to get blow-back, "that's not the rocks you had in the picture(s)".
I enjoy the in-person sales experience, and I am lucky to be able to choose between a good number of Craft Shows that are within 10 to 15 miles from the house.
In addition I have never bought any rocks on-line and suspect that I never will. Have more than I need and can always acquire more in person. As I said that's more fun and you get to meet some really neat folks!!
Henry
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Post by HankRocks on Feb 8, 2023 17:24:49 GMT -5
For me it's a hobby I enjoy and selling in person at either Craft Shows or Gem and Mineral Shows is the only way I have sold. Online sales are a no-go for me, as described by Chuck, the added hassle is just not worth the effort for lower dollar sales. That and with my picture taking skills I would be bound to get blow-back, "that's not the rocks you had in the picture(s)". I enjoy the in-person sales experience, and I am lucky to be able to choose between a good number of Craft Shows that are within 10 to 15 miles from the house. In addition I have never bought any rocks on-line and suspect that I never will. Have more than I need and can always acquire more in person. As I said that's more fun and you get to meet some really neat folks!! Henry One advantage to selling in person should have mentioned, Tumbled Stones are only a portion of what I am able to sell. Cut and polished Geodes, Brazilian Halves, Petrified Wood and other assorted agates. In addition, Arkansas Quartz, Bingham Fluorite, Terlingua Calcite(haven't even got around to selling any yet!) and assorted Colorado Quartz. 50 plus years of collecting does tend to create a good stockpile of material. Henry (is this a sign I am beginning to lose it, responding to myself!!)
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khara
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2022
Posts: 1,979
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Post by khara on Feb 8, 2023 18:59:34 GMT -5
Henry (is this a sign I am beginning to lose it, responding to myself!!) I text myself all the time! Reminders, websites I don't want to lose, whatnot... Then the text comes in a couple seconds later and I'm all oh, who's that texting me?... Oh, it's just myself!
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Post by Rockoonz on Feb 9, 2023 1:39:51 GMT -5
Before we got equipment we would go into a western clothing and accessories store that had a tray of tumble with little drawstring bags with a price per rock or fill the bag price. Kids loved it.
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geoff59
spending too much on rocks
Member since October 2022
Posts: 288
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Post by geoff59 on Feb 9, 2023 20:11:45 GMT -5
I set up at a few different places/shows/marketplaces, and I can tell you that so far I’ve always done pretty well. I don’t bring 100s of pounds of rocks everywhere, everything I bring is under #100 easily. Plus you know what? Just talking rocks, especially with the next generation, makes putting the time in worth it.
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Feb 9, 2023 21:01:47 GMT -5
Before we got equipment we would go into a western clothing and accessories store that had a tray of tumble with little drawstring bags with a price per rock or fill the bag price. Kids loved it. All of the commercial ones I have seen like that are imported stuff and a lot of dyed stones in the mixes. At my shows all of my misc. tumbles all go into a big wooden tray. Holds about 60 pounds. I have velvet bags that can be filled for $7 each and hold over 1/2 pound of rocks. I have done that for several years now. Worst idea ever. At rock and gem shows there are people that know what they are looking for and will easily camp in front of that box for at least an hour picking the best of the best and when they are done hand me $7. Luckily that does not happen with every customer but a handful do it at every show. Some will just pick every rock that looks like it will work good for a pendant with a glue on bail. Last show I had a vendor from the booth next to me come over and go through that bin and meticulously pick out every rock that was a good shape and size to glue a bail on. That person gets about 50 pendant rocks for $7 then glues .20 cent bails on them and sells them for 10 each. I keep doing it for all the kids that get excited to search for treasures. I try not to let the adults ruin their fun. I sell a whole lot of those bags of rocks at shows but I really do not think there is profit in them it just moves some inventory. Ten years ago I started selling them for $5. Raised the price to $7 this year. $10 is probably what is fair to me but I try to keep it low enough for kids to be able to coax their parents into letting them get one. I make up for it in the specialty rock section where my tumbles are priced per stone. Chuck
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Post by Rockoonz on Feb 9, 2023 23:19:37 GMT -5
Drummond Island Rocks we have a little basket of tumbles we keep behind the table at shows, when kids come by they each get one. Our tumbles for sale are 1/2 lb pre made bags and single "worry stones".
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Post by susand24224 on Feb 12, 2023 16:24:58 GMT -5
One of my neighbors sells mixed tumbles to gift shops, etc. that do the "so much per bag" sales. I don't know how many he has sold but I know he runs two fifteen pound rotaries nearly nonstop and sells all of them. Caveat: I live in an area fairly close to a number of tourist areas, so this may heighten the demand.
I would go with trying Ebay. There's no need to individually photograph *each* group of tumbles you are selling. I would photograph a hundred or so and advertise them as "coming from that batch." You might even list the types of stones and guarantee that each sale will get at least one of each you have listed. If you have a good mix in your photo, and you provide a good mix upon sale, complaints will be minimized. Or, you can show 100 agates (for example). Most important is that if it doesn't work well, you've lost half an hour of time trying it out. If it doesn't, then on to "Plan B."
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nickinmd
off to a rocking start
Member since February 2023
Posts: 15
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Post by nickinmd on Feb 19, 2023 4:31:54 GMT -5
Good question. I work and my wife doesn't. We do crafts and craft shows as a side hustle. I'm here as a result of getting a tumbler to make sea glass for her crafts lol. Coarse I saw tumbled rocks and went headfirst into the rabbit hole. She intends on using the sea glass/glass chips/and tiny tumbled rocks on windows. Buy a frame with glass, I paint it etc, then she put whatever she wants(I.E. mermaid focal point) with glass put in for a wave, then put in epoxy. Also wind chimes. We do others things like tumblers(kind you drink out of hot/cold) with alcohol ink or letters/names off the criket and put epoxy on them. I make our turners myself as the store ones suck. Point being is, we have the same question. What are we gonna do with these rocks. My thoughts were putting them out on a table when we do a craft show couple times a year. How to price......I havn't a clue. One of you had a point, pics, shipping, and etsy or whoever getting 30 percent just doesn't seem worth it. With most of the things we make however we find if it fits/it ships invaluable. Tourist area here too....ocean city md....and assateage(where misty took place). Consignment has potential.
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afterburnt
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since June 2021
Posts: 152
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Post by afterburnt on Feb 19, 2023 9:21:37 GMT -5
If no one said it, you may want to approach a trinket-type store and try to sell to them.
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