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Post by stardiamond on Jun 8, 2023 21:54:08 GMT -5
I received an email from them announcing the auctions. I accepted the invite and received an email just before with a link. I tried the zoom option which I have used for their webinars but couldn't get it to work. I finally was able to get in using the web option. I don't watch the home shopping network but it was a combination of that and a regular auction. Mainly rough agates with high prices and a lot of bidding. I'm a bargain hunter so this was not a good fit. I also buy a high percentage of jaspers.
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allbetzoff
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since November 2020
Posts: 77
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Post by allbetzoff on Jun 8, 2023 23:30:28 GMT -5
It sure is fun to watch, though!
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Post by stardiamond on Jun 9, 2023 17:21:51 GMT -5
starts today at 7:00m eastern. I doubt I would be able to buy anything my trigger finger is too slow and I like to do research before I buy. As an example, I see some material that I haven't bought before, I calculate the yield and see what cabs sell for. It takes minutes not seconds.
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Post by stardiamond on Jun 9, 2023 21:18:25 GMT -5
I spent 2 1/2 hours watching the auction while doing other stuff including eating dinner. The zoom worked this time. A lot of the material I was not familiar with. Some I was familiar so I didn't need to do research. They had a piece of Morgan Hill and a piece of Bruneau that were leftovers from sphere making. I have a really good eye for yield and with all the knife edges, the yield was not very good and working with the pieces would require extra effort. They sold for much more than I would pay. On other auctions, max bids were placed as soon as the item appeared. On other items I've made cabs from better material and won't pay a high price for lesser. It was entertaining, but it is not a place for me to look for material.
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Post by stardiamond on Jun 14, 2023 19:13:25 GMT -5
I logged in again. They had a bunch of Guadalupe poppy jasper slabs for sale and I got one. Very expensive and hard to find. They have a 10% discount on rough and also their equipment today. I'll post a picture when I get it.
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Post by stardiamond on Jun 22, 2023 18:52:38 GMT -5
I logged in again and sat through hours of looking at stuff that I don't need. A lot of agates. I saw a lot of feeding frenzy. For a few minutes people were doing a BIN before a price was stated. There were two things of interest for me; small Bruneau rough and small super seven rough.
I offered to do one of their webinars with the topic being buying lapidary material on the internet. Two keys are knowing the material and knowing the yield. I need know the yield to know if I will make money or lose money on the purchase. I finally saw a small Bruneau piece with a full pattern that went all the way through. It was small but would produce two nice cabs. Bidding started at $20, I bid $25 and the other bidder gave up. They had a few nice pieces of super seven. I didn't keep notes about how many grams the pieces I bought at Facebook weighed but bidding got beyond what I would risk quickly. All auction items are no tax and free shipping.
On Saturday they are having a huge slab auction startin earlier in the day. I'll join the zoom meeting but am not optimistic about getting anything after having a good sample of the buyers' behavior.
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Post by stardiamond on Jun 23, 2023 17:04:00 GMT -5
another one today  |
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Post by Son Of Beach on Jun 24, 2023 1:54:36 GMT -5
another one today Looks like a morgue |
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Post by stardiamond on Jun 24, 2023 18:51:29 GMT -5
I sat through 4 hours and got a smaller slab of Guadalupe poppy jasper. As it was being announced I bid $40 and the auctioneer said he was looking for $45, but he sold it to me for $40 because I showed initiative one of his catch phrases. Another piece showed up later, smaller not as good a pattern and showed fractures and it went for more. Guadalupe is tough to find, expensive and nasty with vugs and fractures. I multi task during the auctions. They were getting good prices for stuff I would give away. As an example Leopardskin jasper. I've made some cabs and haven't even bothered to list them on Etsy. I'll take a quick look through my boxes and see what I have.
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Post by stardiamond on Jun 27, 2023 17:00:39 GMT -5
The Guadalupe jasper arrived.  |
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Post by stardiamond on Jul 14, 2023 22:39:40 GMT -5
I bought a 6oz piece of Howardite. I probably should have paid more attention, but a glance saw the rattlesnake pattern on part of it. If I got it right, I paid a good price, if not....
They have cut back temporarily from MW to F auctions. I sat through 3 hours and there was nothing I would consider. I've been looking for super seven and they were going for three times what I pay. They had a lot of Montana Moss nodules going for about $50 a pound and nothing was visible. Last year I bought 20 pounds of grade A, hand picked by the person who collected it at $20 a pound. I got some beautiful slabs but 30% of it was bleah and I could tell just looking at. I may take another look but I have plenty of slabs.
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Post by stardiamond on Jul 19, 2023 13:42:25 GMT -5
I was right on the id; old stock Howardite. 3.2x1.75x1.75 inches and weighs 7.12 oz. What is distinct with this material is the rattlesnake pattern. Not all of a piece will have it and Royal Flamingo and Red Howardite, the more recent dug material don't. The only issue is the yield since a cab needs to have a lot of the snake. I'm sure to break even but I don't know if I can reach my goal of cab value being 3 times cost of material.   |
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Post by stardiamond on Jul 22, 2023 19:18:38 GMT -5
Last Friday, it was announced that there would only be a Friday auction and that didn't even happen.
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Post by stardiamond on Jul 28, 2023 23:20:34 GMT -5
The rough auctions were back. No slabs this time only rough. Slab auctions won't be back for more than a week. I'm only interested in slabbing to make cabs. I'm not interested in selling slabs. The auctions started out with a bunch of large pieces of tiger eye rough. It was nice but there is no point of me buying a 5 pound piece when I couldn't sell a cab at a decent price. The auction started at 4pm Pacific time and ended at 8pm and there wasn't anything I would even consider. I have a strategy for the auctions. At 3pm I signed up for an online poker tournament for $1.50 and played until 8:30pm. I came in first and won $100. I have the volume up and spend most of my time listening to the auctions while I play poker. John Rowland kept mentioning how something was a good cabbing piece. I know what a good cabbing piece looks like and they weren't. I couldn't stand spending that much time with only a slim hope of finding something to bid on.
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rockbrain
Cave Dweller 
Member since January 2022
Posts: 3,167
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Post by rockbrain on Jul 30, 2023 9:11:59 GMT -5
The rough auctions were back. No slabs this time only rough. Slab auctions won't be back for more than a week. I'm only interested in slabbing to make cabs. I'm not interested in selling slabs. The auctions started out with a bunch of large pieces of tiger eye rough. It was nice but there is no point of me buying a 5 pound piece when I couldn't sell a cab at a decent price. The auction started at 4pm Pacific time and ended at 8pm and there wasn't anything I would even consider. I have a strategy for the auctions. At 3pm I signed up for an online poker tournament for $1.50 and played until 8:30pm. I came in first and won $100. I have the volume up and spend most of my time listening to the auctions while I play poker. John Rowland kept mentioning how something was a good cabbing piece. I know what a good cabbing piece looks like and they weren't. I couldn't stand spending that much time with only a slim hope of finding something to bid on. Good strategy! Congrats on the poker win. I've checked out their auction including last Friday. I don't last very long there. You're $150 win wouldn't last very long there either!  |
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Post by stardiamond on Aug 4, 2023 20:34:32 GMT -5
2 1/2 hours of yawn so far.
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Post by stardiamond on Aug 5, 2023 21:54:05 GMT -5
I'm done with it. A waste of time and upsetting seeing what is being spent. I'm about value and I have no idea why people are buying so much at high prices. Winning in auction is not winning it is paying the highest price. Four hours of following and it is still all about agates.
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