Highland Park "deal" on Rainbow obsidian

TBH, I did not but it wasn't because I wanted to hold them accountable for what I received. I was buying it as most of it would be a donation for our Gem & Mineral club's annual member auction. All proceeds would benefit the club so I split it up into a couple of lots for the auction and donated it. Had I gone through the steps for a return, it would not have been ready in time for the Auction.

So lesson learned on my part, unless I see what I'm buying on any "deals" I'd be less likely to pull the trigger unless it's a material that would be hard to misrepresent. On the positive side, I did buy some Alimejo agates from them in that order and those things are super fun for such a small agate.

   - Rob

I've been meaning to give that a go in the future. I've got too many rocks just lying around waiting for their turn in the saw or for me to come up with something to do with them. I can't believe I just said "too many rocks", something must be wrong with me

I usually have a great time during their auctions, but I have gotten some pretty crap pieces before - the auctions move so quickly that it's hard to really get a good look at what you're buying. Once I got (what seemed like) really pretty flame agate, but when I went to cut it, it fell apart. I do really like the cut and chats because I often learn stuff, with minimal pressure to buy, and when deals are to be had they are usually at a higher price than I can afford. I'm trying to wean myself from joining, although the first time I did join I won on the wheel of prizes, but never since lol. I have some alimajo nodules coming along with fluorite 'select' and a gorgeous piece of river crossing that I'll cab, but thinking this will be my last order for a while. I also have a crap ton of rocks/slabs/preforms that I need to tend to but there's always a cool fun piece that is screaming my name. 

I've bought a bunch from the auctions and overall satisfied. The auctions benefit HP more than the bidders. What makes bidding difficult is how fast the auctions move and the lack of knowledge of the bidders. They generally have better material than my other sources but some has delusional pricing. That isn't a problem because I know what I want to pay based on expected yield. My mistakes are generally from doing a bad job of estimating size when it isn't given. The zoom can make things larger than actual. Sometimes I've asked for size and that has worked but an auction can be over before I get it. I don't have large fingers so I imagine the size referencing the item and the fingers and then look at my fingers. Rough is a gamble and blind rough is even more so. I learned that from a sale of Royal Imperial from the Gem Shop. It was supposed to be super select and what I got was grab and pack. I complained and won't do business with them. RI is expensive and a lot of it is duds. I passed when HP offered it. The cut nodules they show are not representative of the rough. The same with agate nodules. If I can't see it I don't want it.

I recently bought a small piece of Luna rough that wasn't cheap, cut into it and it was a turd. I sent a picture of the outside and cut side to Zeke. He said he would contact someone for a return. I'm waiting but am in no hurry. UPS lost a $50 Laguna cut nodule and it took many months to get a credit.

I have benefited from some misidentification of material. Old stock howardite being sold as new dig. There was a nice piece of Morrisonite being sold as Willow Creek. It was part of a bargain bin and by the time I had seen enough of the contents it was gone.