Sellers of kaleidoscope jasper?

I purchased from their FB page around the first of the year. It was an ok purchase but we haven't cut any yet, so I can't say anything about the quality. It was difficult communicating with them and delivery took forever, and I felt newcomers like me were ignored/bypassed while pals got better service. Conjecture, for certain, but that is how it felt. Comments from frequent buyers were answered quickly and it took a week to get a response to questions. The result? I won't buy again unless I have a real need, and I don't really foresee a need at this time. I do have a box of stuff that I will probably sell at a later date.

Brian Rhodes sells on various Facebook groups and also has an Etsy shop and an Ebay store both called Lapidary Central. He has some pretty awesome materials and I buy the occasional slab from him and always thought he communicated good and delivered as stated. I don't see him selling much Kladeidoscope though. I'm not sure why.

www.etsy.com/shop/LapidaryCentral

Yes, "rhodescabbin" was it (Dale Rhode, same operation). And, yes, a lot of it isn't the most remarkable stuff to come down the pike (unless the color saturation on the photos gets cranked way up) IMO. Still, there can be some chunks that yield great patterns and colors.

Reminds me of a story about miner-sellers. "Kop" Kopcinski, who originally owned the Blue Mountain jasper claim (as well as several others, including the Lucky Strike thunderegg mine) had a bit of notoriety for hoarding the best stuff and only letting go of the lesser quality pieces. I saw an exquisite chunk on the shelf of a dealer and asked where she'd managed to get it. She responded, "I stole it, fair and square" (meaning that while Kop was insisting on selling her another piece, she swapped it when he wasn't looking for the one she came to buy - sort of reversed the bait and switch).

I asked for others' opinions because I've been disappointed but am hesitant to slam anyone who trying to is trying to make a living. Here's my experience, stated as neutrally as possible:

Two orders, both mfrbs. Premium prices. In both cases, there are 3-5 really nice pieces, and the rest seems decent to mediocre.

In both cases, shipping took longer than stated, with no communication on the status of the order. In both cases, my requests for update received replies stating circumstances beyond the seller's control which prevented shipping within the stated time frame (4-7 business days.) In the first case, a "will go out today" with reasons for delay. Was shipped 2 days later. "Stuffed the box with gifts" to make up for it; the gifts were nothing special. In the second case, my rather tersely worded message asking what the problem was resulted in a reason that was "circumstances beyond our control" and the box was shipped within a couple hours. This was 14 days (10 business days) after paying.

In my view, communication beforehand would have resulted in these delays not being an issue to me. But responses after the fact just sound like excuses.

Finally, photos provided of material for sale are clearly taken with a camera which has color saturation turned way up. The material received isn't nearly as dramatic as "shown". All the previous issues can be chalked up to any number of reasons which are basically differences in opinion between buyer and seller as to what constitutes desirable business practice. But this to me is borderline unethical.

I've contacted the seller, stating my perspective on all this. While I won't pursue return or refund, I won't purchase more from them.

Hahaha that's a good one. I think I'm going to steal it.

Exactly. I've never heard anyone say this was premium material that bought on the open market. Supposedly all the high grade stuff gets shipped off by the ton just like the blue mtn jasper and such.

In fairness to the Rhodes I only cut one piece and it wasn't cracky that I remember ... crappy is more accurate . I don't know, but the whole box just appeared dark and kind of green. It's quite possible there was some premium cutters in the box but I'm still glad I was able to sell it for almost what I paid for it.

Update: The day before I posted my experiences here, I messaged the seller telling them how I felt and saying that while I wouldn't seek a refund, I wouldn't be buying any more. My message was calm and direct. Didn't berate or insult or yell or scream, just stated the facts as I saw them. Anyway, never got a response. They just kicked me out of the fb group where they sell, without saying a word. Pretty much confirms everything I've been thinking.

Lol, last update.

Sent one final message, trying to communicate a vision of "best practices" from both the perspective of customer and seller. (In previous lives I've worked in sales-dependent positions in a couple of different types of markets.) Dismal failure. Got a rather snitty response, basically putting it all on me. Ok. We're done here, lol, not worth bothering.