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Post by stardiamond on Jul 16, 2023 22:02:20 GMT -5
Fees are paid by the seller and I don't plan on selling on ebay. A buyer has more protection than a seller. Not always. I have been screwed over by Ebay a few times such as when I bought an expensive flash drive and never received the product. I filed a dispute with Ebay and they responded with the seller closed their bank account so I could not get a refund for the product I paid for but did not receive.
Had other battles with Ebay as well for not getting what I ordered. I always felt Ebay did more to protect sellers than buyers since sellers are where their income comes from.
Things have become better. Paypal protection is good and credit card disputes are an option. Years ago my son bought an expensive sports card and the package was empty. Contacted the seller and he stalled. It was insured but insurance is paid to the seller. Contacted the postal inspector and nothing came of it even though it was a scam. The lesson learned is to file an ebay complaint before the clock runs out.
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Post by stardiamond on Jul 16, 2023 20:38:20 GMT -5
Fees are paid by the seller and I don't plan on selling on ebay. A buyer has more protection than a seller.
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Post by stardiamond on Jul 16, 2023 19:01:55 GMT -5
I think I understand this. After the Paypal, ebay split, ebay is trying to cut paypal out of the fees. It creates a situation like Etsy, where my fees to Etsy and payments from Etsy are attached to my bank account. Today, when I buy something on ebay or etsy it goes against my credit card. This is fine because I get 3% cashback and nothing with paypal. I'm doing most of my buying from individuals on facebook and that is all paypal. I would not give my credit card information to an individual even though I have fraud protection.
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Post by stardiamond on Jul 16, 2023 18:29:02 GMT -5
A cabochon to me is a cabochon no matter the size. I sell a lot to jewelers and have learned their terminology of pendants and earrings. Jewelers like to make pendant earring sets, so I started making earrings to match pendants. Almost all of them have been 23x18 pears from the gold template. I also made a set of 28x10 from the great shapes template. An advantage to making earrings is that nice material that is too small to make a pendant can be used to make earring. The disadvantage for me is spending the additional time to make them match.
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Post by stardiamond on Jul 16, 2023 17:21:30 GMT -5
My wife started collecting lapidary about 20 years ago and that is what got me started in making cabs. I taught her how to bargain hunt and she picked up this pendant on ebay at a very reasonable price. I noticed it in one of my Riker boxes. Beautiful material and framing. Piece is 50mm.
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Post by stardiamond on Jul 16, 2023 16:47:37 GMT -5
$160
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Post by stardiamond on Jul 16, 2023 13:42:37 GMT -5
Fixed these before it got too hot.
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Post by stardiamond on Jul 15, 2023 21:51:10 GMT -5
I do not ship overseas. I just started changing my profile to include Canada. I have had inquiries about shipping overseas. In every case the buyer had a U.S. address that the order could be mailed to and a mail service would do a bulk mail to their overseas address. It is cheaper and safer for the customer.
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Post by stardiamond on Jul 15, 2023 21:37:37 GMT -5
You did everything right so quit worrying.
I had solar installed in December. I had multiple proposals and went with my gut choosing the contractor. The project manager said he would complete the project in 2022. There was a tax credit and my filing status changes from married to single in 2023. Another contractor said anyone promising 2022 would be lying. Despite all the rain, his crew worked very hard and he kept his promise. In March, the company's supplier put an $18,000 mechanics lien on my property and was charging 10% interest. The solar company had been in business for a long time and had good reviews. I talked with the company's owner and he said with all the rain his crews couldn't work. He said that he had a plan and that the lien would be removed in four months. We have been having frequent power outages and I decided to add a battery backup to the system. I emailed the project manager and left a voice mail a few days later. I then called the owner's cell. He told me all the liens have been paid off. I haven't received a notification from the lawyer who placed the liens but I expect I will. My thoughts have always been the company was successful and as long as they stay in business I'm ok.
The point of all this is when you have done everything right but things are out of your control, there is no point worrying.
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Post by stardiamond on Jul 15, 2023 21:00:56 GMT -5
I hope you're starting to feel better Stephen! Thank you. New medical condition and my appointment with a surgeon isn't for a few weeks. I started grinding again but need to pace myself.
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Post by stardiamond on Jul 15, 2023 19:41:19 GMT -5
I live in air conditioned area. It will hit triple digits and then suck in the marine layer.
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Post by stardiamond on Jul 15, 2023 18:57:33 GMT -5
I don't work with agates and couldn't work with that agate bomb in my lifetime. I have been attending the Highland Park rough webinars and have seen a LOT of agates. Your box would go for over $1,000 there.
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Post by stardiamond on Jul 15, 2023 17:19:48 GMT -5
There is a lot of variance in quality of a particular material and you can't make a silk purse out of a sows ear. The polish is very much dependent on the characteristics of the preform. This is one of the first ME cabs I made. High polish and metallic stripes. I've made many more and never approached the polish.
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Post by stardiamond on Jul 15, 2023 13:34:17 GMT -5
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Post by stardiamond on Jul 15, 2023 13:26:14 GMT -5
This was the largest cab I would get from the piece. As long as the pattern is equal on both sides, the taper gets domed and isn't consequential.
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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 13, 2023 21:17:32 GMT -5
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Post by stardiamond on Jul 13, 2023 20:14:39 GMT -5
I read a book that described how vikings decided if a young warrior would be a swordsman or an axeman. If a warrior possessed quickness, dexterity and flexibility they favored the sword. If the warrior was durable, stout, and posessed endurance they favored the axe. I think of cabbers as the swordsmen, and tumblers as the axeman. This coming from a tumbler . . . There are different types of cabbers. A lot of them are ticklers. I had my only two cabbing lessons from a tickler. Draw the shape on the top and make a few passes against the wheels, put the preform against a template, rinse and repeat. I mark the top for the trim saw, trim leaving plenty of room, redraw on the bottom and grind the preform staying outside the lines. Mark the girdle and dop. This is where I use my aggressive 80 grit wheel, I call the bulldozer. I use it too melt rock, chunks flying everywhere. I have two objectives; stay outside the shape line on the bottom and above the girdle line. I cut as fast as I can and maintain control.
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Post by stardiamond on Jul 13, 2023 18:19:36 GMT -5
The problem with the small easels is that are still too wide for small cabs. I had some of the larger ones I just bought on Amazon. Amazon also has the small ones. I took a butane jet lighter to one. Next step is too chop the top with a saw.
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Post by stardiamond on Jul 13, 2023 15:51:38 GMT -5
It looks like it is the rock not the equipment. Rocks aren't perfect so why do cabs need to be. Defects in material are acceptable depending on what it is. Morgan Hill and Koroit are two examples.
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