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Post by stardiamond on May 31, 2024 16:48:16 GMT -5
When I first started buying Morgan Hill, the darker material was much more expensive than the lighter. It was new dig instead of old stock. I bought the lighter and found that I could sell cabs for about the same as the old stock. There are many different kinds of Morgan Hill and each has a distinctive appearance. Lions den is the only one that I can sell for a premium because it is more heavily silicated with clear areas. I bought the old stock from Martin Kramer on ebay. He currently sells on FB and I have bought Loma Prieta and Easy Street from him to make cabs. Loma Prieta Easy Street This is the most expensive Lions Den I have sold.
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Post by stardiamond on May 31, 2024 15:02:35 GMT -5
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Post by stardiamond on May 31, 2024 12:23:44 GMT -5
I only sell on Etsy and from what I understand, mailing lists are a no no. The allowed feature is contact right after a sale. A thank you message and a discount code. I tried using the announcement page and there has been no increase in shop visits. I don't care and sell enough to support the hobby. Etsy does what I wanted to do; broadcast a sale with a shop wide discount code. A promotion isn't a promotion when no one knows about it.
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Post by stardiamond on May 30, 2024 18:14:19 GMT -5
The Howardite story is that is sillicated opalized chert and was found by a guy named Howard and the location was secret. This is a Royal Flamingo slab which is similar but no rattlesnake pattern.
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Post by stardiamond on May 30, 2024 15:43:00 GMT -5
My unhappy fish.
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Post by stardiamond on May 29, 2024 21:27:05 GMT -5
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.
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Post by stardiamond on May 29, 2024 19:02:23 GMT -5
Thank you. I copied the information to the announcement. It is more visible.
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Post by stardiamond on May 29, 2024 18:14:19 GMT -5
When you make a sale you can create and send a code. I just added an announcement of the sale to my about page. When I look at Etsy to buy, I don't look at the about page. I don't know how many other buyers do. I could add the sale information to each item description(450) and then remove them all in a week. I could put all items on sale for a week one at a time and then remove them all.
I could individually send a message from messages for specific buyers that I target, but that is not allowed. When I've bought on Etsy I've received a discount code email from the seller to use on future purchases. This option is only available for a limited time after purchase.
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Post by stardiamond on May 29, 2024 17:10:29 GMT -5
Yours is definitely new. This is an original Howardite cab made by Silverhawk who had a connect to the material. I contacted his wife and wanted to buy some slabs. I ran into her at a Reno lapidary show and the price had gone up 1000%. There can be very little usable material from the rough, so that is why I wanted slabs. I buy both the old and new material. This year I was able to get a single cab slab of the original that was sold as the new and made this:
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Post by stardiamond on May 29, 2024 16:26:49 GMT -5
That's the new dig Howardite which has a lot more looks than the original which has a distinctive rattlesnake skin pattern. The old stock is hard to find expensive and fractures easily. The new dig is easier to work.
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Post by stardiamond on May 29, 2024 13:58:53 GMT -5
I just completed my fifth year on Etsy. I decided to have a customer appreciation sale for previous customers. Broadcast a message to previous customers about the sale. It is difficult/impossible to contact Etsy. I posted on the Etsy community forum and found out that I can't do it and in fact it is against rules to offer a discount outside a short post sale window. I set up a code for a week but how will anyone know about it? I am not active on social media.
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Post by stardiamond on May 11, 2024 14:27:30 GMT -5
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Post by stardiamond on May 7, 2024 14:05:25 GMT -5
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Post by stardiamond on May 3, 2024 16:16:53 GMT -5
I leave water in my trays. I top of my higher grit tray and refresh the lower grit tray when I use it for lower grits. A little standing water attracts mosquitos and they can be pests.
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Post by stardiamond on May 3, 2024 15:33:37 GMT -5
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Post by stardiamond on May 1, 2024 18:10:56 GMT -5
Super seven polished specimen.
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Post by stardiamond on Apr 27, 2024 13:45:03 GMT -5
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Post by stardiamond on Apr 24, 2024 17:37:54 GMT -5
When I get a new slab, I layout and trim preforms. Some I grind and some I put away for later. I have hundreds waiting to grind. I used to do that, but I found I was wasting blade life on ones I knew I would never cab. Even at that, I have a lot of preforms, too. Every Spring, I go through and weed them out. I agree. I make a lot more cabs than I sell. I lay out only cabs made from great material like Guadalupe, OJ or Blue Mountain with a great pattern. When I sell a cab from the slab, I will grind the replacement. When the pattern is not interesting it becomes a scrap.
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Post by stardiamond on Apr 23, 2024 19:41:58 GMT -5
When I get a new slab, I layout and trim preforms. Some I grind and some I put away for later. I have hundreds waiting to grind.
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Post by stardiamond on Apr 22, 2024 14:46:34 GMT -5
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