Jason Brim's facebook auctions

[pregcurious]

Thanks, Minou. I looked at the "Market", and there are a few high end things, but there's also some stuff with meh color and huge windows. The "Auction" tends to have lower end things stones, but there are some unique stones that are cut decently. It's a mixed bag.

One way to improve both sites is to not allow stones with huge windows.

 

[Lady_Disdain]

True, but who would be the judge of that? Getting every stone vetted before listing would not be very efficient.

Right now, few vendors are willing to put better stones for auctions because they are afraid that there aren't many buyers. Many buyers aren't going there because the stones aren't as good. Deadlock.

And, yes, I have purchased stones in both groups. One was a Barry garnet that Chris auctioned.

 

[chrono]

There is a market for every type of stone; I don't know who their market is but surely it cannot be only PSers. Perhaps they are also banking on less discriminating buyers?

 

[katharath]

I've purchased from both sites (the market and the auctions).

They're great sites for me for a few reasons. I was already on FB, so it's not like I needed to join just to see the gems (which I wouldn't have done). I do think that in general the gems in the Market are much nicer than the Auction page. And yes, it's bc people don't want to list expensive gems at low prices for fear of no bidding action, which I can certainly understand.

I personally like the Auction page though bc I've been buying a lot of inexpensive loose gems lately, just to see examples of certain gems in person. This is a great place to find items that fit my criteria. Overall I'm pleased with what I've purchased - really only once have I won an auction that I thought was probably a complete waste of my time and money. The sellers I've dealt with are honest, straightforward, and most of them ship quickly as well. A couple have provided what I feel is outstanding service.

With that said, I can see how this isn't for everyone. PSers tend to be the most discriminating of buyers, after all . The Market tends to have higher quality gems for the most part (vs the Auctions), with some being quite nice IMO.

 

[katharath]

I wanted to add: if you're looking for cheaper gems for whatever reason, I like the Auctions page bc I feel like it's much more community-like than eBay. Buying cheap gems off eBay is certainly easy, but often you really have no idea who you're dealing with. I have a much better sense of who I'm dealing with via FB and I enjoy that aspect.

 

[Unbehandelte]

As avid collector I recognize some gems being resale at a higher price at this group ( from eBay , Gemcal , Litnon , The Gem Trader ...
Sometimes they lower the price to what they were bought at the first time sale.
As someone said before it takes time and experience to check eBay for a good deal so perhaps the higher price is justified ?
perhaps the group has found a clientele among the busy people who can not check other sources for a lower price or high quality gems?
unless you travel to the countries where gemstones are found like Sri Lanka , Afghanistan, Kenya , Congo..I realized long ago that most likely there are middle men in bweteen your seller/vendor and your gem.
I went once or twice to Africa when younger it takes lots of effort , patience and good health to visit the mines ....although the lovely landscape and people stay in the memory forever ...
Jason is not the proprietor of the group and he has always strike me as an honest person trying to make a living at what he loves the most .
I wish him and the group good luck!
pardon the spelling I can not find my eyeglasses
I love this forum!