Apologies in Advance...

[zakstreasuretrove]

....for the cringy click bait title and the positive nature of the topic.  

I just discovered a passion for geology, in particular gems/minerals.  I'm fortunate enough to live near an area rich in mineral deposits of all kinds.  Yesterday I sold my first rough gemstone specimens to a buyer in the same town I dug them out of.  It's for very little money and the stones are advertised for what they are.  However, I've been wanting to either expand into this area and/or eventually transition solely into it.  

It reminds me of how I first started doing eBay for more than buying.  I grabbed an old Calgary Flames Sandy McCarthy hockey jersey and my old collection of 90's/00's metal cd's that had long since been transferred to MP3 format and listed them.  The jersey sold almost immediately and I had the CD's on auction of all things.  I ended up netting over $600 in the two deals and was ready to hit the ground running with my new found venture capital.  As you would expect, eBay reigned me in for 30 days or so with held payments as a new seller.  (My first slap of reality).  I used that time to familiarize myself with the policies so I wouldn't be slapped again.

I've been at it for nearly three years now and the excited feeling is nice.  

.........

Ok, there's you're random dose of positivity.  I won't take it personal if everyone tells me how it won't last and the sky is falling.  A properly delivered rapier witted mocking is motivating to me.  Have at it!   

[gurlcat]

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@sreu3058 wrote:

Gurlcat, you could wear gloves.  I am too shy and private, personally, to do a utube video.

Maybe I could wear a mask?  Like a clown face.  Not sure anyone would take me serious then 😛

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Gloves are pretty painful and stimulate the dyshidrosis progression even worse, unfortunately.  
But here's what my favorite Youtuber does to "show" himself while still concealing his identity.  Simple but effective!  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDRa37LkaBQ 

[sreu3058]

That’s funny to me- the blurred face.  I am not that important, lol.  And surely would not be discussing anything controversial.  I have 2 ‘favorite’ I follow, both in my shared selling interest, and both are down to earth, funny, and completely themselves.  

[12345jamesstamps]

My morning...every morning...I wake up with coffee and reading the posts here...LOL

Talk about addicted...not the coffee, by the way.

I got stuck with rocks and gems when my ex left suddenly.

Why I moved them from Vegas to San Francisco with me I'll never know.

As an uncle to 5 boys now...I have been slowing giving away a rock here and there to them...they are polished on one side and probably would make great paperweights...too heavy to sell...LOL

The tiny little ones still sit in a box.

I gave a pretty green stone to a good friend last year. She got it appraised...$2000. and said she will make a necklace out of it for for son's girlfriend who he is going to marry. It turned out to be an emerald. Why she had it appraised I don't know.

Shows how much I know nothing about rocks.

Anyway, liked your story here and I think it 'rocks'.

[gurlcat]

Any idea where your ex got the rocks?  Do you think she knew the green one was an emerald?  -Probably a dumb question, considering she left them, ha.  

[chapeau-noir]

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@zakstreasuretrove wrote:

.........

Ok, there's you're random dose of positivity.  I won't take it personal if everyone tells me how it won't last and the sky is falling.  A properly delivered rapier witted mocking is motivating to me.  Have at it!   

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Sorry to disappoint you, but this board can use some positive threads like this one. 

[sreu3058]

Jamestamps I tell you what:  You send me all the rocks and I can identify them and tell you what they are/ evaluate

If I can send you my husbands’ grandfather’s briefcase full of jumbled stamp collection for you to sift through and tell me if there’s any $ in it, LOL!

I bet you get that all the time.  And yes, if I may say, I can identify just about any stone.  I’d be embarrassed to say how much of my time / years I have looking at rocks 😉

[chapeau-noir]

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@sreu3058 wrote:

Jamestamps I tell you what:  You send me all the rocks and I can identify them and tell you what they are/ evaluate

If I can send you my husbands’ grandfather’s briefcase full of jumbled stamp collection for you to sift through and tell me if there’s any $ in it, LOL!

I bet you get that all the time.  And yes, if I may say, I can identify just about any stone.  I’d be embarrassed to say how much of my time / years I have looking at rocks 😉

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Don't be - some rocks in Canada were just dated to about 4 billion years old. Your hobby has definite longevity!

[gurlcat]

Are you into fossils at all?  

[tobaccocardyahoo]

If hunting gems is your hobby and gives you pleasure, be very careful that you do not lose the pleasure and your hobby by mixing it with your Ebay business.

Lost many sources of pleasure when I decided to sell some related items on Ebay and before long, everything was merchandise.

A good friend of mine moved from Northern New England to AZ and became a rock hound. I know it is a passion for him. Initially his Ebay store had a lot of stones.

Now his store has far fewer stones and his merchandise mix is close to mine. He needs the reinforcement that sales provide to keep listing.

[sreu3058]

Some good wisdom- passion hobby for pleasure turning to business can turn the happy activity sour.

Gurlcat, I had to put boundaries on my collecting/ rock seeking, and fossils (and obsidian and glass) did not make the cut.  I also don’t do high end gems.  I enjoy the Jaspers and Agates the most.

I dove deep into American Turquoise, and Nevada has my favorites.  I could never convince any family member to vacation with me with 7 hour drive to dig through dirt tailings in 100 degree weather, tho.  😉

Thanks for ‘listening’ !

[chapeau-noir]

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@sreu3058 wrote:

Some good wisdom- passion hobby for pleasure turning to business can turn the happy activity sour.

Gurlcat, I had to put boundaries on my collecting/ rock seeking, and fossils (and obsidian and glass) did not make the cut.  I also don’t do high end gems.  I enjoy the Jaspers and Agates the most.

I dove deep into American Turquoise, and Nevada has my favorites.  I could never convince any family member to vacation with me with 7 hour drive to dig through dirt tailings in 100 degree weather, tho.  😉

Thanks for ‘listening’ !

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Tell me about it - I'm trying to turn my fan fiction and lectures into some kind of something I can flog for a little pocket change. I'm not sure I like writing anymore. 

As for the drive into Nevada for those treasures - just go yourself, making sure you're prepared for desert conditions. Sometimes having other people along is just a drag. 

[zakstreasuretrove]

You think we have much in common, well, I'm beginning to think we are lost relatives or something.  The thumbs.....my friends goof on me for my 'Ninja Turtle" thumbs.  (UV on a chunk of rough sapphire for no reason)

When I take photos for listings I usually try to tuck it under the item or something so it's not distracting to all you normies out there.

My hands get some kind of itchy "hive" looking spots from time to time as well.  I think mine is related to cleaning agents I clean lots of electronics.  If I wear gloves, which I do, it helps tremendously.  I know the gloves tend to irritate your condition though.

I should just do a channel and see where it goes if anywhere.  I have a bit of a flair for storytelling, though my writing is much nicer to read than my northeast accent sounds, but ultimately that is irrelevant.

[zakstreasuretrove]

I was starting to wonder if it was against the rules or something.  

[zakstreasuretrove]

At the moment I'm just messing around with the stuff that I have on hand.  None of it is super high grade or anything like that.  However, I have access to a lot of cool stuff that isn't available everywhere.  That part isn't really what my ultimate goal is.  I'll sell stuff like the rough specimens on here, but I think any serious stuff is just too risky on this platform.  What 'serious' stuff is may be relative and evolve.  Oddly enough, this is the first time I've considered 'beyond eBay' as for the stuff I'm doing now, eBay has been pretty good.

Most of my excitement comes from the local history and the unique assets located near me.  The region has a mining history pretty much dating back to before the USA was a thing.  There are world famous lapidary artists and others trained by them.  If nothing else, it may serve as an addition to what I'm already doing.  I still have a long way to go before any of this becomes remotely profitable, but others have done it, why can't I.  

I still enjoy the hunting and selling of the things that I sell currently.  My main interest has been electronics, for pretty much my whole life, so I am able to extract value out of things that may otherwise be thrown away or left to rot.  eBay has forced taught me to see value in things that I would have otherwise scoffed at.  

@sreu3058 

Jaspers and Agates are some of my favorite non-gem rocks.  I think sometime agates are even prettier than gems.  I'm like you, 7 hrs away to dig in a pile sounds like a good time to me!

@chapeau-noir 

I feel your pain in writing.  I dabbled in short stories a long time ago, but never really got serious about it.  Now with AI ruining everything and changing the artistic landscape, now you have to compete with software along with people.  This also explains why my I can read the entirety of your posts without wanting to gouge my eyes out.  I can tolerate a lot of mishandling of our beautiful language, but I wouldn't be opposed to a smattering of grammar police cracking heads every once in a while.  r u no wat I sayin

[mtgraves7984]

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@silverstatetreasureboxes wrote:

@zakstreasuretrove 

I admire your enthusiasm! Here's an invite over to the jewelry category where we have an expert geologist on board. He's extremely interesting and always ready to talk.

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@silverstatetreasureboxes 

When we emptied my mother-in-law's home last year (she moved to Senior Living, we listed the house), we brought home a geode(?) that we have no idea what to do with. (Egg-shaped; 12" circumference one way, 14" the other; slightly over 3.5#...) Could that expert help me? 🙂

Sorry to interrupt, @zakstreasuretrove, and thanks for the topic! 👏