PRICES FOR CRYSTALS AND STONES MIGHT BE GOING UP!!!!

[FairyCrystal]

I've not noticed any shortage or suddenly very high prices.
The shop I usually buy from has gone to buying online which shouldn't be too difficult as they have gotten quite the network over the years.
All this time, in spite of lockdowns and slower transport from abroad, they've had loads of new crystals come in, and able to refill old stock. Maybe not everything, I of course don't know that.
But at some point I felt myself thinking, "AGAIN new crystals?? When is this going to stop?!"
It likely comes in slower than normal, as that seems the case with most everything, but then it comes down to ordering at regular intervals so there is still a constant flow.

Also another shop that I sometimes buy from doesn't seem to have any shortage nor sudden high prices.

I think much now depends on the network and contacts you have. Sellers clearly got smart and expanded their business online.
I wonder if this first shop I mentioned even suffered from the whole pandemic situation. But it wouldn't surprise me if they actually did better than before, without having the cost to go all the way to the States for this huge mineral fair.

[BigJohn]

Good to hear that there are no price increases nor shortages for crystals, etc. where you live. But That is not true where I live. For example, one distributor claims he has 6 months worth of containers sitting on ships out in the Pacific.

And what some distributors tell me, the shipping, in some cases, cost more then the contents. Shipping, seems to be constantly increasing. By the way, how are they able to keep shipping cost down in your country?

As for the shows, many of the dealers and distributors are still waiting for their shipments to arrive.

I didn't see it but one person told me a woman was at one dealer's place and was doing a direct sell of the merchant's merchandise on the internet. People would immediately put in their order, then the woman would pay the merchant then put the item in a shipping box and send it out. I suspect that so many people are doing mail orders that this may be the main reason why the 'shipping lanes' are bogged down.

What I have seen so far, tumbled stones in bulk has doubled in price.

One dealer had brass 4" singing bowls for $5.50 last year and this year, they jumped to $11.00. One business came and bought all that dealer had, even though the price had doubled. The same person went and bought abought 8-9 cases of singing bowls from another person. That distributor was selling them, using last year prices. The price was $20.00 per kilo for brass singing bowls.

One thing I did notice is Selenite is plentiful. I watched one person buy about 18 cases of Selenite after negotiating the price. The first item was a rounded edge Selenite Heart with Angel wings nicely inscribed on the Selenite. The chap asked the Distributor how much and he was told $4.00. The chap said he would pay $1.80. The Distributor came back with a price of $2.00. The chap insisted on $1.80. The Distributor said "Okay".

Some of the quality for the Selenite this year, is exceptional, that is, if it is new stock.

The price for B grade Rose Quartz Obelisks and Rose Quartz Spheres has dropped to $3.50 a pound. A grade was going for $5.00 a pound.

Tourmaline has increased in price. No real bargains in that.

One item that seemed to be a bargain was Heart shaped, Himalayan Salt candle holders for $36.00 per box that contained 13 candle holders.

[FairyCrystal]

I don't know how they deal with shipping cost. I do think it can make a difference which courier you use and what country it's coming from.
For instance I got boots from China in within a week, another item from China has been delayed due to the pandemic and still not here while I bought it on November 7th!
Why is one item super fast and the other taking forever?
I do think a good courier can make the difference, the ones that have good deals and can get their stuff shipped.
I doubt things get bugged down by small purchases. Then this shop would have a problem too as for them it's pallets. From what I've understood it's less back & forth traffic due to the pandemic.
But again, I don't know. I do think -because it's logical- that buying on regular intervals, and maybe from different countries, will help to keep the flow going. Maybe the first purchase arrives last, but then a later purchase comes in sooner to keep you going. That kind of thing. Would require enough cashflow to do that, but as long as sales keep going well that shouldn't be a problem.

I know things are different in the US. Very difficult to get good quality high vibrational crystals, and crystals are very expensive.
I've noticed it myself when in the US. Couldn't find a crystal shop anywhere whereas here you even got them in the backwater province I live in. Some with average or low quality crystals, but more and more with higher vibrational good quality crystals, and affordable.

Selenite, the engraved flat wings, moon sickles, Metatron's Cube etc., and selenite bowls, have begun to flood the market some 2 years ago. If memory serves these come from Morocco.
If you meant those... how is that good quality? I don't see any difference with selenite that was available before? Just curious.
The only unusual selenite I've seen was Naica selenite. That's a personal preference, mind you. I've never been overly keen on selenite but the Naica selenite was delicious! At the time too expensive for me so I only have a small piece.
Oh, and Maria Glass (almost transparent selenite slabs from China)! I do love those :)

[BigJohn]

I noticed Etsy is selling the rounded Heart Selenite with Angel Wings for $15.00
and to have it shipped to me, the shipping cost is $4.92 which would mean a final cost of $19.92! I saw this item selling in Quartzsite for $1.80. I am amazed they are able to sell this cheaper in your area.

Here is the Etsy ad:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/9560592...-wing-etchings

One thing I did not see was Selenite carved Angels which I considered strange. They are a 'classical'.


How much cheaper is Grade A Rose Quartz Spheres in your area selling for? They were selling in Quartzsite for $5.00 a pound ($11.00 a kilo)?

As for 'specialty' crystals..... I have always suspected that may have begun in the United States with the Trademarking of certain crystals. Those crystals, are generally outrageous expensive.

As for expensive Selenite, I have some pieces that are crystalized and extremely delicate that I got several years ago.

[FairyCrystal]

Originally Posted by BigJohn

I noticed Etsy is selling the rounded Heart Selenite with Angel Wings for $15.00
and to have it shipped to me, the shipping cost is $4.92 which would mean a final cost of $19.92! I saw this item selling in Quartzsite for $1.80. I am amazed they are able to sell this cheaper in your area.

Here is the Etsy ad:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/9560592...-wing-etchings

One thing I did not see was Selenite carved Angels which I considered strange. They are a 'classical'.


How much cheaper is Grade A Rose Quartz Spheres in your area selling for? They were selling in Quartzsite for $5.00 a pound ($11.00 a kilo)?

As for 'specialty' crystals..... I have always suspected that may have begun in the United States with the Trademarking of certain crystals. Those crystals, are generally outrageous expensive.

As for expensive Selenite, I have some pieces that are crystalized and extremely delicate that I got several years ago.

I don't know how much that would cost here as it also varies per shop. The one I go to that I keep mentioning buys with few middle-men, but if a shop does wholesale purchase with a lot of middle-men it will be more expensive. Also, some shops want more profit, this one shop tries to keep it affordable for everyone.
Then it depends whether you're on your own with investment and having to make a full living of it, or not.

Like Tim Whild that I'm a big fan of (as spiritual & inspirational teacher etc.) also sells crystals, although very specific like Ankhs, unicorns, skulls and specific points.
He charges a bomb, and believe it or not, he sells too!
That I cannot believe. I will not pay 400 pounds when I can get it for E79. Some of the skulls he sell are about 700 pounds!!!? And from what I can tell these are Chinese skulls. You can get a top quality Leandro for that!
I do feel he's ripping people off, but alas, people can decide for themselves to go for it or not. It's their choice.
And I don't know what his costs are.

So there's no one straight price. But there is this thing I think if there's more competition that sellers will be more competitive with their prices. But if you almost have monopoly you can charge a fortune.

Too many factors involved. I do know however that when buying on Etsy from US sellers you can expect to pay a lot. The same on Ebay. So I tend to forego US sellers. They just charge too much.

[BigJohn]

Crystal skulls became prohibitive for purchase a few years ago. There were some at the shows I attended. For the most part, they were very small and expensive.

I did not know you could buy crystals, minerals, etc. cheaper where you are. Can you give me some examples?

[FairyCrystal]

There seems to be a bit of a crystal skull revival but I don't like all carvings.
I bought a strawberry quartz one from Canada last year for a very good price. It's currently the largest I have.
I'm not into crystal skull buying anymore, but sometimes I come across one that I want to add to my group.

As for examples, I already gave a number.
And since I started buying crystals years back I've noticed that Americans almost always ask a lot.
Some on Etsy do have the newer crystals too. So clearly there are US sellers that can get their hands on these.

[BigJohn]

One thing I noticed about the Quartzsite shows that stood out, was that in the past, none of the vendors nor distributors accepted Amerian Express nor the Disover Card. Now, many are accepting them.

Also, in the past, none of the Morocoan Distributors would accept credit cards, now many of them do.

[Nameless]

I live very close to the beach where the shipping containers are parked in California. We have all been educated here about where our major ports are, and it appears that it is in Long Beach CA and Florida. Florida said "come on down, we'll get them off-loaded". Rumors were flying as to why they were sitting for so long. It seems the answer that has emerged is that, when the world opened back up (I guess we could say when China started shipping again after so long) they let so many ships loose all at the same time that California's port could not keep up. They worked night and day to unload the ships, but more just kept a coming. So it wasn't about the port workers (which the news media claimed originally) or the Port itself, it was the amount of ships that were allowed to cross the ocean when the world opened back up.

That doesn't help the people still waiting for their goods here that are sitting at the port, but that is what happened.

Turns out Covid was the culprit because it locked down the world.

[BigJohn]

At the Tucson Rock, Gem, Mineral Shows:
The first day one show opened up, one vendor was selling at wholesale tumbled stones for $60.00 for a 10 pound bag. That comes to $6.00 per pound. The next day, those same tumbled stones had their prices increased by that same vendor to $8.00 and $10.00 per pound. I guess what caused the price increase was when one person bought about 1200 pounds of tumbled stones.

This is typical of the various shows. If the price is 'really good', the product(s) disappear off 'the shelves' very fast.

And then there is the 'insanity'.
I saw one vendor selling (wholesale) a 11 pound (5 Kilograms) of Tumbled Malachite for $595.00!