Buying Loose Gemstones on eBay can get to be a bit expensive, especially after the seller takes you for a ride with shipping, handling, and insurance fees!

Most eBay sellers are pretty sharp, and know the value of the gems they sell.  You can find thousands of loose stones on eBay any day you search for "gemstones".   Sellers in the USA tend to charge more what the gem is worth, and keep the SH realistic, but a good many of the biggest sellers are in Thailand or China, and if you buy, you'd best beware.

The gems are lovely, but watch out for those shipping costs...because what the seller doesn't get up front in the price of the gem (most start the bidding at 1 cent or 99 cents) he will get in the SH, that often more than triples the cost of the gems you have won!

While there are many sellers in Asia who charge one SH fee for up to ten or twenty pieces, make sure you check out the INSURANCE they charge (which is usually at least $1.50 per gemstone) which effectively adds up to a lot more in the end than the actual shipping cost!

Now, we all know that beautiful gemstones with excellent cut and luster are far cheaper in Thailand than in your local mall jewelry store.  People can get mill-run cut stones there for a few cents each.  A gem buyer buys thousands of carats at a whack for a few hundred bucks, sorts through them, and gets a pro to photograph each gem, and even add videos to show how lovely the sparkle is as the item turns under brilliant lights on a revolving turntable.  The seller tempts you with a dirt-cheap starting price, like a penny, maybe 99 pennies...so you bid.  You buy a gorgeous little ruby or emerald for under $10.00!  Then you get the invoice, and swallow your tongue as you realize that inexpensive gemstone just soared up to triple with the very high SH and insurance prices they tacked on.

Does it really cost $10-34.00 to ship a two-ounce parcel from Thailand or China?  No.  Reputable sellers charge about $8.00 for airmail from Asia to the USA.  You can buy 50 carats of gems and still not pay more than $10.00 shipping.  If the seller uses EMS, expect to pay a whopping fee that is far higher than any other method of shipping!  Because most Americans can't read Chinese or Thai, you don't know that the seller only spent about $10.00 for SH after charging you $50 to $100!

The seller just made one heck of a nice profit on the sale, and didn't even have to pay the eBay final value fee on the extra money!

Of course PayPal gets a nice chunk of the entire amount, but eBay only charges a final value fee on the amount you pay for the item.

I once bid on (and won) 12 items from a Thai seller, without reading the smaller print (I did read the part about one SH fee of $10.00 for up to ten items in a batch) but missed the part that explained that they charged $1.95 per gemstone for "insurance".  So the $36.75 I paid for the actual winning bids escalated in one fell swoop to over $100!  That was a nasty shock.

Of course, I would have paid about $100 if I had bid on the items from a US seller and paid a higher price, with less exorbitant SH.  But I chose to try and get something for nothing...and it just doesn't work that way.  The Thai and Chinese sellers have been raking in BIG bucks on SH fees for a long time.  I should have seen that one coming. :)

So now I am being very careful, and only buying from sellers who charge reasonable SH (and insurance) and who show actual photos of the gemstones or pearls you are buying. 

Once you find a good, reliable seller, you stick with him or her.  And once you have established a good working relationship, you often get little tidbits of free stuff along with the package.  Sellers want return business!

So shop till you drop, and enjoy buying pretty sparkly baubles...but pay attention to the small and smaller print.  KNOW up front what SH and "insurance" will set you back BEFORE you jump in and bid.  That way your bargains remain bargains, with no nasty surprises.