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April 25 - May 1, 2005
Ephemerala
April 25 - May 1, 2005
In This Installment:
** New Items
** Coming Soon
** Stone Fun Facts
** News & Stuff
** Fortnightly Sale
** Insider's Sale
** Last Week's Top Sellers
New Items
New Marbles
All sorts of new and returning stones, including Rose Quartz,
Pakistan Onyx, Ametrine, Picasso Marble, Chocolate Jasper, Rainbow Obsidian,
Tiger Iron, and a few new Mini Marble types. See them all
here:
FABULOUS NEW CHIP BEADS!
Move over Kunzite. Walk away, Wild Horse. The
price of these new chips tops everything I have ever sold. I never, ever
thought I would get these. And even if I never sell a single one, how cool
is it to even be able to OFFER these? May I introduce our new genuine
Diamond Chip Beads! Yep, the store with the largest
number of Chip Beads on the entire World Wide Web now has the mother of
all chips. They are currently on the very top shelf in the Dungeon (that's
what we call the warehouse here), each in its own tiny ziplock bag, ready to
go. These are seriously expensive (they make Wild Horse Jasper look like a
bargain), and most of you will never even consider buying them. But those
who are a little freaky, who want something that nobody else has (or just feel a
pair of genuine Diamond Chip earrings for thirty bucks is a decent endeavor)
will bite the bullet and pounce. There are TEN of these puppies available,
and when they are gone, they are gone. So tell me, are you
adventurous?
(Incidentally, I have been looking for SAPPHIRE Chip Beads for
years now, with no luck. I never figured I'd get Diamond before
Sapphire!)
See the new DIAMOND CHIP BEADS here:
New Less-Important-But-Still-Mighty-Fine Beads
Sure, nothing can top Diamond Chip Beads, but if you DON'T
happen to have a mint lying around begging to be spent on wildly expensive
beads, here are a few that are a bit more affordable.
Green Striped Aventurine
Triangles
A cool stone. Hand-cut triangles for that "made lovingly
by hand" look.
Champagne Quartz Triangles
Light, barely-there-yellow beads, hand-cut in triangle
shapes.
Aquamarine Ovals
Very pretty transparent to translucent beads.
Rose Quartz Large Ovals
Bigger and fuller than our usual Rose Ovals, these are great
for chunky jewelry.
Green Striped Aventurine Bricks
Really pretty and unique stone, with beautiful clear and green
stripes.
Labradorite Cubes
Small dark cubes with an inner fire flash.
Coming Soon
New Beads:
Ametrine Chips, Yellow Olivine Chips, Green Rutilated Quartz Chips,
Black/White Quartz Chips, Golden Oyster Stick, Hessonite Heishi, Aquamarine
Round, Rhodonite Round, Fluorite Twist, More Faceted Beads
Ocarinas (clay flutes)
"Fortune Cookie" Silk Purses
Solid Perfume in Soapstone Jars
Spring Bracelets
Large Fan Collars
Cloisonné Rings & Bangles
Quartz Lamps & Tea Candle Holders
Salt Lamps & Tea Candle Holders
Magnetic Hematite Zingers (fun for kids!)
Magnetic Hematite Wraps with Crystals & Pearls
New Marbles (Thyolite, Yttrium)
Malachite/Onyx Chess Set
Shell Bottles & Boxes
Stone Fun Facts
The Difference Between Agate &
Jasper
When my mom and I look at stones and try to figure out what they are,
I usually brush the harder ones aside with, "When in doubt, call it
Agate!" It is true that most common stones can fall under the Agate or
Jasper titles, but I sometimes wondered how to differentiate the two. As a
special break from our usual single-stone profile, I thought I'd figure out what
makes some stones "Jaspers" and other stones "Agates," especially when some seem
to have the same chemical composition.
** Agates and Jaspers are both a type of microcrystalline Quartz called
Chalcedony. (The Chalcedony group also contains Onyx and Carnelian.)
** While many people believe that the color or pattern alone determines
what the stone is called, the main difference between the two is a structural
difference on a microscopic level. Agates contain microscopic FIBERS of
crystalline Quartz, while Jaspers contain microscopic GRAINS of crystalline
Quartz. Thus, Agates are often transparent and Jaspers are usually
opaque. The fibers in Agate may work like the fibers in fiber optic
bundles, transmitting light and therefore making them transparent. The
grains in Jasper may serve to scatter the light, thus making them opaque.
** Jasper can be thought of as "dirty Chalcedony," since it is dense with
earthy or clayey matter. Jasper can be any color or many colors, based on
the chemical impurities.
** Agate most commonly occurs as the cavity fillings (nodules) inside
geodes. It grows in consecutive layers, so Agates are usually
striped. The bands are sometimes perfectly parallel, or they can be
twisting and uneven.
** Agates can be easily dyed to give them brilliant color, but Jaspers are
so dense it is difficult to dye them.
** Agates in general are an unofficial birthstone for June, and the stone
for the 12th anniversary.
** Many rocks contain both Jasper and Agate. They are called
Jasp-Agates or Jagates. Crazy Lace Agate, which is opaque with some
transparent parts to it, is technically a Jagate.
** Most rocks sold today as Agates are actually Jaspers. People tend
to prefer the sound of the word "Agate" to "Jasper," and jewelers know this, so
they fudge a bit and call many Jaspers Agates. When you have a stone with
stripes, especially if they are transparent, it is pretty safe to call it an
Agate. If you have an "Agate" that completely lacks stripes OR any sort of
transparency, it is probably a Jasper.
** Many of these stones (both Agate and Jasper) have highly localized
names, and the supply isn't always ongoing. This means that you may hear
of a certain Jasper or Agate for a year or two, then it will fall off the market
due to its depletion.
Please see other Stone Fun Facts
here:
News and Stuff
CityMax vs. eBay Part 2
While I was sad to have to close my eBay store two months ago, one of the
things I was looking forward to was the time I would be saving in listing items
and processing orders. It turns out I have been richly rewarded in that
department. I still have a couple of small eBay orders every week, due to
my 10-20 weekly auctions. But overall my workload has been cut
drastically. For fun, let's look at a comparison in time between the
two.
WHEN I GOT AN ORDER FROM MY EBAY STORE:
1. E-mail invoice to buyer.
2. Create an individual folder in my "Awaiting Payment" folder for that
user.
3. Place all correspondence in that folder.
4. Wait for payment. Get paid.
5. Write out invoice, including item number, title, price each, quantity,
and total price, for each item. (When I had my eBay store, I frequently
got orders of 20 or more small items at a time, so imagine writing out 20 items
on an invoice.)
6. Pack envelope.
7. Write mailing label.
8. Weigh, stamp, and ship.
9. E-mail customer to say their package is in the mail.
10. Create a "Paid" folder for that user.
11. Move all stuff from "Awaiting Payment" to "Paid."
12. Delete "Awaiting Payment" folder.
13. Leave feedback.
14. When feedback is left for me, delete "Paid" folder for that user.
15. Periodically go through "Paid" folders (several hundred at any given
time) to delete anything over three months old for which feedback has not been
left.
WHEN I GET AN ORDER ON MY ONLINE STORE:
1. Get order and payment at the same time.
2. Print out invoice.
3. Pack envelope.
4. Write mailing label.
5. Weigh, stamp, and ship.
As you can see, it takes a LOT less time and effort to manage orders from
my online store! So while I may have lost some business due to not having
eBay's wonderful customer base, I don't have nearly as much work, and that's
always nice.
Fortnightly Sale
Chips Bonanza!
This week, when you buy any two (2) bags of Stone Chip Beads, you will get
an extra bag FREE. Simply browse our huge assortment of Chip Beads, and
pick out any two that you like. Buy them, and find a special Free bag in
your order. The Free Chips will be our choice, and may include ANY that we
sell. There is NO LIMIT to this special sale, so you can buy hundreds of
bags, and still get a free bags for every two you buy. NOTE: This does not
apply to Value Packs. Enjoy!
Chips Bonanza Sale is good through May 8, 2005.
Penny Sale
Every two weeks, I hide a new special offer somewhere on my online
site. This listing will offer a certain product for ONE CENT, with any
purchase of $10.00 or more. The item and its location will change every
two weeks, so be sure to look often. Simply go to my online store site:
and browse until you find the hidden listing. Add it to your cart,
along with the rest of your $10+ order, and it will be included for just a
penny. Happy Hunting!
(Recent keen-eyed customers got a HEMATITE RING for a penny. What
will you be able to get this week?)
Insider's Special
$1.00 Cash Back with Every Tiger Eye
Purchase
People love the cash back offers! This week, for every item you buy
that is made from Tiger Eye, I will send $1.00 back to
you. If you use PayPal, I will send a PayPal refund for the appropriate
amount. If you use a credit card, I will remove the appropriate amount
before charging, and make a note of it on your invoice. If you send a
check, I will send you a check for your refund with your package. ALL
items are eligible for this offer. You can choose from Tiger Eye beads,
fan collars, marbles, silver pendants, gem bottles, and likely a few others that
I have forgotten. ANYTHING Tiger Eye is eligible for this special cash
back offer. All I ask is that you make a quick note of your Subscriber
status so I will know to apply your
discount.
$1.00 Tiger Eye Cash Back Offer is good through May 8,
2005.
Last Week's Top Sellers
(You know you want to be just like everyone
else!)
1. Gemstone Marbles
2. Carved Stone Pendants
3. Prehnite Chip Beads
4. Rhodonite Chip Beads
5. Amethyst Chip Beads
6. Jade Chip Beads
7. Amber Chip Beads
8. Green Aventurine Chip Beads
9. Onyx Chip Beads
10. Power Bracelets
That's it for this issue. Talk to you
again in a week.
--Suzanne Dallapè
eBay User ID:
ephemerala
Visit my online store:
Please pass this newsletter to anyone you think might be
interested!
Feedback
-- 3 804
Positive transactions so far...
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