Buying gemstones on EBay, from India, is it worth the deal?

Buying gemstones on EBay from India

Is it worth the deal? At first, I was a bit apprehensive about buying gemstones on EBay from India. Will they arrive? How soon? And in which state?

Indian gemstone sellers offer very good deals. I am especially interested in emeralds, but also sapphires and rubies. As I wrote in this post, emeralds do not originate from India, but India is a well-known processing and exporting country since they facet a lot of gemstones there.

There are really good deals for buying gemstones on EBay. The price for a B-grade 1 ct emerald varies from 5 to 8 USD, which is not bad.

The point is that in the Netherlands we have to pay customs duties plus processing costs over each delivery with a value exceeding USD 25 (roughly estimated). This value also includes shipment. Fortunately, there are many gemstone lots to find under this value, and if not, the Indian sellers are willing to set the package price a bit lower.

The delivery to the Netherlands takes about 2 weeks. However, it can take up to 1 month.

It is always fun when a package arrives. Indian shops do their best to wrap it in all possible materials: shredded paper, plastic foil, cotton, textile. I must admit I don’t package my jewelry as thoroughly as they do.

So the answer is: yes, it is worth the deal – buying gemstones on EBay from India.