Information for Customers and Visitors
ORDERS / SHIPPING |
Shipping
Receipts & TRACKING
CANADA & International APO, FPO, DPO
Mail Orders
Purchase Orders
GET ANSWERS |
Frequent Questions
Rock Tumbler Blog
Parts for Old Tumblers
Rock Identification
How to Contact Us
Returns / Warranties |
Warranty Information
LEGAL |
Privacy Notice
Who Are You Doing Business With?
You are buying from people who have done a lot of rock tumbling. We probably have several rock tumblers running in our warehouse while you are reading this. Every member of our staff knows how to operate a rock tumbler and has produced nice tumbled stones.
Hobart King has been running rock tumblers for over fifty years. He has a PhD in geology and spent part of his professional career evaluating the physical properties of rocks and minerals to determine their suitability for manufacturing, construction, and other industrial processes. He has applied that knowledge to rock tumbling. He also holds a Graduate Gemologist diploma from the Gemological Institute of America. He knows a lot about rocks and a lot about gems. He has written all of the articles about rocks, minerals, and gems that are published on Geology.com.
Adam Rittenhouse has been running rock tumblers for about three years. In those three years he has been running multiple tumblers every day. He has tumbled (and kept detailed records) for hundreds of batches of rocks, of all kinds, using many types and brands of rotary and vibratory tumblers. He tests every tumbling rough that we sell and every tumbling rough that we decide not to sell. If he can't polish it, we don't sell it.
Angela King wrote what we believe is the earliest collection of rock tumbling articles that became very popular on the internet. They were published on Geology.com, and hundreds of people viewed those articles every day. Those articles have been incorporated into the RockTumbler.com library. Angela has an Applied Jewelry Professional diploma from the Gemological Institute of America and is the webmaster for both RockTumbler.com and Geology.com.
From all of this tumbling, we have learned which products we can recommend and sell with confidence. We don't want to sell you a product that does not work. We will not sell you a product that we will not use in our own tumbling! Most of the tumblers and supplies sold on this website are being used by us every day.
Our Rock Tumbling Library
We have spent thousands of hours over the past 20 years writing an extensive rock tumbling library. If you have a question about rock tumbling, our library probably has the answer. It is loaded with articles that will help you understand rocks, understand tumblers, and improve your rock tumbling results.
Every article in our library has been written and edited by people who have a deep knowledge about rocks, minerals, and gem materials. Our staff has also prepared every article about rocks, minerals and gems that is published on Geology.com. Those articles are read by over a million people every month.
Detailed and Accurate Product Descriptions
Many websites that sell rock tumblers do not have detailed product descriptions or articles that tell you how to decide what to purchase and how to use it.
All of the rock tumblers and other products that we sell have retail descriptions written by people who have used those items many, many times. We try to answer ALL of the important questions that we have heard about those products. We also make a special effort to answer the questions that people don't usually think about asking - even when those questions might be deal-breakers for the purchase.
A lot of people who sell rock tumblers and rock tumbling supplies have never operated a tumbler. That's why their product descriptions are prattle, puny, or inaccurate.
When we buy something, we like to buy from someone who knows the product. That's what you get here.
RockTumbler.com is located in Lemont Furnace, Pennsylvania. We sell rock tumblers, rock tumbling supplies, and tumbled stones to customers within the United States. All of our sales are online. We do not have a walk-in store.
We really like tumbled stones. At any given time we have a few tons of stones from all over the world in our warehouse that are available for immediate shipment to fill your order. All of the stones that we have available for sale can be found from this page of our website.
We regret that we are unable to custom-select stones of special sizes, shapes or colors. That type of work is extremely time-consuming, and as much as we like examining tumbled stones, our small staff is unable to provide that type of service. If you need stones of special sizes, shapes or colors, the best way to obtain them is to visit a rock shop, crystal store, or museum shop where visitors are able to hand-select their stones. All of our sales are online and by mail. We do not have a walk-in store or meet with visitors at our office.
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Problem With An Order?
If you are having difficulties placing an order on our website, please see this page for more information.
If you have received your order and there is a problem with an item that you purchased, we want to help you. Please tell us about it by sending an email message to and we will reply promptly - usually by the next business day.
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Shipping
Holiday Shipping InformationThe Post Office and package delivery services are always swamped during the holidays. To get your package in time, please place your order as early as possible. We ship from Pennsylvania. The map above shows estimated shipping times throughout the year. Holiday shipping WILL take longer. To increase the odds of receiving your package in time for Christmas, please order before 12:00 noon eastern time on the following dates: Alaska, Hawaii, and areas shown in red on the map above: Tuesday, December 17, 2024. Western states, and areas shown in blue and purple: Wednesday, December 18, 2024. Eastern states, and areas shown in yellow and green: Thursday, December 19, 2024. Please Note: We ship all orders promptly. However, we have no control over package delivery services. We cannot guarantee that any package will arrive by a particular date - even if the order was placed before December 17. Package delivery people are working overtime during the holiday season to make sure your package is delivered promptly. Please check your email for tracking information and be patient. When you enter your tracking number on USPS.com or FedEx.com, it will tell you when and where the package was last scanned. This is the exact same information you will receive if you contact us, or even if you call USPS or FedEx. Thank you for your patience! |
We ship by United States Mail, FedEx Ground and FedEx Home Delivery to addresses within the United States. We process orders Monday through Friday. Orders placed through our website ship the same day or the following business day. (We do not ship on Saturday, Sunday, or U.S. Postal Service holidays.)
Everything that can be purchased from our website is in stock and ready for prompt shipment. If we encounter any problem while filling your order, we will contact you promptly by email. At least 99% of the orders that we receive ship by the following business day.
If you request "USA Standard Shipping" your order should arrive between 2 and 8 business days after it is placed. If you request "USA Express Shipping" your order should arrive between 1 and 3 days after it is placed.
These shipping times are based upon U.S. Postal Service and FedEx guidance. USPS and FedEx are usually good at meeting these delivery times; however, inclement weather, mechanical problems, sickness, and other circumstances can delay a package.
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Receipts and Tracking
When you place an order with us, you will receive TWO email messages.
1) The first email will be an order confirmation from GeoShops.com, LLC. The subject line will be Order MAPS-xxxxxx (xxxxxx will be your order number).
2) The second email will be a shipment notification from GeoShops.com, LLC. The subject line will be Shipment Notification - MAPS-xxxxxx. This email contains your tracking links.
The shipment notification will be sent when your order has been picked up by USPS or FedEx. If you place an order on Sunday through Thursday, your package will be picked up within 24 to 48 hours after your order is received. If you place an order on Friday or Saturday, your package is usually picked up on Monday afternoon. The tracking links in your shipment confirmation email will start displaying results at the end of the business day (eastern time zone) on the day that your shipment notification is sent.
An example of a shipment notification email is displayed below.
You can check the status of your package by clicking the "Track My Shipment" links in your shipping notification email. Or, you can visit the United States Postal Service website or the FedEx website and enter your tracking number.
If you do not receive a tracking number, please check your trash or spam folder. If you don't find it there, please contact us at
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CANADA and International Orders
CANADA:
We are unable to ship to Canada and we do not know a U.S. merchant who ships the products that we sell to Canada.
We have seen vendors of rock tumbling and tumbled stone products on amazon.ca and ebay.ca who do business in Canada. You may be able to find what you need there.
OTHER COUNTRIES:
Our business serves the United States. We are unable to do any of the following...
- ship to any country outside of the United States
- accept orders with billing or shipping addresses outside of the United States
- accept transactions submitted from outside of the United States
- accept payments that use financial institutions outside of the United States
- accept payment card transactions by phone
We understand that it is disappointing to hear the information above. That is the only explaination that we can provide. If you write to us to ask for an exception or for other information about shipping outside of the United States, we can only repeat the information above.
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Orders from United States Territories
We ship to all Inhabited Territories of the United States by Priority Mail through the United States Postal Service (we have shipped tumblers to customers in Puerto Rico, Guam, Northern Marianas, U.S. Virgin Islands, and American Samoa). If you are unable to place an order online, we do accept orders by U.S. Mail.
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APO / FPO / DPO
We ship to APO, FPO and DPO addresses by Priority Mail through the United States Postal Service. If you are ordering from one of these locations, please be aware that there may be legal restrictions on the collection of rocks, minerals, shells, etc. from public or private property. Many countries also have restrictions on what you can legally take out of the country.
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Refund Policy
We accept returns if the merchandise is unopened, unused, in brand-new resellable condition, and returned within 30 days of purchase. Rock tumbler grit, polish, rough, and tumbled stones that have been opened cannot be returned. We inspect all returned items before we issue a refund. Customer is responsible for return shipping.
To request a return authorization, please write to with the word "RETURNS" and the order ID number in your subject line. Please explain what needs to be returned and why. We will reply promptly with instructions. Returns that comply with the above policy will receive a refund of the item's purchase price. Shipping and handling are not refunded.
RETURN POLICY FOR HOLIDAY GIFTS: Gift items purchased between November 1 and December 25 may be returned until January 31. To request a return authorization, please write to with the word "RETURNS" and the order ID number in your subject line.
If you received the wrong item or a defective item, please send a message to with your order number in the subject line and a description of the problem that you have encountered. We will contact you promptly with instructions.
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Warranty Service and Replacements
Every new rock tumbler that we sell is covered by a warranty or guarantee. These warranties and guarantees are made by the manufacturers (we are a separate company who retails their products). The manufacturers are responsible for providing all services and replacements under their warranties and guarantees.
If you need warranty or guarantee assistance for a Thumler's Tumbler or a Lot-O-Tumbler, you can find copies of the warranty documents currently shipped with their tumblers here. Please read their warranty or guarantee and contact them if your situation qualifies for warranty assistance.
We have been doing business with Thumler's Tumblers and Lot-O-Tumblers since 2009 and have sold thousands of their tumblers. We have never heard of a single situation where we feel that they failed to meet their warranty or guarantee promises. We believe that you can buy their products with great confidence.
If you have another brand of rock tumbler, you can probably find manufacturer contact information in our list of rock tumbler manufacturers.
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Mail Orders
We accept orders from United States customers that are placed by mail and paid with a check or money order from a United States financial institution. We have found that many customers prefer to pay by check, and we are glad to accommodate their preferred method of payment.
Please make checks or money orders payable to "GeoShops.com".
To order this way, please visit our website and place the items that you would like to purchase into the shopping cart. When you finish shopping, simply print the shopping cart page. It will display a subtotal for the items that you purchased plus the amount that you must pay for shipping/handling. Sales tax must be included for orders shipped to the following states: IL, MI, MN, OH, PA, and WI. (If you do not live in one of these states, we will not collect sales tax, but the buyer remains responsible for remitting any required tax to their state and local taxing authorities.)
Write your shipping address, telephone number and e-mail address on the shopping cart page and mail it to us with your check or money order written for the exact amount of your purchase plus shipping and handling, plus any required sales tax. Please do not send cash.
Our mailing address will be printed on the bottom of the shopping cart page. It is: GeoShops.com, 1040 Eberly Way, Suite 150, Lemont Furnace, PA 15456.
Important Terms on Mail Orders
-- Orders paid with a United States Postal Service money order will usually ship the next business day.
-- Orders paid by check may be held until the check clears our bank (we may allow ten business days or more for large checks to clear).
-- We reserve the right to refuse or cancel any order for any reason, including: limitations on quantities available for purchase, inaccuracies or errors in product or pricing information, or problems identified by our fraud avoidance department.
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Purchase Orders
We are sorry but we do not accept purchase orders.
We accept payment by Visa and MasterCard through our website. We accept payment by check and money order by mail. To pay by check or money order, please follow our instructions for mail orders.
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Rock, Mineral and Gem Identification
If you are trying to identify tumbled stones purchased from this website, we have a large collection of tumbled stone photos that might be helpful. Although comparing your stone to a photograph is not an ideal way to do identification, many types of tumbled stones have a very distinctive appearance. The photos in our collection often help people determine the identity of tumbled stones sold on this website. For stones purchased from other sources, the seller should be able to help you.
If you are trying to identify rocks and minerals found in the field, the best people to help you are those who live near where the rocks were collected and are familiar with the local rock units and geology. Local rock shops, rock clubs, university geology professors, and geological surveys are sometimes willing to do this, but it is best to ask before traveling to them to avoid disappointment.
We have authored over 300 articles about rocks, minerals, and gems and published them on Geology.com. They are one of the internet's largest and most popular collections of articles about Earth materials. You can find them here: rocks, minerals, gems.
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Get Immediate Answers
- You are one click away from Our Rock Tumbling Library. Our library gives you immediate access to our experience and knowledge. Starting in 2005, Angela King and Hobart King have spent thousands of hours writing over 100 articles that answer the most common rock tumbling questions - usually with photos, charts, and sometimes video. Find your answers here.
Rock Tumbling Instructions
- For general rock tumbling instructions, please see our article here.
- If you purchased tumbling rough from us, you can find step-by-step instructions for polishing it in rotary and vibratory tumblers on the pages where our rough is sold.
- If you purchased tumbling rough from another vendor, the best way to get instructions and advice for polishing it is to contact the vendor who sold it to you. Why? To provide quality instructions for tumbling a material, a person must handle it, examine it, and test it in a tumbler.
- If you need help with a rock tumbler not sold on this website, the best ways to get assistance are: consulting the instructions, contacting the company who sold you the tumbler, or contacting the manufacturer. We have a list of rock tumbler manufacturers to help you.
Customer Support
- If you are an existing customer or a person with questions about a past purchase or a potential purchase, please send a message to the address below. We ask that you provide your name and address, or your Order ID, so we can accurately look up your order and know exactly which items your questions are about. Thank you.
- For other questions, please check our rock tumbling library. You will probably find an article that has the information that you need. We have spent years writing this library to give you self-service access to almost every question that we have ever heard about rock tumbling.