Bulk Polished Stones - Tumbled Stones
These are the lowest prices that we charge for tumbled stones.
Buy in Bulk! Lots of people want to buy tumbled stones in bulk for crafts, resale, wedding favors, promotions, potted plants, gifts and other uses. So, we offer our most popular tumbled stones in ten-pound, twenty-pound and forty-pound bags. The larger the package that you purchase, the lower your cost per pound. These are the lowest prices that we charge for tumbled stones, and we offer these prices right here to everyone. When anyone writes to us asking for wholesale prices this is the page that we refer them to. Store owners, please check the bottom of this page for retailing ideas.
Natural Mix: These stones have not been dyed. Natural mix includes: various types of agate, colorful jaspers, aventurine, quartz in various colors, tiger's-eye, sodalite, leopard skin, obsidian, unakite and more. This is the mix to use in potted plants or where the stones might get wet, exposed to sunlight or where natural color is preferred. A few of these stones might have been heated, such as red tiger's-eye or citrine quartz, but the rest are entirely natural colors. Our tumbled stone mixtures are sold in five different sizes. Printable Size Guide.
Natural Mix: These stones have not been dyed. Natural mix includes: various types of agate, colorful jaspers, aventurine, quartz in various colors, tiger's-eye, sodalite, leopard skin, obsidian, unakite and more. This is the mix to use in potted plants or where the stones might get wet, exposed to sunlight or where natural color is preferred. A few of these stones might have been heated, such as red tiger's-eye or citrine quartz, but the rest are entirely natural colors. Our tumbled stone mixtures are sold in five different sizes. Printable Size Guide.
| Warning: Polished stones can be a choking hazard for small children |
What You Need to Know Before Buying Stones |
Extra Large Polished Stones - Size Range: 1 1/8" to 2" (28 - 50 mm)
Extra Large Polished Stones: Lots of warm colors are what you will find in our Natural Mix. Place a few in your potted plants or planters to create colorful accents. Most stones in this mix have a maximum diameter between 1 1/8 inch and 2 inches (28 to 50 millimeters). About 16-24 stones per pound. None of the stones in this mix have been dyed. Printable Size Guide
Large Polished Stones - Size Range: 7/8" to 1 3/8" (20 to 30 mm)
Medium Polished Stones - Size Range: 5/8" to 1" (15 to 25 mm)
Medium Polished Stones: This is the most popular size of tumbled stones that we sell, and lots of retailers buy these for resale. Place them in a bowl and allow customers to take their pick for $5 per dozen. At that price you will sell one pound of these stones for $30 to $40. These stones are the perfect size for a variety of jewelry projects. People love to wire wrap them or use them to make keychains, pendants, tie tacks and other jewelry projects. Most stones in this mix have a maximum diameter between 5/8" and 1" (15 to 25 millimeters). About 80-100 stones per pound. None of the stones in this mix have been dyed. Printable Size Guide
Small Polished Stones - Size Range: 1/2" to 3/4" (12 to 20 mm)
Small Polished Stones: The perfect stones to place in the bottom of a clear vase to stabilize cut flowers. The perfect ground cover for small potted plants. Most stones in this mix have a maximum diameter between 1/2" and 3/4" (12 to 20 millimeters). About 180-250 stones per pound. Please Note: These small-size stones are not inspected by our staff. Therefore, some of the stones that you receive will be broken, chipped, or have other imperfections. Printable Size Guide
Extra Small Polished Stones - Size: 5/16" to 5/8" (8 to 15 mm)
Extra Small Polished Stones: Extra small and extra cute! These stones range in size from about 5/16" to about 5/8" in diameter. One pound contains between about 450 and 550 beautiful stones in a diversity of materials and a blizzard of colors. Please Note: These extra-small-size stones are not inspected by our staff. Therefore, many of the stones that you receive will be broken, chipped, or have other imperfections. Printable Size Guide
Treasure Bags
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Keychain Kit
Available in yellow or white metal finish. Each kit comes with six keychains and an assortment of bell-caps to accommodate stones of different sizes. We recommend "medium" (3/4 inch to 1 inch) or "large" (7/8 inch to 1 1/4 inch) size stones.
Necklace Kit
Available in yellow or white metal finish. Each kit comes with three necklace chains (18 inch), three bails (to hold the bell-caps) and an assortment of bell-caps to accommodate stones of different sizes. We recommend "medium" size stones (3/4 inch to 1 inch).
Tie Tack Kit
Available in yellow or white metal finish. Each kit contains three tie tack sets. We recommend "small" (1/2 inch to 3/4 inch) or "medium" (3/4 inch to 1 inch) size stones.
Tumbled Stones at Wholesale Prices?
The Same Price to Everyone
Lots of people ask us for wholesale prices on tumbled stones. Here's our simple answer...
Anyone who purchases bulk bags of tumbled stone mixtures from this page of our website receives a hefty discount. Anyone who purchases one-pound packages of single-variety stones from our premium stones page receives the lowest price that we charge anyone.
We never sell at prices lower than these - to anyone. Why? Because the prices that we have posted here are not underlain by the fantastic profits that would enable us to sell at both retail and wholesale. We are selling to everyone at our best prices every day.
The prices on this website are the lowest we can go. If we are asked for our "wholesale" prices, our "rock bottom prices", our "family discount price", or whatever, we point right back to the prices on this site. What you just read should let you know that we will decline requests to "give a discount at a certain price level" or "make a deal on a bundle of items". Our lowest prices are posted on this website.
We Sell Quality Stones
Keep in mind that lots of vendors sell tumbled stones that are poorly polished, made "off-color" rough or waste rock of a manufacturing shop. We would rather stop selling tumbled stones than sell disappointing products. When you buy from us, you get the best quality tumbled stones that we have been able to obtain. We also do our best to photograph and describe the stones accurately.
We sell one pound of Natural Mix tumbled stones for $15.99. If you buy three pounds we charge $39.99 - that's $13.33 per pound. At twenty pounds the price drops to $239.99, or just $12 per pound. You can save even more by purchasing forty pounds for $469.99. That's about $11.75 per pound. Lots of store owners purchase these bulk packages and resell the stones at a handsome profit. We offer suggestions to retailers who would like to resell our stones at the bottom of this page.
Why We Don't Haggle or Discount or Sell Bundles
We have been involved in lapidary since about 1970. Since then, lots of interesting varieties of tumbled stones have appeared in the market - and then became unavailable a few years or a few decades later. Mines were worked out. Companies that mined or processed or exported the stones changed hands or went out of business.
Lapidary rough, from which tumbled stones are made, is a limited and unique commodity - often found in remote parts of the world. In addition, only a few of the companies currently making tumbled stones do a good job of polishing. Others take shortcuts in the tumbling, or they tumble garbage rough. The result is ugly and defective stones.
We believe that, throughout the world, there are only a few hundred tons of really nice stones tumbled and offered for sale in any given year. For many of the stone varieties offered on our premium stones page, there are only a few hundred pounds - or less - tumbled per year.
We work hard to find nice stones and make test buys to avoid receiving second-rate stones. When we do receive second-rate stones, we would rather use them as tumbling media than foist them off onto our customers. It is rather risky to make large test buys when the product you are buying is delivered in 800-pound barrels from thousands of miles away and you only get a shot at buying a few times per year.
What we usually hold in inventory is a few tons of really nice stones that took a lot of work and money to acquire. So, we list them on our website at the lowest price that we are willing to accept and give buyers a chance to purchase them. That price factors in our cost of the stones, the shipping charges, the amount of time required to clean and package them - and the unavoidable risk of doing business. That's all. We don't apply the "jewelry store markups" that you hear about in the gem and jewelry industry.
Simply stated, we have more difficulty acquiring nice stones than we have in selling them. Maybe that is a sign that our prices are too low for the quality that we are selling??
That is the reason that we don't haggle or "bundle" or sell at a discount. We list the stones on this website at the lowest price we are willing to accept. If we don't sell them today to a person who wants to haggle, we will easily sell them tomorrow to another person at our listed price.
Most importantly, haggling consumes time and energy - our most finite resources that we don't want to squander. So, we will do ourselves and our customers a favor and promise to charge everyone the same price. Everyone! We think that being totally transparent about Our Real Selling Price is the fairest thing that we can do - to the small buyer and the large buyer alike.
The prices listed on our website are what we charge everyone.
We are always hoping to increase our inventory of nice stones because one day, many of the stones that we have will become unavailable, and those that are still available are going to cost more. Compared to money in the bank at today's interest rates, we think that tumbled stones are a great investment if you have a place to store them, if you have money to tie up, and if you think you can sell them in advance of your funeral. Each deposit of nice rough will eventually be worked out and gone. When that happens, people will still want that type of stone, and the remaining stones in the market will ship out to customers at a nice price.
IMPORTANT NOTE: The information that you read above about tumbled stones being a "great investment" is simply an old man kibitzing. I don't give investment advice. I am just telling you what I think and do.
I am working hard to build a big hoard of "quality" tumbled stones, but they sell about as fast as I can get them. My fear is that my wife and kids will have to clean out my stone locker on 48 hours notice so that my "semiprecious stones" can be given away at my funeral. That's really a joke. If the "healing stone" people are right, I will live to be at least 150 years old because I have so many energy stones and healing crystals protecting me. :-)
Retailing Ideas for Our Tumbled Stones
Many store owners sell tumbled stones prepackaged in small clear bags or in attractive plastic jars. We really like these crystal-clear jars made of PET plastic. PET is an exceptionally clear plastic with a soft impact and feel. Check them out - tumbled stones are just one type of item that you can sell in PET jars.
Other store owners allow customers to pick through a bin or a bowl of stones and fill a zip-lock bag, a small plastic jar, or a drawstring treasure bag for a profitable price. Why do the packaging yourself when you can allow the customer to do it for you? That saves you the hassle and the high cost of getting a state-approved scale!
We sell our single-variety packages of tumbled stones in bags that contain one stone, five stones, 1/4 pound, 1/2 pound, and one pound. A one-pound package of medium stones can be purchased for as little as $26.99 and usually contains about 80 stones (plus or minus depending upon their size, shape, and specific gravity). Vendors place them in a bowl and sell them for 75 cents each, $1 each, or ten for $6.99. Do the math. That $26.99 price allows you to more than double your money at $6.99 for ten stones. A fantastic profit.
Allowing customers to pick through the stones and select the ones that they want usually works very well in a small shop. Every person likes stones of a different color or different shape or different size. What one person doesn't find appealing, another person grabs. So offering customers their choice from a big bin of stones usually works a lot better than many retailers think. :-)
If you use the "bin of stones" retailing method, start with a bin that is smaller than your supply of stones. That will allow you to hold some stones in reserve. These will be used to "refresh" the bin and keep a steady flow of interesting stones for people who return to your store frequently. They will find new and interesting stones each time they visit your store.
Also, use a wide shallow container rather than a deep container. That makes it much easier for a shopper to prospect through your stones and pick the ones that they like. Wooden bowls, flat-bottom baskets and plastic bins are perfect for retailing stones. They are much quieter than glass or ceramic containers and will not chip if someone drops a big stone.
I really like tumbled stones, and few things warm my heart more than to hear the enthusiastic chatter that occurs as two or three people prospect through a bowl of tumbled stones.
RockTumbler.com Authors
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Hobart M. King has decades of rock tumbling experience and writes most of the articles on RockTumbler.com. He has a PhD in geology and is a GIA graduate gemologist. He also writes the articles about rocks, minerals and gems on Geology.com. |