Caught Red Quartz Handed
CONVENTION, KIOSK | RIGHT | AUGUST 20, 2013
(I run a precious gems and minerals booth at a trade show. A customer walks up to me and does some looking around first.)
Customer: “Do you buy things?”
Me: “Sometimes. Is it minerals?”
Customer: “Sorta, yeah.”
(The customer takes out a palm sized velvet pouch.)
Customer: “I have a friend that cuts rocks and does things to them. I had him make me a set of ruby quartz flat gems and paint them with gold leaf. They’re kinda rare, and I was hoping to get $90 for them.”
Me: “That depends…”
(I hold out my hand for the bag. Instead he opens it, and pours out a couple of red glass, aka ‘fused quartz’ flat facet gems with runes on them in gold color paint. One has a chip in corner.)
Me: “I’m sorry, sir, but these are in the trade wholesale catalogs in five colors, come with a booklet, and retail for $20. Without the book and damaged, best I could hope to get is $5, so that means I won’t pay you that much.”
Customer: “How dare you! Bad karma ON YOU! My friend spent TWO WEEKS cutting and carving these!”
(I spot another vendor across from me, talking to security.)
Vendor Across From Me: “Yeah, that’s the guy!”
Customer: *Oh, s***!”
(The customer took off, leaving the bag. Security got him before he got out the door. If he had gone all the way around my booth, he would have seen that I have full sets, in all five colors for sale, with the booklet, for less than $20. Bad karma indeed.)
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