I Bought $1,000 Worth of Rocks from Temu So You Don't Have to..

[@sydneys207]

"It makes me wonder how they're able to do this ethically." That's the neat part! They don't!

[@capnchip]

There is no word in Chinese for "ethical". Nor is there even that concept!

[@knucklesskinner253]

@@capnchipabsolutely wrong and disgustingly so, I can't even get into it. but FYI the ccp is whats wrong with china, individually, the people are trying to live, many honestly, and obviously some not honest at all. that's what you get with communism.

[@辛Mario]

I hope your children won't be brainwashed as you were.

[@sydneys207]

@@capnchip A single google search would disprove this, so if you're going to be racist, at least try.

[@AvaGrail]

I have to let you know that I saw a BBC mini documentary about analyzing Tamu and the products from it and one of the disturbing fines was that many of the products contain heavy metals. That was enough for me never to want to patronize them.

[@tamarapetrov4990]

I am a malachite obsessive, and I can tell from a mere glance that velvet malachite is real... good malachit, specially in the velvet form, is very vibrant in colour. Also, if you want opals, buy from Australia. With a little searching to avoid the prices for foreigners you can get some really beautiful pieces. We are opal central afterall ;)

[@astralb.2647]

Malachite is one of the only stones that is almost never "too green to be real", but as soon as there's black on it you know it's fake

[@louiseeckert1574]

I lived in Coober Pedy for 3mths. (Main opal mining area in Aust.) Just AMAZING! LouiseAustralia 🦘

[@victoriamyatt1709]

​@@louiseeckert1574wow! I visited the mines there and was an amazing trip, like going back in time. Auz reminds me of Britain in the 70s with a little bit of tropical added in. The trip along the Stuart highway and the story of the missing Gold haul was interesting too. Loved Australia, was so laid back and people so chilled and everyone had two fridges, one for food and one for beer (often in the garage) lots of sports and outdoor life, who wouldn't with all that sunshine.

[@ANPC-pi9vu]

There's also American opal deposits and African. Ah, I keep forgetting the name of the country the African opal cones from, but they can be super cheap yet vibrant.

[@corywashko]

​@@ANPC-pi9vuNevada has the peacock mine, Idaho has the Spencer mine, and Ethiopia has big beautiful opals

[@YochevedDesigns]

The tourmaline is completely legit, and a very nice specimen. The banded agate was weird, because agate is such a cheap stone to begin with, faking them is actually a more expensive step. I will give them extra points for including Pluto as a planet. #TeamPluto !

[@jessicaday9196]

No, it's not more expensive. I literally just bought tourmaline and I bought all these other stones that were supposed to be quartz and they weren't. They were dyed stones but not the real deal. That's literally exactly what I just bought along with amethyst, rose quartz and citrine and not a single piece of it was real. The only stone that came from them that was real is unakite which is already like one of the cheapest stones out there.

[@jessicaday9196]

And faking agate is done everywhere. Like the fact that you don't know this explains just how little you know about stones. What these people do is they take glass and they swirl it around to look like agate. Yes, it costs more money to actually dye and agate and then send it out. But it's not even agate to begin with because glass is way cheaper by the pound, especially cheap glass then gemstones. So please take some time to think about that and realize how ridiculous you sound right now.

[@Jay-hsiavxjs]

@@jessicaday9196I’m sure you’re right about the quartz/agate being faked, but pink tourmaline can look like that. It’s just in a matrix rather than just the tourmaline by itself. It’s pretty common to find pink tourmaline being sold like that.

[@YochevedDesigns]

@@jessicaday9196 Wow, you have a lot of feelings about this. Please go outside and touch some grass. Maybe you'll find a pretty rock while you're out there.

[@jessicaday9196]

@@Jay-hsiavxjs I know what pink tourmaline looks like and I know what these Stones look like in matrix. That's how I'm able to identify whether they are fake or not is because I have the background in it. Most people don't and that's what I'm saying is why it's so wrong with these people are doing that fake the stones because most people don't have that knowledge and that background to be able to spot a fake. When I'm saying they are fake, I'm certain as a matter of fact, I took them to my local gem shop to make sure

[@jenlockett92]

The “opal” was actually opalite, but advertised extremely misleading, as per usual. Opalite, to my knowledge, is glass but is a replica/knock off of opal because opal is rare, expensive, and requires proper storage/care. I enjoy opalite pieces as many enjoy other man made stones like gold stone. I don’t like the raw pieces though. If you find a reputable crystal dealer (lol) you will usually find high quality opalite that doesn’t look so much like glass. It’s really pretty in the sun. I love your videos! I’ve ordered a few crystals from Temu myself and was very pleased with a few of the things but I do see a lot of misleading titles and fake stones.

[@feather6508]

I tought that opalite whas made from melted opal dust and that’s why it looks like glas. Not shure

[@AgateAriel]

Good to know! Thank you! 😊

[@VoidHalo]

I've found a lot of places sell opalite as opal. I even called out the brick and mortar store here about it. They just acted like I was dumb for not knowing it was opalite. Even though it was clearly labeled and being sold as opal. Also, why does autocorrect keep changing the word opal to opaline. As thpugh opal isn't a real word or something. I miss being able to add words to my personal dictionary.

[@ulexite-tv]

Opalite, like Godstone, is a glass product, but Opalite spheres have a long history as "pretties." My favourites are Opalite marbles, often marketed as "Moonies."

[@juiceymoojuice]

Potch opal has no colour, opalite is man made potch opal. Synthetic opal has colour.

[@Le_Pete]

Thank god an honest not sponsored review! Temu is known to send different stuff with actual qualitiy to sponsored influencers to fool their audiences.

[@CacklingChick]

That's crazy TEMU does that! I don't know how people sleep at night knowing they're lying to people. 😢

[@GaZflow]

Everything I’ve ordered from them was either quality when you hoped it would be and then the stuff that you assumed was gonna be low quality or just buying to as a one time thing is was as expected or pleasantly surprising I’ve not felt duped other than I did attempt to get the free products and I guarantee that unless you are a hacker and can fool them with multiple accounts you will never successfully get the required steps completeed I had a few friends that were actually working with me to get through it and we went hard for a few months and i was buying several hundred dollars a month if product, which is necessary to get the points to give you a little hope but it is stillfutile. In my opinion the products are hit or miss like anything you order from online shopping . Just shop smart. I got KTM dirt bike pants, fox brand gloves and helmet far cheaper than similar ones from Amazon they are all either perfect reproduction or genuine but the were great. Other than these I pretty much only bought items that were cheap enough that if and when they were crap I wouldn’t have felt ripped off cuz you get what you pay for right.

[@debrajaszczenski3683]

​@GaZflow I agree with you about Temu. I've ordered a lot of the diamond painting and in only 1 instance did I not receive enough parts to finish the kit, but when I contacted them, they sent a replacement kit. So I have no issue with them.

[@kathymitro]

This women knows literally nothing about crystals. This is literally clickbait. And no I am in no way associated with Temu.

[@kathymitro]

@@GaZflow You are right. I am very knowledgeable about crystals and buy from them all the time I buy because I am super impressed with the energy of their crystals. This woman is benefiting in some way from doing a hatchet job on them

[@sugarkitty2008]

One little tip with temu, at least in the browser, is the time scares are just that. Scares. It may have a little warning that it's almost sold out and that item will often vanish while you are browsing. But a refresh of the page will bring the item back. You can check a week later and it will likely still be showing the same status. So you can actually just take your time in picking things out. It's a tactic to make you impulse spend without fully judging or comparing an item.

[@Temptation666]

better tip. Don't brows it. and definitely DON'T buy from them. you are supporting child Labour and modern slavery if you do.

[@vidapuraspa]

Or don't pick things out at all from this utter garbage website and for what? Greed? Materialism?

[@kimbrolyy]

And you get to support slavery. Yaay!

[@WhereIsMyHappy]

Yup and those annoying “coupons” and notification spam

[@juliamcintyre8728]

As a glass worker, it is fairly easy to mix opaque and clear glass to get agate looking chunks.

[@AgateAriel]

Oh wow! Good to know thank you!

[@matthewbeasley2869]

I thought it may have just been a swirly pattern in the glass as well

[@Orpilorp]

Hello! I appreciate seeing the glass pretending to be opal. I have some rough cut milky white opal and some fire opal in the matrix. There is not one spot that becomes clear on the milky opal. The fire opal is more translucent, so having real stone with it helps show that it is not fake. I can't imagine trying to cheat people like that.

[@Asmodis4]

@@AgateAriel make your own opale, it is a little bit tricky but you can handle that. or your own ruby that is EVEN easier.

[@peppermintpixie9240]

@@AgateAriel Opalite is what they are sending you-man made glass as you know! But Opals eg Dark Opal,Fire Opal, Ethiopian Opals are all graded depending on quality. They are not cheap- so are the dupes !!!

[@donivanpotter2762]

The rocks that you reviewed may not be all real but your review is, so thank you.

[@AgateAriel]

Of course thank you!

[@Reneemfenn]

I could watch her all day! We kinda tumble like children do so it’s fun to see her passion & expertise.

[@11Joo11XD]

@@heywhatsthatsmell Probably not. :D Resins are mostly leftovers from larger products.

[@godschild3640]

@@AgateAriel a I hope you sue them

[@Paxmax]

"This is supposed to be opal..." Had it been opal it'd be something like 2 million dollars worth of it.

[@ahsokatano6727]

Pretty sure that low quality opals are actually pretty cheap.

[@Ari_Sina]

​@@ahsokatano6727 yes you're right, this also counts for chipped parts of opal (which she was probably hoping to get)

[@Lovesausage269]

@@ahsokatano6727no, it’s just somehow cheaper when they can sell it for much more, but they decided to sell it to you for 99% off for the next 7 minutes unless you don’t buy it, then it will be the next seven months

[@DoritoBot9000]

Lol, no. That’s like assuming that every fragment of diamond is worth the same

[@Paxmax]

@@DoritoBot9000 I did grab the number right out of the air, but that chunk, had it been a nice luster, it could probably be cut into 10000 smaller, clean pieces. I paid about US$120 (in 2002 money) for a thin oval wafer shape, about 6 by 10 mm, it was set in a one off custom gold necklace. It was not a clear/translucent opal, it was a bit more solid colored, very "dotty", ie. full of dots on a light blue backdrop, but you still got those weird rainbow "gasoline on water" colored reflections within.

[@vectorwolf]

Hey there, I know about tourmaline. That does indeed appear to be real. However, I wouldn't call it 'good', as the tourmaline crystals appear to be extremely badly fractured and will undoubtedly crumble if you try to cut or tumble them. You may be able to salvage them if you soak them in opticon, but even then they may not stabilize. The color is nice though. The yellow jade sphere is probably really stone but may not be jade. If you try to polish it further and it keeps that waxy look then it's probably serpentine, if you manage to get a good polish then it's jade.

[@AgateAriel]

Awesome thank you so much!

[@Silvermander]

Totally pieces of tourmaline. Maine has tons and I've brought home a lot from different mountains.

[@vectorwolf]

@@Silvermander You can find it in the mountains east of San Diego somewhere too but I think all the good locations are on private land. Worth checking creek beds though.

[@karleenpage5979]

@@AgateAriel But the "host" rock looks like Plaster of Paris! Reminds me of those totally fake videos where an oriental guy is digging with a screwdriver into what looks like cement, and finds rocks already faceted and tumbled!!!

[@denisemurray412]

The yellow stone is citrine not jade.

[@PK-oy4fe]

As a jeweler I did the same thing to show customers and friends that the "natural" gemstones they were getting were fake or of very poor quality. Beware: malachite that is authentic cannot be sold that cheap.! The other problem...I don't video myself🤣❤PS: I will happily mail you a small genuine opal!

[@greenscarab2]

I have two sodalite eggs and one glows and one does not. I know the one that doesn't glow to be real but why Doesn't it glow. ? Thank you.

[@GingerNinja1]

@greenscarab2 Not all sodalite crystals glow bc they are pure. However, it's the impurities, also known as "activators", that causes sodalite to fluoresce.

[@daddysgyrl76]

I'm just not sure what people expect. All of the items are cheap. Cheapest cheap. I would never expect a 100% from a company like this. Anne with the prices and with the coming from overseas a lot I really would not expect even 75% good quality. I do buy jewelry and clothes from them. I always tap the star reviews and check out the photos. I know how things look on average women versus myself. It's nothing but a chance. I would never expect a lot from this company.

[@fcp105]

What a gent...

[@deathsnitemaresinfullust2269]

My parents loved opal when I was growing up, my mom and dad would always try to make small jewelry or shapes with them. I don't recall ever seeing many large pieces, most of it would be small enough for a ring or maybe a little necklace pendant. I certainly would've tried buying some if I had seen it for such a price, although my expectations would have also been kinda low given the quality of other items I've seen coming from such a source. Good video though 😄👍

[@thehattersmadness1957]

I bought a geode for my grandson to crack open with me. After hitting it with everything we could find, it finally broke open. Oh my goodness! How beautiful inside! So impressed!

[@hwiley8141]

Oh, i recently moved to a place that have geod3s. Cant wait to go hunting/ digging.

[@Pehmokettu]

These videos remind me of my granny who was very proud that she owned a genuine uncut ruby. It was a size of a pin head. But unfortunately when she died the relatives who emptied her house forgot her ruby and it got lost. She also got couple if other gemstones. But it was just a tiny collection, like less than 10 different gemstones.

[@rwest8761]

One of my buds bought a ruby mine in India. Every few weeks they would send him chunks of raw rubies, none of which were gem quality, in a weird wooden box lined with dirty burlap. He knew what he was getting into and wasn’t expecting gems, but he did this at the height of the “crystals” fad because stone dealers needed sources for raw rubies… oooo magic!

[@Tugela60]

Rubies are cheap. Most of them are not gem quality. The gem quality ones are expensive.

[@melodyfaith7712]

The green stone with the pink is probably ruby in zoisite. Look at it with your UV light. If the pink turns hot pink it is natural. The velvety malachite looks to be actual chatoyant malachite. I have a few pieces and they really are that green without being dyed. Fun video. I only buy cabs and things if they look natural in the photos, and then with a grain of salt. At Temu you really are always gambaling.

[@whiteeagle8140]

Yep, ruby in zoisite.

[@PamelaBraide]

Ruby in zosite isn't rare. We have loads of it in Nigeria too. ​@@jennifergailey9544

[@sevenandthelittlestmew]

I was thinking fuchsite if you’re talking about the cab.

[@ModernJewelryMakers]

I've traveled to India twice a year to buy gemstones for my bead store for the last 30 years. I like checking out these videos for possible ideas for my channel, where I could show a lot of our high end stones and my time at the factories, etc.. However your comment section is like I feared, full of long time rock hounds & PT jewelers who feel a need to educate you. I'm not against or above learning more of course, it's just fairly difficult to truly compare gemstones over a screen. So much of it is just "knowing" from touch & sight, over decades of experience - like any career. You are braver than me - great video!

[@kristingill6478]

Your life sounds fun 😊

[@InJusticeAustralia]

30 years agoI went to India , young and dumb… was convinced to buy some aquamarine gemstones… was told I could “easy sell them”… got home (to Australia) to find no one wanted to buy them… Do you have any tips on where I can sell them? cheers.

[@cececox6399]

​@@InJusticeAustraliatry looking for local jewellers and buyers. But to be honest after this long I'd highly recommend making them into a piece of jewellery if you can. Something you can pass down to your daughter's or daughter's in law.

[@Keeponsmiling60]

@@InJusticeAustraliaI love aquamarine lol. A boyfriend had given me a beautiful aquamarine ring when I was 18 years old I’m now 63 haha. But someone stole it from me I had it about 2 weeks. I still wonder who could have stole my ring bugs me till this day.

[@ez0950]

As a person that sold minerals for years I think the fibrous malachite looks natural. When they get beat up the color can be deceptive, and that looked beat up. But it does look real to me.

[@c7adventures376]

Great stone. I like the cut to show lots of detail. All green is a no go to me. Its my second favorite stone after Silver Laced Onyx. 👍

[@Mgsogs]

Agreed. I’ll add that most of these are fibrous specimens are Congolese, so that stone made some interesting travels to make it into her hands.

[@TracyWheat2023]

That white stone with the lines in it is not fake. That is Howlite. Also the egg that was white with red lines is not fake. It's red Vein jasper. In the beginning you called what looked to be hematoid quartz fake too. While there were a lot of fakes, there were a lot of real ones you called fake.

[@AgateAriel]

Good to know thank you!

[@Objective-Observer]

I agree. Howlite is very easy to dye. A lot of 'turquoise' is actually howlite.

[@evilsharkey8954]

That red one looked more like a type of glass with fine red dust swirled into it. I forget what it’s called, but it’s often made into large, showy pieces like huge spheres.

[@vanessazannis5523]

Definitely not hematoid quartz which is found in Brazil. Dyed howlite parading around as something else is fake. These are just low quality fake crap and not worth $1000

[@Mia199603]

@@evilsharkey8954 cabochons?

[@danvondrasek]

The way they make things like those frogs for cheap is with machines. They take an original sculpture and put it in a duplication machine that uses a milling bit to follow the shape and repeat it on another piece. Then just clean it up by hand a bit for like 30 seconds each.

[@raizeline]

i'm genuinely glad you explained this, because i've always been curious about how they get them to all be the exact same, but clearly carved. i doubted they were done by hand but for some reason just never came up with how a machine might be able to do it (and kept forgetting to google the process, lol). thanks!

[@danvondrasek]

@@raizeline yeah no problem. That's exactly how I came about the knowledge myself. Seeing a line of 100 perfectly carved little statues and thinking how are they this perfectly done but stone? And then apparently it's a super old technology too.

[@RiffRaffMama.]

That saw is the most terrifying thing I have ever seen. I do woodwork and there is no way on earth I would get my fingers that close to a moving saw blade. You are one tiny flaw away from the rock deflecting and you losing a digit. There has to be a better way to hold the rocks you are cutting!

[@Helga-fe5xl]

I nearly had a heart attack too

[@dogofchaos]

bumping this comment so more people see it :>

[@Sora8112]

Rock cutting saws don't cut skin.... Same with tile saws.... Just to let you know not all saws are toothed...

[@Sora8112]

​@@Helga-fe5xlthank God rock cutting and tile cutting saws don't cut skin and you can push your finger into it as much as you want.....

[@Ta2dwitetrash]

You can put your hand right on that blade and you'll only get wet.

[@elementairttv]

2:55 poor delivery driver 😂 nothing like hauling a bunch of rocks around

[@klopez7080]

In that vein (pun intended), how do you know if a rock is 'damaged' in shipping??

[@michaeltheoret3842]

I work as a custodian at a School and the Science Department was "decluttering" outdated and old items. Well, I picked up this pail that said, " please discard ", so I picked it up to throw out, but it was really heavy. I muttered to myself, " What the hell's in this, ROCKS? " Well, under some old papers WERE in fact rocks, and lots of them. I collect rocks and wound up "adopting" some of the rocks that were in that pail. the others I dumped outside by some bushes off school property. I figured that those rocks were pretty harmless and better to be put outside. There was not anything hazardous. For some reason, Your comment reminded me of that pail of rocks.

[@kingdarkem]

Poor delivery dude? You know the poor people at the international airport probably had to go through each package cause it's packed like it's being sold by a mexican cartel right?

[@Annenigmatic]

​@@kingdarkemAirport? Isn't everything from there famously travel by 🚢

[@kingdarkem]

@@Annenigmatic nope. kzbin.info/www/bejne/o369en16jJyAgK8si=O5ehl6oJhQ6cbmqt kzbin.info/www/bejne/eqC8aIaup9-BisUsi=eLobz5P7HD6VoxWC A ton of it is shipped by mail. Every international airport has a section and team of employees just for the millions of packages of mail...which can contain all sorts of stuff from drugs to counterfeit goods.

[@sarafrikinbeara]

You've taught me more than just not to trust temu. You've helped me discover things about old rocks I've purchased from vendors and online. You're always the best!

[@stevenklimecky4918]

I think that malachite is actually genuine. I've seen many specimens with that texture and color.

[@EloraEllery-fx3zg]

I have bought a lot of malachite on temu. Not a single one was real.

[@justinekenny1779]

I don’t see enough comments on the velvet malachite! It’s definitely real, what a cutie little piece! One of my favourite materials!

[@ivankovacic5752]

It is not. It is not natural malachite. This is copper-carbonate crust left in a process of copper melting ore. There is a lot of people who can buy this crust pieces in factory for some money very cheap and then sell it as a malachite. Color of real malachite is much deeper green and often with lines of azurite and small golden veins of pyrite/chalcopyrite.

[@Ame.D.L.]

@@ivankovacic5752agree. From the quick shot in the video it resembles Congo Malachite, however, when you pause and zoom in to see it closer it is definitely not what it resembles.

[@c7adventures376]

Very beautiful stone. I have seen some old furniture and even a Tiffany clock all made of gold and Malachite 👍

[@majaharbig5326]

Natural malachite is nowdays wery rare, and because of this very expensive, as real turquoise too...no way that this was natural stone

[@Iruparazzo]

milk glass: the fool's gold of gems for a few hundred years now

[@donnaflagg333]

I’m an old girl and I remember way back when …my parents financed a friend who was running an import/export business. He traveled all over Asia buying stuff. So my point is upon his return he showed us how amazingly they aged furniture and items to make them look antique and valuable. And yes the craftsmanship was always good. He showed us how easy it was for them to fool the consumer. Incredibly talented craftsman/artists. So…Temu was no surprise lol really - it’s their business model and that excludes honesty and respect for their customers. I’m glad you are showing people who would have otherwise taken the bait! Well done video my dear! Kudos to you for sharing. ✨💚☘️💚✨

[@rwest8761]

When I was stationed in Seoul back in the early 70’s I was amused to find a shop with a huge painted advertisement on an exterior wall that read; “Antiques - Made To Order” 🤣

[@donnaflagg333]

@@rwest8761 wow that proved his point very well lol 😂 “made to order” thanks for sharing that! 💚☘️💚

[@Mupyeong]

Chinese proverb: If you can cheat, then cheat.

[@uhtred7860]

They will counterfeit anything and everything over there, from Rolex watches to eggs.

[@helheims]

you can criticize temu and similar sites without generalising to a whole continents worth of people and cultures...

[@jackiecayaMN]

That is a really nice piece of pink tourmaline in quartz for being from temu. The agates are actually agates from Madagascar, they are heat treated to make the lines show up. They sell them as sardonyx, they are not sardonyx either though.

[@AgateAriel]

Oh good to know! I knew something was off about them!

[@alexm495]

my understanding is they are heated to add red and infused with sugar (carbon) to add black, Mad River / Zayamara agates from Madagascar

[@alexm495]

oh someone already mentioned all that in another comment 😮

[@jmicaha2655]

Jasper, chert, sardonyx, agate, carnelian, and onyx are all formations of chalcedony! So they're all very similar, however colorless banding is entirely agate. Also, as a fun fact, alabaster is a type of gypsum that looks very similar to agate but isn't! Its identifiable by having a sheen very similar to calcite, while also being mostly opaque

[@cicada38]

Again, you should really do research. You are showing how ignorant you are with stones

[@vcrface]

Alot of those colorful rocks are dyed howelite, sometimes called white turquoise, the yellow egg looked like it for sure. Some of the translucent orange stones in the tumble mix looked like calcite. Ty for the vid.

[@christinegreywolf]

From my experience with searching in Temu is that quite often down in the main description (which can be hard to find) it does state that materials used are stone and glass. I recognize the listing that you bought the mini wands or whatever you want to call them at 4:20 as being made from stone and glass. It was hard to find. I suggest before buying to really search for that hidden info as I myself am naturally suspicious of very good deals, lol. I do appreciate you buying these and going through them to help people out.

[@MH-zb6yk]

Temu is know for using forced child labor that's why they are able to keep the prices low and there's video proves of them easily stealing any information they find from Users

[@fredericapanon207]

@christinegreywolf, your advice applies to every listing on Temu. If it is faux leather, PU for polyurethane will be found in the more detailed (for various values of detailed) description. I crochet, so I look at the description to see what yarn is actually made of. I have seen real and fake silk yarn, real and blended wool, cashmere, cotton or linen yarn. And I avoid anything where the description is insufficient. Also, avoid any "optical" doodads for cellphones. They are made of very cheap acrylic, not optical glass. Ask me how I know... 🙄

[@rubbishbin2936]

I’m always surprised by how few people actually read the descriptions of products. Even on Amazon, I always read the descriptions because it’s very common for them to hide information there.

[@MeVictoryasmith666]

The velvet malachite is also real ❤ I work in a copper mine and see this daily!!

[@jamiconroy7841]

Just best not to cut it....toxic!!

[@sandrahuibers8081]

I also want to thank you for saving me from making a big mistake. I had been reconsidering my stance on Temu but I will continue to avoid them.

[@dcallan812]

Temu are loosing money selling the products at the low prices, what they want is access to your mobile phone, once you let them in they track EVERTHING you do on your phone. They can read everything and look at photos or track the phone to any location. they sell all the information to data to anyone that will pay and as they are Chinese if the CCP wants it they give your data free tot he Chinese Government. .

[@Vinniegret]

@@sandrahuibers8081 one main problem with Temu is that they force you to download their app. They used to just badger you to get it. Now you can't even look at products unless you get the app and I don't trust them to have all my data.

[@xxDarkstreamxx]

The thing about online places like Temu, Wish, etc. is that you have to know what you’re getting for the price point and you have to be okay with settling for that.

[@LoriFahy]

i buy from temu and honestly its not terrible. ( i would never buy rocks though) if you dont like the item you can send it back.

[@xstanstanstan]

@@LoriFahy It's really more of an ethical problem. The main reason they can sell stuff so cheap is that they are using unethical labor practices and have been accused of using slave and child labor. So it's not about what you're getting, but where it's actually coming from.

[@kd5byb]

Thank you for doing this! There's lots of good buys and a lot of crap on Temu and without folks like you taking the plunge and sharing results so many other people would be exposed to the poor buys!

[@violentbob]

12:04 this is definitely real malachite. Raw malachite is really not possible to fake and also if it was dyed, somehow, it would not be possible for it to be dyed so evenly. And you wouldn't be able to achieve that shine either. It's usually the tumbled pieces that are faked

[@jasonpatterson8091]

It's exactly what you suggest - you absolutely cannot make products like these profitably and ethically at the same time. Worker safety, environmental conditions, and/or slave labor are basically required, and Temu does the whole "we require our sellers to promise to be good kids!" thing without any actual checks, and of course, China has institutionalized all three in favor of money and for political purposes.

[@pandakicker1]

But but but china is a communist utopiaaaaaaa!!!!!

[@Automedon2]

There are also many 'cottage industries' in China that are just a single person or family working from home. I imagine rocks would be one of those. Certainly not enough demand to warrant a sweatshop factory. More likely one guy would found an independent way to make a living.

[@kristinegrafke5509]

Yes you can. China is so amazing. You do realize that every single thing in America is actually bought from China. They sell things for so extremely inexpensive because they have it in massive amounts such as the crystals. I buy amazing crystals from Ali Express all the time. And Ali baba . Much better than temu. Also Amazon stores... Where do you think they buy most of their items from? Ali baba or Ali Express. China.

[@loveangel999]

@@kristinegrafke5509Just because you CAN buy something doesn’t mean it’s ethical, I’m happy you haven’t been scammed but many have and there’s no guarantee your items weren’t produced under predatory and abusive conditions so it’s still a no from me

[@nancyann1090]

You don't care that China is abusing people to sell these products cheap? Wow!​@@VicGreenBitcoin

[@Shawnsatisfiedwife]

It terrifies me everytime you use that saw ❤

[@gill8779]

Me too, just one slip & no fingers!!

[@TheSisrob]

Right!! So right! Can i ever bring myself to do that!?

[@Mia199603]

It doesn't cut, it grinds. You'd have to be extremely determined to hurt yourself with it.

[@Shawnsatisfiedwife]

@Mia199603 good to know. Makes me a feel better

[@Mia199603]

@@jukeboxjohnnie np, I was pretty freaked out too, before I learnt how it works :)

[@samfall6958]

The "Opal" at 6 min mark is Opalite - Opalite is a trade name for synthetic opalescent glass and various opal and moonstone simulants. Other names for this glass product include argenon, sea opal, opal moonstone, and other similar names. It is also used to promote impure varieties of variously colored common opal.

[@KisheaCrowl]

The rocks from temu.. read the finest print. And know that you are getting the rejects that didn't pass quality and the cut off scrap "gravel". Natural is a subjective term. Glass could be included in that. And dye/heat treated. Amethyst is notorious for both.

[@rubbishbin2936]

Fr a lot of the times they’ll say it straight up in the description of the products. People really need to start reading product descriptions lol

[@TnT_F0X]

17:00 Instead of a coating they might be treated with acid and heated to bring out colors. Now that only changes the outside, so if you were to cut and polish them you'd need to re-treat the stones to bring the color back. I know they do it with sapphires to bring out color,there might be a similar treatment for those gems.

[@jamesmchugo9422]

Back to the old saying, if it looks or sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Thank for the review.

[@user-pt1cz4ot1e]

Why do people keep sending these horrifyingly corrupt and evil companies money at all????? 🤦🏼‍♀️

[@CommanderJ135]

People like wasteing there money on temu 🤷

[@Baltihunter]

There are some bargains

[@dannydetonator]

@Baltihunter It looks like a bargain until you have enough useless junk bought. When you learn how their business model works (soft power mixed with loterally spying on westerners), combined with impact the "bargains" have on environment, locals and geopolitics, you might just realise it's not worth it, rather not bargains after all.

[@Lion_Hamza]

Yeah made by Uyghur slaves under catastrophic circumstances. Think about it.​@@Baltihunter

[@Lenny77199]

Because we can

[@chrisbay6672]

I am not really into rock but your video popped into my feed so I checked it out. You do a really good job with your videos. All the editing and production quality is on point. Keep up the good work and thanks for the fun content.

[@benm1414]

Agreed -!

[@SandyGingera]

Very informative article, thanks for posting this as I totally agree with your assessment of temu, sad as we really expect better as they promised us.❤❤❤

[@davidmsirois]

"we're gonna take the saw to one of these." - that's like a cool movie line that the enemy Temu needs to hear :)

[@AgateAriel]

Bahaha you got that right! 🤣

[@Rockn-UV]

The same vendors are on eBay under a different name

[@Erutanevas]

@@Rockn-UVUnder what name? Pls answer, I don’t want to be fooled

[@BrokenMonocle]

I wonder how durable that printing is. I bet it'd come off with at tumble.

[@Xanthelei]

​@@BrokenMonocleit'd be cool to see if more banding shows after a tumble, especially that one with the really big white banding at the tip.

[@clentonweston8839]

Really appreciate 🙏🏿 your videos, Ariel! I really hate TEMU is doing people that way, but thanks to people like yourself, we have the option of dealing with other sources. Thanks again.

[@shortie6968able]

Every order I've gotten has been fine. I even ordered a portable AC, and it works great.

[@mariakylanpaa9795]

Never get cheap rocks like that simply because of the ethical side of it. If you pay nothing guess how much the person who did the labor got paid...? Mighve been a child too so be conscious when buying cheap items (anything really and especially China made)..

[@spocker22]

This crap has ruined my lapidary buisness never buy from China. Only buy American. The whole economy will incr ase of you spend more for us made things

[@mikkihesson3509]

lol you think ANYTHING you buy ANYWHERE is ethical? guess again. temu is just smart enough to sell cheaper so they sell more. its the same stuff walmart and amazon and everybody else has. everything you touch is sweeeeaaaatyyy shhhhoooopppdppp sht and i really dont care. they are going to be sewing away regardless if i sit here in an empty room or not.

[@macylouwho1187]

Our local stores are buying from the exact same Chinese factories, and then selling them at a mark up. You aren’t avoiding it at all if you shop at places like Walmart, Target, etc etc. Out of curiosity we made a small order of a few random things. A pair of curtains for a window no one ever sees, for one. They had the “exact” same tag in them as the ones on the “exact” same curtains I found for sale at Walmart the following week. The “Mainstays” brand label was sewn on to the Temu curtains, but they were cheaper than the Walmart set. Significantly so. They cut out the middle man and sold direct, is all. My husband purchased a Hogwarts keychain for our daughter and when it came in it had raised lettering on it which was in the mold they made it from. You know what it said? “Universal Studios Orlando”. So when you go to the theme parks with your kids you are buying souvenirs at a very high price that came from the exact same factories as the Temu ones-which were SO much cheaper. I purchased a rotary cheese grater. I found the exact same one on Amazon for three times the price that I paid. The same in every way right down to the odd color (aqua blue). So basically what I’m telling you is you or anyone else will be buying the SAME products you get now locally but are paying three times more for it. No more ethically sourced than any other, unfortunately. Corporations are not interested in ethics. They are interested in PROFITS. Buy cheap-sell high. Everyone but them “loses”.

[@HenryLoenwind]

When it's made in China, the person gets at least minimum wage according to the cost of living in their county of employment. You can't accuse China of being a communist/socialist country and exploiting workers in a capitalist fashion at the same time... ;)

[@anthropomorphicpeanut6160]

​​​@@HenryLoenwindDespite the party's name, china isn't communist

[@jojofarley4511]

5:58 it is opalite- it is glass, made to have some opalescent color. It is NOT opal..

[@jonathank.1215]

Wow! I'm glad you did this. Extremely fun to watch. Thanks!

[@lisacrandall409]

Thank you for doing that, so we don't have to! At 14:06 you have ruby zoisite, and it looks correct (not dyed). If you hit it with your UV light, the ruby part should glow. 🙂

[@evilsharkey8954]

Beat me to it! That’s actually a really nice one for that mix.

[@lisacrandall409]

@@evilsharkey8954I agree 😊

[@marybeth17]

14:07 you also beaten me to it.

[@AgateAriel]

Oh that’s awesome! I will take a look!

[@noiseguru3981]

what she said ^

[@maggiep3263]

Lapidary is my hobby. For experimental purposes, I've dyed howlite to make "turquoise". So I think the dipped "agates" are 1. hilarious and 2. another project for me. 😂 Opalite is for jewelry because it's pretty and looks like precious opal. As long as it is called opalite jewelry it's okay.

[@pandakicker1]

Madagascan agates are just like that on the outside. Sincerely, a lifelong geology nerd

[@maggiep3263]

@@pandakicker1 Thanks for that info!

[@its80uh]

being a spiritual b word and you saying you don't know much about the stones I use most for casting was so entertaining actually, love that there are other facets of the same hobby! instant sub (:

[@KRich408]

Yooperlite is actually copyrighted ©️ Trademarked , owned by someone in Michigan, I live 15 minutes from the Lake Superior shoreline. I've found tons of them with a good UV flashlight. They actually have a real name I forgot. Temu could owe the man some $$$ for using that name . I doubt he could get them to pay though.

[@evilsharkey8954]

The mineral name is syenite. It’s basically sodalite without the blue color. The horse’s rear end who trademarked yooperlite and sues people who try to sell rocks with that name is friends with the horse’s rear end who patented the LED UV flashlight design that was provided as a free design by the inventor and charges everyone else for using the design he stole and got an overly broad patent on. The brand is Way Too Cool. Eff that guy!

[@Olive-cx2jw]

@@evilsharkey8954 Thank you for the information! How can you “copyright” natural stones? Even if it’s just the name. It doesn’t make any sense

[@Automedon2]

Temu doesn't make anything. It is like Ebay for small manufacturers in China. You can't sue Ebay for something listed on their platform.

[@evilsharkey8954]

@@Olive-cx2jw It’s not copyrighted. It’s trademarked, and it applies only to the name, not the actual rock.

[@KRich408]

@@Olive-cx2jw it's like Disney it's just a last name someone now owns.

[@rockgiant]

The “agates” are commonly called sardonex. The stones go through a heat and sugar bath to bring out the colour.

[@AgateAriel]

I knew there was something off about them!

[@vectorwolf]

​@@AgateArielI was going to comment on this too! Agate is slightly porous, which is why it's so easy to dye. I actually did this very trick myself as a science project back in high school, you can take a junk agate slab, soak it in sugar water for awhile, then stick it in a baking dish full of sand, put it in the oven with the temp set high for a few hours, and boom, dark bands. If you have a pale slab, you can often improve the color by heating it even without the sugar bath.

[@jmicaha2655]

Sardonyx! High quality ones do naturally have color though

[@vectorwolf]

@@jmicaha2655 Despite what random websites say, sardonyx is actually a very specific type of agate. It's a red and white banded material combining carnelian (which in medieval times was called sard) and white agate (onyx was historically used as a term for any banded gem). Sardonyx was prized specifically as material for carving cameos because of the contrast between the rich red and bright whites.

[@juiceymoojuice]

They’re agate just without the contrasting bands so they enhanced it with dyes and other treatments. Just boring white agate that’s not marketable so they improvised.

[@Divanhell]

How fun to come across your account. My mother would have loved this channel. She loved stones and minerals and I remember playing with her rock collections as a child. 🥰 I actually have her old tumbler from the 70s still 😊

[@yepiratesworkshop7997]

Now, that was the fastest 20 minute video I've seen on KZbin in a while. You sure know how to keep things moving. I've found some interesting rocks and crystals on my farm -- mostly in the area that was probably an alluvial deposit from about 10,000 years ago. I'd sure like to find someone who could identify some of these rocks. I did find an old mining trench from more than 100 years ago, but I've never been able to figure out what they were after in digging a trench ten foot deep by 12-14 feet wide. It must have been something good or they wouldn't have put that much work into it. Anyway, I've subscribed to your channel and hope I can learn something from it.

[@YASUUSUU]

there are not any words that can describe how much I admire this influencer SO MUCH I even got my first rock tumbler!! and I learnt so much about rocks thanks to you!! I've been obsessed with rocks since I was 8 and Im so happy I found your videos I just feel like I'm not the only person who admires rocks :)

[@AgateAriel]

Aww that is awesome-thank you so much! 😊

[@YASUUSUU]

@@AgateAriel YOUR WELCOME!!

[@KaraLinkonisart]

Loved the glowing Nunderite so much! Carribiean and Pink Mangano Calcite are also great ones for some surprize neon glow. That green and purple stone at 14:09 is real - it's a nice little Ruby in Zoisite.

[@JnVrockhounding]

Not gonna say much about the rest but the agates, yes agates, at 15:20 are real. They are sardonix/zyanmar agates and they are heat treated to get the colors to come out. They are white to clear until hat treated.

[@robloxislandsbyfeathersong]

I've bought a lot of stones on Temu. They are generally not good quality & tend to be mostly common/basic stones like quartz, aventurine, tiger eye, sodalite, etc. Very rarely do they have a good polish and often not very good colouring. A lot of the stones they sell are "fake". However, if you are a knowledgeable/experienced rock collector, you already know that when you are buying them. All those "opals" you got are actually opalites, & yes, they are a manmade glass. But they can sometimes be carved into beautiful figurines. They also come in other pretty colours, such as pink and blue. I collect cat figurines, especially stone ones, and I have some pretty opalite ones as well as some other "fake" stones, like goldstone, luminous stone, etc. In my experience, most of the stones I have bought from Temu are genuine, but, like I said, not great quality. It is very common for retailers of cheap stones to use deceptive marketing, like selling opalite as genuine opal. It's not just a Temu thing; it's common practice. I would say Temu is definitely not a good place to buy stones. As the saying goes, you get what you pay for, and if you're buying cheap stones, there is most likely going to be something wrong with them, such as low-quality or fake/dyed stones. Some of them are just plain old stones with made-up names. I bought a "Blue Mausoleum Stone" cat. I have no idea what it really is. You can't even Google it; nothing comes up under that name. I also bought one that was labelled "Powder Stone" because I was curious as to what it actually was, and when I got it, it turned out to just be Rose Quartz & not a good quality one. It was like a greyish-pink colour. Like you, I would not recommend people buy stones from Temu, especially if they are new to rock collecting and aren't very knowledgeable about buying stones. I have gotten lots of lovely little stone cat figurines from there to add to my collection. However, I am not the average rock collector. I can spot the fakes, altered, or misnamed stones. I know what I'm really buying when I buy rocks from Temu.

[@smithdog4770]

That's a great point and it applies to more than just rocks when it comes to buying from most Chinese sites. If you know exactly what you are looking for and know all the different scams they pull you can find good deals without being ripped off. Sadly a lot of people go there who really are naive about how China operates. It's ALL buyer beware over there and the shame is on YOU for being naive not on them for being "smarter". It's a different culture and that's a big part of it. You dishonor your family more by being ripped off than you ever will by ripping off Americans. LOL I guess I kind of understand the point of culturally putting the onus of responsibility on the buyer as good advice in general if nothing else. You can cry that someone ripped you off, but if your family starves because of it, who's fault is that? The con man screwed you, but you screwed your family by not taking care, this is especially true when jumping for deals that are Too good to be true, which is how most con men operate, they often rely on naive people who think they can get something for nothing. In America we protect the naive, not so much in most Asian nations, where it's often seen as your own fault if you fall for a scam.

[@samanthafairweather9186]

So many people try to claim that opalite is made from 1. Opal dust or 2. Crushed or broken opals that are melted then formed into opalite! Could you imagine the looks on their faces when they add liquid to opal dust and get .......mud?!!! 🤣🤣 I'm just so glad there are some people ( like yourself) that have common sense! It's glass. Just glass.

[@Blessed2XS]

All of the "Opals" that You got are Opalite, which is Glass with tiny Opal fragments mixed together.

[@1erinjames]

Get yourself a ceramic blade tool called "Slice". It's a ceramic blade that literally slices thru that type of packaging better than ANYTHING I've ever used!! The ones I'm familiar with are a product called "Slice". It's like a oval shape, about the size of an apple slice. Absolutely one of the BEST purchases I've ever made. I prefer the locking one. It's black with orange vs the retractable one. You will love it!! Best $10 I've spent!

[@thecapedgremlin0001]

13:55 at that size, if that was real colored Aussie opal, it would be worth $1,000s of dollars!

[@creativenative5175]

Thanks for doing this! I'm glad I watched. Your "bunch of nothing" dyed agates look exactly like sardonyx I've bought from a company in Sedona, Arizona, while my local crystal guy had said he can never find sardonyx to sell out of his shop! Yes, the pink tourmaline in matrix is real.🎉🙂

[@creativenative5175]

It was interesting that the carved figurines looked legit, given everything else.

[@sarahcarpenter8161]

I found your channel a couple of months ago and I love your videos! You have fun ideas and you’re so real and honest about everything! Whether it’s reviews, thoughts, or opinions! You have a wealth of knowledge and not to mention, your editing is great and within the videos we get to see your personality shine through! Definitely recommending your channel to my friends! I would love to see you collaborate with another KZbinr in this field! ❤ Also: I just ordered off of your Etsy! Love it! Can’t wait for the order to come in!

[@MrWmcollins75]

14:20 it's opalite. It is a manmade stone.

[@davidwilson4954]

I agree. Everyone of those pieces are opalite.

[@adamjones6148]

I came to comment that all the ‘opal glass’ is opalite

[@SotaliaTucuxi]

I have chunks of opal from Death Valley I picked up on a geology class field trip a million years ago, before the park started banning removal of stones. They're not gem quality, but still quite pretty, and I'm happy to send you a chunk.

[@GLOWINGUP1234]

Omg! ARIEL, the part with you little hands was SO HILARIOUS, 👐 and i saw how bad u wanted to keep laughing....😂it was so FREAKIN cute!lol! Love u & ur content!

[@RufotrisRootedRockhound]

16:20 they heat treat those. They are real agates that get sold as onyx or sardonyx. But they lightly cook them to get the coloring. While I see what you are saying with the paint dip, maybe that’s also possible and cheaper than baking them. But these are regularly cooked agates.

[@josephstanley200]

Yup sardonyx

[@cap_norton]

As for those agates that you sawed and which are much paler inside than outside. These stones are impregnated with paint in a vacuum chamber with subsequent increase in pressure. The paint penetrates through microscopic cracks inside. This technology is sometimes used on wood, the so-called "stabilized wood" which is impregnated with polymer resins. I apologize that the text may be somewhat unclear, I am from Russia, the text is via Google translate.

[@crystalcleartruth221]

The text is perfectly clear to read in English.

[@agenttruecrime399]

17:24 they are known as Opalite not opal because they are man-made glass

[@jmicaha2655]

What you have isnt fake opal, but opalite. Opalite is manmade, and can be resin, glass, or plastic. It's funny that they didn't just market it as opalite since a lot of uneducated people don't know what that is either. The only one that isn't opalite is the really milky opaque one. Opalite is known for its glowy light play that is similar to opal but obviously not. The milky one is likely glass, but looks like they're trying to mimic actual opal. Actual opal has many different color variations that occur naturally, but only precious opal will have a flash and a play of color. On a precious opal, these opaque colorless spots that surround a color bar are called potch.

[@boganshazz821]

They could've sent her a bag of potch at least😂

[@ValCronin]

It IS fake opal if they claimed it was opal, which they apparently did.

[@SunflowerFlowerEmpire]

When ur voice goes all super high pitched I threw my phone into my tumbler. (In a high pitched voice).

[@debbenjo5875]

I'm glad you showed the quality of stuff from China/Asia. You get what you pay for.

[@JenkyBaby]

Even when you buy from most places in the states they buy wholesale in china

[@debbenjo5875]

@@JenkyBaby I know and it's sad.

[@BarB2-90Nine]

Always been a Rock hound; getting mine from rivers or streams etc. but wit the opal the saying is if you buy it urself it’s bad luck ? So Nothing like The real thing. I’m sure you have sea glass. That’s a treasure in its self. Ty’s for the video on what’s not real keep looking for the rocks , there waiting to be found.

[@Ta2dwitetrash]

For those that dont know: @15:40 That diamond saw shes using doesn't cut skin. Safe enough for a child to use all day. Get yourself one, cutting open rocks never gets old.

[@saraa3418]

That "opal" looked like slag glass. The tourmaline looked real, but not high quality. There's a lot of host rock/matrix there, but I can see the hexagonal crystal structure. White howlite is a white stone with black lines that is quite striking and often dyed turquoise to dupe that mineral as the heft and veining are similar.

[@AgateAriel]

Good to know thank you!!

[@blackletter2591]

Most "turquoise" is an artificial composite, because natural pieces are unstable.

[@Osage80]

About the opal. Real opal is usually on the pricier side. However, Opalite is not. It’s manmade. So look into the difference of the two. As a crystal collector myself, I have ordered crystals off Temu, out of curiosity. I did notice they use stock photos for some of the ad photos. They usually use very high quality pieces in their photos. Always check the reviews and especially the reviews with photos/videos. I have gotten some pretty great crystals on there, and some duds of course. I’m more of an Etsy girl when it comes to crystals, but you have to be careful on there also. Thanks for your honest reviews! Edit: you can always return the products, and it’s never been a hassle for me personally to do so.

[@orlock20]

The Chinese steal photos and use those photos as their own. Just do a reverse image search to see if the image is used elsewhere.

[@helenburke9507]

Hi. I am an amateur rock hound. So happy I’ve found your. Channel. Yahoo. Great show thank you. I’ll be here every time you post yahoo.

[@TracyWheat2023]

The pink Tourmaline was real and looks really good. Also opal from China is called opalite and it's not real.

[@AgateAriel]

Awesome thank you!

[@bernicestevenson4744]

Yes that's opalite which is made made glass

[@lisaclarke5726]

I find a lot of Chinese people call opalite, opal also.

[@Violet-qf8dr]

While I know that opalite is made of glass, I still find it to be such a pretty stone. The irridesence is amazing.

[@TracyWheat2023]

@@Violet-qf8dr it is very pretty but to someone who collects and sells crystals, we avoid it because we don't want anything man made but it is pretty and some people say they it does have healing benefits like other crystals. I don't personally know about that. The only thing manmade I have in my collection is bismuth. It is just in my collection. I don't sell it.

[@ChrisR_4812]

There was a white stone with grey veining that you thought was fake. I believe it's howlite, which is often ye an sold as "turquoise". The first cabochon you showed (green and dark red/magenta) is real. It's ruby in zoisite. BTW, stay away from any cheap alexandrite. Thanks for sharing. Take care.

[@LogicalNiko]

Temu tip, if you add things to your cart but don’t buy them, within 24-48 hours you will usually be given the item at a greater discount.

[@Dippedinsilver1974]

I’ve been making jewelry for several years, and I can tell you that opal is very expensive. Even raw stones are quite pricey. I recently paid $35 for a real 3mm opal cabochon. I wouldn’t trust any “opal” sold on Temu.

[@PunkRockCrystals]

The sardonyx or madagascar agate as some call those are hard for me to get too mad about. On one hand...yes they are dyed or acid washed to bring out the colors and banding. On the other hand...the banding is real and otherwise so pure white that you can barely see them. So they take something plain and make it amazing...not like they are ruining some already amazing Laguna agates with pink dye or something. Love the vid though! Very interesting analysis.

[@evilsharkey8954]

Who dyes lagunas?? Those are expensive already!

[@BelindaHandley]

It is very common for stone dealers to sell 'opalite, cherry quartz and goldstone' as gemstone. All are glass and do not exist in nature. This goes way beyond Temu and I immediately turn from any seller offering these "stones", they obviously have no actual knowledge of stones. Jade is another problem. In China a variety of quartz is known as jade, we call it Malay jade. If you want actual jade you need jadeite or nephrite. Not all opal has flashes either, so looking for them is not a good indicator of the chemistry, any thing actually opalite is glass. A good test is a microscope, glass will have a few tiny bubbles. Actual stone dust is also mixed with epoxy to make an assembled stone. Some Chinese sellers will sell glass crystal as gemstone. This is actually our fault for referring to gemstones as crystals, and so the honest confusion happens.

[@larrybates4925]

I've purchased a good number of rocks from Temu and have received a few blahs, but mostly I have received some beautiful spheres. I would never order mixed rocks. You have to play their game and if you do ypu will get some really nice stones

[@jackiecayaMN]

Oh and if you are going to Moose Lake Agate Days. Lapidary Dave will be there, it's always cool when KZbinrs can meet up with other KZbinrs🤗

[@AgateAriel]

Oh that’s awesome!

[@RatsJones]

Thank you for this information. I have purchased a couple of the items you showed and was apprehensive as to their quality. You answered my question.

[@CacklingChick]

Loved this! Those dipped agates are hilarious!! GO, ARIEL!! ROCK ON!! 😁👍🏻🪨⛏️

[@AgateAriel]

Haha thank you!!

[@redskie2413]

The white stone with black lines or greyish black is called howlite

[@alexandragriffin2497]

I don't even polish rocks, but I find these videos so satisfying and educational 😌

[@Dreamworld986]

Thankfully I spent less than $10 dollars on a few rocks from Temu. Natural agate which was just chips and no bands and some of the shiny ones like yours. They'll look good as a decoration somewhere . NO I will not buy any more rocks from Temu. Thanks for clueing us in.

[@TheCrazyCanuck420]

Temu is what Amazon will probably be in a couple years.

[@edie4321]

Probably, at the rate we're going.

[@michelleelle4622]

Temu, being basically a wholesaler is what a lot of Amazon people already use. I have seen the exact same products listed on Temu and being re-sold on Amazon and other platforms for much higher prices.

[@osobaked9278]

​@@michelleelle4622absolutely! People are making small fortunes buying Temu stuff & selling it on Amazon, Etsy & their own personal stores.

[@Uncle_Dave_Dave]

if you knew anything about amazon or internet commerce, then you'd already know 90%+ of amazons products are literally dropshipped from Alibaba by AI. What they do is charge your credit card, then the AI simply takes your delivery details, and enters then on another website that will allow them to create a profit margin. Amazon is Aliexpress, with an extra step added, so people with AI can make money off you.

[@rwest8761]

Amazon just censored a book about Kamala Harris. They made it absolutely disappear without a trace! No shady politics here - NOT! Amazon is cheeseoid, especially if they are trying to use censorship to shape thought! “Fahrenheit 451” is here friends! Read Ray Bradbury’s book “Fahrenheit 451” if you haven’t. It was required reading in seventh grade along with these other similar works everyone should read: “1984”, “A Brave New World”, “Animal Farm”, “Lord of the Flies”.

[@ChocolateChipperoni]

4:49, 14:21 and 7:46 - The light weighted white stone with thin black cracks going through it is a real stone, but if it's not white it's dyed. It's called Howlite. People often sell it dyed blue and say it's turquoise because of the similar black thin webbing that goes through it, but it's just Howlite. The glass they put in for opal is Opalite. Looks cool, definitely man made glass though. 8:38 - I believe is Lapis & Calcite eggs. With Lapis you can look to see if it has little shiny golden specks in it. That would be Pyrite, as Lapis often has tiny pyrite inclusions! 6:38 - the reddish orange stones are Orange Calcite. (I hope this helps! As a rock enthusiast, it's nice to find new channels with people who also enjoy crystals and rocks!)

[@jackio46]

Keep in mind that Temu is not the "maker" of the products and they do offer refunds if items are not as expected. They operate much the same as Amazon and sell from many indepent merchants. I have bought from them practically from their start and have had some bad but I would say that most have been what I expected.

[@TracyWheat2023]

Howlite is a real stone. It's white with black lines. It is 100% real. Also you are calling some of the lapis lazuli - sodalite.

[@AgateAriel]

Ugh I always forget about lapis lazuli! Thank you!

[@Le_Pete]

While yes, Howlite is a real stone, it is often manufactured. The process is quite similar to fake Malachite and Turquoise. You can often see it when the white is really really white, like titanium oxide white and has no Calcite look to it. The real one looks not so "clean" is the best way I can describe it 😅

[@lynnkeller8187]

I’ve purchased quite a few stones from Temu from beads to all different shapes and apart from the Goldstone and the opal late that I have received has been 100% authentic. I’ve been rockhound now for about six years and we have a Lapidary Club in the town that I belong with and we go out we’re all counting and stuff.

[@WvhKerkhof]

Temu is now in your computer, clean your browser.

[@TruFrag]

The Chinese scam websites often sell real items, often made for non western markets. Not everything you can buy from them is junk. The problem is that you need to give them access you every bit of information about you forever and always. Buy local, from Hallmark stores, Amazon, directly from regional sellers, Etsy, ex. are significantly better options.

[@JoanieBC]

Amazon has the same vendors as Temu. Temu doesn't collect anything personal data beyond what Amazon, eBay, or any other large retailers do. My son-in-law has to check every site - from Amazon to Wayfair to TikTok and beyond - for the military. As you would expect, they have to be very careful with websites that mine data because it takes just one little slip and game over. Amazon, Temu, Shein, etc are marketplaces. They offer the same things, from the same companies, and, now that Target and Walmart have added marketplace offerings on their sites, you're dealing with the same companies regardless of site. The only way to not deal with such vendors is to buy strictly from sources like fossilera or to take recs from mindat. Or, if you have a preferred, trusted vendor you're set. Just know that quite a few things being sold online are from the same companies across most retailers and/or marketplaces. Now, I've found better prices on a lot of raw stone on Temu. The same company selling on Amazon is consistently higher. The price difference can be anywhere from a few cents to over $10. I've ordered a lot of different rocks, minerals, gemstones from Temu. I was disappointed twice. I had a fluorite tower that had color flaking off the edge. I scratched more and found a lackluster piece underneath. It looked like it was still fluorite, but soft color. The outer layer? Like hardened wax paper glued carefully to the piece. Or maybe a glass paint over a whole bunch of ultra pale fluorite and someone decided to make the best of the situation. The only other problem I've had buying rocks, crystals, minerals on Temu is receiving the occasional pale version of what's shown in the photos. It's not a huge problem, but you always hope for the best. Now, I've had incredible luck with pink tourmaline, sodalite (I'm tumbling two batches at the moment), tiger's eye (I cannot say enough good things about the tiger's eye on Temu), and even some aragonite. Always check prices between the different vendors selling on Temu. It's a minute or two of scrolling through all similar products and vendors. I double check weight of product, number of pieces per offer, and I look at how similar or different they are. If you don't know how to pull up comparable products, this is what you do: click on the item you're interested in buying. When you're on the product page, tap on the photo. Once you see the product enlarged a bit (the page is black behind the pic), there's a small camera symbol in the top right corner. Click that. It'll bring up everything similar. If there are a lot of different choices, I will add the lowest priced early choice to my cart. I keep that price in mind as I scroll down the page. If I find something at a similar price point, I add that to my cart, too. After I'm done playing bargain hunter, I take my time comparing all the details more closely. I ditch the more expensive per unit items and I have my happy little deal. If I were planning on doing anything in bulk, I wouldn't use Temu. I would go through a wholesaler. But for the moment, I'm just tumbling and having fun creating little things for my kids and my friends. I get where everyone is coming from and appreciate the caution taken, but I trust my son-in-law implicitly when it comes to site safety. He hasn't been wrong yet!

[@Angel-rq3pi]

Amazon and hallmark and Etsy esp. buy from china. If you think otherwise...

[@JoanieBC]

​@@Angel-rq3piprecisely. All the same vendors.

[@TruFrag]

@@Angel-rq3pi correct. So stay away from the CCP owned and operated scam websites.

[@Olive-cx2jw]

Yes. Etsy still is a place for artists and small creators, but has been joined by cheap Chinese vendors lately so you got to be careful. And honestly Amazon has become a new Aliexpress at that point. Also would be careful about stores, they buy from China too and usually resell the same products for much higher prices- but they don’t usually ask your info, I’ll give you that. I’d say also that while it is far better to buy from let’s say Etsy creators, it is significantly more expensive and a lot of people can’t afford it, so I can’t blame anyone buying from Chinese store because it’s cheaper. Just gotta be careful what you buy

[@vadodicane7102]

the colors and shines of the rocks are amazing, but they don´t compares to that in your eyes. Thanks for the vid

[@curiocache]

I’ve bought many rocks from Temu. I know what I’m looking for and I thoroughly read the description AND the comments. I also check prices before buying. I’ve gotten some excellent deals and no fake rocks, but again I pay attention before buying.

[@thatgirl634]

EXACTLY

[@fossilfighters101]

the velvet malachite didn't look fake to me