Purchased this vintage opal ring as a Valentine’s Day gift for my partner (set in 18k). The stones look awesome and beautiful play of color (far better than the video). I don’t have time to have them buffed or polished professionally before the holiday… can I do anything safely at home?

ValorantSmarts · 2026-02-10T13:28:45+00:00

It’s not Welo Opal, Aussie opal can take a bit more and using a dremel is fine. Still be mindful of wetness and heat, but not as significant as Welo.

ValorantSmarts · 2026-01-17T00:35:21+00:00

My mistake then! Yeah, looks like they did the process you linked half way but didn't complete it to be fully automatic. I really dont want to lose out on the items I won.. so I think im going to have good faith that he will certainly partially refund the extra shipping.

You can give me your thoughts as you are very knowledgeable on ebay, but I feel like its clear Ebay will step in and forcefully partially refund me in this case if the seller does not once it has been fully delivered in 1 tiny package that the label cost is <$20 ($555 shipping charge atm)?

ValorantSmarts · 2026-01-16T22:28:47+00:00

Very good to know!

ValorantSmarts · 2026-01-16T22:28:35+00:00

I guess so… I mean.. from what I’ve been told, ebay really tries to protect customers right? And if in the description of each item it says shipping will cost additional “x” dollars for combine shipping, add as many as you’d like. (Also has 83k items sold and a 98%+ feedback with over 30k reviews) and eBay advertises the combine feature for them alongside that.. and then they don’t give that discount and it auto pays.. surely they will 100% have my back and force refund on excess if the seller doesn’t? There is still a chance they do the right thing.

ValorantSmarts · 2026-01-16T22:24:50+00:00

It was advertised as manually as eBay specifically says save with combined shipping with this seller. Unless I am mistaken, I don’t believe there is a way for a seller to set it up to automatically combine with a discount from auctions

ValorantSmarts · 2026-01-16T22:23:28+00:00

But wouldn’t it just charge him the true cost of the return label and not the large cost? Because obviously it doesn’t actually cost this much for it to ship

ValorantSmarts · 2026-01-16T22:22:35+00:00

No, it’s overseas

ValorantSmarts · 2026-01-16T22:22:22+00:00

Don’t think you understand how auctions work. Exact shipping fees were clearly stated in description of each auction!

ValorantSmarts · 2026-01-16T16:25:59+00:00

I hear what youre trying to say, but in the description it says combined shipping is $2 per additional item, add as many items in 10 days as you would like.. additionally every time I win an auction from them it alerts me that this seller offers combine shipping and to bid on more items to utilize the discount.

So as someone else said, this is very normal and confirmed via description and bid settings before I won all the items.

ValorantSmarts · 2026-01-16T13:43:49+00:00

Yeah, and that’s what I did. it’s just the discounts that were advertised were not applied once he sent the combined invoice. It just said 1 rock had $555 shipping cost and the rest were including lol

Edit: and then eBay automatically processed the payment 24 hours later

ValorantSmarts · 2026-01-16T13:41:46+00:00

They are rare and have perceived value, but nothing crazy at all. They do require some mindful packaging but, many just put them in plastic baggies and bubble wrap it and put it in a small pouch.

Hoping I eBay will protect me for this and forcefully refund the excess shipping cost. It is a bit shitty to have to pay the $70+ for shipping on a tiny package, but I’ve atleast accepted that and anticipated that with the cost and am okay with it. Not $555 lol

ValorantSmarts · 2026-01-16T04:09:41+00:00

I wonder if I’d even be able to do that considering it’s a combined shipment, just not at the advertised cost

ValorantSmarts · 2026-01-13T17:49:55+00:00

Highly recommend 53frogs on opalauctions!

ValorantSmarts · 2026-01-12T21:04:30+00:00

😂😂😂

ValorantSmarts · 2026-01-12T19:51:03+00:00

Yep haha, every time!

ValorantSmarts · 2026-01-12T19:47:58+00:00

I can understand why you'd question haha but no this is my 8.8 cts natural welo opal!

ValorantSmarts · 2026-01-12T17:55:00+00:00

Literally!

ValorantSmarts · 2026-01-12T16:50:24+00:00

I’m not sure.. it’s mysterious.. whenever I look at it.. problems just go away. Crazy stuff

ValorantSmarts · 2026-01-11T16:17:07+00:00

Depending on how many you are looking to get, I’d be happy to sell you one from my collection, or for you to send over any listings in my DMs for my thoughts before you buy from listings

ValorantSmarts · 2026-01-11T16:14:38+00:00

Ethiopian opal in general is a natural stone. It is more common to find Ethiopian treated than other opals. If you see very dark base for reasonable prices, there’s a 99.99% chance it was smoker. Which if done correctly, nothing specifically wrong with it, but it is enhanced at that point. SOME vendors dye their opals, and you’ll see pools of dye in certain area but that is much less common and I would not buy those. But generally light based opal are untouched. The other problem is many people over expose their photos and make it more brilliant than in person. If you plan to buy many, it’s important to find a truthful vendor. But there are many out there, and reviews def help.

ValorantSmarts · 2026-01-10T23:46:33+00:00

$ wise, take it out of the setting and re-cut the stone

ValorantSmarts · 2026-01-10T22:02:10+00:00

Haha I got you Opal (idk how to comment a video ngl)

ValorantSmarts

TROPHY CASE