I just arrived home from Carlsbad, California – a cute little town north of San Diego full of restaurants and shops. And I have thoughts on the crystal shops. I won’t name any names, but it reminded me that some parts of the crystal world can be full of scams or misinformation.
That’s why I purchase crystals exclusively from only a couple of shops I know I can trust – Cosmic Corner being one of them.
Still, you shouldn’t be deterred from trying out new shops and supporting local businesses when you’re traveling. Just keep a few of these things in mind:
Hold the crystals in your hand – especially mini shapes stones
I picked up a tiny mushroom crystal in a basket by the front cashier, and found the crystal was room temperature in my hand. Crystals of any kind should be cool or cold at first touch, only warming up if you hold them for a few minutes or longer.
Look up crystals you are unsure about
The same shop had a $60 3inch sphere labeled Strawberry Quartz. I’d never heard of strawberry quartz, but was impressed with that price point for the clarity of the crystal ball. I quickly googled Strawberry quartz to learn more, and noticed that the crystals depicted online and from reputable dealers looked nothing like the stone in front of me, and similar sized stones were more expensive. It was a dead giveaway I was probably looking at dyed glass with manufactured banding.
Consider what else the shop is selling
Are they selling majority crystals? Or is other spiritual goods that fill a majority of their store? The shop I was in was full of incense, goblets, books, and other metaphysical supplies, with only a few cases of mineral specimens or carved shapes and spheres. All the other crystals were tumbled stones, sold for only a couple dollars a piece (which is totally average for tumbled stones). Just looking around the store, I knew this shop didn’t specialize in crystals or gemstones, so I knew I should be a little wary of their larger pieces.
That’s not to say all shops fake their larger stones, or that you can only get large specimens from geology specific stores…just to consider the overall product line, vibes, and relative prices of other crystals.
What are your crystal red-flags? Let us know in the comments!