violet sin - 19-6-2014 at 13:18
I found an auction on ebay for a 2 lb ingot of tellurium. it was a great price by comparison to the others for crystalline Te on ebay
many of which were going for more than a dollar per gram, down to 51¢ /g( 512$
for a whole kg). my auction was about 12¢ /g( for the 2 lb ). not bad 'eh?
I contacted the gentleman after the sale about possibly getting more, and where he got it from. I was a little off-put by the low price, but I
had ebay buyer protection in-case I was swindled. Turns out he bought a 50 lb pail 4 or so years ago from ASARCO here in the US( http://www.asarco.com/products/ ). He has been sitting on it for that time waiting for the price to go back up, but no.
In the ebay auction it was listed as 97%, but in later private email it was stated to be 99.7, and casually tested by one of his metal working
friend to be 99.8% or better( so he says ). but after cracking the end off my ingot to make sure there was no cheap metal filler bar or anything
like that, I am fairly confident it is the 99.7% he says. ( also the company makes 99.7% Te and up, but nothing as low as 97% ) the bar broke with the
kind of crystal grains I have seen in high purity chrome, antimony and bismuth metal I bought years back. long finger like crystals interwoven and
similarly oriented.
enough back story here, and on to my point. he is still willing to get rid of some more of these lovely ingots, outside ebay but through paypal
still. I am offering this opportunity to the collective at the price I found it at. he is asking 120$ each for the ingot, which includes shipping
with tracking... I recall from his auction he only ships to the US so this isn't for everyone i guess. He had mentioned getting everything together
for one payment through me and all would be shipped to their separate destination, but I would prefer if you all just dealt with him directly,
***something I am going to ask about***. large sums are to await paypal payment clearing before shipment. only has paypal listed as payment source in
the auction. ***please don't contact him directly until I have asked about the separate payments thing, he is not expecting a bunch of inquire's at
this time.*** but after that, I am sure he will be willing to field questions should there be any, from those that intend to buy of course. I am
still throwing this thing together, but figured I'd mention it as he is willing to sell and has given me a fair price. I am going to get 2 more for
my self any way.
I am still in the process of figuring out a method of assay aside from appearance, but nothing is jumping out at me so far as possible. Suggestions
welcome, how do I check its purity within reason with few supplies and no ground joint glassware? I can do some electrochem, I have strong bases and
some strong acids, oxidizers KNO3, K-peroxymonosulfate, KMnO4 and some glassware( not glass joint ) and of course temp controlled heating.
so the question is, are any of you interested? and does any one know a method of testing off the top of their head?
the sellers is this guy: http://www.ebay.com/usr/zawy?_trksid=p2047675.l2559
my auction was: http://www.ebay.com/itm/251548203875?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:I...
1) bar as received ................... 2) end of broken bar................ 3) top of broken bar
![half stick resized.JPG - 99kB](http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/files.php?pid=335107&aid=31949)
4) larger pieces................... 5) small pieces
![vial resized.JPG - 266kB](http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/files.php?pid=335107&aid=31951)
to break it up, I kept it in the bag it arrived in, wrapped some news paper around it tightly and gave it a couple weak knocks on the anvil with a
small ball-peen hammer. it resisted at first then shattered easily. don't think I hit it more than 4 times and you can see all the fine dust and
small crystals that were generated. so quite brittle. I did unwrap and portion this out in a makeshift glove box with care. no my breath doesn't
smell like garlic
at least so far.
TheChemiKid - 19-6-2014 at 16:04
I would be very interested in buying a small quantity. Would you be interested in a trade?
violet sin - 19-6-2014 at 18:44
U2U me with what you had in mind, I am still looking up the shipping regulations if it was to come from me.
Metacelsus - 25-6-2014 at 16:15
I got my Te from Violet Sin today. Based on density (6.22 g/mL, 6.24 expected) and appearance, it seems like the real deal.
TheChemiKid - 26-6-2014 at 17:10
I also got my Te, it is great.
Thank you very much.
violet sin - 27-6-2014 at 03:16
I am seeing a bit more interest, good. would love to see every one get this in their collection for a good price. the guy with Te has recently
listed another bar on eBay @ $125 OBO: http://www.ebay.com/itm/tellurium-99-7-two-pound-ingot-/2515... standard, "as described" eBay buyer protection would apply if you are concerned
about getting ripped.( only reason I bought in the first place ) this would be a great time to ask questions or make contact your self. for some of
you who were interested in medium size chunks, maybe ask if he had any break in shipping or storage? they are pretty brittle, worth a shot.
for those interested in small amounts for element collections, I have a few of the pieces from the photo's above. selling them for 25¢/g in roughly
20g pieces, limit one each. 20g Te + S&H w/ tracking # should be ≤ $10 typically. have maybe 7 left. again they only go to US members( pretty
sure international shipping gets weird). unfortunately I will be away from home for a bit. not sure exactly when I will be home to send them. I can
reserve a spot in line based on order of contact.
-Violet Sin-
BromicAcid - 27-6-2014 at 13:59
I got a few quotations from Alibaba a few months back for tellurium ingot. Minimum order of 1 ingot, 5 kg per ingot, $215/kg plus shipping/customs.
So this eBay auction is a steal. Current spot price is $137/kg for buyers so this guy is selling below spot.
I did however pick up quite a bit of ruthenium on Alibaba along the same time for near spot, confirmed by XRF, because of the good deal I have been
tempted to put some up for sale on the forum since it's normally so expensive and I can ship without issues.
violet sin - 27-6-2014 at 23:35
I would be most interested in ruthenium. sent out e-mails to just about every one that was selling it I could find. always a super over inflated
price, or like 50oz min purchase still at ~double spot. if you end up doing it for sure put me on that waiting list please, or U2U.
gdflp - 15-9-2014 at 11:21
Got my tellurium from violet sin, looks great and shipped quickly, thanks!:![:cool:](./images/smilies/cool.gif)
Any news on the ruthenium BromicAcid, did you decide not to sell any?
UnintentionalChaos - 3-10-2014 at 20:10
Got my Te sample in the mail today. Very nice. Thanks!
careysub - 3-10-2014 at 21:10
Got my sample. A nice ingot chunk showing the internal crystallization pattern, bright and shiny!
He got in the mail right away also, it arrived before I expected.
j_sum1 - 2-4-2015 at 19:00
Beautiful 90g of Te.
Thanks VS.
![2015-04-03 11.08.10.jpg - 1.4MB](http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/files.php?pid=399522&aid=38685)