Madagascar Minerals

My first order with this company was an apatite bear that wasn’t exactly what I had expected. One side of the bear looked fine but the other side was pitted and there was a sizable hole underneath. I wrote to Madagascar Minerals, along with photos of the bear. Carolyn, who is the manager of the online store called to find out if there was anything she could do to remedy the problem since I had planned to give this item to a very special person as a gift. She spent 35 minutes on the phone with me going over options and discovering exactly what I wanted and needed. She promised to send me a replacement bear stating the bear I got should not have gone out in the first place. I got the replacement bear 3 days later and it is beautiful.
I mentioned to Carolyn that I also wanted to buy petrified wood and labradorite bears so she offered to have Arin, a new employee, photograph several pieces of each and email them to me.
All in all it took numerous emails and 3 days of time but the order was placed and arrived today. My husband and I are very happy with our purchases and very impressed with the level of service offered by Carolyn and Arin. It was obvious to us this company values even the customers who buy one or two pieces as they do the ones who buy 100’s at a time. We definitely recommend Madagascar Minerals to other buyers. If you are unsure about something, just call the company and ask for Carolyn. She is awesome!

They make you give them your personal information before you can even see anything! Super sketchy!!! Do not go in here! I told them I was not comfortable with that and walked out.

We’ve been buying from Madagascar Minerals for years. They always seem to have the best prices and lots to pick from. We also like the fact that they show us pictures from their mines and always have people from Madagascar working for them at their warehouse in the states. We’re a small ma and pa store and we really appreciate them always giving us their personal touch. Thank you Madagascar Minerals for all the work you do… truly a blessing.

They had some nice specimens, and we bought about $ 400 in Celestite, carnelian, and petrified wood. We were happy about our purchases and the help we had received up to that point was easy and kind a they mostly left us to our own and answered questions as we needed them. I would have given them 4 stars.
Unfortunately, the checkout process was nowhere near so pleasant. We had a sweet girl with a French– sounding accent (to my novice ears) helping us check out.
She had asked where we got our Celestite, the left or right, and I answered. Apparently I was mixed up, or perhaps the question wasn’t clear. The manager came over (a tall, dark-​haired man) and said she needed to change the pricing because it was A grade, not the grade we were priced out at.
Our helper told him how the pricing came about, and that she had asked us where we had gotten the stones.
He told her (in the most mean, condescending, awful way I have EVER heard a manager speak to an employee) she was wrong, should just admit she made a mistake, and fix it. This is the short version. This actually went on for about 5 minutes, right in front of us and all the other employees.
When he finally walked away, she apologized, and I said it was nothing to worry about, and sorry for telling her the wrong thing about the gem locations.
We were almost wrapped up when the boss came back again and continued talking down to her, and then even had the nerve to say, «none of these customers want to hear your drama.»
To be fair, I would not throw customers under the bus in front of management, but his abusive barrage that followed with was reprehensible in comparison to that.
If anything, the mixup was a tiny error ($ 10 of a $ 400 transaction) that represented poor training by management more than an egregious error by an employee.
I was so turned off by his behavior that I almost negated the sale. And when we were in the area later, I almost returned to give them a piece of my mind. Absolutely unacceptable behavior by a manager.
If I were a manager at a job and behaved like this, I probably would be out of a job.

While on vacation in Tucson, a few years ago, I stumbled across this «hidden gem» for a gem, mineral and fossil business. Each time I go, I find myself spending more time looking at the most magnificent minerals from Madagascar. Norcross Madagascar owns the mines in Madagascar, and also has a factory that produces the products they sell. I understand they have been in business for more than 20 years!
As the owner of 7 stores, I need to be competitive with my purchases, and I can assure you these people have always treated me fairly. I even order regularly, over the phone, and have been impressed with what the staff even selected for me. Typically, I would never do wholesale purchases (in the thousands) over the phone for material site-​unseen. My business’s success is based on my personal hand selections. In the event there is a mistake, they are prompt to correct. There is no other business like this. Whenever I receive my order, I’m always impressed with the quality. Not often do I find a business that continues to exceed my expectations. If your a wholesaler or retailer, and you sell gems, minerals and fossils, and you are not doing business here… you are missing out!

I have never come across such a dishonest Company from the representative Stephanie to the manager Carolyn to the owner Robert to whom according to
them both calls all the shots.
It took 2 weeks for the Rep to finalize my order. I was shipped substandard low grade merchandise which was shipped in a makeshift box which miraculously
didn’t fall apart in transit. Upon arrival it was on its last leg.
It was stuffed with newspaper, shredded personal material, used foam & just about any garbage they could get their hands on. I have never seen anything like it. Bubble wrap or Styrofoam peanuts is obviously foreign to this
penny pinching Company.
I purchased over $ 700 worth of goods & was quoted one price price on the phone due to the quantity i was buying but was charged way more on the invoice. I was sent low grade merchandise. I was not informed that the prices had «suddenly gone up». The Rep Stephanie did not bother calling me to tell me about the price hike & told me later it slipped her mind to call and just went ahead & charged my credit card on prices we had NEVER agreed on.

I received an email with an attachment of an invoice with brand new prices. I called immediately & Stephanie with whom i had completely dealt with up until that moment suddenly had to transfer me to her supervisor. Prior to transferring me i did ask her one single question. DO YOU WORK ON COMMISSION? The answer was YES. Now i could see these cunning tactics were all about her making her cut but the story unfortunately didn’t stop there. I was transferred to her supervisor Carolyn. A sketchy woman who has obviously played this game many times before.
She claimed her Rep was unaware of the new prices (much smaller discounts to collectors such as myself) & the invoice had to be altered. Altered without my authority & ok to go through with the order or credit card?
I had the honor of speaking with this supervisor on 2 separate instances & both times Carolyn did absolutely nothing but lie through her teeth & insult my intelligence. That’s only the beginning of how horrendous these people truly are.
Many of the pieces I received were substandard & low grade & had to be shipped back. I had to pay the initial shipping & then to ship them back. Stones are heavy & therefore shipping is not cheap!
I asked to be refunded or compensated since i was exchanging a few of the returns & Stephanie said the company would lose money if they had to pay for return shipping. They probably would with all the garbage they ship to customers & try to get away with.
For weeks Stephanie dragged this exchange. Every few days i would call & ask if she pulled a few of the items i wanted & this time i wanted to see pics. She would send me pics here & there with no price. Her excuse «I have to ask the owner Robert for the price». A large company like that & she has to ask the owner for the price of a sphere? Don’t these people have set prices? No, no set prices for those they try to rip off. I am sure this is a policy the owner has instituted & is well aware of & blesses. I am sorry to say what you do won’t bless you Norcross Madagascar!

After shipping back some really poor quality stones i came to realize that one of my larger purchase was not what they claimed it to be. It wasn’t until i had decided to return that substandard sphere that i was way over charged on by at least $ 150 that i noticed that UPS showed the sphere weight to be an entire pound less than what i was charged. That’s when i realized i was overcharged by a pound on that sphere. I then proceeded to weigh each of my other spheres — a total of 5 & found that i was overcharged on another by an entire pound as well.
If you are charged $ 25-​$ 30 per pound that can add up to a bit of your hard earned money.
Unfortunately this is not the end of the story. I had purchased many other pieces from them which were alright but i can honestly say most were not great and i was hoping
they were going to make it up to me in quality, at least that’s what the Rep.
kept on telling me and reassuring me… That never happened! The Rep Stephanie was extremely deceiving & would sell you any garbage she can’t get rid of.
After weeks of waiting for price quotes & exchanges i decided to once more call
Stephanie. Immediately she told me i had to speak to her supervisor. Carolyn gets on the phone to inform me that i will be charged a 25% restocking fee. THIEVES!
First time i had ever heard of it. I told that supervisor that i would not pay a restocking fee on merchandise that was low grade & that should have never been sold to me to begin with.
The next day i received an email from Stephanie with an itemized credit memo deducting 25% for restocking fee.
I contacted my credit card company that very moment. Filed a claim & emailed the Rep. Within minutes my phone rang informing me that i will be received a full refund & restocking fee would be removed.