January is always an exciting month as it’s the beginning of the Tucson Rock & Gem show! If you like rocks, you may have heard of this famous show before. For an entire month, the city of Tucson is host to one of the largest gem shows in the world. With over 70 shows, thousands of vendors, and tens of thousands of guests, it is truly the rock collector’s paradise. It has been on our bucket list for several years, but 2023 was the first year we could attend. Luckily, we were able to attend again this year! In this blog, I wanted to go over our experience, what to expect if you ever attend, and some general information.
This year we decided to fly to Tucson and ship our purchases back. We drove to Spokane and flew out of there to save on flight costs. We stayed in an Airbnb, and rented a U-Haul van to get around (it’s a bit cheaper than renting a car, plus we get more storage for hauling around our purchases). We definitely recommend having a plan before you go down. There are different shows happening across the city, and all happening at different times. It was be overwhelming. We used the Tucson Gem Show 101 website to plan our trip. This site has all the information on the main shows, what kind of items you can expect at them, whether they have retail or wholesale, etc. They also have a map that we found very useful.
Depending on how long you decide to stay for, it is unlikely you’ll be able to go to all the shows. Some of the main shows, such as the Kino show, 22nd Street show, and Pueblo show, are definitely worth a visit, especially if you’d like to find some great deals. If you want to see some exquisite mineral specimens, you have to go to the Mineral City show, it is incredible! There are lots of shows at motels as well, such as the Quality Inn, Red Lion, and Motel 6. We haven’t been to all the shows, so there may be some great ones that we’ve missed.
When we arrive, we typically have each day planned so we don’t waste any shopping time! We get to the shows early and are the last ones to leave. There are so many vendors at each show that it’s impossible to see everything. You might be tempted to shop around and check each vendor out and make sure you’re getting the best deal. While this can be advantageous for easy to find product, if you see something harder to find or more rare, you might want to jump on it. We’ve made the mistake of “shopping around”, only to come back to the original vendor and find they’ve sold out! On the other hand, we’ve also made the mistake of buying a product at the first vendor, only to find that we could have got it for a better price at a different vendor.
On the last day of our trip, we ship our purchases on a pallet since we are typically shipping 1300-1400 pounds of rocks. This is the most cost-effective method for us, however, typically your purchases should fit in your suitcase. The hardest part is waiting for the pallet to arrive after we’ve flown home. We’re always so excited to share with you guys what we bought.
You might be wondering how we decide what to purchase while were down there. Believe me, it is difficult to decide when you have every option imaginable in front of you. However, we do go down with a list of must-haves – these are the items that you, our customers, have requested, or we know sell well in the store! We also have a wish list, which are the items that we hope to find, but we might not, or it may be too expensive.
Now that we’ve been in business for over a year and a half, we have a better idea of what our customers are looking for, which makes shopping easier. We also like to keep things fresh in the store, so we look for brand new product that we haven’t carried before. It’s important to us that we have a great selection at affordable prices. That is the main reason we go to big gem shows like Tucson and Denver. We know we are going to get the best prices, plus I can handpick the product which ensures a higher quality.
Affordable product isn’t the only reason we go to the big shows. They are truly amazing to see in person. Vendors from all over the world are bringing their best and biggest pieces. There are new minerals we’ve never heard of, the largest crystals we’ve ever seen, and so much more. We are so lucky we get to go to these shows. Lastly, we get to buy some really neat specimens for our personal collections! You can’t leave Tucson without a couple of souvenirs.
if the opportunity ever presents itself, I would highly recommend attending the Tucson show. There is nothing else that really compares to it. However, until you can attend, we will keep bringing the awesome products to you!