Rocks and Bids

A marketplace for rockhounds.

Provenance-first listings where every stone carries its story — location, formation, the hands that freed it from ancient earth. Not another generic e-commerce platform with rock photos and price tags, but a system built specifically around what makes geological specimens valuable beyond mere aesthetics: context, authenticity, and the chain of custody from ground to collector.

Minimal fees. Maximum trust.

The existing platforms take their cut without adding value specific to geological materials. They're built for generic commerce, forcing rockhounds to adapt their needs to systems designed for t-shirts and electronics. Rocks and Bids flips that relationship. The platform serves the material and the community, not the other way around.

Built-in AI helpers for photos and descriptions, so the rocks shine and the sellers stay focused on what they do best: finding beauty buried in stone.

Most rockhounds are better at identification and field work than marketing and photography. They know the difference between chalcedony and jasper, can read formation layers, understand which specimens hold scientific value beyond pretty patterns — but they're not copywriters or product photographers. The AI tools handle the presentation side automatically.

Upload a photo, the system analyzes it.

Identifies the mineral or fossil type with high accuracy using computer vision trained on geological specimens. Suggests appropriate geological terminology. Notes distinctive features worth highlighting — banding patterns, crystal structure, inclusions, color variations, size relative to formation norms. Generates a draft description that balances scientific accuracy with accessibility, giving sellers a strong starting point they can customize rather than facing a blank text box.

The photography assistance goes beyond basic filters.

The system recognizes common lighting problems in rock photos — blown-out highlights washing out detail, shadows obscuring texture, color balance failing to represent true mineral coloration. It suggests specific adjustments or applies automated corrections that understand geological materials require different treatment than, say, jewelry or decorative objects. The goal isn't to make rocks look artificially perfect but to accurately represent what the buyer will receive.

Provenance tracking solves a real problem in the collecting community.

Valuable specimens change hands multiple times over decades. Chain of ownership matters for scientific, historical, and monetary value. But maintaining documentation is tedious, and information gets lost as collections fragment through sales, inheritance, estate liquidation. Rocks and Bids builds provenance tracking directly into the platform structure.

Every listing includes fields for collection location, extraction date, formation identification, and previous owners if known.

That information travels with the specimen through subsequent sales. Buyer becomes seller years later? The original data persists, enriched with their ownership period. Over time, significant specimens develop detailed histories visible to anyone considering acquisition. The platform becomes both marketplace and archive.

Verification systems build confidence without creating bureaucracy.

Sellers can voluntarily verify location claims through GPS coordinates embedded in field photos. Formation identification can be confirmed by community experts who build reputation through accurate assessments. High-value items can undergo third-party certification before listing. But none of this is mandatory for casual sales — the system scales from "found this pretty rock, might interest someone" to "museum-quality specimen with full documentation."

The fee structure prioritizes accessibility for both sellers and buyers.

Transaction fees stay low enough that selling a $20 specimen remains worthwhile. No listing fees that punish experimentation or require sellers to price items high enough to cover upfront costs. No premium tiers that gate basic functionality behind paywalls. The platform succeeds when rocks find appropriate homes, not when it extracts maximum revenue per transaction.

Search and filtering capabilities understand what rockhounds actually want to find.

Filter by mineral type, formation, geographic region, size, price, color — but also by more specialized criteria. Specimens suitable for lapidary work. Fossils with scientific research value. Material from specific collecting localities no longer accessible. Items appropriate for teaching collections versus display specimens. The taxonomy reflects how collectors actually think about material.

The bidding system accommodates both immediate purchases and auction-style sales.

Rare or valuable items benefit from auction formats that find true market value. Common material moves faster with fixed pricing. Sellers choose which approach suits their situation. Buyers can set maximum bids and let the system handle incremental competition, or they can buy outright when they find exactly what they want without wanting to risk losing it to another bidder.

Community features foster knowledge sharing alongside commerce.

Sellers can include educational content with listings — why this formation produces distinctive coloration, what geological processes created the specimen, how to identify similar material in the field. Buyers can ask questions publicly, building a knowledge base around each item type. Expert collectors can earn reputation by providing accurate identification help, creating informal mentorship structures.

The platform design emphasizes visual clarity for geological materials.

Clean backgrounds that don't compete with specimens. Consistent lighting recommendations so buyers can compare material fairly. Zoom functionality that reveals surface detail and crystal structure. Multiple photo requirements showing different angles, back sides, and size reference. Video support for specimens whose appeal involves translucency, chatoyancy, or other qualities that still images can't fully capture.

Payment and shipping integration removes friction from transactions.

Secure payment processing with buyer and seller protections. Automated label generation. Packaging guidelines specific to geological specimens — because shipping rocks safely requires different approaches than shipping books or clothing. Insurance options for valuable items. Tracking integration so both parties can monitor delivery.

Still in concept mode while the other builds finish their arc.

The infrastructure exists in detailed specifications and partial prototypes. The AI components have been tested and proven viable. The user interface has been designed and validated with target users. But full development awaits until VibeScript and StorytimeTeller reach sustainable operation, because building a marketplace requires sustained attention and maintenance capacity that doesn't yet exist alongside active development of the other platforms.

When Rocks and Bids launches, it won't be a minimal viable product rushed to market.

It will be a complete solution built with care for a community that deserves tools designed specifically for their needs, not generic platforms repurposed and compromised. The wait ensures quality. The patience serves the eventual result.