I’m Michael, the person behind Crystal Magnetics.
I started selling crystals in 2015, but I did not come into this business with a background in crystals, minerals, retail, or wholesale sourcing. I had no special insider knowledge, no supplier network, and no long history of collecting stones. I was starting from the beginning.
Before Crystal Magnetics, my background was in psychology and human services. I earned a Master’s degree in Psychology and spent years working in community mental health, case management, and services for adults with developmental disabilities. I eventually created a vocational rehabilitation program to support adults with developmental disabilities in developing work skills and real-world opportunities.
I have also been self-employed for nearly 20 years, so building something from the ground up has been a major part of my adult life. I have not had a traditional boss in a long time, which has taught me how to make decisions, solve problems, manage uncertainty, and keep moving even when there is no clear roadmap.
Eventually, I reached a point where I wanted to build something of my own.
Crystals became that something.
At first, I was learning everything the hard way. I had to figure out where to buy, which vendors were reliable, which photos were accurate, which shipments were worth the wait, and which “good deals” were not really good deals at all. I made mistakes. I bought from suppliers I would never use again. I spent money on inventory that looked better online than it did in person. I learned what quality actually looked like only after handling thousands and thousands of pieces myself.
That experience became the foundation of Crystal Magnetics.
Over the past decade, I have sourced and sold crystals full time, shipped thousands of orders, built a long-running Etsy shop, grown a private customer community, and generated more than $2.56 million in crystal sales. But the number itself is not really the point. The point is that everything I share now comes from lived experience.
I am not writing about crystal selling from the outside.
I have bought the inventory. I have photographed it. I have listed it. I have packed the boxes. I have answered customer questions. I have dealt with slow sales, strong sales, difficult shipments, great suppliers, bad suppliers, trends, algorithm changes, and the constant challenge of figuring out what customers actually want.
Crystal Magnetics is still a very personal business. It is not a warehouse operation or a faceless brand. It is run from the Quarry in my home in North Dakota, and the business has grown through real relationships with customers who care about beautiful stones, honest descriptions, and pieces that feel special.
When I was new, I would have loved to have someone simply tell me, “Start here. These are the suppliers worth knowing. These are the things I wish I understood earlier. These are the mistakes you can avoid.”
So that is what I am building now.
Everything I share is based on what I have actually done as a working crystal seller since 2015.
If you are starting your own crystal business, trying to source better inventory, or simply trying to understand how the wholesale side of this world works, my goal is to make the path a little less confusing.
You will still have to do the work. You will still have to learn your own market, develop your eye, build trust with customers, and make decisions that fit your own style and budget.
But you do not have to start completely blind.
That is the kind of help I wish I had in the beginning.
And that is the kind of help I want to offer now.