Phish, I've been through the fire agate "wars." The real trick is getting your hands on top rough and that involves both connections and lots of money. At one time I had a great supplier who gave me a fair break on his Deer Creek, AZ rough but he passed on.
There are certain people who seem to have "first dibs" on quality rough. I met a guy in Sedona, AZ who told me he was in a select circle of cutters that the miners contact with their best rough. You'd recognize his name, he's well known. He can charge top dollar for his work and the miners, in turn, get the best return on their goods by selling to well-known cutters. As best I can tell it’s sort of a low-key group of well-connected people.
Another problem with fire agate is it’s hard to sell finished stones unless you’re capable of making unique settings for them due to their freeform shapes. While people may admire them, the nature of the finished cabs nearly always requires custom-made rings or pendants and not many loose stone buyers have that skill. Having custom work done can be quite costly.
Then there’s the low labor cost Mexican cutters. They’re at a rough source and the quality of Mexican cutting has improved tremendously over the past 20 years or so. If you’re selling, it’s difficult to compete with them.
Still it’s a fascinating material with lots of challenges for the hobby cutter. Don’t give up. There’s always some top rough to be found if you keep looking. It’s elusive but it’s out there.
