Audi_Fanatic
Rough_Rock
- Joined
- Nov 20, 2003
- Messages
- 18
always been sketchy of buying something i cant see (especially diamonds)..how are these places? and how are there prices? everyones opinion please
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On 11/21/2003 1:54:47 AM derekinla wrote:
Bluenile offers a 30 day exchange period (while alot of others offer 7 to 14 days), free laser inscription on their signature series stones, and a free appraisal document for insurance purposes in addition to free shipping. They also don't charge a restocking fee on returned itmes. The merits and worth of these services/features are debatable but still relevant for an internet purchase.
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I guess it's all in how one looks at things. If all those "free" things raise the price of the diamond by 10-15%, then I don't consider them *free*. I personally feel that bundling all of these features onto the price of the stone leaves me no choice to opt out of those that I don't want. I'd rather select a vendor where I can choose the features I want and pay only for those...which is usually cheaper in the long run than the "bundled" approach of BN.
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On 11/21/2003 7:46:01 PM camper wrote:
I'm with you on this one, Audi. I cannot buy a stone I haven't seen.
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Why not? ANYTHING can be bought sight unseen by smart shoppers who know how to utilize the return policy. It's really no big deal. If you pick a vendor that can communicate with you (get on the phone, ask them to eyeball the stone and tell you about it), this is sometimes even more informative then seeing it yourself!
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On 11/21/2003 10:21:48 PM pqcollectibles wrote:
Part of the inflation of price at BN (as compared to Vendors selling similar diamonds) is to cover inventory that floats around for nearly 30 days prior to return. Diamonds are not cheap inventory items especially when they aren't available for sale to other customers. .....
Sometimes BN is THE Vendor with THE diamond that is right for a buyer. Steph is a perfect example of that.
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Steph is actually a GREAT example of that, and not just because she bought her present diamond with BN, but precisely because of the scenario that PQ describes above.
Steph is on her third stone. If recollection serves, she bought two previous stones, kept each for nearly all of the 30 day window and continued to search for better stones. In that time, BN (or someone else) had inventory out to her, the stones were unavailable to sell to anyone else, and they ultimately got returned as no sale. Because of this flexibility, she happened to find the stone that best met her requirements from BN as well. But is costs companies money to allow those liberal terms....and sometimes those efforts *don't* result in a sale.
That's one of the reasons BN has the mark-up they do. Still, we've heard several other stories from WF/GOG customers who've changed their minds three times....and no restocking charges or hassles and a *better* price.
Bottom line: BN is a good company with a great reputation and a lot of services. Others can do it for you perhaps a little less expensively, but for some customers, BN is the most liberal and accommodating way to go and is worth the extra money to those customers.
The size was fabulous !!!!! I decided to go down in size and get a better color. It is only with the last stone, since I was so gun shy already that I continued to look. I had alot of offers but nothing as nice for the price. So, there you have it. For the total newbie - like I was, having a 30 day return period is a great thing because if you didn't do all your research ahead of time (like me - shame on me - but who knew all of you were out there???)....you can still do research afterwards!!! W/o a lifetime committment!!!
Thanks AL, for all your help!!!