Credit card payment or wire

[darling]

Hello all,
Do you have any preference for payment on diamonds? I know you can get a discount with a wire transfer, but what about the security of paying with a credit card? What if someone does not accept them? I am concerned about the 1% chance of something going wrong.
Please share your experiences.

 

[jcrow]

first purchase (the big one) --wire. everything was fine.
second purchase -- debit card. everything was fine.

 

[aphisiglovessae]

Hmmm.. How big a discount? Is it worth the extra security of a credit card purchase? If it''s a small discount, I would personally rather have the security...

 

[kevinyonker]

I think a bank charges around $20 for a wire transfer. Compare the wire transfer discount price to the regular price. Wire transfer saves you money.

Kevin

 

[lil_jay78]

This is a good question Darling,

I''m actually going through the same thing myself. At first I told WF I was going to go by bankwire transfer, and they sent me the paperwork and all that stuff. So I called my bank to find out what they charge(I bank with WAMU) and found out they charge $30 bucks. I just e-mailed WF back to find out what the total is for a cc purchase.

For you CC savvy people, is every purchase with your cc secure? I thought you had to call them to tell them. Can''t they do the same w/ Bank Wire xfers?

 

[darling]

Our diamond supplier does not take credit cards. We are not comfortable with this.

Don''t know about having to notifying cc company pre-purchase.

 

[aphisiglovessae]

I wouldn''t be comfortable with that either.. Better find a new supplier... There''s wonderful ones you can check out through Pricescope!

 

[AChiOAlumna]

Date: 3/29/2006 3:51:35 PM
Author: aphisiglovessae
Hmmm.. How big a discount? Is it worth the extra security of a credit card purchase? If it''s a small discount, I would personally rather have the security...

I agree...at least I know with a CC, I can always dispute/stop payment if something goes wrong...can''t do that with a wire transfer.

 

[belle]

Date: 3/29/2006 4:53:53 PM
Author: darling
Our diamond supplier does not take credit cards. We are not comfortable with this.

Don''t know about having to notifying cc company pre-purchase.

interesting. i wouldn''t be comfortable with that either.

some companies like to have you notify your cc company that a major charge will be going through so that the card company does not ''hold'' the charge for security reasons which would delay processing.

 

[abc123]

If you are going to spend a lot you should get a credit card that gives you points or miles. I think it is definitely worth using a cc between the security and what they''ll give you for free.

From an economic standpoint, security + points towards a hotel room/plane ticket + no transer fee is probably worth the extra 2%.

Consider a $10,000 purchase for example since its a nice round number. You would probably get a $200 discount (2%) for a wire transfer. Then subtract the $30 wire transfer fee. So its either a $170 savings or added security and 10,000 points which can get you a really nice hotel room if you sign up for a good rewards card.

 

[RockDoc]

Most legitimate businesses accept credit cards or pay pal.

In that this is a seller who doesn''t accept credit cards, think of the possible reasons.


Could be he had so many chargebacks previously that he was dropped.

Or he has some type of financial problem and can''t qualify.


OR he may just not want to risk the chargebacks, and chooses not to accept them, but I think most legitimate sellers accept credit, debit or pay pal.

" When in doubt.............. Don''t"

Rockdoc

 

[lil_jay78]

abc
Let me give a specific example w/ my current purchase. I''ll give the details on the stone later, since most of you helped me pick it out.

I''m purchasing a stone from WF (listed price online $3510)
Bank Wire transfer is $3334 (~5% discount, savings of $176)
CC purchase is $3400 (~1.3% discount, savings of $110)

Like I said before, my bank(WAMU) charges $30 on bank wires. So that would make the discount about 4%, or savings of $146. Unfortunately, I do NOT have a rewards type of CC(though I wish I had) so the only reason I would go with the CC transfer is that it is far more secure than the Bank Wire xfer. I know WF is very reputable, as most everyone on here can vouch, esp Mat(your story is still in my head), but as a first time purchaser, I think it''s worth the extra $36, but that''s just my opinion...plus I''m paranoid, he he he.

belle - good point about calling your CC company ahead of making big purchases, which is why I mentioned it. A few years back, I made several big purchases in a short amt of time and my acct got frozen, same thing when I made one big purchase. It''s just good to call them and let them know so they won''t raise the red flag when you make your big purchase.

Hope this helped...

 

[lil_jay78]

btw - bank wire transfers can range from $15 - $30, but some people have accounts that do not charge...probably like Gold Checking people or something like that...and as my charge is $30, I am not one of those people, he he he.

 

[Small]

I ALWAYS pay with a credit card even through paypal. I had a problem through EBAY (the seller didn''t deliver merchandise as promised) and paid via paypal with my credit card...needless to say I was out $0 dollars

A discount is wonderful but if you ever encounter a problem it takes a while to resolve those issues through your bank...it took me a week to resolve through my credit card company. I would refuse to work with a vendor who didn''t accept credit cards. That would be a red flag for me.

 

[noobie]

I hate wire transfers if only for the reason that I have to physically go to a bank branch to do it. Big waste of time. Much prefer credit cards. However my last few diamond purchases with vendors I trust have been by personal check. I send them a check, wait till it clears and they send me the stone. Usually, I''m not in a rush, so it works fine.

However, I probably would not buy from someone that I didn''t know that only took wire transfers unless I had some good references from people I trusted.

 

[abc123]

Lil jay ...

Putting points aside, I think its worth $36 for the added security. While everything I''ve read on this site about WF is positive, you just never know what can happen. I speak from experience because American Express has saved me from pure disaster not once, but twice!

It really is tempting to take the cheaper price, but cash is a dangerous business.

 

[Small]

Date: 3/29/2006 11:07:32 PM
Author: abc123
Lil jay ...

Putting points aside, I think its worth $36 for the added security. While everything I''ve read on this site about WF is positive, you just never know what can happen. I speak from experience because American Express has saved me from pure disaster not once, but twice!

It really is tempting to take the cheaper price, but cash is a dangerous business.

Amen...doesn''t American Express rock??? That''s who I use most all the time and they were the ones who saved me from my EBAY debacle. It doesn''t get any better than amex!

 

[aphisiglovessae]

OMG, I LOVE the new WAMU commercials! (mini hi-jack, sorry)

 

[lil_jay78]

Darnit, too bad I went and got myself into a ton of CC debt back in college and had to close all my CC''s. So now I''m limited to only a few and only 1 w/ a limit that would allow me to make big purchases. No AMEX for me...

Anyway, I''m gonna go the cc way also, just because I think it IS worth it to pay the extra $$$($36 in my case)for the added security...PLUS i don''t have time to actually go into the bank becuase work is just too hectic right now and I don''t get out until they''re closed.

ice
I gotta make that switch to that new acct...they already just changed my card from a visa to mastercard. I asked the lady why they did it, and she said it''s cuz they found that mastercard is more widely accepted than visa...but I think there''s definitely more reason than that! he he he

 

[lil_jay78]

Darnit, too bad I went and got myself into a ton of CC debt back in college and had to close all my CC''s. So now I''m limited to only a few and only 1 w/ a limit that would allow me to make big purchases. No AMEX for me...

Anyway, I''m gonna go the cc way also, just because I think it IS worth it to pay the extra $$$($36 in my case)for the added security...PLUS i don''t have time to actually go into the bank becuase work is just too hectic right now and I don''t get out until they''re closed.

ice
I gotta make that switch to that new acct...they already just changed my card from a visa to mastercard. I asked the lady why they did it, and she said it''s cuz they found that mastercard is more widely accepted than visa...but I think there''s definitely more reason than that! he he he

 

[lil_jay78]

sorry about the double post...

 

[darling]

He is a Pricescope vendor. I am sure he is legit, but we are talking a very expensive stone. My husband won''t give me his blessing if we can''t charge it to the cc.

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I also admit wanting to be loyal to somebody who has been trying to help me for the last couple of weeks. If someone can relieve me of that guilt I would appreciate it.

 

[aphisiglovessae]

Ok, I'm curious.... Who is it? Maybe if it's someone who a lot of people have had experience with, they can share their stories with you and put you more at ease.

 

[lil_jay78]

Yeah, I agree...maybe everyone can tell you that they''ve dealt w/ this dealer multiple times and make you feel more secure w/ the wire transfer.

Or you can even maybe ask the dealer why he doesn''t accept cc, I''m sure he must get a lot of those questions, since that is the method most people tend to feel most secure using.