Return or sell?

[T L]

Date: 8/6/2009 8:04:32 AM
Author: Chrono
Karee,
I see it differently; I think Barry or any vendor for that matter would rather the stone come home to him than be sold elsewhere because the purchaser didn’t fully love the stone. The most important thing a vendor wants is for the customer to love the stone 100% and be satisfied with their purchase, so I’m sure he’ll understand the reason for the return. Barcelona made another great point; with returning that stone, that’s money freed up for you to get another stone that you’ll love at first sight.

Yes, right!! How many of us were kicking ourselves later when we saw the stone of our dreams after realizing we can''t afford it because we bought and kept too many "I''ll just live with it" stones.

 

[cinnamon013]

Date: 8/5/2009 11:53:55 PM
Author: CharmyPoo
I don''t know if this will help in your decision. I have a stone from Barry that I purchased a month ago. I never set it and don''t think I will. I mentioned it to him today and he told me to send it back. He is such a great guy - partially, the reason why he is one of the most popular vendors in this sub forum. I think I purchased 10 stones from him in the past 4 months.

Is it the purple one or the other one you are returning?

 

[Babyblue033]

Another vote for return it if you don''t love it. And you never know if someone else might be thrilled to get a second chance at the stone because he/she missed it the first time

 

[funtobewith]

Date: 8/5/2009 5:22:02 PM
Author: karee888

Date: 8/5/2009 4:32:43 PM
Author: tourmaline_lover
I don''t understand why people are worried about offending the gem cutters by returning a stone. Just return it. Barry will refund you through paypal or credit card, depending on how you purchased it. You should not worry at all about offending him. Take it from someone that has returned far more than she''s ever kept!! I wish I had all those S&H fees back, I could buy the Hope diamond with them - LOL!!


If you do get a paypal refund, you need to log into your paypal account, and request a transfer of funds so that your $$$ will get transferred to where it came from (your bank account, or another credit card). I personally don''t like it sitting in my paypal account.

I''m sorry you think it''s stupid to not want to return stones. The way I see it is, he put the time into buying the rough, cutting the stone, and photographing it; therefore, he''s invested in his product. I tend to be proud of things I invest in. So yes, it does cross my mind that he could be offended at my return. Is it irrational? Perhaps, but I am the type of person who care about stuff like that. I know people return stones all the time, but I don''t. I''m sure he won''t be mad if I return it. But if I could for sure sell it to someone else without him knowing that I wasn''t happy with the stone, I would.

I had a horrible experience returning a stone to Dan Stair. Actually turned me off from buying another from him altogether - which is sad. And I wasn''t a habitual "returner" either, I had bought and kept ONE previous stone, asked him to cut this stone and didn''t like the color once I got it in my hot little hands. So I can understand why the OP would be hesitant.

 

[karee888]

I''ve decided to return the stone. So, if someone wants it, it should be back on the site in a few days. I hope you love it!

 

[cellentani]

Date: 8/6/2009 10:30:56 AM
Author: funtobewith
I had a horrible experience returning a stone to Dan Stair. Actually turned me off from buying another from him altogether - which is sad. And I wasn''t a habitual ''returner'' either, I had bought and kept ONE previous stone, asked him to cut this stone and didn''t like the color once I got it in my hot little hands. So I can understand why the OP would be hesitant.

Sorry to hear that - did he not refund your money, or just give you a hard time? I understand if you don''t want to say, though. Faceters really spend a lot of time working on each stone, and I always feel like I''m hurting their feelings if I want to return something. On that note, while I haven''t tried it yet, Gary has offered to send me a selection of stones for a 10-day, no obligation inspection, and I find that much less stressful. Of course, he doesn''t cut the stones himself.


and Karee - I think you made the right move. It just shows you''re a conscientious and thoughtful customer to have agonized over this choice.

 

[funtobewith]

Date: 8/6/2009 11:19:19 AM
Author: cellentani

Date: 8/6/2009 10:30:56 AM
Author: funtobewith
I had a horrible experience returning a stone to Dan Stair. Actually turned me off from buying another from him altogether - which is sad. And I wasn''t a habitual ''returner'' either, I had bought and kept ONE previous stone, asked him to cut this stone and didn''t like the color once I got it in my hot little hands. So I can understand why the OP would be hesitant.

Sorry to hear that - did he not refund your money, or just give you a hard time? I understand if you don''t want to say, though. Faceters really spend a lot of time working on each stone, and I always feel like I''m hurting their feelings if I want to return something. On that note, while I haven''t tried it yet, Gary has offered to send me a selection of stones for a 10-day, no obligation inspection, and I find that much less stressful. Of course, he doesn''t cut the stones himself.


and Karee - I think you made the right move. It just shows you''re a conscientious and thoughtful customer to have agonized over this choice.

He did refund the money. No problems there. And, he did apologize for the tone of his email, but it still left me feeling badly enough to not want to try again. I just enjoy the stones from afar.

I usually am just a lurker (as I have a very, very small collection and am here to learn), but I was around when he changed his policy due to a large number of people buying and returning things (not necessarily PSers) and he said as much in his emails. So while on the one hand I understand his POV, some vendors should understand that just because there is nothing "wrong" with their stone, it may not "speak" to the buyer. I only buy what makes me smile when I look at it. KWIM?

 

[simplysplendid]

Date: 8/6/2009 11:49:36 AM
Author: funtobewith

Date: 8/6/2009 11:19:19 AM
Author: cellentani

Date: 8/6/2009 10:30:56 AM
Author: funtobewith
I had a horrible experience returning a stone to Dan Stair. Actually turned me off from buying another from him altogether - which is sad. And I wasn''t a habitual ''returner'' either, I had bought and kept ONE previous stone, asked him to cut this stone and didn''t like the color once I got it in my hot little hands. So I can understand why the OP would be hesitant.

Sorry to hear that - did he not refund your money, or just give you a hard time? I understand if you don''t want to say, though. Faceters really spend a lot of time working on each stone, and I always feel like I''m hurting their feelings if I want to return something. On that note, while I haven''t tried it yet, Gary has offered to send me a selection of stones for a 10-day, no obligation inspection, and I find that much less stressful. Of course, he doesn''t cut the stones himself.


and Karee - I think you made the right move. It just shows you''re a conscientious and thoughtful customer to have agonized over this choice.

He did refund the money. No problems there. And, he did apologize for the tone of his email, but it still left me feeling badly enough to not want to try again. I just enjoy the stones from afar.

I usually am just a lurker (as I have a very, very small collection and am here to learn), but I was around when he changed his policy due to a large number of people buying and returning things (not necessarily PSers) and he said as much in his emails. So while on the one hand I understand his POV, some vendors should understand that just because there is nothing ''wrong'' with their stone, it may not ''speak'' to the buyer. I only buy what makes me smile when I look at it. KWIM?

Another POV from me. As I mentioned before, I hardly return stones. Part of it has got to do with me figuring out how likely the stone is going to work for me based on the pictures. And I have a range for acceptance because I understand that pictures may be inaccurate and I "guestimate" how the colour is going to be in real life. That''s partly why most stones don''t come as a surprise to me. If an experience tells me the deviation from the actual is quite large from the photos or if it tends to be lighter or darker, I adjust my expectations accordingly. Another reason also has to do with me situated overseas, I do get a lot of information from vendors on how the stone looks like under different lighting etc so that I know what to expect. Lastly, I like collecting gemstones and it doesn''t have to be set in jewelry. Those that I like that may not be what I want for my jewelry projects simply goes into my collection. I love each one of them and takes them out to enjoy and play with them every now and then.

If we don''t have enough information or pictures to help us gauge how the stone is going to be in real life, then ask for more info or more pictures. If the stones really does not turn out well, then return it. However, we shouldn''t make every purchase with the mindset of just taking a look to see if we like it, especially not without gathering information or researching it. It is very disruptive to the sellers.

There''s a blue green tourmaline from Barry that I purchased that I missed twice. The time difference from the first try to purchase it to the third time that I managed to purchase is approx 2-3 months. Fortunately I had the funds for it. If I didn''t because I had purchased something else, I would be rather upset.

 

[funtobewith]

Date: 8/6/2009 2:44:11 PM
Author: simplysplendid
If we don''t have enough information or pictures to help us gauge how the stone is going to be in real life, then ask for more info or more pictures. If the stones really does not turn out well, then return it. However, we shouldn''t make every purchase with the mindset of just taking a look to see if we like it, especially not without gathering information or researching it. It is very disruptive to the sellers.

I agree with that 100% and that is how I conduct business as well (even in this instance). I''ve never purchased anything with the intention of returning it and certainly not "just to look".

 

[chrono]

Date: 8/6/2009 2:44:11 PM
Author: simplysplendid
If we don''t have enough information or pictures to help us gauge how the stone is going to be in real life, then ask for more info or more pictures. If the stones really does not turn out well, then return it. However, we shouldn''t make every purchase with the mindset of just taking a look to see if we like it, especially not without gathering information or researching it. It is very disruptive to the sellers.

SS,
I agree with what you are saying but some vendors and cutters like Dan Stair do not provide additional pictures. To his credit, he’s good with emails and does his best to describe the stone as much as possible. I also wholehearted agree that one should do the proper homework with inquiries before pulling the trigger to avoid S&H charges and time wasted for both parties.

 

[T L]

Karee,
I think you made the right decision. I also look at it this way as well, someone else might cheerish and enjoy a particular stone more than I, so it''s not fair to others if I keep something I''m wishy washy about when someone else might love it. I just returned a stone recently that I know for a fact that someone else will absolutely adore, so that makes me feel better as well. In fact the stone I returned is now resold.

 

[PrecisionGem]

Here''s my take on the topic.

Taking lots of pictures or making a video for the website, takes a lot of time. Everyone''s monitor is a different, and stones are pretty hard to photograph well, so the only way to really judge a stone is in person, and under a variety of lighting conditions. I think most dealers realize you need to really see the stone in person.

As long as you return the stone unharmed, and in a timely manner and pay with either paypal or a check or cash it shouldn''t be a problem. Charge cards create another issue. When someone charges a stone, the vendor pays the charge card company somewhere around 2 to 3 percent. If you return the stone, the vendor pays again 2 or 3 percent for the return. So the total cost is then around 6% plus the initial shipping. So if the vendor sent you a $600 stone and you returned it, he would loose $36 in credit card fees, plus $0.25 for processing the charge, plus around $10 for shipping. So thats $46.25 it cost for not making a sale.

If paypal is used, then there are no fee''s for the return if it''s done in 30 days. Of course a check or cash wouldn''t have any fee.

 

[FrekeChild]

Date: 8/6/2009 11:49:36 AM
Author: funtobewith

Date: 8/6/2009 11:19:19 AM
Author: cellentani

Date: 8/6/2009 10:30:56 AM
Author: funtobewith
I had a horrible experience returning a stone to Dan Stair. Actually turned me off from buying another from him altogether - which is sad. And I wasn''t a habitual ''returner'' either, I had bought and kept ONE previous stone, asked him to cut this stone and didn''t like the color once I got it in my hot little hands. So I can understand why the OP would be hesitant.

Sorry to hear that - did he not refund your money, or just give you a hard time? I understand if you don''t want to say, though. Faceters really spend a lot of time working on each stone, and I always feel like I''m hurting their feelings if I want to return something. On that note, while I haven''t tried it yet, Gary has offered to send me a selection of stones for a 10-day, no obligation inspection, and I find that much less stressful. Of course, he doesn''t cut the stones himself.
and Karee - I think you made the right move. It just shows you''re a conscientious and thoughtful customer to have agonized over this choice.

He did refund the money. No problems there. And, he did apologize for the tone of his email, but it still left me feeling badly enough to not want to try again. I just enjoy the stones from afar.

I usually am just a lurker (as I have a very, very small collection and am here to learn), but I was around when he changed his policy due to a large number of people buying and returning things (not necessarily PSers) and he said as much in his emails. So while on the one hand I understand his POV, some vendors should understand that just because there is nothing ''wrong'' with their stone, it may not ''speak'' to the buyer. I only buy what makes me smile when I look at it. KWIM?

I remember the incident with Dan when he changed his return policy, in fact, I was the person to post here what he told me, at his request. It wasn''t just a bunch of people buying and returning stones, it was a few people who asked him to cut multiple custom items, and when they got them, they returned them all. And I believe it wasn''t a "they weren''t what I was looking for", but rather a "oh, I don''t have the money".

So while I can understand the customer''s frustration, I can also see where Dan is coming from in that instance, which is why I understood him changing his return policy.

Which is one of the reasons that my blue spinel oval from him went back, but I felt horrible about it after the fact, and while making the decision. I had asked him to cut it for me, and it was what I was looking for almost exactly, but I got it in my hands, and I realized that I really wanted something else. BUT he already had another buyer lined up for it, so I could return it knowing that it would be going somewhere else, and Dan wasn''t losing out on any money.

So yes, when someone has something custom cut, I would not be happy either if I thought that I had done the customer well--given them exactly what they wanted, and they bailed on the purchase because of an irrelevant reason...that kind of sucks. Does it mean Dan was right to be harsh in his email? No. But knowing why he was, and how he''s been burned before makes it easier to stomach.

I haven''t bought anything from Dan in quite some time. I still plan to in the future, but seeing as how I''m trying to put money towards setting some of these stones, and put money towards a wedding, buying stones is not my thing right now unless it''s something I HAVE TO HAVE.

I have lived with a lot of stones lately that I didn''t ADORE, and they have ended up on DB, but they have also ended up going via DB to homes where they will be loved, and set instead of just sitting in a case in a dark closet.

I think part of the problem is that with time, we build relationships with these vendors. For me, it''s Dan and Barry especially. I care about whether or not they can pay their mortgage and electricity bills (how would they cut more without electricity?!

), and knowing that the money I paid for a stone and returned, may prevent them from paying a bill...well that sucks.

$.02

 

[karee888]

Thanks, freke. That''s how I feel, too. You just said it way better.