Vendor w whom you have upgrade option has higher prices...

[PintoBean]

Re: Vendor w whom you have upgrade option has higher prices.

I'm dying, Phoenix! show me the little weights your lobes have been strength training with in preparation for 8 ctw!

 

[Phoenix]

Re: Vendor w whom you have upgrade option has higher prices.

I'm dying, Phoenix! show me the little weights your lobes have been strength training with in preparation for 8 ctw!

Hahaha, my trainer has been torturing me with heavier and havier weights! My lobes must have gotten stronger too!!

 

[Phoenix]

Re: Vendor w whom you have upgrade option has higher prices.

Phoenix, thank you for not being mad at me for expressing an opinion that was not in line with what you had already expressed that you wanted. I was kind of hoping I could save you some money.

I have spent some time looking at pricing at several of the super-ideal cut vendors to see what prices look like.

Basically, your 3 diamonds have about a retail value currently of about $65k. Was there a buyback policy on these stones? Because honestly, that is going to be your easiest way to sell those diamonds since you apparently paid a lot more than current value. Or even better would be if they'd let you trade them in on 1 earring stone, and then buy the other elsewhere. Otherwise trading the stone you paid the most for towards one upgrade stone at that vendor would possibly still make sense, and buy the other stone elsewhere.

When I looked in the upper 3 ct range, WF has a 3.73 H VS2 at $61,789 and BG has a 3.8 H SI1 at $64,185. I do think the WF stone is a better value since it is VS2 clarity. But it's not like we are talking about the other stone being hugely overpriced. In fact, these two stones have the same diameter and would be an excellent match!

DS, no worries . Maybe I won't upgrade and save a bunch! lol.

BGD has a buy-back policy but that's within one year and at 75% only. I would def not do that. It's not like I HAVE to upgrade, yanno?

Those are exactly the stones I'm looking at, precisely because of the matching diameters and near matching other specs. I was thinking I could maybe trade in the 2.656ct - I paid the most for that stone IIRC - for the BGD stone and buy the other from WF. But I'd end up with 2 pairs of super-ideal earrings and I tend to only wear one pair, dunno why. I change rings and bracelets from time to time, but tend to only wear my studs - weird, that! And that'd also require a huge lay-out, which I was hoping to avoid by upgrading all 3 stones with BGD for a pair of 4 caraters.

Also, look at the pricing on these two stones, DS!! The BGD one is almost USD2,500 more expensive and it's one clarity grade lower. I don't have access to Rap, but what would that mean? A BGD H VS2 would likely be USD3.5-4k more expensive, I'm guessing....and double that for the pair and we're looking at almost USD10k more expensive than WF for almost identical stones.

Still, this would still be a smaller loss (it's all relative, isn't it?) than selling all my BGD stones outright and start afresh.

So, not liking any scenario! Heck, maybe I'll just get a pair of VCA earrings in addition! Voila, "problem" solved!

 

[Phoenix]

Re: Vendor w whom you have upgrade option has higher prices.

Mrs B, YOU GO GIRL!!

I am a lover of 3-stone rings too, and used to have a couple and now miss having one. Maybe I'll do a 3-stone ring with my 2.656ct diamond.

I LOVE all your ideas! You've obviously thought everything out thoroughly. I can't wait to see your new pretties!

 

[kb1gra]

Re: Vendor w whom you have upgrade option has higher prices.

I didn't think any of the PS vendors did upgrades that weren't one stone for one stone. I remember clearly reading that in at least two policies. So unless it was by special arrangement, using 3 stones to get 2 stones would not have worked anyway.

 

[annat]

Re: Vendor w whom you have upgrade option has higher prices.

I didn't think any of the PS vendors did upgrades that weren't one stone for one stone. I remember clearly reading that in at least two policies. So unless it was by special arrangement, using 3 stones to get 2 stones would not have worked anyway.

The PS vendor upgrade/buyback programs are less than worthless for me. Setup so they can make a profit reselling my stone and they can make profit on a new stone I buy as well. Its no surprise they are more expensive than decent alternatives if you were buying a "Superideal" they were more expensive to begin with!

 

[mrs-b]

Re: Vendor w whom you have upgrade option has higher prices.

Mrs B, YOU GO GIRL!!

I am a lover of 3-stone rings too, and used to have a couple and now miss having one. Maybe I'll do a 3-stone ring with my 2.656ct diamond.

I LOVE all your ideas! You've obviously thought everything out thoroughly. I can't wait to see your new pretties!

There is absolutely no fault with this plan that I can see - except that it would require demolishing your Emilya - which is actually my favorite ring of yours. It's a beautiful fit on your finger, proportions-wise, and it would be a shame to pull it apart. So of course my vote is...to start your 3-stone with a new center stone!

I actually love your 2 x 4 ct earrings idea. I think you're *that* girl - one associates large, luxurious pieces with you - and I think it's in keeping with your general jewelry collection. I would never go past that, tho, as it pulls down one's lobes and, over time, this is a look to be avoided.

I have a dream piece I have never discussed on these boards. I doubt I'll ever own it, tho a girl can dream. I've always wanted a 3 ct D IF UNFACETED briolette to wear as a pendant. A completely clean dew drop for my neck. I tell my husband we need to get a move on this, as my decolletage will only hold up for so long and 'dew drops on craggy bark' is not a good look. At this point he is unmoved. This is a piece I can't imagine many people either wanting, or seeing the value in. But to me - worth it. Taste is subjective, subjective, subjective.

Looking forward to the next steps in your journey.

 

[mrs-b]

Re: Vendor w whom you have upgrade option has higher prices.

The PS vendor upgrade/buyback programs are less than worthless for me. Setup so they can make a profit reselling my stone and they can make profit on a new stone I buy as well. Its no surprise they are more expensive than decent alternatives if you were buying a "Superideal" they were more expensive to begin with!

An extraordinary first comment. My word!

 

[WinkHPD]

Re: Vendor w whom you have upgrade option has higher prices.

I didn't think any of the PS vendors did upgrades that weren't one stone for one stone. I remember clearly reading that in at least two policies. So unless it was by special arrangement, using 3 stones to get 2 stones would not have worked anyway.

The PS vendor upgrade/buyback programs are less than worthless for me. Setup so they can make a profit reselling my stone and they can make profit on a new stone I buy as well. Its no surprise they are more expensive than decent alternatives if you were buying a "Superideal" they were more expensive to begin with!

I am not sure I understand your reasoning.

With a 100% trade up, even if prices have gone down over the years since you bought it, how is that rigged against the consumer? Even if prices have gone up, the trade up is extremely likely to be offering more to the person trading up than they will be offered in trade anywhere else.

As for the buy back. I suspect that no one buys a diamond expecting to need to sell it back. Sometimes, though, things happen.

It can be as simple as a lifestyle change and not wanting/needing the diamond any more, to more serious things, such as breakups before the marriage and divorces after. I was once called by the new owner of a Crafted by Infinity diamond who wanted an appraisal on it. He had bought it from a friend of his wife's who had just gone through a contentious divorce. He paid less than half of what I would have paid the original owner. What a shame for her that ex husband had never shared the buy back information with her.

The most devastating reason for needing to sell your diamond though, is your health or the health of your spouse or child.That is NOT the time when you want to go to your original vendor and discover that you are being offered twenty to thirty percent of what you paid. That is when you will be glad of having that 80% buy back that you never thought you would need or use.

If prices have gone down and you can still get 80% that is a good thing. If prices have gone up, then you can use the 80% of what you purchased as the floor of what you will accept, as you are guaranteed that amount if you can not find a better offer.

Did you pay a little more for a better cut diamond? Perhaps, but you probably got a better value for what you paid. It costs more to cut it than an average cut, with a greater loss of weight from the starting crystal, which results in greater beauty for the finished diamond.

I will grant that these things may be worthless to you, but I have many clients who have traded up or sold back their diamonds who felt these policies have great value.

Wink

 

[Phoenix]

Re: Vendor w whom you have upgrade option has higher prices.

I didn't think any of the PS vendors did upgrades that weren't one stone for one stone. I remember clearly reading that in at least two policies. So unless it was by special arrangement, using 3 stones to get 2 stones would not have worked anyway.

With respect, that's not true - at least not in my case.

 

[Texas Leaguer]

Re: Vendor w whom you have upgrade option has higher prices.

I didn't think any of the PS vendors did upgrades that weren't one stone for one stone. I remember clearly reading that in at least two policies. So unless it was by special arrangement, using 3 stones to get 2 stones would not have worked anyway.

The PS vendor upgrade/buyback programs are less than worthless for me. Setup so they can make a profit reselling my stone and they can make profit on a new stone I buy as well. Its no surprise they are more expensive than decent alternatives if you were buying a "Superideal" they were more expensive to begin with!

I am not sure I understand your reasoning.

With a 100% trade up, even if prices have gone down over the years since you bought it, how is that rigged against the consumer? Even if prices have gone up, the trade up is extremely likely to be offering more to the person trading up than they will be offered in trade anywhere else.

As for the buy back. I suspect that no one buys a diamond expecting to need to sell it back. Sometimes, though, things happen.

It can be as simple as a lifestyle change and not wanting/needing the diamond any more, to more serious things, such as breakups before the marriage and divorces after. I was once called by the new owner of a Crafted by Infinity diamond who wanted an appraisal on it. He had bought it from a friend of his wife's who had just gone through a contentious divorce. He paid less than half of what I would have paid the original owner. What a shame for her that ex husband had never shared the buy back information with her.

The most devastating reason for needing to sell your diamond though, is your health or the health of your spouse or child.That is NOT the time when you want to go to your original vendor and discover that you are being offered twenty to thirty percent of what you paid. That is when you will be glad of having that 80% buy back that you never thought you would need or use.

If prices have gone down and you can still get 80% that is a good thing. If prices have gone up, then you can use the 80% of what you purchased as the floor of what you will accept, as you are guaranteed that amount if you can not find a better offer.

Did you pay a little more for a better cut diamond? Perhaps, but you probably got a better value for what you paid. It costs more to cut it than an average cut, with a greater loss of weight from the starting crystal, which results in greater beauty for the finished diamond.

I will grant that these things may be worthless to you, but I have many clients who have traded up or sold back their diamonds who felt these policies have great value.

Wink

Well stated Wink.

Again, the biggest thing to keep in mind is that these policies represent obligations ONLY for the merchant. The consumer is never obligated to sell or trade. But if they ever choose to, and cannot find a better offer elsewhere in the market, the option is there for them to exercise.

Which should beg the question - 'why don't all diamond purchases come with these policies?'

 

[PintoBean]

Re: Vendor w whom you have upgrade option has higher prices.

I didn't think any of the PS vendors did upgrades that weren't one stone for one stone. I remember clearly reading that in at least two policies. So unless it was by special arrangement, using 3 stones to get 2 stones would not have worked anyway.

With respect, that's not true - at least not in my case.

I also respectfully disagree, kb1gra. Phoenix and I are most likely talking about the same vendor here - I traded in a pendant and a pair of earrings for a Quadex. I just looked over the vendor (I worked with)'s upgrade policy and it looks about the same as when I did this a few years ago.

 

[kb1gra]

Re: Vendor w whom you have upgrade option has higher prices.

I didn't think any of the PS vendors did upgrades that weren't one stone for one stone. I remember clearly reading that in at least two policies. So unless it was by special arrangement, using 3 stones to get 2 stones would not have worked anyway.

With respect, that's not true - at least not in my case.

I also respectfully disagree, kb1gra. Phoenix and I are most likely talking about the same vendor here - I traded in a pendant and a pair of earrings for a Quadex. I just looked over the vendor (I worked with)'s upgrade policy and it looks about the same as when I did this a few years ago.

Both whiteflash and GOG specifically state one diamond for one diamond in their policies. I find it interesting that these are also the policies that don't require a price increase on trade up.

 

[PintoBean]

Re: Vendor w whom you have upgrade option has higher prices.

I suspect the poster "annat" is a troll - I saw an awful post earlier this morning made by annat in another thread that was removed.

 

[Karl_K]

Re: Vendor w whom you have upgrade option has higher prices.

Which should beg the question - 'why don't all diamond purchases come with these policies?'

I think that many consumers would be interested in the answer to that.
I think its worth a small thread jack.
My opinion:
The biggest reason is risk and money.
Most diamond sellers operate on a rotating stock bases if they have any stock otherwise they order on demand,
and most of that is done on memo or net 30.
Coming up with say a 20k buy back or trade in on a diamond that you may not get back for a while is a heavy hit and many may not have the money.
That is a huge risk.

The other is stock planning for a stocking dealer.
A smart dealer carefully balances their stock and purchases and a buy back ties
up funds that they had planned for faster moving goods.

In the past dealers counted on price increases and few customers taking advantage of it.
In today's unstable market and the job situation in the US there is much more risk.

The higher price of the stone the higher all those risks.

What do you think?

 

[soxfan]

Re: Vendor w whom you have upgrade option has higher prices.

I suspect the poster "annat" is a troll - I saw an awful post earlier this morning made by annat in another thread that was removed.

My thoughts exactly. Why is this poster still here? Should be banned.....

 

[Texas Leaguer]

Re: Vendor w whom you have upgrade option has higher prices.

Which should beg the question - 'why don't all diamond purchases come with these policies?'

I think that many consumers would be interested in the answer to that.
I think its worth a small thread jack.
My opinion:
The biggest reason is risk and money.
Most diamond sellers operate on a rotating stock bases if they have any stock otherwise they order on demand,
and most of that is done on memo or net 30.
Coming up with say a 20k buy back or trade in on a diamond that you may not get back for a while is a heavy hit and many may not have the money.
That is a huge risk.

The other is stock planning for a stocking dealer.
A smart dealer carefully balances their stock and purchases and a buy back ties
up funds that they had planned for faster moving goods.

In the past dealers counted on price increases and few customers taking advantage of it.
In today's unstable market and the job situation in the US there is much more risk.

The higher price of the stone the higher all those risks.

What do you think?

I think all those things are true.

The business must have financial strength, for as you mention it is not possible to predict when you will be taking back an expensive stone (or two or three) into stock. You have to be able to adapt to unplanned changes in your inventory mix and possibly some significant hits to cash flow.

Above all, you must have extreme confidence in the product you are offering that there will be buyers for it today, tomorrow and on into the future. For it to be a sustainable, you can only offer these guarantees on goods that are core to your value proposition.

 

[WinkHPD]

Re: Vendor w whom you have upgrade option has higher prices.

I didn't think any of the PS vendors did upgrades that weren't one stone for one stone. I remember clearly reading that in at least two policies. So unless it was by special arrangement, using 3 stones to get 2 stones would not have worked anyway.

With respect, that's not true - at least not in my case.

I also respectfully disagree, kb1gra. Phoenix and I are most likely talking about the same vendor here - I traded in a pendant and a pair of earrings for a Quadex. I just looked over the vendor (I worked with)'s upgrade policy and it looks about the same as when I did this a few years ago.

Both whiteflash and GOG specifically state one diamond for one diamond in their policies. I find it interesting that these are also the policies that don't require a price increase on trade up.

I have never thought about it before, however, taking in more than one diamond on a trade up seems very logical to me. To a point. If you have bought five diamonds from me for say, $25,000 total and you want to trade them in for a $25,500 diamond, I do not see a problem with that. However, if you have purchased $250,000 worth of diamonds and wanted to trade them in for a $251,000 diamond, that would put most vendors into a severe cash flow problem. Hense, a good reason to have a one diamond, one trade in policy.

However, just because your vendor of choice has such a policy, it does not mean you should not ask. There are many good vendors, both on Pricescope and elsewhere, and we are all extremely competitive. All of us tend to bend over backwards to make our clients happy, so long as it makes any kind of sense at all.

I also want to add to Texas Leaguer's excellent comment:

Above all, you must have extreme confidence in the product you are offering that there will be buyers for it today, tomorrow and on into the future. For it to be a sustainable, you can only offer these guarantees on goods that are core to your value proposition.

Only when you are selling a product that you truly believe in and know it will always have value for what it is can you offer such trade up or buy back guarantees. If you are selling poorly cut diamonds that have GIA XXX grades on them, you NEVER want to see them again and would have to be insane to offer such a guarantee. You can only sell them on price when you find a buyer willing to believe that it is "good enough". Why would you ever want it back? (My personal feeling is that in ten to twenty years these will become unsaleable as the retail clients will know so much more about diamond cutting than they do now. Such stones will become pariahs and will have to be recut to be sold at any price. Maybe I should say my personal DREAM.)

Wink

 

[Texas Leaguer]

Re: Vendor w whom you have upgrade option has higher prices.

I didn't think any of the PS vendors did upgrades that weren't one stone for one stone. I remember clearly reading that in at least two policies. So unless it was by special arrangement, using 3 stones to get 2 stones would not have worked anyway.

With respect, that's not true - at least not in my case.

I also respectfully disagree, kb1gra. Phoenix and I are most likely talking about the same vendor here - I traded in a pendant and a pair of earrings for a Quadex. I just looked over the vendor (I worked with)'s upgrade policy and it looks about the same as when I did this a few years ago.

Both whiteflash and GOG specifically state one diamond for one diamond in their policies. I find it interesting that these are also the policies that don't require a price increase on trade up.

kb,
You are correct about the Whiteflash trade-up guarantee. One of the few stipulations on our benefit is the one-to-one swap. However, the purpose of that element of the policy is primarily to keep things simple and allow a more streamlined transaction. In most cases customers redeeming the benefit are looking to increase the size of the stone. In other cases they are moving up in quality or even changing shape. In all these cases the one-to-one rule works well for both parties.

Having said that, we appreciate and value our customers, and we are always interested in engaging with them on their trade-up/buyback needs and desires. While there are limits defined by our published policy, we are always willing to discuss alternative options. If we can help our customer, and it makes sense for us from a business perspective, we are happy to accommodate.

 

[Texas Leaguer]

Re: Vendor w whom you have upgrade option has higher prices.

While on the subject, I thought I would address more specifically the concept of buy-back guarantees. This is a benefit that is often looked at as a non-benefit, or worse, as something that greatly favors the merchant. And I will admit, on the surface it looks like the customer is taking a major hit on redemption. But if you put it in context, you can appreciate it.

Consider that many customers buying diamonds are young people getting engaged. The item is often one of the most expensive items the customer has ever purchased. And it is essentially a gifting purchase so another person, who may or may not be involved or even aware, has a say in the ultimate outcome. There are already multiple aspects of stress involved in the whole experience, but the money itself is particularly scary. So, the purpose of a buy-back guarantee is to relieve some of that anxiety. For instance, in our formula a $5,000 purchase becomes a $1,500 risk for the customer, worst case.

From the merchant's perspective, the formula enables you to recover costs incurred in handling the original transaction and processing the return and re-stocking, and perhaps retain some profit, while refunding the bulk of the money to the customer. Because it is a cash benefit, it has to be time limited to help guard against a serious downturn in the market and a 'run on the bank'.

One of the big challenges in the diamond business, in my opinion, is the unpredictability of liquidation. You have a product that is durable and desirable and for which there is indeed an active secondary market. However, consumers are quite in the dark about how to go about liquidating and what value they can expect. If our industry could build a fair and predictable exit ramp, it would encourage more people to buy in the first place. And it would keep folks from getting victimized by the somewhat shark infested after-market that exists today. There have been some pretty high profile attempts at creating these vehicles but it doesn't seem to have taken root. I do think it is something much needed, and as such will probably eventually happen. Until then, buy-back and trade up guarantees are important steps in the direction of providing consumers with more certainty and confidence.

 

[hathalove]

Re: Vendor w whom you have upgrade option has higher prices.

I didn't think any of the PS vendors did upgrades that weren't one stone for one stone. I remember clearly reading that in at least two policies. So unless it was by special arrangement, using 3 stones to get 2 stones would not have worked anyway.

With respect, that's not true - at least not in my case.

I also respectfully disagree, kb1gra. Phoenix and I are most likely talking about the same vendor here - I traded in a pendant and a pair of earrings for a Quadex. I just looked over the vendor (I worked with)'s upgrade policy and it looks about the same as when I did this a few years ago.

Both whiteflash and GOG specifically state one diamond for one diamond in their policies. I find it interesting that these are also the policies that don't require a price increase on trade up.

kb,
You are correct about the Whiteflash trade-up guarantee. One of the few stipulations on our benefit is the one-to-one swap. However, the purpose of that element of the policy is primarily to keep things simple and allow a more streamlined transaction. In most cases customers redeeming the benefit are looking to increase the size of the stone. In other cases they are moving up in quality or even changing shape. In all these cases the one-to-one rule works well for both parties.

Having said that, we appreciate and value our customers, and we are always interested in engaging with them on their trade-up/buyback needs and desires. While there are limits defined by our published policy, we are always willing to discuss alternative options. If we can help our customer, and it makes sense for us from a business perspective, we are happy to accommodate.

What I love about WF. Always willing to have the conversation I appreciate that. I did ask about upgrading my one ACA stone for two smaller stones and in this case would have probably had to pay out another $1000-1500 and they very nicely said NO. Ah well. I am appreciative of any buyback/trade in upgrade policy at all. When I do think about it. I keep hearing diamond prices are low but when I look at comp stones they are the same under the 1 carat mark. I have a .80 and was wanting two .55-65 stones for earrings.

 

[kb1gra]

Re: Vendor w whom you have upgrade option has higher prices.

I didn't think any of the PS vendors did upgrades that weren't one stone for one stone. I remember clearly reading that in at least two policies. So unless it was by special arrangement, using 3 stones to get 2 stones would not have worked anyway.

With respect, that's not true - at least not in my case.

I also respectfully disagree, kb1gra. Phoenix and I are most likely talking about the same vendor here - I traded in a pendant and a pair of earrings for a Quadex. I just looked over the vendor (I worked with)'s upgrade policy and it looks about the same as when I did this a few years ago.

Both whiteflash and GOG specifically state one diamond for one diamond in their policies. I find it interesting that these are also the policies that don't require a price increase on trade up.

kb,
You are correct about the Whiteflash trade-up guarantee. One of the few stipulations on our benefit is the one-to-one swap. However, the purpose of that element of the policy is primarily to keep things simple and allow a more streamlined transaction. In most cases customers redeeming the benefit are looking to increase the size of the stone. In other cases they are moving up in quality or even changing shape. In all these cases the one-to-one rule works well for both parties.

Having said that, we appreciate and value our customers, and we are always interested in engaging with them on their trade-up/buyback needs and desires. While there are limits defined by our published policy, we are always willing to discuss alternative options. If we can help our customer, and it makes sense for us from a business perspective, we are happy to accommodate.

What I love about WF. Always willing to have the conversation I appreciate that. I did ask about upgrading my one ACA stone for two smaller stones and in this case would have probably had to pay out another $1000-1500 and they very nicely said NO. Ah well. I am appreciative of any buyback/trade in upgrade policy at all. When I do think about it. I keep hearing diamond prices are low but when I look at comp stones they are the same under the 1 carat mark. I have a .80 and was wanting two .55-65 stones for earrings.

Logically, the most diamonds purchased are in the .5-1ct range, so because that market moves much more quickly, I would assume there would be less variation in the price due to market forces (as the market is always relatively strong for those sizes) however, based on what I'm seeing in the credit markets lately, I wouldn't be surprised if demand for larger, more expensive stones is dropping and thus, so are the prices in an attempt to keep inventory moving.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Re: Vendor w whom you have upgrade option has higher prices.

The PS vendor upgrade/buyback programs are less than worthless for me. Setup so they can make a profit reselling my stone and they can make profit on a new stone I buy as well. Its no surprise they are more expensive than decent alternatives if you were buying a "Superideal" they were more expensive to begin with!

I will absolutely disagree that there is some evil motive in upgrade polices! Let's just say that 10 years ago, I looked at HoF brand diamonds after learning about H&A diamonds here on PS just to see if they were as beautiful as everyone said. I got a few prices for comparison sake, and honestly, the H&A vendors here with upgrade policies were about 1/3 less than the jeweler who carried HoF. So while H&A stones are priced higher than generic excellent cut rounds (apples and oranges, anyway), I certainly was thrilled to buy from PS vendors!

As far as upgrade policies go, I have used Whiteflash's several times. I really am embarrassed to say how many , but lets just say that I worked my way up to the pair of studs I now have and will likely keep for good (I am sure they are happy to hear that!). Had I bought diamonds and had to resell each time I wanted to upgrade, there is no doubt that I would have lost money. I lost zero money by upgrading. Win-win for the customer as long as there is a stone to upgrade to. I do have one diamond form another vendor that I really can't upgrade because there haven't been any suitable stones. So that can be a problem with specialty cuts.

Buyback? Goodness. That is a very rare opportunity! Try going to sell your diamond to a jeweler and see if they'll offer you more than the 70-75%! You might be able to get more than that by selling yourself IF you have a great stone. But sometimes people need the money immediately, so the buyback is a good option for them.

 

[Phoenix]

Re: Vendor w whom you have upgrade option has higher prices.

Phoenix, thank you for not being mad at me for expressing an opinion that was not in line with what you had already expressed that you wanted. I was kind of hoping I could save you some money.

I have spent some time looking at pricing at several of the super-ideal cut vendors to see what prices look like.

Basically, your 3 diamonds have about a retail value currently of about $65k. Was there a buyback policy on these stones? Because honestly, that is going to be your easiest way to sell those diamonds since you apparently paid a lot more than current value. Or even better would be if they'd let you trade them in on 1 earring stone, and then buy the other elsewhere. Otherwise trading the stone you paid the most for towards one upgrade stone at that vendor would possibly still make sense, and buy the other stone elsewhere.

When I looked in the upper 3 ct range, WF has a 3.73 H VS2 at $61,789 and BG has a 3.8 H SI1 at $64,185. I do think the WF stone is a better value since it is VS2 clarity. But it's not like we are talking about the other stone being hugely overpriced. In fact, these two stones have the same diameter and would be an excellent match!

DS, I haven't had a chance to respond to this point til now. Where did you get this information from pls?

This stone is closest to my 2.358ct H SI1 and it's USD29k (mine has a diameter of 8.54-8.57 and this one is 8.61-8.65mm):
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2994225.htm

My 2.3ct G Si1 (wt MBF), should be similarly priced and my 2.656ct H Si2 shd be priced higher. So, the three should still have a total retail value at close to USD100k; even at the lowest/ worst 90-95k.

And this one, with a similar diameter to my 2.656ct, albeit at one clarity grade better, is USD36k:
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/2.700-h-si1-round-diamond-ags-104085060021

 

[mrs-b]

Re: Vendor w whom you have upgrade option has higher prices.

Phoenix, thank you for not being mad at me for expressing an opinion that was not in line with what you had already expressed that you wanted. I was kind of hoping I could save you some money.

I have spent some time looking at pricing at several of the super-ideal cut vendors to see what prices look like.

Basically, your 3 diamonds have about a retail value currently of about $65k. Was there a buyback policy on these stones? Because honestly, that is going to be your easiest way to sell those diamonds since you apparently paid a lot more than current value. Or even better would be if they'd let you trade them in on 1 earring stone, and then buy the other elsewhere. Otherwise trading the stone you paid the most for towards one upgrade stone at that vendor would possibly still make sense, and buy the other stone elsewhere.

When I looked in the upper 3 ct range, WF has a 3.73 H VS2 at $61,789 and BG has a 3.8 H SI1 at $64,185. I do think the WF stone is a better value since it is VS2 clarity. But it's not like we are talking about the other stone being hugely overpriced. In fact, these two stones have the same diameter and would be an excellent match!

DS, I haven't had a chance to respond to this point til now. Where did you get this information from pls?

This stone is closest to my 2.358ct H SI1 and it's USD29k (mine has a diameter of 8.54-8.57 and this one is 8.61-8.65mm):
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2994225.htm

My 2.3ct G Si1 (wt MBF), should be similarly priced and my 2.656ct H Si2 shd be priced higher. So, the three should still have a total retail value at close to USD100k; even at the lowest/ worst 90-95k.

And this one, with a similar diameter to my 2.656ct, albeit at one clarity grade better, is USD36k:
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/2.700-h-si1-round-diamond-ags-104085060021

I did the math on this too and couldn't see how it worked. Maybe a typo, DS? Or are you quoting on the second hand market?

 

[flyingpig]

Re: Vendor w whom you have upgrade option has higher prices.

Why are vendor X's prices so much higher than their closest competitor Y's?"

Among super ideal "premier" vendors, WF offers the most competitive pricing combined with good customer service and flexible upgrade policy. Overall, they offer a very balanced package, and i guess that is why they are popular here at PS. GOG and CBI pricing is a bit higher. But their buyback policy is significantly better with no time limit (CBI repurchases at 80% of what you paid). In addition, when you upgrade with GOG, you have access to their fancy cut diamond inventory and AVRs.

So these vendors offer different policies and, understandably, different pricing. Having that said, I never understood BGDs pricing structure. Their upgrade policy is not as flexible as WF. Their buyback policy is very limited in comparison with GOG and CBI.But, as the OP indicated, BGDs pricing is generally very high.