Online Diamond Retailers? Are they safe

[tinman1412]

Hi All,

I''m pretty new to diamonds and have been reading this forum, which has been a tremendous help. Has anyone bought their diamonds online. Please provide your experiences and which sites are reputable. I have visited www.usacerteddiamonds.com and they seem legit. Will the money saved be worth buying online, having a appraiser look at it, find your own setting, etc.. Please advise

Thanks in advance

 

[oldminer]

Many people shop the Internet and a percentage of those choose to buy on line. Many, the majority, still buy from a local retail store. All of these consumers are better buyers because they have shopped and learned.

You can buy on-line safely. Nearly every vendor will overwhelm you with documentation, service and willingness to do what suits you. Most will agree to send diamonds to third party appraisers, like me, who can add further asurance of a safe delivery of the right product. All have return policies, but these do vary, so it is best to ask and read about them.

It is probably easier to buy a diamond on-line than in most stores, but you just have to become comfortable with a distant shopping experience.

 

[jaz464]

As far as an appraisal goes, I would not consider that to be only an online cost. I would get any diamond appraised regardles of where I bought it (assuming that value was greater than say $500). I have purchased online one time (and will never shop anywhere else) and it was with USA Certed. I have nothing bad to say about the company, everything went perfect and I highly recommend them.

 

[mmoon328]

Hey Tinman,

I can understand your concern. It is hard to buy a product that you cannot actually see in front of you. Especially, a purchase that is so large monetarily. After tons of research (testimonials and such) I finally felt comfortable purchasing a ring from an online vendor (James Allen aka DirtCheapDiamonds) because they were recommended so highly by the pricescope participants.

The savings I would have from purchasing online was used to pickout a bigger/better diamond and setting than I noramally would have anticipated from a brick & mortar shop. James Allen has a setting I fell in love with so I bought the diamond from them as well. Their website states that I have a 30 day return period which also helped make my decision. If they are as good as I have read in the testimonials and pricescope message boards than I am in good hands and I''m sure I''ll love the ring. The purchasing process was easy and they do provide good customer service.

The ring is scheduled to arrive tomorrow morning, I will let you know how it goes. Good Luck to you and me!