Advice on Comparing Price Online/In Person

[quamusa]

Hi Everyone,

First let me just say that this is a really fantastic community and the posts I''ve read here have been extremely helpful. This is my first post (and first diamond purchase) and would really appreciate your informed opinions.

Here''s the situation: I live and work in NYC and, when I decided to start shopping for an engagement ring a close friend who recently went through the process recommended a friend of his who works for a diamond wholesaler in the diamond district. He bought his engagement ring from this same person a few months prior. The logic was that purchasing from the wholesalers "upstairs" in the district allows for cheaper prices than buying from the retailers on the ground level.

I''ve now looked at four stones with this person. The one stone I''m really interested in has the following stats:
Round Brilliant 1.26 ct
6.95 x 6.99 x 4.16
Color F
Clarity SI1
Cut VG
Polish VG
Symmetry EX
Flourescense None
Table 61%
Depth 59.7%

She quoted me a price of $7800 for the stone. I said I''d have to think about it and later asked if she could do anything on price and she said that was as low as it could go and was already heavily reduced because I was a friend of a friend.

Then, I started poking around and found this:
http://www.engagementringsdirect.com/diamonds/14205783

It looks like the exact same stone (down to the slightest measurement) for $1200 less. That''s a 15% difference, which seems pretty meaningful, especially since I''m supposed to be getting a rock bottom price from her. This online retailer appears to be based in the diamond district in NY as well, so they seem legitimate. There are a half dozen other sites with near-identical stones anywhere from $6500-$7000.

Do you think my friend''s jeweler is trying to take advantage of me? Or is it possible the websites I''m seeing are not legitimate? Are there other factors I''m not thinking of?

Also, how would you advise I go back to my friend''s jeweler without basically accusing them of trying to rip me off?

Thanks so much in advance.

 

[pixley]

You're in NYC? Lucky you! I would really recommend that you call Engagement Rings Direct and set up an appointment to meet with Mark Turnowski, the owner. He has an incredible reputation on Pricescope and has been known to get people wonderful stones at great prices. I'm not a round brilliant person, but you could probably get a stone that is better cut from Mark and you'd be guaranteed to be getting a fair price.

ETA: I can't say for sure whether your friend's jeweler is trying to take advantage of you, but I will say that Mark has an extraordinary network of vendors and has been in the business so long, that perhaps he is able to secure better prices than your friends jeweler, and can therefore pass those savings on to his clients. It is quite likely that the diamond is the same one, as hundreds of dealers have access to the same database of diamonds and they can all call in the stones on your behalf. If that is the same diamond, and you love that particular stone, you can purchase it through Mark and tell the other vendor you've found another stone.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

These jewelers are often quoting prices for the same stone. They are all acessing stones from the same suppliers. The online vendors generally will beat other prices. We have never seen the "wholesaler" price be as low as the online vendor prices. So you can gather that these so-called wholesalers are not really wholesalers. They are asking retail prices, so you can do much better.

Engagement Rings Direct is a good vendor. They could call that stone in for you, but you actually could do better as far as the cut goes. I''d really recommend paying a visit to Good Old Gold on Long Island (with an appointment), and they will teach you all you need to know about diamonds as well as show you a selection of ideal cut stones.

 

[gastro]

As someone just recently purchased a stone, I''ll have to agree with the above posts. You can definitely find better cut stones with an even a better price from reputable online vendors (like GOG or WF). Since you live in NYC I would check out GOG.

 

[Kaleigh]

Date: 2/29/2008 3:50:25 PM
Author: diamondseeker2006
These jewelers are often quoting prices for the same stone. They are all acessing stones from the same suppliers. The online vendors generally will beat other prices. We have never seen the ''wholesaler'' price be as low as the online vendor prices. So you can gather that these so-called wholesalers are not really wholesalers. They are asking retail prices, so you can do much better.

Engagement Rings Direct is a good vendor. They could call that stone in for you, but you actually could do better as far as the cut goes. I''d really recommend paying a visit to Good Old Gold on Long Island (with an appointment), and they will teach you all you need to know about diamonds as well as show you a selection of ideal cut stones.

Ditto. ERD is in NYC, Mark Turnowski is great to work with. And definitely go to LI and see Jonathon. I have bought from him twice. It''s worth the train ride for sure. Good luck!!

 

[Missrocks]

Agreeing with all of the above. Given the info provided on the "wholesale" stone, the price does sound steep. I would also agree you could do a bit better on cut, the posted one was a bit on the shallow side. And given the area you are in, you would have the added bonus to meet with the suggested vendors in person and do some "cut" comparison.