Buying Diamonds on the Web

[harleywoman]

I just found this website which I think is very informative. I have been in and out of the jewelry business since 1975 and worked for 4 different jewelers. Now I''m married to one although he currently works in the oil industry full time and makes jewelry as his part-time business/passion. He loves to create one of a kind pieces but will do repairs, etc. and strictly works by word of mouth because his regular job keeps him plenty busy.

My question is, how can anyone buy diamonds or even less expensive colored stones on the internet. I have surfed some of the websites out there, but I just can''t imagine buying a diamond without being able to pick it up with my tweezers and look at it under a loupe. I haer everyone talking about the Rap Report, but you have to know what you are doing to use that. And an inclusion is not just an inclusion. My husband is a master at setting diamonds to hide inclusions, that is if you want one hidden, not to cheat you, but if you don''t know what to look for that can go both ways.

I''ve seen the garbage that the chains try to palm off, but I know there are some really good Mom & Pop''s out there that will tell you the truth, do good repairs and make you excellent deals. I know because some of them are my friends. It is really disheartening to hear that people are being treated poorly by B & M stores, even though I don''t have one. My husband and I just work from home.

I''d really like to hear what some of you have to say on the subject.

 

[Mara]

welcome harley

For me a huge part of buying online has to do with the level of comfort you feel with the vendor you are making the purchase with as well as confidence in yourself and your knowledge base. There are only a handful of vendors I would buy from online, mostly because I have come to know them since spending time here on Pscope and would trust them with my money. But when I first came here...no way would I just stop in at Blue Nile and just buy a diamond.




However, from what I have learned here...I am definitely more prone to buying online than offline in terms of my large jewelry purchases in the future. This is how I see it:




Offline Purchases:


--Sometimes (often) more expensive


--Buy by looking at the stone under a loupe and with a GIA or AGS cert (hopefully), maybe Sarin


--Lifetime trade-up


--See stone in person




Online Purchases:


--Usually cheaper--sometimes significantly


--Buy by not seeing the stone in person (usually unless you have sent to local appraiser which is doable, before purchase)


--Buy by looking at stone's pictures, numbers, Sarin, IdealScope images, Bscope reports, analysis, etc.


--Most good vendors have lifetime trade up


--Better selection, more visible selection




For me, the offline bad outweighs the good. We bought our eRing stone offline, and eyeballed the stone, yes looks good, show me Sarin, show me GIA okay...we buy it. But the stone I am buying right now, my (I mean Greg's) A Cut Above H&A stone....it came with so many numbers and pictures and reports, I know this thing is going to be a knockout and the specs are SO tight. Plus you've got the anticipation of it arriving.

Lastly, I don't think I know one person on this forum in my last 4k posts that has come on here, done their homework, bought from a good vendor and then returned the stone because it was a piece of crap or misadvertised For the most part, people are so star-struck when the diamond arrives, they can't believe they ever shopped offline. Part of that is their own education and part is the vendor they choose. Both are key to getting that great stone, IMO.

 

[diamond dazed]

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My question is, how can anyone buy diamonds or even less expensive colored stones on the internet. I have surfed some of the websites out there, but I just can't imagine buying a diamond without being able to pick it up with my tweezers and look at it under a loupe.

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Mara and Stormdr had great comments. I just wanted to say that, in answer to your question, I don't think anybody who buys over the internet *does* expect to buy it without picking it up and looking at it under a loupe -- in fact, compared to the average B&M shopper -- I've never seen anybody loupe anything there -- we're a fussy bunch of consumers. The only difference is that the vendor isn't reaching across a counter to hand us a diamond to inspect, they're shipping it across a couple states. To cover themselves during this inspection, you give them a credit card. There are many people on these forums, who are internet shoppers, who view multiple diamonds, some even view a few side-by-side before making a decision. As long as you trust the vendor enough to put a diamond on your card while you inspect it -- and like storm said, the ones around here with good reputations are not going to throw it away by stealing your credit card number and flying off to Jamaica -- then there's really no risk. You don't like it, you return it, and you get your money back. Simple.

Welcome to PS!

Kris

 

[harleywoman]

Thank you all for your responses. While the jewelry business is not new to me the internet jewelry business is, but it sounds like it's the same as B & M. Your reputation is Everyting!! Stories always abound of jewelers changing out diamonds during sizings, etc. and while we see some pretty pathetic repair work, I'd like to think the majority of jewelers are honest.Some with fancy stores do have a huge overhead to support and I understand that allows the e-sellers a big advantage in pricing. Most of them don't even purchase the stone until you do. That doesn't mean they are missrepresenting it.

This has given me food for thought about our future business. Maybe my husband and I should put some of our designs on the web. I had always had a certain reluctance but maybe that is my age and I should catch up with the times.

 

[Mara]

HW...I'm sure we'd love to see your designs if you do put them online.




I always figure, it's no skin off someone's back to setup a website, even if you require people to call in to place the order. In terms of personal purchases like this, it pays to give people as many options as possible in terms of what to buy.

 

[strmrdr]

Yep reputation is huge here.
On the net reputations can be torn down even faster than in the b&m world.
A b&m gives me a bad deal and I tell people about it .. how many am I going to be able to tell 50-100 at the most.

If an internet vendor gives me a bad deal on just the internet boards I hang out on like this one I could tell 25,000-30,000 people about it in minutes.

Then you have to factor in the search engines and that can extend it to hundreds of thousands.
Short term it wont hurt the big players much because of shear volume
but long term it will hurt.
The niche market vendors like most of the pricescope vendors could be put out of business by a couple of these events.
Even if they stayed in business it would hurt bad.
Read some of the threads here about problems people have with the vendors here and how quick they are to fix them.
I like to think it’s all because they are good people and for the most part it is but the threat that a bad review poses has to be on their minds also.
I wouldn’t be surprised if last year several millions of dollars was spent at the vendors because of the recommendations here and this is just one forum and far from the biggest in terms of users.
Something to keep in mind is that for every poster on most boards there is another 500 or so lurkers.

Anyway,
Welcome to pricescope :}
I would love to see some pictures of your designs.

 

[highendgems]

RE: online buying-

Azabias, Diamond Brokers of Florida (DBOF) and Whiteflash are very reputable. Most works as brokers and dont make more than 2-5%. Surprisingly, customer service is great.

Those 'super cert' and H&A sites you will certainly get nice stones from, but IMO these are more marketing driven stones and you will pay more for an equal product. Just find some stones and use the HCA to start eliminating...

 

[yngdaniel]

One of the things that make diamonds 'internet friendly' is that they are probably the most heavily inspected and graded consumer product out there. Stones are certified, measured, and tightly graded, you know what you're getting. Other stones are not, I would imagine they are more risky to buy online.

I was more concerned about how my setting would look than the stone itself. All I had to go on with the setting was a stock photo.

The other nice thing about online shopping is the direct competition. If a B&M store is overpriced or shady, I walk out, but he'll get other, less informed, customers. Here, if a guy is shady, he'll get kicked around and nobody will want to do business with him.

 

[hoorray]

Buying diamonds on the Internet shocks lots of people, but I have to give the Internet vendors big credit. They have come up with an internet business model that takes the risk out of buying an expensive item sight unseen. Their return policies, the fact that they will ship to an independent appraiser before payment, and the information they will give you before you decide to bring a stone in allows one to shop around, have access to a MUCH wider range of product, and then get hands on or have an expert get hands on for them before making the final decision. It is a fairly low risk proposition if done correctly. The only thing that is missing, in my opinion, is the ability to view and select from several stones without paying for a lot of shipping.

I don't know how well this model would translate to other jewelry that has the subjective "need to try it on, touch and feel" aspect to it -- the artsier part of it. But if nothing else, putting your designs on the web for marketing visibility couldn't be bad for business.
Good luck!

 

[aljdewey]

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On 1/9/2004 4:24:26 PM highendgems wrote:











RE: online buying-

Azabias, Diamond Brokers of Florida (DBOF) and Whiteflash are very reputable. Most works as brokers and dont make more than 2-5%. Surprisingly, customer service is great.

Those 'super cert' and H&A sites you will certainly get nice stones from, but IMO these are more marketing driven stones and you will pay more for an equal product. Just find some stones and use the HCA to start eliminating...
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NEW WARNING LABEL: The information contained above is likely to be fraught with inaccuracy and untruths. Read at your own risk.

 

[canadiangrrl]

Online vendors have a markup of 10% to 20% on their stones, from what I understand. 2% to 5% markup would drive them out of business.

 

[knowverylittle]

highendgems:

... dont make more than 2-5%.
So if I buy a 3K stone they might make only $60. Hmmm..... you obviously went to a good business school. Even Blue Nile's volume would not turn a profit on 2% margins.

Many will disagree with your comment on 'super cert' / H&A sites. You are free to make subjective comments but they should be backed up with justification. e.g. I buy Wrangler jeans from WalMart because they cost $14 opposed to $50 501s and I need to pay for my Fiancés e-Ring somehow. OK the real reason is cheapness, but in all seriousness please stop posting garbage - people reading this Forum are making a major purchase and do not need ill informed advice.