NEED HELP!!!!

[saddison]

Well I''m new to the boards so please forgive me if I am posting this in the wrong place but I am in desperate need of help!

Here''s the story:
I live in NY and traveled to VT on thursday to pick out an e-ring. I got a fantastic deal $7700 for a GIA rated Princess 1.5 ct, E, VS2. I put $1000 down and left the store happily knowing that in Dec. the rock will be on my gf''s finger. Anyway I recieved a call Friday from the store saying I needed to contact them. I contacted them this AM (4-2) and they said they couldn''t sell me the diamond because they screwed up with there pricing. There invoice put the rock in the area of $10,000. Since I already put a deposit down does that mean I have a contract? What is my recourse? I am dosappointed that I will no longer have this stone. Please help!!!!

Thanks in advance.
Sean

 

[stretch4]

Well, I know that even if you buy a stone online (meaning put it in your basket and pay by credit card), if the price is incorrect, they will not sell the stone at that price. I assume there is a statement somewhere on their website that says that they are not responsible for price mistakes.

As to this situation, in my opinion, if I found a stone like that for that price, I would have become immediately suspicous. Either the cut was really, really poor or it was a blatant price mistake or a mix-up with the GIA report. I wouldn't have put down the deposit until I was sure they were sure about the price, etc.

As to whether your putting down the deposit constitutes an contract, even as a law student, I'm not going to give you legal advice. You should contact an attorney if you want to pursue that avenue, but will it be worth the legal fees?? And even if that was a contract, be aware that there are plenty of excuses to get a party out of a contract, including mistake.

Personally, since this seems to be an honest mistake on the part of the jeweler, in my opinion, you just have to go back out looking or purchase the stone at the real price. I don't think it is fair at all for the jeweler to take such a hit in price. Remember, jewelers aren't making huge margins on these stones most of the time.

 

[WinkHPD]

Assuming that you had done your homework you knew that to be an incredible price, especially in a retail store.

I don''t believe that I think it reasonable for the store to eat over $2,000 because of an obvious pricing error. If you had paid cash and taken the stone home I suspect they would have a hard time getting it back, but I do not think you will have any luck at all getting this stone at that price. If the stone was reasonably cut, then it is well below true wholesale cost.

Wink

 

[denverappraiser]

Sean,

What does the receit for your deposit say? Not the number, the fine print at the bottom and preprinted on the back. There are often details there that will relate to this sort of thing.
Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ISA NAJA
Independent Appraisals in Denver

 

[saddison]

The printed recipt says nothing on it. The written recipt says "all sales final on special orders". Since the stone had to be set would that constitute a special order. As for the stone itself they had the GIA report there and I read it and the diamond itself was brilliant and stunning. I did not think twice about this price because this store is known for being very cost efficient. Thanks for the help so far and I will continue to keep you updated.

Sean

 

[stretch4]

Special order is often custom work, i.e. you didn''t just pick out a setting from their store, but instead are making them custom make you something, etc. And that statement merely means that you could not return special orders.

 

[JohnQuixote]

Sean,

I suggest you contact the store manager and discuss the sequence of events with him/her. This is a tough situation for you both, but it will surprise me if they are not willing to work to some degree to keep your business.

Express that you did your research and went for this diamond specifically because you recognized it as a good deal. You further decided to have it set with them, and put $1000 down in good faith... Then explain your understanding of his/her position; You realize he/she cannot make a practice of selling diamonds at a loss. However, a sudden 20%(+) increase is a lot to swallow as a customer making this single purchase. Ask him/her for the best adjustment he/she can make in the interest of goodwill.

It will help to decide, on your own, the top price you're willing to pay for this diamond you like before you discuss it with the manager. Hopefully there will be a middle ground that can make you both content.

Once the manager has given his/her 'best' position you can make your decision about whether the store has earned your business. I think a diamond 'in the hand' (that you've seen and like a lot) is worth several 'in the bush...' but people here will quickly point out that if this deal makes you uncomfortable there are always other options...and those same people here will help you find them if this deal doesn't work out.

 

[valeria101]

Date: 4/2/2005 11:4:11 AM
Author:saddison

I got a fantastic deal $7700 for a GIA rated Princess 1.5 ct, E, VS2.
I put $1000 down ...

What do you mean with "I got a deal" ? You didn't have the stone at that pint, no ? On what was the initial offer based ? If nothing else was said, anyone would assume that the seller commited on that price.

It may be that some unexpected events prevent them from holding to the initial offer, but then, it should be fair to let you look elsewhere. After all, it was the good deal that persuaded you to place the respective deposit and make a commitment to buy.

What is the difference between this situation and the good ol' "bait & switch" ? It may be that no one is to blame and the situation is out of everyone's hand. Without considering intentions (good or bad, as they were), the final picture is not cheerful, IMO.

Just for ref. the lowest price for such a thing listed here is 8k (for this) with the vast majority around 10k. Based on this, the initial 7.7k offer sounds very good indeed. And it is not too surprising that the store cannot honor it. It is surprising that they made such a good offer in the first place. Perhaps a recent rise of prices (or biased Pricescope listings, whichever you choose to believe

) explains what motivated the initial offer. I am confused...

 

[saddison]

Date: 4/2/2005 1:23:17 PM
Author: valeria101

Date: 4/2/2005 11:4:11 AM
Author:saddison

I got a fantastic deal $7700 for a GIA rated Princess 1.5 ct, E, VS2.
I put $1000 down ...

What do you mean with ''I got a deal'' ? You didn''t have the stone at that pint, no ? On what was the initial offer based ?

I have done about six months of research on diamonds. I chose this jeweler because of things I had heard from other people as well as my impression of them when I first visited them. They were very helpful, not pushy, and priced items independantly of eachother instead of grouping a rock and a setting together then "working out a deal".

The transaction happened this way. Four diamonds were laid out in front of me, each were chosen because they fit my specs. Prices were given for each stone and when I saw the price of the 1.5 ct I knew from my research that this was a good price. I asked to see the GIA report and after some hemming and hawing (the price I paid is pretty much my max) I chose to buy it. I told the salesman that I wanted the 1.5 in the setting my gf had chosen. The transaction was totaled and I put the money down. I then recieved a voice mail on Friday night and returned the call when the store opened this morning.

There was no dickering and I thought the sale was complete with the exception of me paying off the ring on the agreed upon installments.

Sean

 

[movie zombie]

first let me say i respect all the opinions that have been posted here. but i''m going to weigh in as a consumer:

when i go to buy anything, i ask what the price is. i expect that the seller has done his/her homework, looked up the appropriate invoices, etc. it is the responsibility of the seller to accurately present his/her merchandise, and that includes price. once i''m told what the price is, i expect the seller to honor that price. i would also insist on receiving a receipt for my deposit which would include the agreed selling price and a description of the item. as a consumer, i do not believe it is fair to take my $$ and then call me and say a mistake re price has been made.

i agree that the jeweler is not making much $$ off this transaction, but then this jeweler is not a good businessman, imo. when he made the call, it would have been more appropriate to say the mistake had been made and that in appreciation of the $1k deposit, he would be willing to split the $2300 difference and sell the diamond for $8850.

and before i get too beat up on this one, just yesterday i ordered a gem from a pricescope poster and when he went to tell me the amount to be charged to my credit card, it was $300 more than quoted in e-mail...and he honored the price quoted. yes, this was a mere $300 dollar difference but he recognized his error in not looking it up before quoting. his action went a long way in building trust and makes me inclined to be a repeat customer.

my advice to saddison is that its not worth the legal fees or trouble to make this right. if you love the stone, counter offer at $8850...otherwise, get your deposit back and walk away. as noted above, you can get yourself a great diamond somewhere else. while this sounds like an honest mistake, it could be this jeweler has a habit of making ''honest'' mistakes and perhaps filing with the BBB would be in order.

peace, movie zombie