To Ebay or NOT to ebay... that Diamond.

[lulubboy]

Ok professionals. I have a question and would like a good answer.

Why is it that many diamonds on ebay are soo cheap vs market value.

The sellers have the certification/ valuation for these diamonds.

Are the soo overinflated???

What justifies the overinflation on valuation?

 

[drkewl]

If they diamond is certified by EGL thats one possibility. They have known loose standards for grading... for example someone buys a seeming wonderfun H / VS2.. but when they receive it has visible inclusions and has a tint of yellow... most people won't know the difference but the more picky customers will. They then call and complain that they got the wrong diamond. The vendor says "oh no thats the correct one!". They are not lying, just not telling you that if AGS graded the stone it may have received a J/K or S2 grading.

When comparing prices, compare similiar stones BY similiar graders.

Unless the diamond is second hand, you almost always get what you pay for when it comes to diamonds.

PS - for everyon good ebay 'diamond' story i've heard, I hear a few bad experiences along the lines of 'thats not what i paid for'. Ebay is great for some things, but diamonds is not one of them IMHO.

 

[mrssalvo]

There are 2 reputable ebay vendors we know about and you can purchase through both of them directly as well.

Diamonds by Lauren

and

Signed Pieces/Facets

check both of them and then compare..

we have heard many stories here of ebay vendors sending a different stone than the one the purchased. who know how many people take their rings for an independant appraisal for verification. Someone posted recently that Shenoa and Comany offered him $150 to retract his negative feedback.

ETA: oops, just noticed this question was directed to professionals, you can disregard my opionion if you want

 

[drkewl]

speak of the devil, here''s another bad EGL story JUST posted!

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/heres-my-story-sad-but-true.31997/


Funny how there are never AGS certified stones on Ebay

 

[mepearl53]

I''ve seen some decent buys if the consumer has a diamond to sell. I think the dealers on ebay understand that the people using that site are looking for a bargain. Mark it up to mark it down. Same way as the 70% off signs at the mall stores.

 

[denverappraiser]

Date: 8/4/2005 10:11:42 AM
Author:lulubboy

Why is it that many diamonds on ebay are soo cheap vs market value.

This depends entirely on what you mean by market value. Many sellers will provide an ''appraisal'' that lists a price that they call something like ''market value'', ''insurance value'', ''comparable value'' or some similar language that has no connection to the marketplace where most people are doing business. Often there is no explanation whatsoever of what it is that they are trying to describe. Since the market being discussed is ebay, you can get a far better feel for market value by looking at the completed auction prices for similar items. Even this can be problematic because the items are being self-described by the sellers or their minions. This leaves quite a bit of room for omissions, errors, obfuscations and outright lies. Many items on ebay are badly misdescribed and it makes the comparison process difficult.

Ignore all appraisals that are prepared in advance and are provided by sellers. If you want an appraisal, get it yourself. If the seller needs help writing their description or in identifying their merchandise they are certainly welcome and even encouraged to seek assistance but they are the ones who are making the claim that it is what it is, not some annonymous 3rd party appraiser. ''Free'' appraisals cost you more than you think.

The opinions of labs, gemologists, etc. are only as good as the people giving them. Ignore all documents where you don''t know and can''t figure out who wrote them. A flowery name does not make a lab credible. Do some research on the lab that did the grading. An unknown grader or an unknown lab doesn''t make them wrong but it''s certainly cause for alarm and it''s up to them (the lab/appraiser) to convince you that their opinions are useful. Assume that it''s not unless you have some good reason to believe otherwise.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ISA NAJA
Independent Appraisals in Denver

 

[RockDoc]

Date: 8/4/2005 10:11:42 AM
Author:lulubboy
Ok professionals. I have a question and would like a good answer.

Why is it that many diamonds on ebay are soo cheap vs market value.

The sellers have the certification/ valuation for these diamonds.

Are the soo overinflated???

What justifies the overinflation on valuation?

Overstated values..... If you see this it is a REDLIGHT



Most of the time this is simply a "feel good" valuation that is exaggerated to make potential purchasers think they are getting a bargain.

Yes - there are bargains on ebay, but not as much as it might perceived if relying on overvalued values.
This is particularly true when the selling price is very different that the valued price. If you see differences of more than 50% you can almost be positive, the value is misleading in one way or another.

If you''re in doubt find your own appraiser, as Neil wrote above, and I totally agree.

Rockdoc

 

[lulubboy]

So the ONLY valuations I should believe are by GIA and AGS standards? Right.

Even then ... will be be some dicrepancy in price? Would it be a lot... due to CUT.

THnaks.

 

[denverappraiser]

GIA and AGS are grading labs. They don't do valuations.

The valuations you should believe are the ones that come from your own research or the opinions of someone who you have some reason to believe. This might be an appraiser, it might be the vendor, it might be your mother-in-law. In all cases, the first thing to look at is the credibility of the person giving the opinion. Values aren't carved in stone. The same item can bring a very different price in different marketplaces. For a value opinion to be useful it's important that any valuation be made within the proper context and that you understand what that context is.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ISA NAJA
Independent Appraisals in Denver

 

[diamondsbylauren]

Date: 8/4/2005 4:00:22 PM
Author: denverappraiser
GIA and AGS are grading labs. They don't do valuations.

The valuations you should believe are the ones that come from your own research or the opinions of someone who you have some reason to believe. This might be an appraiser, it might be the vendor, it might be your mother-in-law. In all cases, the first thing to look at is the credibility of the person giving the opinion. Values aren't carved in stone. The same item can bring a very different price in different marketplaces. For a value opinion to be useful it's important that any valuation be made within the proper context and that you understand what that context is.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ISA NAJA
Independent Appraisals in Denver

Great points made by these guys!- And thank you mrssalvo

This last one is very important- GIA NEVER puts a value on a report- with good reason- they are a lab examinng and identifying diamonds.
The formulas used to place a value on an item by the labs that do offer this, is quite frankly, rediculous.
If a seller is telling you it's worth $100, and they are sacrificing and offering it for $50 , they are simply contradicting themselves. If it was really "worth" $100 then that's what you'd be paying.


SO- Any dealer on eBay selling a $10,000 diamond for $5000 ( or $500) is just like a store which has a $10,000 price tag, then immediately deducts 50%.
Does anyone actually believe the $10K number?

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 8/4/2005 3:50:53 PM
Author: lulubboy
So the ONLY valuations I should believe are by GIA and AGS standards? Right.

Even then ... will be be some dicrepancy in price? ... due to CUT.

THnaks.

yep...most likely the case.