Wire Transfers for purchases???

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Life's a party. Crash it.

Several of the dealers will offer the option of paying with direct wire payment as an alternative to using a credit card in exchange for a token discount, usually about 2%.  The banks are all quite familiar with the service and can walk you through how to do it.  The discount is roughly the same as the fee charged to the merchant by the credit card company for using their service.  International customers usually don’t have the option of using a card because of the complications from a multi-national deal.

From the consumers standpoint, it’s effectively insurance and the big reasons to use it boil down to how much you trust your merchant vs. how much you trust your credit card company.  Adding the cc company gets you three basic things:

1) It adds the credit card company to the loop in the case of a dispute (usually the biggie).
2) It allows you to pay for your purchase over time.
3) Sometimes it gets you frequent flyer miles or similar perks.

The value of the miles is debatable but the assistance of the company in dealing with a far away merchant is comforting to many people.  Worry about the general credibility of the merchants is by far the biggest reason that the internet dealers only see a few percent of the diamond business and the credit card companies offer a valuable service for making the whole deal less troublesome. If you're worried, use it.

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

There's never a crowd when you go that extra mile.