Parks fine group inc

[Wewechew]

When I click on the woman’s IG page and go see who she’s following, Alex still shows up. I don’t know if maybe that’s an IG glitch since you really never stopped “following” him on her end.

I stopped following him after he vocalized his distaste for PSers several months back. It’s a shame, he has great stones at a great price.

 

[MamaBee]

It just occurred to me that the pawn shop I frequent here in CT has a diamond buyer named Alex come in from NY to buy frequently.

Wouldn't it be a coincidence if it was the same Alex? I know it's a long shot, Alex is a common name, probably lots of diamond dealers with that name but still.....

You should mention PS casually and look for a reaction! That would be crazy!

 

[MamaBee]

When I click on the woman’s IG page and go see who she’s following, Alex still shows up. I don’t know if maybe that’s an IG glitch since you really never stopped “following” him on her end.

I stopped following him after he vocalized his distaste for PSers several months back. It’s a shame, he has great stones at a great price.

I did too but curiosity got the best of me.

 

[Starfacet]

You should mention PS casually and look for a reaction! That would be crazy!

If he starts scratching his butt like there's a mosquito bite on it at the mention of PS, then it's him.

 

[MamaBee]

If he starts scratching his butt like there's a mosquito bite on it at the mention of PS, then it's him.

 

[PintoBean]

I know Alex and I've always been impressed with his customer service.

All I can say is that just because we have had a great experience with a vendor doesnt mean that that will be the case for you.

My suggestion is that you start a new thread with your budget and bling spec wish list and we can help you search and suggest new vendors for you to reach out to.

 

[the_mother_thing]

jackassery.

Well said!! I am biting my virtual tongue on a few other choice names as well.

One NEVER knows who is on the other end of a ‘DM’, who they know, where they may post about their experience, and what kind of money they might be looking to spend. But this jackhole (Alex) just keeps expanding the list of people who have a negative experience and opinion of him & his business, which in time will not bode well for his wallet. I hope peeps also take time to post about his poor service on Yelp, Google, etc as well.

 

[arkieb1]

Just Unfollowed Vendors on IG

Thought you had to be over 13yo to be one:D

www.pricescope.com

 

[monipod]

I think Alex prefers straight-forward transactions so his best fit are buyers who know what they want and understand diamonds well. Or impulse buyers like me... He probably isn't for buyers who need that next level of detail and attention, which of course a customer is entitled to have, especially when it comes to diamonds.

I feel bad for the OP's experience but having read some of Alex's replies to Instagram comments, I am not so surprised by his behaviour. In his defence though, some people do ask him some unnecessary questions! He is however very cordial with fellow vendors (yes, I have stalked his IG for months lol) so I wouldn't call him a jerk. Just not Salesman of the Year.

I'm in the process of receiving a diamond from him. So far he's been good with correspondence but being a simple diamond purchase, we don't have much to discuss.

So in spite of his minimalist customer service, why did I go ahead and buy from him? He gets some really, really nice stones and at very good prices. What I bought, I could never, ever find in Australia and for that price. I have had great experiences with other US vendors but Alex had the stone I wanted and he is very transparent with prices (it's just there plain and simple for you to consider). Because of the time difference, I find that most things are on 'Hold' by the time I check out his new post Will this level of interest in his goods continue in spite of his customer service style? That remains to be seen.

Again, it's sad that the OP had that interaction with him. I'm hoping there was some sort of misunderstanding but on the other hand, if there is indeed a client/vendor clash of personality, it's better to know now than thousands of dollars later!

I follow him because his prices are pretty good (and because I know a couple of people here who’ve had positive interactions with him). I’ll just be careful not to ask about anything unless I’m dead serious.

Yes, I got that feeling too so I only jumped on the stone I knew I really had to have. I get the feeling he's had to deal with people putting things on hold and then not coming through with payment so I don't doubt that he blocks/blacklists people who have done that.

 

[soxfan]

When I click on the woman’s IG page and go see who she’s following, Alex still shows up. I don’t know if maybe that’s an IG glitch since you really never stopped “following” him on her end.

I stopped following him after he vocalized his distaste for PSers several months back. It’s a shame, he has great stones at a great price.

I feel like most vendors probably feel this way about PS'ers, they just won't say it out loud.

 

[distracts]

In his defence though, some people do ask him some unnecessary questions! He is however very cordial with fellow vendors (yes, I have stalked his IG for months lol) so I wouldn't call him a jerk. Just not Salesman of the Year.

It’s easy for jerks to be nice to people who are useful to them, and when everything is going right. The test of character is how people treat others who cannot do anything for them or in difficult situations.

Seeing customer service like this makes me wonder what it would be like if someone who bought from him had a problem with the product - something was made wrong, or needed to be returned, or got lost in shipping. I wouldn’t be confident that the situation would get resolved to my satisfaction. I’d be afraid I’d just get blocked on Instagram and would have to do a chargeback.

 

[Queenie60]

Op. Thank you for posting your experience. I too had an experience with this vendor. He sent a stone to me and I’m positive it wasn’t the stone he represented it to be. He was quick to respond to my return which went quite smooth. However my recent requests have been less than pleasant. His responses were quite abrupt. He posted on IG last weekend and when I inquired he rudely informed me that he doesn’t work on weekends. I felt that he was telling me to get lost. I will never do business with him again. I apologized for bothering him. There are plenty of diamond dealers to purchase from who welcome inquiries and show respect to customers. Agree, Alex is a jerk

 

[distracts]

He posted on IG last weekend and when I inquired he rudely informed me that he doesn’t work on weekends.

Why post on the weekend then? And why reply and not just leave the message until Monday? Both of those things ARE working on the weekend. So weird.

He really seems like the kind of person NOT suited to selling on instagram. He’d be better served by having a website where he lists everything with all pertinent info and where people can buy directly without having to message him, and just post pictures on insta for advertising, with links to where to buy. If he minimized customer interaction he’d probably have more patience with people he DOES have to interact with.

 

[Wewechew]

I feel like most vendors probably feel this way about PS'ers, they just won't say it out loud.

I don't disagree with you! But saying it out-loud is just in poor taste, in my opinion.

 

[JPie]

Seeing customer service like this makes me wonder what it would be like if someone who bought from him had a problem with the product - something was made wrong, or needed to be returned, or got lost in shipping. I wouldn’t be confident that the situation would get resolved to my satisfaction. I’d be afraid I’d just get blocked on Instagram and would have to do a chargeback.

I had an imperfect transaction that was resolved to my satisfaction. I purchased a newly made French cut eternity that had antique diamonds. Upon receipt, I noticed that two of the diamonds were chipped. When I reached out to Alex, he replied right away and offered either a return or price adjustment. I chose the latter and got a partial refund the next day.

Since then, I’ve gotten a diamond tennis bracelet from him that was exactly as described. I’ll continue to buy from Alex, but I wouldn’t recommend him for anyone who doesn’t know exactly what they want and are ready to buy.

 

[Sparklythingymabobs]

Honestly that was pretty much the extent of the conversation since it happened immediately after being sent 1 stone to consider. It doesn’t seem reasonable to me that there is absolutely no room to consider or rediscuss your options. However I can see some happy customers in this thread. I’m glad it worked out for you guys since it seems that you got what you wanted and for a good price. I agree it seems like he’s very newbie unfriendly though. Everyone has to start somewhere, and for some of us, it will be the first and final purchase. It’s definitely hard to navigate the system!

 

[the_mother_thing]

Crappy service is crappy service. If Alex’s ‘style of selling’ is so narrow-minded that he can’t be bothered with anything more than collecting someone’s payment, perhaps he should let people know that he doesn’t do questions or customer service on his IG or a website ... or better yet, stick to wholesale vs. having a customer-facing model like he does on IG.

 

[PreRaphaelite]

Reminds me of this guy, who is shockingly without self-awareness

 

[mrs-b]

People I consider jerks are almost never jerks all the time. No functioning human goes through life being a dick from sun-up to sunset every day. (Maybe Hitler?) They always have some people with whom they get along, or who do things exactly as they prefer and with whom there's no friction as a result. Doesn't mean they're not jerks, tho - just means they weren't a jerk to YOU.

I don't doubt this person can be perfectly pleasant and that some - possibly many - have had excellent experiences with him. But the whole point is that he can also be nasty. I mean - come on! - he told the OP to go shop elsewhere, then blocked them because they wanted to consider options! That's ridiculous. I can be quite finicky over wine,or cheese, or the color of my stockings. You had BETTER BELIEVE IT that I'm going to go back and forth on diamonds, for Pete's sake! If he can't tolerate that, he really needs to have a guideline of his expectations on his page. If he did, and if he stuck to it politely, I'd have no problem with him. If he said "I'm super busy and can't do A, B, C" - fine. But it's the out of the blue rudeness to perfectly nice people that sticks in my craw.

I wonder how he'd go if he was told the next time he bought a car he had to have his decision made before he walked into the showroom and that he had to go home with the first one he looked at. Apart from general bad manners, I sense a sexist element to this I find offensive.

The fact that he can be both nice and nasty makes him an unreliable quantity, and I'd be very upset if I was on the unhappy end of one of his transactions. Not my cup of tea at all.

 

[Rfisher]

At least OP isn’t being told Instagram sellers are an acquired taste and maybe they’d be better off sticking to a conventional B&M jeweler. That may be an appropriate reply to other situations, but don’t believe so for this.
I think that’s the most frustrating part about sellers like him. He’s not the first on here that the experience is such a grab bag.

 

[Wewechew]

At least OP isn’t being told Instagram sellers are an acquired taste and maybe they’d be better off sticking to a conventional B&M jeweler. That may be an appropriate reply to other situations, but don’t believe so for this.

I’ve bought from an IG seller. Her level of customer service was on par with HPD and WF.

Bad customer service is just bad customer service, no matter the platform.

 

[lissyflo]

People I consider jerks are almost never jerks all the time. No functioning human goes through life being a dick from sun-up to sunset every day. (Maybe Hitler?) They always have some people with whom they get along, or who do things exactly as they prefer and with whom there's no friction as a result. Doesn't mean they're not jerks, tho - just means they weren't a jerk to YOU.

I don't doubt this person can be perfectly pleasant and that some - possibly many - have had excellent experiences with him. But the whole point is that he can also be nasty. I mean - come on! - he told the OP to go shop elsewhere, then blocked them because they wanted to consider options! That's ridiculous. I can be quite finicky over wine,or cheese, or the color of my stockings. You had BETTER BELIEVE IT that I'm going to go back and forth on diamonds, for Pete's sake! If he can't tolerate that, he really needs to have a guideline of his expectations on his page. If he did, and if he stuck to it politely, I'd have no problem with him. If he said "I'm super busy and can't do A, B, C" - fine. But it's the out of the blue rudeness to perfectly nice people that sticks in my craw.

I wonder how he'd go if he was told the next time he bought a car he had to have his decision made before he walked into the showroom and that he had to go home with the first one he looked at. Apart from general bad manners, I sense a sexist element to this I find offensive.

The fact that he can be both nice and nasty makes him an unreliable quantity, and I'd be very upset if I was on the unhappy end of one of his transactions. Not my cup of tea at all.

@Mrs_B - I just wanted to say that I love your pragmatic, considered, no-nonsense, but fair and balanced, take on these kinds of issues. Reasonable expectations, politely requested shouldn’t cause anyone a problem!

Thank you for saying it as it should be and without any drama or fuss.

 

[Sunstorm]

He’s nice to other vendors? Really? I considered buying from him. He is just very rude. That is not ok. Period. I disagree that only newbies cannot work with him. I am sorry I am trade but I can Still have questions. I may want to buy an I1 but since I cannot see it IRL I may want to know what is the grade setting inclusion. That is just one example. I definitely considered doing business with him before. My relationship with my suppliers is quite personal and really good. I prefer to work with nice people, that’s all. And when it comes to a situation where a problem arises, then it really does matter who you work with.

 

[mrs-b]

@Mrs_B - I just wanted to say that I love your pragmatic, considered, no-nonsense, but fair and balanced, take on these kinds of issues. Reasonable expectations, politely requested shouldn’t cause anyone a problem!

Thank you for saying it as it should be and without any drama or fuss.

Thank you, @lissyflo - I appreciate the sentiment a great deal.

 

[Grymera]

A lady asked if an eternity band could be resized down and he told her to go eat a cheeseburger! Very uncalled for.

 

[Bonfire]

A lady asked if an eternity band could be resized down and he told her to go eat a cheeseburger! Very uncalled for.

I saw that comment too. Maybe he thinks he’s funny? IDK
I DM’d him a couple of weeks ago to ask about a stone that had been on hold and he posted it was available again. He was extremely curt and blew me off. Oh well, I guess he has enough business and doesn’t want mine. Foolish man.

 

[muesli]

A lady asked if an eternity band could be resized down and he told her to go eat a cheeseburger! Very uncalled for.

That's not okay in any way...(not as a joke neither, you never know of personal struggles).

 

[bling_dream19]

Thank you, @lissyflo - I appreciate the sentiment a great deal.

I second the sentiment for sure!

 

[tjkswift]

In my opinion his interaction with you was irrational & illogical. That being said, it's his business & his reputation & he's free to manage that however he'd like to. I had, in general, a similar interaction with him earlier this year, which also resulted in him blocking me on IG. Since these types of episodes are continuing, they either have no negative financial consequence to his business or he's making so much money that the losses equate to only pennies on the dollar. We could speculate until the end of time what his issues are but bottom line is, it's his issue and not yours. Thankfully there are ALOT of great diamond sellers that would love to sell you a stone, so don't let this situation get you down. Happy shopping!

 

[MeowMeow]

A lady asked if an eternity band could be resized down and he told her to go eat a cheeseburger! Very uncalled for.

Wait what? He said that to someone?? That's so rude and not funny to me at all. Oof. He needs to hire some help fielding questions if people asking questions makes him feel so put upon.