Advice & Wisdom Sought

[hitman1413]

Hi All,

Long-time lurker, first-time poster. Now, I know that this topic, and even this particular seller have come up before. I''m very wary of purchasing online, and especially from eBay, but this ring, from the description and photo anyway (both of which I take with tremendous grains of salt), just seems PERFECT. I can''t spend too much, but would love to have the sapphire sidestones (her birthstone).

As I said, I know this topic and this seller have come up before in these forums. My questions are:

1.) Can anyone who asked about this seller previously "report back" on any experiences?

2.) Given the description, is this price really "too good to be true"?

3.) And finally, does anyone have ANY idea what "GHI Appraisal" means? I also know that this has come up before, but has anyone learned anything?

Thanks for your time! Here''s a link to the ring in question:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2691325364&category=42952

 

[fire&ice]

The only thing that I have found about GHI is that most respected appraisers have *never* heard of them & their website has been under construction for over a year. Doesn't look good.

What is the vendors return policy? Do they charge a restocking fee? I'm a ebayer. Furnished our second home w/ ebay items. BUT - diamonds would not be something I would approach lightly buying on ebay.

 

[weemodin]

Regardless of whether or not it's too good to be true, a TRUE SI2 princess cut diamond is rarely eye-clean. Plus you know less than nothing about the cut of the stone here, which if you've been lurking long enough, you know is absolutely critical to the optical performance (aka sparkliness) of the stone.

I'd pass on that ring.

 

[alexah]

I've noticed that several e-bay rings have been GHI graded- maybe it has something to do with the GHI being located in the same bldg or near several of the e-bay diamond sellers?
I ruled e-bay out for a ring for myself for several reasons- a couple of which include that the stones are already set so it's difficult to get a true read on the quality and you can usually do better shopping with pricescope vendors & putting the ring together yourself- and that way you know what you're getting... I've seen quite a few scams in the ring section of e-bay...
Having said all that, if you live near NY, maybe you could arrange to see the ring prior to purchase?
One final word of caution tho- many of the e-bayers have storefronts in the diamond district... if the ring was a showpiece, chances are they wouldn't have to sell it on e-bay...

 

[valeria101]

Grain of salt... how about a boulder ! I would not hurry to buy anything from a crazy seller: how would you describe someone who offers good merchandise for a fifth of it's expected price? As far as I read that Ebay page, this is not a charity, but a commercial enterprise.
Honestly, $800 sound like a decent sum to me: why throw it through the window? There must be better uses in the world for this money. If their use MUST be a diamond ring, so be it, but in this case hunting down size takes safety and quality where no one should be going... one can get a less expensive diamond ring on honest terms, I hope. With this one you are really buying a week-long (this is an estimation of the delivery time, up to your opening that box) illusion of a nice diamond ring.

And no, gems are not certified to the nearest lab, juts to the most suitable: i.e. top stones go to reputable lab who can indicate their value, and the lesser the result of certification expected, the more "lenient" the lab chosen will be. GHI is still building it's reputation, and given that successful diamond grading labs are about half a dozen, it will take some time.

If sapphire is her stone, why not revert the order and get a sapphire center stone with diamonds on the side? No element of the combination will have to be "sized down" and few would call that a lesser ring. Just a thought, of course...

 

[pqcollectibles]

Don't know about the seller.

A comparable EGL Certed diamond would cost less than $400. A diamond without a Cert would trade for even less. Throw in the saphires and a set, any you could build your own ring (similar quality/size stones) for around $500. Now, does it sound like a deal?

You could get a much nicer center set diamond, and build your own ring for equal or less money. And, you'd know the quality of the make of the stones. Not just some Vendor's opinion.