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AGS000... should I pay for the branding/upgrade options?

soxfan

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jun 20, 2013
Messages
4,814
Hi! Happy to answer.

I did it because it will be a while (if ever) before I upgrade them; truthfully, the sentimentalist in me keeps wondering if I can really part with them, since they were the first big gift my DH ever gave me (but the size-hog in me cries out for "MORE" :lol:). In the meantime, I wanted to have diamonds that I knew were of a top-notch cut and their performance was maximized. It's what my DH thought he was giving me, but he just didn't know better and trusted the jeweler; plus, to him, D/E color was super important so that's where he really focused. And truthfully, I do love how blindingly white they are! But, once I realized how important cut was, it was only a matter of time before this conversion happened :mrgreen2:. So to satisfy both sides of me I had them recut AND put them in bezels, which should bring them to around a 7mm (or 1.25ct) appearance =)2

Perfect size with the bezels....
 

sledge

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 23, 2018
Messages
5,791
I started responding yesterday and got tied up and lost my post. Anyhow you already hit on the point of "sunk costs".

It does little for us to think about what we paid. What matters is the present and future values. You mentioned $8k. I assume that is what BGD values them at with the branding.

We frequently talk about used values and they are all over the place. Generally speaking, most people would agree you could get 50-70% of initial price.

Lower End @ 50%: $4k street value so about $4k to the good if you traded with BGD. Adjust for $1,700 branding and you now have a net result of $2,300 to the good with BGD.

High End @ 70%: $5.6k street value so about $2.4k to the good if you traded with BGD. Adjust for $1,700 branding and you now have a net result of $700 to the good with BGD.

Reality is you may keep, street value may go higher than 70% (not lower because you'd keep if less than 50% unless in fire sale conditions, at which case trade value is irrelevant as you will be seeking cash), or you may trade in to another super ideal vendor (probably for a discount equal to the branding if I were to guess).

My point is that mathematically I don't see high enough reward potential for dumping an extra $1,700 cash you could use as a security blanket or to invest and increase wealth; therefore, offsetting any potential trade or cash sale differences.
 

BlingDreams

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jul 12, 2015
Messages
2,268
I started responding yesterday and got tied up and lost my post. Anyhow you already hit on the point of "sunk costs".

It does little for us to think about what we paid. What matters is the present and future values. You mentioned $8k. I assume that is what BGD values them at with the branding.

We frequently talk about used values and they are all over the place. Generally speaking, most people would agree you could get 50-70% of initial price.

Lower End @ 50%: $4k street value so about $4k to the good if you traded with BGD. Adjust for $1,700 branding and you now have a net result of $2,300 to the good with BGD.

High End @ 70%: $5.6k street value so about $2.4k to the good if you traded with BGD. Adjust for $1,700 branding and you now have a net result of $700 to the good with BGD.

Reality is you may keep, street value may go higher than 70% (not lower because you'd keep if less than 50% unless in fire sale conditions, at which case trade value is irrelevant as you will be seeking cash), or you may trade in to another super ideal vendor (probably for a discount equal to the branding if I were to guess).

My point is that mathematically I don't see high enough reward potential for dumping an extra $1,700 cash you could use as a security blanket or to invest and increase wealth; therefore, offsetting any potential trade or cash sale differences.

That's the conclusion I came to, except the values when it's time to sell. If that's all that's offered then I'll keep them :mrgreen2:
 

pfunk

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
Dec 2, 2014
Messages
770
Yeah that’s just crazy money. You know what value was added by getting that recut (which you paid for) and they know the quality of those diamonds after their recut. If they don’t want to take them as trade-ins unless you pay that crazy amount of money for branding, then I’d take my chances putting them on the market with the AGS cert alone. The AGS 000 is where the majority of the value lies, and like someone else mentioned, you can still go to them and try to trade it in knowing full well the quality of the cut. They cut them... they know it, you know it. If they dont want to give you something closer to the full value (i.e. trade in value at least > 7k) thats up to them but it seems like a poor business move for retention to me. I can see a reasonable fee, but $1700 is a lot of money and you already gave them your business for the recut. I mean there is always a chance the bottom falls out on diamond values and they could come out in a bad place, but $1700 is just a lot.
 
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uyalison

Shiny_Rock
Premium
Joined
Dec 31, 2014
Messages
250
why don't you just wait, when you are ready to upgrade. If you still want to upgrade with BG, show them the email, and pay the 1700, or have a lower trade in value for you BG re-cut diamond. If this option is available today, it is likely it will be available in the future. Just keep a copy of the email.
 
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