All this Fuss about Rap

[fire&ice]

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. But, with my little knowledge, I know enough to not even rap about Rap.

Is it me; or, is Rap irrelevent to a consumer? There are so many subtle nuiances associated w/ Rap it could be used to show Price & what a good deal someone is getting. When, in fact, they are not.

Say someone says "This is a great deal - it''s 30% back from Rap." When in fact the cut is terrible & on it''s own no one would touch it 60% back from Rap.

Then, also when talking Rap, one must go by per carat weight - not TOTAL carat weight. Maybe I''m not good at math; but, it''s hard to convert so quickly when the bottom line is how much am I going to pay TOTAL.

I guess it''s kind of like when one wants to get rid of something - one can mark it up 50% then put a 50% off sign. In the end the person will pay the same price, but a psychological game is being played.

Plus, is the list that you are being shown up to date or for that matter real.

just my thought

 

[trichrome]

It is simple,

if you have access to the Rap sheet (it is copyrighted)
(because you're in a way or another related to the trade) then
the Rap sheet is a very good tool cause you're supposed
to know how it works.

Now if you're a customer and you don't have access to it legally,
it's useless for you.

Trichrome.

 

[fire&ice]

Trich, precisely my point. If you are going to use a tool, one needs access to the tool & the ability to fully understand how to use it.

 

[Guido]

I use it to compare diamonds between grades, not to determine actual pricing. For example, if the Rap report says a color grade E sells for 20% more than a grade G, then I take that into consideration when comparing E and G color diamonds (all else being equal).

I use it as a comparison tool, not as a pricing tool.

 

[pqcollectibles]

Dealers/Brokers are very good to pull out the Rap Sheet and flash the numbers in front of unwitting consumers to reinforce their point that they are offering a good price. Happens all the time. Happened to me and I've seen it done to others.

F&I is absolutely right. We've learned here, it takes an industry pro to understand how to use the Rap sheet to determine a fair price for a diamond. Dealers/Brokers exploit this tool all the time to make sales to people who don't know better.

Just my $0.02 worth!

 

[magna2]

We, as consumers, do not know how Rap sheets are used within the industry and are often bamboozled by jewelers who are try to give the buyer the impression that they are getting a great bargain by telling the buyer that he is going to sell the diamond at xx % of Rap.

Sounds great but the Rap Sheet is not a listing of MSRP for diamonds and as far as us consumers can tell has no direct relationship to what the actual price the jeweler paid. So what may appear to be a great bargain may not really be and could actually be higher priced than what a comparable stone is selling elsewhere.

I would rather deal with a jeweler who is giving me a fair price than one of just pure appearance by trying to convince me with tidbits of information to hint ot me what a great bargain the diamond really is. Some buy into that scheme but really have no idea what is being presented to them and then think what a great jeweler the person is for sharing an insider information to them. It is just a real smooth salesperson making you think you are getting a great bargain but Caveat Emptor!!

 

[Richard Sherwood]

A substantial percentage of dealers don't know how to properly use Rap. I run across it all the time.