- Joined
- Sep 3, 2000
- Messages
- 6,756
The highly competitive prices asked for diamonds greatly depends on the regularity and good supply of diamonds in the market. Without this fairly robust supply, prices would be less consistent. The Internet has created a highly competitive situation for diamonds that can be shopped, such as 1carat or 2 carat stones. Mark-ups on these on the Internet are low to nominal. Even retail stores who want to make sales have dropped their mark-ups on such stones to record lows.
On the other side of the coin are affluent folks who often come to see me for advice on large diamond purchases. Most of these people are not so Internet aware due to their higher age bracket or demand more personal service that they feel exists only in stores where they have an existing relationship. Right or wrong, this is how they feel. These large diamonds, often over 10 carats in size are being sold at prices that simply seem incrediblly high compared to more normal sized diamonds. We all hear about the scarcity of large diamonds which are very difficult to shop on the Internet or even from store to store. The retailers offering these big rocks don''t have to cut prices, and I believe they are actually marking up these large diamonds more than years ago where the biggest diamonds had the lowest profit margins. The market has reversed and big diamonds seem to have big mark-ups. Smaller diamonds now have small mark-ups. Its a real flip-flop.
Looked at a 10+ ct stone this morning and a 9+ stone yesterday. Wonderful gems and big enough to see from accross the street. Wow! Money-wise, these were 250K and up. Nice gifts going to loving new homes.
On the other side of the coin are affluent folks who often come to see me for advice on large diamond purchases. Most of these people are not so Internet aware due to their higher age bracket or demand more personal service that they feel exists only in stores where they have an existing relationship. Right or wrong, this is how they feel. These large diamonds, often over 10 carats in size are being sold at prices that simply seem incrediblly high compared to more normal sized diamonds. We all hear about the scarcity of large diamonds which are very difficult to shop on the Internet or even from store to store. The retailers offering these big rocks don''t have to cut prices, and I believe they are actually marking up these large diamonds more than years ago where the biggest diamonds had the lowest profit margins. The market has reversed and big diamonds seem to have big mark-ups. Smaller diamonds now have small mark-ups. Its a real flip-flop.
Looked at a 10+ ct stone this morning and a 9+ stone yesterday. Wonderful gems and big enough to see from accross the street. Wow! Money-wise, these were 250K and up. Nice gifts going to loving new homes.
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