Any experiences with www.GemStoneKing.net?

[burketmt]

Was wondering if anyone bought from this website or through them on ebay and if they value them as a reputed seller.

I was looking at this and it seems well priced. My wife just finished her masters and deserves something!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130218859128

 

[Muss]

I think you are going to be hard pressed to find many people on here with positive ebay experiences, but there are a few.

You are looking at a 7ctw tennis bracelet in 14K white gold for 1,325 that they claim retails for 8,990.

At Whiteflash, a well respected vendor, a 7ctw bracelet in 14K gold will run you about 10,000.

Granted, there are differences in the two. Most notably, the ebay one has many smaller diamonds (120 of them) while the WF model has a smaller amount (47) of larger diamond to reach a total weight of 7ct so naturally they are going to be more expensive--but hopefully you see my point.

I''ll let the people with more experience chime in and give you better advice, but if I was looking at this I would be very interested to now why it was so cheap. Conversely, if this is a good product the price is going to jump in the next three days to the point that you are still better off looking elsewhere to find a good deal.

AND (probably should have done this first) Welcome to Pricescope and a hearty congratulations to your wife!

 

[burketmt]

thank you all.

i going to check out this vendor when im NYC. He does have his own website and approx 3000 references of clients, surely someone must have found something or he wouldnt be open since 1999 on the internet. That said, your comments are appropriate.

 

[Fly Girl]

I have purchased a couple of items from them (pre-PS). Basically, you get what you pay for. Don''t expect firey, blemish-free sparklers, if they don''t describe the item that way. One pair of brown diamond earrings I purchased had a dark brown blemish that ran the length of the table, and when I pointed out that their picture had no such blemish, they told me to return them and sent me a different pair.

Read the description carefully. You will get nothing more than what is described. I wasn''t spending a lot, and I considered the items to be not much better than costume jewelry.

Congratulations to your wife.

 

[zerj]

"I going to check out this vendor when im NYC. He does have his own website and approx 3000 references of clients, surely someone must have found something or he wouldnt be open since 1999 on the internet. That said, your comments are appropriate. "

Your logic seems flawed here. I don''t believe profitiablity and quality are one and the same. K-mart/Walmart has been in buisness for a lot longer than 1999 but you won''t find me shopping for my wife''s negligee there, unless I have a strong desire to sleep on the couch.

For that matter what is a reference particularly in an online store. Unless they provide actual phone numbers for the references they are pretty worthless. Even then it would just say he has a lot of friends or is good impressionist. The only online references I would trust are those from a 3rd party site and even then you have to carefully consider them.

 

[cectra79]

I have to agree with everyone who responded. It is not a good deal. You get what you pay for. I never bought jewelry from ebay (and never will), but I had many bad experiences with ebay with other things. It''s just not worth the hassle. Please buy somewhere else.

 

[burketmt]

Thanks Fly Girl.

I ended buying this for 750USD all-in:
http://stores.channeladvisor.com/gemstoneking/Items/tv186?&caSKU=tv186&caTitle=6.00%20CT%20CERTIFIED%20WHITE%20GOLD%20DIAMOND%20TENNIS%20BRACELET

I know im getting what im paying for but I worried these were not even diamonds. Could it be they are synthetics?

 

[burketmt]

thanks for your comment, appreciated and tend to agree with you.

However as an inexpensive jeweler to buy a few things here and there from it might make sense for some people. My wife has enough jewlery and some heavy hitters at that, so to spend small amounts on trivial or everyday gifts (such as passing her Masters finals etc.) might be good for me. Ill report when I get it, it was shipped today.

Im planning to give it to her May 15th. We are leaving for a round the world trip for 2 months and the first leg is Boston-Amsterdam overnight on Northwest Airlines that day. Since I fly a lot I plan to give the box to the purser (head stewardess) in the lounge before boarding so when we board and settle in our seat it will be there waiting for her. However we are going in many countries that would not be prudent to be sporting anything diamond, so Im having mixed feelings about that.

 

[purrfectpear]

I''m not one of those people overly concerned with eBay as I''ve gotten some fab deals from time to time.

That said, you DO realize that an "I3" grade diamond is basically "frozen spit" right? I mean expect a seriously, seriously, bad, dull stone that will make the jewelry from Target or WalMart look like Tiffanys in comparison.

If you want to please the wife, it might be a good idea to have a back up plan just in case. Make sure you''ve left enough time to work out the return of the bracelet before you go on your trip, because I can almost guarantee that you will want to return it.

 

[chrono]

If you are going to be in the NYC area, then I''d suggest these vendors:
www.goodoldgold.com who sells sparkly diamonds at internet prices with a real store that you can walk into.
www.engagementringsdirect.com who is right in the NYC diamond district. I think he only sells the stones separately from the setting though but he sells very pretty stones and you''ll need an appointment setup beforehand.

 

[2Artists]

Ok-I have been down the eBay road myself so no judgements here. But I do strongly suggest that you look at the website Toolhaus.org where you can type in a seller or buyers name and get a full list of all the withdrawn and negative feedbacks. I first heard about toolhaus on Pricescope not very long ago. I don''t remember who suggested it but it is a really good idea and a great tool. I did look up gemstoneking on it and there were a number of withdrawn feedbacks from very unhappy buyers. Obviously they have a number of happy feedbacks too. But I do not personally know about this company since I have not personally dealt with them. Best luck.

 

[2Artists]

I should clarify I am not knocking them in any way-they do have a lot of good feedbacks looks like about 17250, rather all I am saying is that it is good to look at all the information available to make the best choice possible.

 

[2Artists]

Sorry I meant over 30,000.

 

[Fly Girl]

Date: 5/5/2008 12:57:26 PM
Author: SanDiegoLady

Date: 5/5/2008 12:18:35 PM
Author: burketmt
Thanks Fly Girl.

I ended buying this for 750USD all-in:
http://stores.channeladvisor.com/gemstoneking/Items/tv186?&caSKU=tv186&caTitle=6.00%20CT%20CERTIFIED%20WHITE%20GOLD%20DIAMOND%20TENNIS%20BRACELET

I know im getting what im paying for but I worried these were not even diamonds. Could it be they are synthetics?

They are described as an I3, do you know what the average I3 looks like? :*( Bad bad bad. I''m sorry!! I know you wanted to gift your wife with something lovely. If my husband gave me a bracelet of frozen spit I''d be very unhappy- regardless of the size. Quality is very important. You could have given her a beautiful classic piece that was smaller but brilliant from a trusted vendor versus a large piece with massive flaws. I hope you can return it. You could have bought her something wonderful from Signed Pieces or Whiteflash or James Allen or any number of other honest vendors.

You really do get what you pay for.

Ditto. They will be real diamonds, but they won''t look too nice.

 

[Hera]

I understand not spending a lot of money, but if you can afford it (you are going around the world) I don''t understand why you wouldn''t want her to have something nice. If I were her I would be very angry if you got me that.

 

[2Artists]

Congrats are in order for your wife getting her Masters! I think it is really nice that you are taking her on a trip around the world and trying to get her a special present. If you do decide that what you bought is not going to work-I noticed when I looked up the seller that it appears they are pretty good about giving refunds.

 

[burketmt]

Date: 5/5/2008 4:51:32 PM
Author: heraanderson
I understand not spending a lot of money, but if you can afford it (you are going around the world) I don''t understand why you wouldn''t want her to have something nice. If I were her I would be very angry if you got me that.

Luckily she doesnt know any better... (just kidding).

Thanks for the well-wishes.

 

[purrfectpear]

Just so you''ll have an idea what to expect, here is a typical I3 quality stone

 

[Hera]

Date: 5/5/2008 5:15:17 PM
Author: burketmt

Date: 5/5/2008 4:51:32 PM
Author: heraanderson
I understand not spending a lot of money, but if you can afford it (you are going around the world) I don't understand why you wouldn't want her to have something nice. If I were her I would be very angry if you got me that.

Luckily she doesnt know any better... (just kidding).

Thanks for the well-wishes.

I'm just being honest. If most any person were to see those diamonds, they would know they were bad quality.


I guess you know your wife best, though, so I'll stop now. Enjoy your trip.

 

[vslover]

Date: 5/5/2008 5:15:17 PM
Author: burketmt

Date: 5/5/2008 4:51:32 PM

Author: heraanderson

I understand not spending a lot of money, but if you can afford it (you are going around the world) I don''t understand why you wouldn''t want her to have something nice. If I were her I would be very angry if you got me that.

Luckily she doesnt know any better... (just kidding).


Thanks for the well-wishes.

She''ll be able to tell. Even a person with ZERO diamond knowledge will notice that I3 diamonds look like frozen spit. I''d return it and get something else...

 

[Fly Girl]

Date: 5/5/2008 5:23:09 PM
Author: purrfectpear
Just so you'll have an idea what to expect, here is a typical I3 quality stone

Based on what I saw from them, you can expect big, black surface blemishes as well. That picture is of a rather nice I3.

ETA - My SIL has an engagement ring with tiny I3 stones. She likes it because it is real diamonds and she doesn't know any better. BUT, I'm sure she'd love a ring that actually sparkled. I agree, anyone can tell the difference.