Date: 12/12/2005 10:05:02 PM
Author: aljdewey
This is a recurrent feeling I get, too, whenever I see these 'let's standardize things THIS way' proposals. I'm all in favor of progress and SIMPLIFYING things for shoppers........but I think it's a fruitless exercise to build a multi-stage contraption to replace a little common sense.
There is no 'one-size-fits-all' solution. I applaud your strong desire to build an infrastructure, Ira, but honestly......it's possible to go way too far with a good thing, yanno?
Al, when I see you commenting on my threads, I get the feeling you're going to play Reagan to me, and say: "Now there he goes again." And by gum...there you go. And....you've pegged me pretty good. I'm trying to establish something in the middle, so consumers can decide whether to go "right or left" in their decision making to shop for an appraiser...i.e., stay local, or go global. In my "suggestion for a middle way," with a checklist, if the local guy doesn't cut it, you go global. But, there's been a lack of interest in this idea. Still, the smartest ideas seem to come up out of the cracks (Richard: "...how much additional sex do you think this diamond will get me?)...and so, lets cut to the chase shall we?
Actually, since Leonid and Irina have given this thread a little spotlight, I've tried to see what useful ideas can come here. In doing a review, I see that an enormous amount of good stuff has really preceded this post, already. For example, I know Leonid has been working on providing excellent appraiser resources for a long while, started earlier, and then later with the post on "
tango, in implementing this idea.
Let me characterize two perhaps extreme potential or real scenarios that may help illuminate something here:
The longer an appraiser spends with a diamond, the more trouble it can cause for a shopper. It could happen. It's been reported by some they'll spend 10 hours with a stone. That kind of time invested, and you create a real relationship with the beast. Despite the fact that you might see great stuff and bad stuff, and can tell the difference between the two...spend long enough with one of these guys, and you'll find you can make friends with virtually any of them. So what if it scores
5.2 on the HCA...it could be re cut to become a winner. Taking one case in isolation has no real meaning, of course, and the facts as presented are never probably a good match with real life, but in general, I think the culture of appraisers is that, frequently, they see diamonds in isolation, and do have difficulty addressing that question #18 Neil composed above.
Now, take an ideal case for an appraisal, and a jeweler's worst nightmare. Presume that Rhino will take on the job of appraising your diamond. He'll say...OK, that's pretty nice, except, of course, for this one, and this one, and by the way, did you see this one? Perhaps the only saving grace in a situation like this is one I proposed in the thread on "appraiser list development," where a special agreement be set up, that Pricescope could have a hand in crafting, that will direct the diamond shopper to a high end jeweler, who will appraise, but where the agreement you first hand them will say that in accepting the job of appraising the stone, you will not be able to sell a diamond to that consumer within, say, 90 days.
I think that Leonid and Irina were supportive of this thread initially because of what they have seen recently, if not forever...the experience of a significant minority of shoppers who go to an appraiser, expecting perhaps too much, and feeling like they get back too little. Such a result is perhaps inevitable, when Pricescope does stridently encourage the use of an independent appraiser with the purchase of a diamond. And so, how reasonable is it, from Pricescope's point of view, to set out a plain speaking "checklist" that iterates between the appraiser and consumer just what is expected. Reasonably, you hope such an agreement and checklist reviewed by both in advance will help to mitigate complaints.
Beyond this document which would lay plain the set of expectations between the two, I had further hoped that the creation of a checklist could serve the purpose of establishing a peer review set of norms for quality, that the appraiser community would agree upon together, as reasonable points of assessment, for the appraiser to perform as a function of due diligence in carrying out their job. This is the potential "middle ground" suggested earlier in this post, but also which really, despite the fact that no such checklist has successfully come forward in this thread, does not in fact address the issues raised by the two scenarios above, too well.
It is inevitable that the opposite of what may need to happen will tend to happen. Those who seek out the best diamonds with AGS documentation may be most likely to also want to send their diamond away to an appraiser afar, to confirm doubly that what they purchased is the best, although they may be least likely to need to do this. Likewise, the buyer at a local shop with current GIA documentation may be most likely to bring their diamond to a local appraiser, if they've found Pricescope and the suggestion to do so, and in this environment, they are less likely to get the proportion sort of detail they might really want to benefit from. Regrettably, in both cases, shoppers will be challenged to get real time experience of comparative options available to them in the context of the appraisal session.
I say: a potpourri or resources can pour forth with benefit for the diamond consumer, and Pricescope could do well to continue doing what it has already done so well. The appraiser resources section here is a terrific boon. Presuming Neil and others will allow Pricescope to filch what has been written in this thread already, and given the administrator's relative interest in this topic, I'd welcome the creation of some sort of checklist that can be used by the consumer, proactively in advance of their engagement with the appraiser, so that they are more likely to come out satisfied at the end of the day. And, as I've said, a non-compete agreement could well be crafted, and provided to jeweler appraisers, so that Pricescope shoppers can open up their universe of appraisers to places where they can also see wares in comparison to the ones they might purchase, as an alternative, albeit one at least temporarily unavailable to them. (edited to add, also not wanting to leave Dave out of this post, that his reminder about
NAJA as a resource makes the practicability of this idea all the more viable).
Finally, Rock's interest in being an appraiser to the world ultimately serves this post best. My expressed intention here is to figure when it makes sense to go global for appraiser resources vs local. Setting up threshold requirements in a checklist was sort of the idea to get at that. No matter what, by giving the imprimatur of my eyes to another in an assessment, I am at something of a loss (and so additional solutions, also somewhere discussed previously, of video viewing at a distance being implemented would compliment these considerations, no doubt), and there's no way around that, except to add another step in the process of due diligence, including an appraiser at a distance, but still to definitely include oneself in that process after all is said and done. But, where you've suggested, Rock, in the companion post that inspired this one, that you might consider: "Maybe we can author something on light return percentage of assuredness based on the method that it is evaluated by the appraiser and what equipment is actually used in evaluating this....." something like this, perhaps, could serve a good purpose in the long run, for those considering even a progressive local appraiser who has and is trained in the use of and idealscope, versus one at a distance, who will give you detailed proportion data, original with themselves, to boot.
Bottom line, an assortment of tools for the consumer will help to aid them in doing their job. Personality factors will play in determining which tools may serve them the most. Right now, although I'd say the existing appraiser resources list may ultimately help the most, the no-compete agreement could play a close second, and, if using a local appraiser, I'd sure consider using a checklist with them.
Thanks for spending your day with me (if you've gotten this far).
Regards,
