B2C Jewelers claim to have failed in acquiring the diamond 6 days after purchase

[Gadabout44]

Greetings, I wanted to share this story and ask the community if this is normal. I do not want to quickly assume that this is a shady business, but if so please let me know and take this as awareness. If it is totally normal and things like this happen please let me know how I can avoid this next time.

A few of you may have remember this thread:

I was in the market (which I am once again) for a Diamond stone for an engagement ring. DK had requested one of the stones in which the community had vouched for. I quickly made the effort to purchase the Diamond. Unfortunately the diamond has been sold.

I just received a call from B2C, and apparently the diamond (#1) was sold when they are attempting to acquire this from the warehouse. Somewhere down the line I am not sure how this is possible. So I would like peoples opinion on this.

Timeline:
03/28/18 Made initial online purchase with the help of Harry on the phone line
03/30/18 Anita called, Received call stating CC was blocking the purchase at the same time Price error.
Asked them to put the Diamond on Hold while I sort it out
03/31/18 Sorted out price (they attempted to charge me retail price) compared to referral price which was $300 less. They granted me a discount to bring the Diamond price down to what was initially shown. Purchase was completed.
04/02/18 Received call from Melvin stating because the billing name and the recipient name (David Klass) were different they wanted me to confirm information with me because it conflicted with the Risk Verification Insurance for shipment. They had even asked me to send a color picture of my ID and Credit Card (with the CRV numbers crossed)
04/03/18 Received a call from Harry stating that they failed in acquiring the Diamond from the ware house. Aparently somewhere in the 6 days of hiatus, the diamond was purchase. It confuses me because I had told them to put the Diamond on hold during the first issues on 03/30/18

 

[LLJsmom]

I’m so sorry. Don’t know about the process but I would be upset. And I would move on to a different vendor. So sorry.

 

[gm89uk]

I'm sorry to hear that, very disappointing. Such is the business of virtual inventory. So many dealers with access to the same stones, and there can be a lag in updating databases of which stones are available. I don't know of a virtual online vendor that doesn't unfortunately have a post like this about them.

 

[Gadabout44]

I'm sorry to hear that, very disappointing. Such is the business of virtual inventory. So many dealers with access to the same stones, and there can be a lag in updating databases of which stones are available. I don't know of a virtual online vendor that doesn't unfortunately have a post like this about them.

I see, so if I understood correctly, this seems to be an unavoidable aspect when making online purchases. I cant help but be a bit sadden. Then again, I cannot be a big baby about this. Maybe it was meant to be, I just have to keep searching. I hope the community can bare with me once more in hopes to find a Diamond

 

[the_mother_thing]

That really does suck @Gadabout44 and I’m sorry that happened; it’s a gut-punch, for sure. I don’t think, however, it’s indicative of buying every diamond online; rather, it’s when purchasing a diamond in “virtual inventory” (think a warehouse somewhere) vs. at the actual seller’s store/location. There are diamonds that many sellers do have on-hand vs. virtual inventory, and you have much less risk of this happening in those cases (though I won’t say impossible).

Perhaps start a new thread with your specs again, and I’m sure the folks here will be happy to help you find something just as good, if not better!

 

[Gadabout44]

That really does suck @Gadabout44 and I’m sorry that happened; it’s a gut-punch, for sure. I don’t think, however, it’s indicative of buying every diamond online; rather, it’s when purchasing a diamond in “virtual inventory” (think a warehouse somewhere) vs. at the actual seller’s store/location. There are diamonds that many sellers do have on-hand vs. virtual inventory, and you have much less risk of this happening in those cases (though I won’t say impossible).

Perhaps start a new thread with your specs again, and I’m sure the folks here will be happy to help you find something just as good, if not better!

Will do, thank you for the support. Ill keep on trucking

 

[HappyNewLife]

ugh, that sucks. I'm sorry. I saw this happen recently to another PSer. That's the nice thing about working with a vendor who has in-house diamonds (WF, BGD, HPD) - have you looked at their inventory?

 

[Gadabout44]

ugh, that sucks. I'm sorry. I saw this happen recently to another PSer. That's the nice thing about working with a vendor who has in-house diamonds (WF, BGD, HPD) - have you looked at their inventory?

I was suggested to a few diamonds, however the prices were a bit higher than my budget. I am still open to purchasing from them given the consensus approval of the specification as well as price. I currently have another thread open asking the community to help in searching

 

[HappyNewLife]

I've owned many GIA XXX "ideal" cut diamonds, but NONE of them have compared to my Whiteflash ACA diamond. For what it's worth, I'd go with a slightly smaller super-ideal diamond

 

[ChristineRose]

Virtual inventory is not a warehouse (although I suppose it could be). It means the diamond belongs to someone else, and that B2C has made an agreement with the owner to split the profit if B2C can sell it. All jewelers do this to some extent, as no one dealer can carry a million combinations of color, clarity, shape, etc.

What it probably means is that two dealers were requesting the stone and there was some sort of time lag between the owner knowing it was sold and B2C requesting it. Glitches like this are a good part of the reason B2C is less expensive than other dealers.

 

[Emeraldsaremyfavorite]

This too happened to be with a different vendor. As others have stated, it is all too common when so many online vendors have the same diamond listed. Unless the diamond is in house there is just no guarantee until it is in your hands. You will find another, good luck!

 

[the_mother_thing]

Virtual inventory is not a warehouse (although I suppose it could be). It means the diamond belongs to someone else, and that B2C has made an agreement with the owner to split the profit if B2C can sell it. All jewelers do this to some extent, as no one dealer can carry a million combinations of color, clarity, shape, etc.

What it probably means is that two dealers were requesting the stone and there was some sort of time lag between the owner knowing it was sold and B2C requesting it. Glitches like this are a good part of the reason B2C is less expensive than other dealers.

I didn’t mean a literal warehouse in my post; it was simply an analogy to convey that B2C did not own/have the diamond in their possession when they attempted to sell it to Gad. Sorry if my post was confusing.

 

[Dancing Fire]

This is the main reason why I avoid cyber stones. If I was in the market for an RB I'd pick up the phone and call Wink, WF or BGD. They'll honestly describe the diamond's characteristics over the phone to me.