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Bad B&M experience

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bfready

Rough_Rock
Joined
Feb 18, 2007
Messages
91
I actually didn't even walk into the place... I called to ask if they would verify a stone I bought (actually I haven't bought it yet) online. The guy literally called me stupid for buying online and asked how I could trust a place that only exists in theory. He told me PS had given me enough information to really get in trouble and I was making one of the biggest mistakes of my life. At the same time he was trying to get me to come into the store to look at diamonds against his master set! Finally when I told him I hadn't done any business with him so I didn't know if I could trust him more than an online retailer, he hung up on me.

I know this isn't much of a question or anything, but I thought it was interesting to find out how some of the B&Ms really feel about online retailers.
 

:)

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jul 25, 2006
Messages
1,864
A lot of b&ms don''t like online because the costs are so much lower online and they are losing business. Sorry you had a negative experience.
 

Finding_Neverland

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jan 10, 2007
Messages
412
Some B&M''s are just that way. They refuse to accept that internet jewelry buying is here to stay. AND,........ Your diamond purchase could be that Jeweler''s one big sale of the month that pays all the bills. Getting you in the store to buy could be a big bennie for that Jeweler.

Saavy B&M''s know they have internet competition. A good B&M jeweler would offer to sell you something similar for close to the same price. Maybe make a little on the sale of a setting, and earn your business for the future.

Personally, I wouldn''t mind paying a tad more to buy in person and form a lasting relationship. People always need the annual cleaning and stone set check. Resizing. Other, smaller jewelry items and watches will probably come down the road. Possibly even stone upgrading.

A good B&M should know that and act accordingly. Unfortunately, many act the way the person you spoke with. They don''t think long term. They think of this month''s memo consignment''s, rent, and utilities bills.
 

ladykemma

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jan 2, 2006
Messages
2,194
i have a stellar small engagement ring. we went to helzberg diamonds to get the wedding ring. the salesperson looked at my stone and said "take it back!"

they do this to try to instill doubt, get you to return it, and then buy from them I think this is unethical. This happens all the time.

my stone is terrific and i didn''t bite the hook.
 

jaz464

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jul 11, 2005
Messages
2,022
I would totally pay a little more to shop in person. It would be great to be able to see many excellent or ideal cut diamonds and compare them. We don''t get that option when buying via the internet. However, I can''t find any B&Ms with competitive prices, diamonds with superior cut, AGS or GIA certification, sarin info, idealscopes, etc. Many online vendors provide all of this. So until the B&Ms catch up, I will continue to shop online.
 

rfath

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jul 27, 2004
Messages
406
The B&M place I went to to buy my setting was very skeptical that I was getting my stone from the internet and lectured me about how I didn''t know what I was really getting (they were a Lazare vendor). They humored me and agreed to look at the stone when it arrived, since they wouldn''t set the stone if they didn''t think it was quality enough.

They were stunned when they saw it and gave me no problems with making a setting around that stone and still comment on how lovely it looks whenever I''m in the store.
 

ebonykawai

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jan 25, 2007
Messages
235
I hate the way some B&Ms act. At the one place I mentioned a while back (who were selling HOF and asking me "See the hearts?"), they also told me that their diamonds were great, but "That''s OK, your ring is sort of pretty...for now." It was all I could do NOT to say something like "Uhhh...my stone is a triple EX and scores a .9 on the HCA. What do your stones score??"
29.gif
Idiots.
 

risingsun

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Dec 19, 2006
Messages
5,549
I was looking at HOF at my local jeweler. The price was ~$15,000 for a 1 ct stone. I purchased a 1.234 ct ACA for $9300. When I took the diamond back to have it set, he was rather miffied. Then he took a good look at the stone and the AGS DQD and said I had gotten a beautiful stone. He put it under the microscope and we looked at it and both got all excited. He said that when he first saw it on the display case, he thought it was one of his HOF diamonds (I first showed it to one of his associates.) I did pick out a HOF setting and he said he would treat the ACA as "one of his own." We go to pick up the rings tomorrow
30.gif
Honestly, I was nervous going back there with my stone and asking to have it set, but the HOF settings are pricey so it all worked out
14.gif
I did want to local jeweler to take care of my rings, so it really did all work out
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Sundial

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Mar 14, 2005
Messages
5,532
Date: 3/2/2007 6:05:21 PM
Author: risingsun
I was looking at HOF at my local jeweler. The price was ~$15,000 for a 1 ct stone. I purchased a 1.234 ct ACA for $9300. When I took the diamond back to have it set, he was rather miffied. Then he took a good look at the stone and the AGS DQD and said I had gotten a beautiful stone. He put it under the microscope and we looked at it and both got all excited. He said that when he first saw it on the display case, he thought it was one of his HOF diamonds (I first showed it to one of his associates.) I did pick out a HOF setting and he said he would treat the ACA as 'one of his own.' We go to pick up the rings tomorrow
30.gif
Honestly, I was nervous going back there with my stone and asking to have it set, but the HOF settings are pricey so it all worked out
14.gif
I did want to local jeweler to take care of my rings, so it really did all work out
2.gif
Risingsun I'm glad that you were able to get an ACA diamond and have it set in a HOF setting. I can't wait to see your rings after you pick them up!!!

Edited to add: Bfready I'm sorry you had such an ugly experience with a b&m jeweler. Some of them are just threatened by online sales, but there are some good ones out there.
 

Cehrabehra

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jun 29, 2006
Messages
11,071
Date: 3/2/2007 4:01:30 PM
Author: ladykemma
i have a stellar small engagement ring. we went to helzberg diamonds to get the wedding ring. the salesperson looked at my stone and said ''take it back!''

they do this to try to instill doubt, get you to return it, and then buy from them I think this is unethical. This happens all the time.

my stone is terrific and i didn''t bite the hook.
every single last person I showed my stone to told me they thought it was beautiful and unique and that I should keep it. Except one. Guess who stands out in my mind? Ugh!!! And the stone she tried to tell me was better was sooooo ugly!!!!! Ugly, smaller, and more expensive! LOL
 

kev_800

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jan 27, 2007
Messages
122
Date: 3/2/2007 6:19:16 PM
Author: Cehrabehra

Date: 3/2/2007 4:01:30 PM
Author: ladykemma
i have a stellar small engagement ring. we went to helzberg diamonds to get the wedding ring. the salesperson looked at my stone and said ''take it back!''

they do this to try to instill doubt, get you to return it, and then buy from them I think this is unethical. This happens all the time.

my stone is terrific and i didn''t bite the hook.
every single last person I showed my stone to told me they thought it was beautiful and unique and that I should keep it. Except one. Guess who stands out in my mind? Ugh!!! And the stone she tried to tell me was better was sooooo ugly!!!!! Ugly, smaller, and more expensive! LOL
Its funny you say that Cehrabehra, I bought an amazing stone from GOG recently, H&A, AGS000, G VS1, and I brought it with me to compare some stones at a local jeweler here in town, and she brought it into the back to steam clean it before we placed it next to the stones she had pulled for me to view. Anyway, she brought some very nice stones (which I found out later scored well on the HCA too), but she told me that both she and her manager looked at the stone in the back and ''thought it was nice but it was a little dark''


Uhhhhhhh no, you''re just trying to put some doubt into my head as a ''sales technique'' because the fine folks from GOG didn''t blow smoke up my @ss when picking out a stone.
29.gif


The funny thing is that B&M stores CAN compete with online vendors if they just make some small adjustments to their business, but they are so unwilling to do so.

Oh well, their loss!
 

Finding_Neverland

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jan 10, 2007
Messages
412
Date: 3/2/2007 5:42:47 PM
Author: ebonykawai
I hate the way some B&Ms act. At the one place I mentioned a while back (who were selling HOF and asking me ''See the hearts?''), they also told me that their diamonds were great, but ''That''s OK, your ring is sort of pretty...for now.'' It was all I could do NOT to say something like ''Uhhh...my stone is a triple EX and scores a .9 on the HCA. What do your stones score??''
29.gif
Idiots.

I was cruising the counter of a store here that sells HOF. The sales gal offered to clean my ring for me. Fine. I''ll take a free, professional cleaning when I can get one.

As she was drying my ring to hand it back to me, she commented, "You could really stand a rhodium plating. Your white gold is looking a bit yellow."

"How odd." I said. "I wasn''t aware platinum turned yellow or needed to be rhodium plated."

She still had my ring in her hands so she gave it a quick look. Saw the hallmark inside, and said, "Sure enough it is platinum. Sorry about that."

My ring could stand a good buffing, but I won''t be doing it there!
19.gif
 

bfready

Rough_Rock
Joined
Feb 18, 2007
Messages
91
I know I wasted a lot of this salesman''s time (not that I feel bad), but I just couldn''t resist seeing how far he''d go in his "don''t buy online" lecture. He actually tried to make me feel bad for not paying sales tax to an out of state vendor because that money goes to the police and fire departments. He went on to imply that online vendors would steal my credit card information and ruin my credit. I wish I had recorded the call.
 

Unearthed

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Feb 14, 2007
Messages
103
It''s very hard for these B&Ms to accept the fact that what they sell is being sold elsewhere for much much less money. I would even call it a denial of some sorts. If you go to a mall store, it is very likely that they simply don''t even know how amazing the markup is on the stones they are selling. They are taught by people who would rather make them think that internet sales are a shady business. The B&Ms that will survive and perhaps prosper are the ones that make the proper adjustments to their business model and embrace customers from all walks.
 

bfready

Rough_Rock
Joined
Feb 18, 2007
Messages
91
This wasn''t even a mall store. This was a place that has one location and looks more like a small office building than a storefront. And the reason I called them to begin with is that they''re listed among the retaillers and appraisers on the AGS website.
 

krayzie

Rough_Rock
Joined
Feb 19, 2007
Messages
7
I had the samething happen at a local store. I was actually going to buy a ring and wedding band from him until he gave me his spiel about the internet. He knew I worked in IT yet still decided to tell me about how purchasing online is evil.
 

SuzyQZ

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Feb 20, 2006
Messages
1,420
Internet diamond sales are here to stay.

B&M''s putting their heads in the ground will not make it go away.

There is a definite internet market out there... B&M''s need to compete with it, or they will be out of the game for sure.

When I bought my diamonds from a B&M I asked them match the Blue Nile price. I saw that as the "high end" of internet pricing. They did, and I bought.

It''s that simple.
 

diamondfan

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jun 17, 2005
Messages
11,016
Sounds like the guy was a jerk and hates losing business to informed consumers who buy online. What is dumb is he likely lost future sales you might have made for other items if he had been decent to you!
 

aljdewey

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Nov 25, 2002
Messages
9,170
Date: 3/2/2007 8:10:21 PM
Author: Finding_Neverland

Date: 3/2/2007 5:42:47 PM
Author: ebonykawai
I hate the way some B&Ms act. At the one place I mentioned a while back (who were selling HOF and asking me ''See the hearts?''), they also told me that their diamonds were great, but ''That''s OK, your ring is sort of pretty...for now.'' It was all I could do NOT to say something like ''Uhhh...my stone is a triple EX and scores a .9 on the HCA. What do your stones score??''
29.gif
Idiots.

I was cruising the counter of a store here that sells HOF. The sales gal offered to clean my ring for me. Fine. I''ll take a free, professional cleaning when I can get one.

As she was drying my ring to hand it back to me, she commented, ''You could really stand a rhodium plating. Your white gold is looking a bit yellow.''

''How odd.'' I said. ''I wasn''t aware platinum turned yellow or needed to be rhodium plated.''

She still had my ring in her hands so she gave it a quick look. Saw the hallmark inside, and said, ''Sure enough it is platinum. Sorry about that.''

My ring could stand a good buffing, but I won''t be doing it there!
19.gif
BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHAHAHAHHAHAA

Love it! That''s PERFECT.....and you handled it SO well.
36.gif
 

RockDoc

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Aug 15, 2000
Messages
2,509
Date: 3/3/2007 12:10:18 AM
Author: bfready
This wasn''t even a mall store. This was a place that has one location and looks more like a small office building than a storefront. And the reason I called them to begin with is that they''re listed among the retaillers and appraisers on the AGS website.

If an AGS member does something that you really feel badly about, then contact the AGS headquarters and alert them.

AGS members are supposed to have a high level of professionalism, and conduct themselves accordingly. If they don''t, and your complaint is found to have merit, AGS will boot them out. If this person was an employee, then the owner should be alerted. If it was the owner or a titleholder of the store that something that you found improper, it is more "serious".

AGS will investigate complaints from consumers.

Rockdoc
 

bfready

Rough_Rock
Joined
Feb 18, 2007
Messages
91
I was so mad after being told I was stupid, I called AGS HQ and they told me I could document the conversation and report it to them, but since I didn''t actually have a transaction with the guy, there''s little they could do. They said they can''t regulate customer service.

I don''t believe the person told me if he was the owner, but based on what he was saying about his time in business, I truly believe he was.
 
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