Blue Nile and dealers...

[esp102]

I noticed that Blue Nile only lists diamonds that other dealers don''t advertise. However, when I called Blue Nile they said they don''t carry inventory and have to check with their wholesaler. I asked if other companys can sell their diamonds and they said "No, if they do we put a stop to it".

Is Blue Nile taking a bite out of the inventory online chains can carry by forcing wholesalers to deal with them?

 

[froufrou]

esp: thats weird cause when i called bluenile they said all their inventory is kept in a vault in NY.

 

[esp102]

Probably from a wholesaler in NY.

They faxed me a cert and it had a diamond cutters name on the top of the fax. S&S Brothers Company.

http://www.sandsbrothers.com

 

[froufrou]

esp...so if they report and tell me a stone is eyeclean, do i believe them cause they''ve called the wholesaler, or not necessarily??

 

[esp102]

Good question... I wouldn''t believe them until you and an appraiser of your choice reviewed the diamond. I doubt they will call you back and say "froufrou, Hi... this is BN the diamond is not eye clean - you can see the inclusion from 10 feet away - do you want to make the purchase now?"

 

[Defender]

From what I have learned, it appears that Blue Nile has relationships with vendors that give them some level of exclusivity in listing of diamonds in online search engines. In other words, the majority of Blue Nile stones usually do not show up in other vendor's virtual inventory on Price Scope, and the other major online search engines used by consumers. I surmise that most of these have an exclusive marketing deal with respect to the listing of these stones online, but not an exclusive right to sell them if another vendor can find them.

However, I think that other vendors can access many of these same stones if the prospective buyer gives the merchant the details and data on the stones.

I have called them on stones and they do call the vendors to get visuals on stones. Their sales staff seemed pretty genuine and realistic with me. I have asked about a few SI1's and they told me that they were not totally eyeclean. I also asked about a J color stone and inquired if it faced up white, and they said that they would not make such subjective statements and prefer to rely on GIA color grading. They told me I should assume that a J color is going to show some color. In other words, they seem pretty conservative in "selling" diamonds too hard. In the long run, they would have little benefit for being less than honest, and getting stones returned to them

 

[mrssalvo]

Date: 5/18/2006 1:00:37 PM
Author: froufrou
esp: thats weird cause when i called bluenile they said all their inventory is kept in a vault in NY.

maybe a vault that every other vendor has access to? I''ve heard stories here where people have found stones on BN''s site and then had their vendor i.e. Mark at engagementringsdirect, source the stone (go the big vault in NY???) and purchased it through him for less money.

I personally wouldn''t purchase thru BN b/c they don''t have stones in house to look at, nor do they run sarins or provide other info I''d want. They do have a very consumer friendly return policy though which is a plus if buying unseen.

 

[Dancing Fire]

yeah....the stones are kept in a vault but,not in their vault .i don''t think they have any stones inhouse.

 

[griffey]

BN sells the same diamonds as many vendors. BN doesn''t have any diamonds...maybe except for the signature series?...but they''re basically like a broker online.

Griffey.

 

[Arcam]

I know everyone likes to bash BN here and say they don''t sell their own diamonds, but if you check their website, you can see that they have over 1,000 stones in their signature collection (~400 Round ~580 Princess + 150 Fancys) which are laser inscribed. Thats a pretty significant collection by any standard. Sure you can get more info and possibly better prices from other vendors, but the bashing of BN with inaccurate information is unnecessary and unproductive.

 

[mrssalvo]

Date: 5/18/2006 8:53:57 PM
Author: Arcam
I know everyone likes to bash BN here and say they don''t sell their own diamonds, but if you check their website, you can see that they have over 1,000 stones in their signature collection (~400 Round ~580 Princess + 150 Fancys) which are laser inscribed. Thats a pretty significant collection by any standard. Sure you can get more info and possibly better prices from other vendors, but the bashing of BN with inaccurate information is unnecessary and unproductive.

I don''t see anyone bashing BN, maybe unaware that they do have stones in stock, but not "bashing." They may own and have in stock their signature series but they still can''t run a sarin so I''d still skip them. This isn''t to say they don''t have beautiful stones that would meet my criteria, they just don''t provide the info I''d want to make the purchase sight unseen.

 

[jasontb]

I agree. Show me leakage with a reflector image or show me another website.

 

[Kaleigh]

Date: 5/18/2006 9:01:28 PM
Author: mrssalvo

Date: 5/18/2006 8:53:57 PM
Author: Arcam
I know everyone likes to bash BN here and say they don''t sell their own diamonds, but if you check their website, you can see that they have over 1,000 stones in their signature collection (~400 Round ~580 Princess + 150 Fancys) which are laser inscribed. Thats a pretty significant collection by any standard. Sure you can get more info and possibly better prices from other vendors, but the bashing of BN with inaccurate information is unnecessary and unproductive.

I don''t see anyone bashing BN, maybe unaware that they do have stones in stock, but not ''bashing.'' They may own and have in stock their signature series but they still can''t run a sarin so I''d still skip them. This isn''t to say they don''t have beautiful stones that would meet my criteria, they just don''t provide the info I''d want to make the purchase sight unseen.

Yup, no bashing of BN is done here. The facts are the facts. I would like more info on a stone before buying and they don''t provide that now. Perhaps that will change in the future.