Blue Nile and Mondera Pricing

[oz692]

Does anyone know if Blue Nile and Mondera''s pricing is negotiable?

Thanks in advance.

 

[niceice]

"Everything is negotiable" however most of us who sell diamonds on the internet are doing so at such small margins that their 'really' is nothing to play with... And compared to traditional retail margins, our mark-up's are so dramatically different that many retail jewelers consider internet dealers to be equivelent in mark-up and selling price to most of the diamond 'wholesalers' who they rely on for their day-to-day inventory needs. This is primarily because most of us have an established extremely high volume of annual diamond sales which provides us with volume discounts that most traditional brick and mortar jewelers can't even fathom... So don't be surprised if the internet dealers don't budge when it comes to price because you're already buying at a level which is quite close if not equal to what your local jeweler is paying...

 

[derekinla]

As a suggestion,

When comparing prices between vendors, be sure to calculate the per-carat cost (kind of like calculating the "price per ounce" cost when grocery shopping). Often times, you will see stones with markedly different per carat costs, even with the same vendor so be to look at as many different options as possible. You may be able to use this as leverage when negotiating.

 

[niceice]

PPC (price per carat) is a factor, however it helps to understand how variations in proportions, inclusion type, visibility and location come into play in the PPC Game. For instance, an "ideal cut" 1.70, VS-2 clarity, F color diamond with a crown angle total depth of 62.3% with a 57% table and a crown angle of 35.3 degrees with a pavilion angle of 41.2 degrees and a slightly thick, unpolished girdle is going to cost less PPC than one with a total depth between 59 - 61.8% with a 54 - 56% table diameter and a 34.5 degree crown angle and a pavilion angle of 40.8 degrees with a medium, faceted girdle. Major differences in price are often due to subtle differences between the diamonds which may or may not be clear 'on paper' to the casual observer. More often than not when a client informs us that they can buy 'the same' or an 'extremely similar' diamond for less on another web site, we take the time to examine the parameters of 'that diamond' only to discover that the diamonds are only 'the same' on a surface level... The customer often overlooks the minute differences between stones, for instance, they might consider an "ideal cut diamond" with only Good polish and symmetry to be 'the same' as an ideal cut diamond with Excellent or Ideal polish and symmetry. As with most commodities, a little knowledge is just enough to get you fried if you take things for granted... Be sure to compare Organic Fuji Apples to Organic Fuji Apples when trying to determine what the diamond 'should be' selling for.

Another factor to keep in mind is the stability of the vendor. Most internet dealers NEVER see the diamonds that they offer for sale, this seems a bit absurd to us, but the reality is that most dealers act merely as brokers and list diamonds for sale which are eventually drop shipped from their supplier to the end user. A few of us insist on personally evaluating each and every diamond that we represent, thus ensuring the client that the diamond they purchase is of the highest quality and meets our experienced expectations for visual performance. This evaluation process takes a little time and adds a little to the selling price of the diamond and that too adds to the PPC.

 

[Mara]

I also wanted to point out that IMO Blue Nile and Mondera alot of times are more pricey than the smaller vendors for loose stones and things such as 'paired' earrings etc. So be sure to do your research on pricing as well as the stones....don't overpay for something that you can get elsewhere (esp a virtual stone that many vendors have access to) if you don't have to. You can find other vendors who are just as reputable if not more, MORE particular about their stones, more affordably priced etc...by just doing a little more research instead of going with the typical vendors that do the advertising and therefore get the eyeballs (BN, Mondera, Diamond.Com etc).