Blue Nile still not honoring pricing errors

[Schust11]

I know this has been a topic on this site before but it continues to be an issue with Blue Nile. After looking through a selection of diamonds with one of their consultants I selected a nice 1 carat, ideal, I, sl2 for about 3500 dollars to go with the setting. The consultant said everything was good and the ring will be ready in about 3 weeks.
The next day I was told that the diamond was sold to someone else and I would have to purchase a different diamond all of which are now 1000 more. I asked politely if I could talk to a manager about the issue. The manager then claimed that the diamond was actually priced wrong. So they could honor the price but would gladly sell me a comparable one for roughly a grand more.. I am not a diamond expert and did not jump on an obviously mismarked price. I was working with one of their consultants that recommended it to me. I understand mistakes will be made but BN is unwilling to compromise at all when it was obviously it's fault! I am not an expert businessman but if they made the mistake and are going to still make money on the setting couldn't they eat the profits on the diamond to keep a customer happy? Not honoring the price is just poor business and seem petty for a company as large as BN. Poor brand management!

 

[LLJsmom]

Wonder what the consumer protection laws say about this? In CA, a company must honor the price even if it is wrong.

 

[MissGotRocks]

I'm guessing that they must have a disclaimer somewhere on their site that would cover them in case of pricing errors.

I can understand the poster's feelings in this matter though - particularly as it is no fault of her own. Sorry this happened - hope you find another stone that you love even better!

 

[Diamond2014]

Beside the Blue Nile's signature line, Blue Nile don't own any of the diamond on their site. They're basically an index drop ship where once you order the diamond, they then request the diamond from the actual owner. Whatever the actually owner wants for the diamond, Blue Nile add few bux on top of that and sell it to you.

Every diamond is different, thus price will be different. Not every 1 carat, ideal, I, sl2 is going to be exactly $3,500. They can't just give you the price of $3,500 for a similar product. They got to take in consideration of what the actual owner wants for it.

 

[tyty333]

I'm sorry this happened to you. I wish BN had made you a better offer for customer service sake but I understand they don't
make much money off their stones.

If they dont do any better than your only option would be to take your cash somewhere else and post reviews on what happened
to you.

You can check on this stone and see if it's eye-clean and make sure the clouds don't interfere with the light return.
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.00-carat-i-color-i1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-762746

 

[kenny]

Per the policy stated on their site they don't have to.
I don't blame them.
This is not a can of corn at the supermarket.
Diamonds are wildly expensive and we're all human subject to making mistakes.

The following quote is from Bluenile's site:

"Data, including prices, may be inaccurately displayed on our Site due to system or typographical errors.
While we make every attempt to avoid these errors, they may occur.
We reserve the right to correct any and all errors when they do occur, and we do not honor inaccurate or erroneous prices. "

ETA: I quoted the link to this exact page but (bizarrely and annoyingly) BN screws with links so links take you ONLY to their home page.
See my next post for where/how to find the above quote on their site.

You should have read their policies before buying.
Unless there are state laws that supersede their published policy I don't think you have a legitimate complaint, let alone a legal case.
Then there's the matter of which state BN is located in, and which state YOU are located in and how this affects the applicability of state laws.

 

[kenny]

Okay, here's how to find the above quote ...
Scroll to the bottom of Bluenile's home page.
Click on Help Topics.



Under Policies, click on Website Errors.



Under Terms and Conditions click on Product availability and pricing



Read the second paragraph.

 

[MollyMalone]

It's certainly disappointing-frustrating, but fyi Blue Nile is not an outlier in this regard. E.g., James Allen, Whiteflash, Brian Gavin, and Ritani are among the vendors that have the same kinds of notices-disclaimers on their web sites' Policies or Terms & Conditions pages & thus, do not guarantee that the stone you select will actually be available to you at the listed price.