buy a ring online and getting appraised locally? thoughts?

unknown00 · Oct 12, 2013

so i'm planning to buy a nice expensive wedding band online. why online? price. i've done my online research on several retailers both on this forum and google and everything so far looks okay. but i am still very hesitant of the quality when 1. i have never seen the ring in person and 2. the price is like 30% less than some stores. basically i want to make sure i get real diamonds and just an overall good quality ring

my plan is to buy online, and immediately once i get it to go get it appraised locally. since i have never done this before i have a couple questions
1. where do i go to get it appraised? can i go to a chain diamond ring places like zales/kays or do i need to go to a specialty diamond place?
2. what is the typical cost and turnaround time? do i have to leave my ring with them overnight?
3. what info do i get from the appraisal? do i just need a # of what it's worth? or do i get a more detailed description of like the diamonds (the 4 Cs)?
4. how open are the appraisal places to answer questions/help me out? since i am spending no money with them and don't plan to, i can see some hesitation to help
5. what am i missing from above that i should know about?
6. anyone have horror stories of being scammed online?

ecf8503 · Oct 12, 2013

Re: buy a ring online and getting appraised locally? thought

Start here:

https://www.pricescope.com/appraisers

chrono · Oct 12, 2013

Re: buy a ring online and getting appraised locally? thought

In general, if I am familiar with the online vendor, I often do not need an additional appraisal to verify that the diamonds are good, the gold is real, etc. So yes, you do need to do your homework about the vendor (check return policy, check vendor review, etc) before the purchase. Appraisals are not free; a true quality appraisal is using an independent third party of which you DO have to pay a fee for their services whereby their job is to protect your interest. A chain diamond place's salespeople are generally not very diamond savvy so the only tool they can use to verify that the stones are diamonds is using a diamond tester. They will not be able to gauge the diamond quality. Going to a diamond store will not be of too much help either because of the conflict of interest. It is more likely that they will tout their own products as superior to the one you are inquiring about. Depending on the item you have in hand and what you want, the appraiser can give you a replacement price estimate and/or a more detailed description.