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Concern about buying online

Ereeg

Rough_Rock
Joined
Mar 2, 2019
Messages
90
So I wanted to post this because online is very heavily recommended and pushed here on this website. Well I do agree they offer the best quality diamonds, there are some things with online that can happen.

I ordered a semi custom setting which they quoted as two weeks to make. It was delayed a week because of a production issue. I just got the picture sent over to me the “glamour shots” and it is a completely wrong ring. Not even close. They’re going to try to do it in seven more business days, but they really have to rush to do that. I should still have a little bit of leeway with my proposal date (a vacation), it could’ve easily happened where I didn’t have that leeway and probably would have and will happen to somebody out here looking for an online vendor.

I’m not going to name names of the vendor, but it is one of the pricescope preferred vendors that is very very highly pushed and recommended on this forum.

This vendor had even kind of steered me away from a designer setting because it took three weeks to get in. The semi custom is now going to be ending up (hopefully) close to a month for delivery.

Online does have its drawbacks and I don’t think that’s mentioned very much here.

If this was you guys would you ask for some kind of discount to make up for this pain in the neck?
 

david b

Shiny_Rock
Trade
Joined
Jan 19, 2018
Messages
235
As you know engagement rings are not off-the-shelf items but rather hand made, it is but natural that last
minute delays will happen along the many steps of creating this engagement ring.
If the delay was due to their mistake of manufacturing the wrong model, yes I would think it would be a kind gesture
to offer you some kind of compensation



Thank you
 

lovedogs

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jul 31, 2014
Messages
18,038
That's unfortunate and if I were you I would name the vendor so that others are aware. I would certainly be requesting a discount if I were you.
 

Tophat1

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
Feb 5, 2017
Messages
529
Wow, that sucks, but could also happen in store for any setting not in stock. I’ve seen complaints on here when people go to pick up the ring, it’s not right.

Yes, I would ask for some discount for your troubles. Or maybe a credit toward a wedding band if you think you will buy it there.
 

JPie

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Feb 12, 2018
Messages
3,897
I've heard stories of people encountering similar issues with brick and mortar vendors - the wrong setting was made despite conversations and photos. That said, I don't think it's acceptable regardless of whether the vendor has a physical store.

I hope you're able to resolve this to your satisfaction and that you're offered some sort of compensation to make up for the mix-up and delay.
 

Ereeg

Rough_Rock
Joined
Mar 2, 2019
Messages
90
It’s now April 20th as new ship date. Another 10 days. I can’t believe it.
 

OoohShiny

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 25, 2014
Messages
8,228
Did you have CAD pictures to review and approve? Or was it a verbal description that led the design?

IMHO it was good that the vendor advised you to go for what was likely to be a speedier option because you wanted the ring quickly, but any time we seek for a quick supply of what we are looking for, we increase the potential for slippage of the required end date because there is less time to make things right if something does not go to plan.
 

gm89uk

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
May 26, 2015
Messages
1,491
I find people underestimate how long it can take as a process, especially with a hard deadline required, such as a vacation.

I certainly did and had similar issues with a B&M store. I ultimately accepted the ring because the deadline was more important and the things that weren't right were not going to make a difference to her, just not my imagination of the outcome. Good luck. Compensation? Well depends how long it has been really.
 

Ereeg

Rough_Rock
Joined
Mar 2, 2019
Messages
90
Did you have CAD pictures to review and approve? Or was it a verbal description that led the design?

IMHO it was good that the vendor advised you to go for what was likely to be a speedier option because you wanted the ring quickly, but any time we seek for a quick supply of what we are looking for, we increase the potential for slippage of the required end date because there is less time to make things right if something does not go to plan.

It is a very common solitaire custom design they recommended for the Tiffany look (much reccomended here on PS). There was no CAD image. There was a description of the customization in my order statement.

It’s actually 5 weeks and 2 days now if they get it in time from date order placed and paid for.

I do not agree there is “room for slippage” with these things when I’m sending over $10,000 to a vendor. It’s poor operations management if you ask me.

I’m considering canceling the whole thing and going back to the brick and mortar I had originally selected. This out a really bad taste in my mouth. For example if I need it sized in future are they going to size the ring and send me the wrong one back?

Sure of the dimensions are nice on the diamond, not sure I can notice that in person versus the ones I looked at in the store. What I do know is I will notice if it took five weeks to get something ready. My local jeweler says typically customizations are 1 to 3 business days. And I understand there is room for error but one to three business days for a custom setting versus quoted two weeks which turned into five is much much different.

*end rant* :razz:
 

Ereeg

Rough_Rock
Joined
Mar 2, 2019
Messages
90
Also to add it wasn’t like they didn’t get the knife edge just right Or the prong shape just right. They made a completely different ring which had four prongs instead of six and entirely different design.
 

gm89uk

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
May 26, 2015
Messages
1,491
It's not dimensions you buy a super ideal stone for, it's the performance of the diamond.

It obviously sucks you got a totally different ring, must have been a shock. I suppose this kind of mess up isn't common for the company, hence the fantastic reviews. You'll see they do everything to try make it right.

Your local B&M store has a very fast turn around time, mine was stated at 6 weeks. Honestly less than 6 weeks is a small wait in the grand scheme, and finding the right diamond is a big chunk of the journey already completed. While the wrong ring made doesn't exuberate confidence, I'm sure you'll get there and hopefully be pleased, especially as the design of the ring is reasonably well understood.
 

whitewave

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Feb 29, 2012
Messages
12,331
Just sharing, my B&M had a 3 week wait to bring a ring in to get sized!!!
 

kmoro

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Sep 13, 2018
Messages
1,081
It’s now April 20th as new ship date. Another 10 days. I can’t believe it.

@Ereeg ... I am so sorry this happened to you. I remember your other posts.

I think at the start of your thread you said seven business days ... so that would be about 10 days. The chance of further mistake is small unless there is a HUGE communication problem, and if you start over, I doubt you will have anything by April 20.

Unfortunately, even the best make mistakes. My guess is that they will do everything they can to make it up to you. They do extra things for people if they’re unhappy even if they’ve done nothing wrong.

Gonna say, this could have happened when dealing with any vendor, even the best B&M store. People are human. It’s how they deal with their mistakes that matter, and I suspect they will take care of you.

It always sucks to be part of an error. I’ve cancelled orders over bad mistake follow-up before.

I hope it works out sooner than the revised expected date and that you are more than happy with the end result.

... if someone else decides to buy a custom ring promised to be completed in two weeks with no leeway, I say good luck and that there is a better than good chance of getting it on time. *shrug*

:wavey:
 

Miss Marple

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jan 19, 2018
Messages
253
@Ereeg--hope that you were able to talk to the vendor and they are able to take care of you to make things right.

I don't think that B&M stores are necessarily better. Yours quoted you a fantastic turn around time. I've been to 3 different local B&M stores in the last few years. At best, for a simple resize, it was about a week. Another quoted 1-2 weeks for a simple reset into a stock setting. That store took over 2 months and many phone calls. A third promised a week and it was slightly over a week.
 

TimMD

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jan 19, 2011
Messages
267
All I can say is I am not surprised (getting an idea of who by your prior posts) although speaking negatively about some around here is blasphemy.

I am sorry you are going through this, online, brick and mortar, whatever your avenue, there are always mistakes and unexpected delays, even amongst the "best" or "most respected" in either world. We all make mistakes, it is one's response to issues that sets them apart. That is true for anything in life. But for certain, in my opinion, there is no better "reliability" in a B&M. It is just easy to think that when we are disappointed and frustrated.

I am not sure there is an easy answer to your situation but only you know what you will be comfortable with and can accept. Good luck to you and I think you have a valid point, not necessarily that B&M may be better but that some online vendors aren't as perfect in all avenues as we would like or think.
 

OoohShiny

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 25, 2014
Messages
8,228
Even the best people make mistakes - it's how they deal with them to resolve the situation that marks out The Best from the not-quite-good-enough ;-) :))

FWIW (likely not much, lol) I am always of the mind that it is better to take additional time and get something exactly right first time, rather than rushing to hit a deadline and being left with minor irritations.

I know that mindset doesn't help a situation where you wanted a ring at a specific date to enable you to propose somewhere special... but then as people always remind me when I am late due to being stuck in traffic, I should have started off earlier... :p lol


For me, the performance of the SuperIdeal cut would outweigh the speed of going to a B&M and just buying something that looks 'alright' - but I do appreciate that if one hasn't seen a superideal and how it performs across a range of lighting environments, it's impossible to know what one is missing.

I hope you get the end result you are looking for :)
 

Ereeg

Rough_Rock
Joined
Mar 2, 2019
Messages
90
All I can say is I am not surprised (getting an idea of who by your prior posts) although speaking negatively about some around here is blasphemy.

I am sorry you are going through this, online, brick and mortar, whatever your avenue, there are always mistakes and unexpected delays, even amongst the "best" or "most respected" in either world. We all make mistakes, it is one's response to issues that sets them apart. That is true for anything in life. But for certain, in my opinion, there is no better "reliability" in a B&M. It is just easy to think that when we are disappointed and frustrated.

I am not sure there is an easy answer to your situation but only you know what you will be comfortable with and can accept. Good luck to you and I think you have a valid point, not necessarily that B&M may be better but that some online vendors aren't as perfect in all avenues as we would like or think.

Thank you. Yes I’m not going to speak negatively and name them. But if people want to research that’s up to them.

I’ve reached out to them to see what else they can do besides a free dinner certificate. That was original offer.

It is very disappointing to hear they made the wrong ring and even this ring was delayed. I understand human error is a factor and they at least were very honest on the phone and said it basically just came down to human error and someone made a mistake and they apologized for that.

You are right it is extremely disappointing and emotions get involved. Especially when you are spending this much money site unseen you have this image everything will go perfectly. It doesn’t and that is life.
 

lovedogs

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jul 31, 2014
Messages
18,038
I totally understand why you are upset. But I agree with others that sometimes mistakes happen and its how the vendor responds that speaks to their buisiness practices. I think getting a lower quality diamond from a brick and mortar store is an objectively worse choice, delays or not. In the end I think the delay will be a small frustration compared to getting a non ideal stone.
 

Snowdrop13

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Aug 27, 2011
Messages
2,961
I don’t think there’s an issue naming vendors if you are not happy with their service, this is a consumer website, after all and most of the “preferred” vendors have had negative reviews over time. No one is perfect!

Often the bosses of the companies are members on here and can intervene to help sort things out too.
 

kmoro

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Sep 13, 2018
Messages
1,081
Thank you. Yes I’m not going to speak negatively and name them. But if people want to research that’s up to them.

I’ve reached out to them to see what else they can do besides a free dinner certificate. That was original offer.

It is very disappointing to hear they made the wrong ring and even this ring was delayed. I understand human error is a factor and they at least were very honest on the phone and said it basically just came down to human error and someone made a mistake and they apologized for that.

You are right it is extremely disappointing and emotions get involved. Especially when you are spending this much money site unseen you have this image everything will go perfectly. It doesn’t and that is life.

You’ll feel better when you get the ring and you see how beautiful the diamond is. I’m surprised by your posts, honestly. We all get disappointments, I’m sure you have made mistakes. Your disappointment is understandable, but since you’re still complaining and complaining and comparing to B&M, I suggest you cancel the order and go to a B&M store. Sorry but this got on my nerves. You said you had leeway, so in the end there is no harm done. #firstworldproblems
 

soxfan

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jun 20, 2013
Messages
4,814
If they made the wrong ring, then they either need to make the RIGHT ring or refund your money.
 

seaurchin

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Nov 2, 2012
Messages
3,541
As far as the ring issue, it sounds like they made a bone-headed mistake- or two. Full stop.

However, they are now trying to correct their mistake and buying you two dinner as an apology. So, I think it's still on track and okay so far. I'd advise taking a deep breath, then taking your sweetie out to dinner on them and just try to put it out of your mind for a little while.

Aside from and on top of the ring problem, weddings are extremely stressful. To compare, I recently bought a ring online comparable in cost to the one you're buying. If I'd had the problems you've had, I'd be a little annoyed but not enough to even think of requesting any compensation for. But if you tossed in a proposal and a deadline, the same issue could go nuclear.

Anyway, if it helps to have another way to look at it, the worst thing that could happen here is that you'd have to propose with a bubblegum machine ring instead. While annoying beyond belief, let's not forget it would also make an adorable story. :p

With an engagement, wedding and honeymoon, you have to deal with a lot of different businesses, which, unfortunately but typically, means a lot of different problems, regardless of your timeline and cost. And that's nothing compared to what the relatives will do to you lol. Good luck!
 
Last edited:

LinSF

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Aug 21, 2018
Messages
511
If there's a vendor recommended on PriceScope chances are that while they are excellent they are also very busy and growing. And sometimes there are growing pains with any organization. To me it sounds as if they are growing and haven't yet managed their back end operations productivity and accuracy rates. I'm guessing here, but it sounds as if their customer service entered a totally wrong item number in for your rings production. Offering you a dinner is nice, and at least is something. I don't see any wrong in calling them out. Often times the vendors that post here may not have any idea that their staff is creating unhappy experiences for their customers. Why not give them the opportunity to make it right by moving it up the ladder, so to speak?
 

MaisOuiMadame

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jan 9, 2015
Messages
3,451
I'm sorry you're experiencing this and it's truly annoying.
I don't think it's accurate to say that it's the downside of an internet buy, though. My local Tiffany's took two months (!!!!!) for a simple repair on a diamonds by the yard necklace (snapped chain). They had quoted me 4-6 weeks and it took nine. So snafus can and unfortunately will happen in all different kind of scenarios. Tiffany's just laughed at the very thought of a discount on their repair, BTW...
 

TimMD

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jan 19, 2011
Messages
267
Thank you. Yes I’m not going to speak negatively and name them. But if people want to research that’s up to them.

I’ve reached out to them to see what else they can do besides a free dinner certificate. That was original offer.

It is very disappointing to hear they made the wrong ring and even this ring was delayed. I understand human error is a factor and they at least were very honest on the phone and said it basically just came down to human error and someone made a mistake and they apologized for that.

You are right it is extremely disappointing and emotions get involved. Especially when you are spending this much money site unseen you have this image everything will go perfectly. It doesn’t and that is life.

haha hilarious, same offer that I got ;-) you aren't the only one to have issues and I definitely once upon a time was very vocal about it. There is only ONE online jeweler I buy from now and always consistently awesome. I have all the trust in the world with them and in fact just received a purchase yesterday. I personally will NEVER buy from the other again but that is my preference and our right as consumers. Everyone has experiences and I don't try to change anyone elses and don't want them to try to change mine.

I spoke up because I feel for you and I definitely have been there and done that (completely different issue but terrible service and disappointment all the same). I do say it is very possible to have an incredible experience buying online, as I said, this has been a great week for me (1.52 ct H VVS1 BGD signature with halo) so I am sorry you are going through this. Hang in there and I hope you get some acceptable resolution.
 

Dancing Fire

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 3, 2004
Messages
33,852
I don’t think there’s an issue naming vendors if you are not happy with their service, this is a consumer website, after all and most of the “preferred” vendors have had negative reviews over time. No one is perfect!
Most of us here already figure that out. ;))
 

kmoro

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Sep 13, 2018
Messages
1,081
Well .... I just got something else completely unexpected from this vendor .... and they didn’t do anything wrong with my order - a beautiful butterfly trinket tray by Jay Strongwater! I hesitate to post because I might make other people jealous or expect the same .. but omg ... these guys thanked me for being a customer! I got chocolates for my birthday, flowers when my daughter was in the hospital, and 1.5 weeks after my ring was delivered and they had nothing to gain at all, today I received this gift as a thank you :geek2:

I guess sometimes it pays to have some understanding that vendors/sales reps are people too instead of jumping to the worst possible conclusions.

I hope that you end up happy ... sincerely I do.

45BED2D4-A3F7-4B51-9D98-34DD6755F64D.jpeg

ETA I see a cat hair in my picture .... grrrrr
 

Ereeg

Rough_Rock
Joined
Mar 2, 2019
Messages
90
I knew posting this would cause some mixed reactions. And it is good! I just think the vendors recommended so much here are after all human, and they are not perfect. Sometimes I feel they get a perfect image portrayed and everyone jumps to recommend those few vendors (Whiteflash, Brian Gavin, HPD). What happened was not acceptable to me-and I made that clear.

Whiteflash (there ya go the name!) was very very apologetic and did not make any excuses. After I said the dinner certificate didn't feel like enough for a 3 week delay (quoted 2 weeks total for delivery initially-i think I said a 2 week delay initially), the VP or someone in a higher role (can't remember title) reached out to me promptly. He offered my a substantial (in my eyes) credit back to me of about 5% of total purchase price. He also offered that same amount plus an additional credit if I wanted to swap to something more expensive (my idea on that one). In the end, I kept the original diamond and took the credit they offered.

I felt that was very generous of them and showed their sincere regret and ownership of their mistake. Fingers crossed it gets here this weekend now!

Thanks for all of the guidance to all along the way in an anxiety producing decision and purchase.
 

lovedogs

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jul 31, 2014
Messages
18,038
I knew posting this would cause some mixed reactions. And it is good! I just think the vendors recommended so much here are after all human, and they are not perfect. Sometimes I feel they get a perfect image portrayed and everyone jumps to recommend those few vendors (Whiteflash, Brian Gavin, HPD). What happened was not acceptable to me-and I made that clear.

Whiteflash (there ya go the name!) was very very apologetic and did not make any excuses. After I said the dinner certificate didn't feel like enough for a 3 week delay (quoted 2 weeks total for delivery initially-i think I said a 2 week delay initially), the VP or someone in a higher role (can't remember title) reached out to me promptly. He offered my a substantial (in my eyes) credit back to me of about 5% of total purchase price. He also offered that same amount plus an additional credit if I wanted to swap to something more expensive (my idea on that one). In the end, I kept the original diamond and took the credit they offered.

I felt that was very generous of them and showed their sincere regret and ownership of their mistake. Fingers crossed it gets here this weekend now!

Thanks for all of the guidance to all along the way in an anxiety producing decision and purchase.
I'm really glad that they offered to go above and beyond the original dinner offer. I agree that no vendor is perfect (even the ones who people adore on here). IMHO it's all about how vendors handle mistakes, and how they follow up. No company will ever be error free. It's always nice to see vendors stepping up and making it right after a mistake.
 
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