Custom Ring problems

[Gypsy]

I've paid less for custom than I was quoted. But not more. Well, not unless I changed something that raised the price (which I've done once).

 

[TravelingGal]

Did you change anything after the CAD was done?

This. If you are making changes, that certainly could mean more changes to materials used.

 

[TravelingGal]

I was told I needed to pay the setting price at time of purchase which I did. Then after receiving the cad drawings it said any changes to the ring after approval of the cad (by me) would incur a cost. I also just noticed that at the end it did say I will let you know about any price adjustment after speaking to the bench. So I guess it is my fault for not reading that portion of the email in enough detail. But is a price adjustment of 25% really acceptable. I do understand things can change, but I don't think all the costs should fall on me.

It definitely rubs me the wrong way...

It seems contradictory to require that you pay for the setting up front, but also say "I'll let you know about any price adjustment after speaking to the bench". That would imply to me that the price wasn't firm. Hopefully some of the fine experts here will be able to advise you on how to best proceed.

OK, reading this more carefully it seems...

1) You paid for the ring once the design was agreed. The gave the the quote beforehand.
2) The CADs were done. Seems you approved it with no changes?
3) The fine print you are reading was not there at the time you paid for the ring, but at the time of the CAD?

In which case, if all the above is the case, this does not seem reasonable to me.

 

[SFGiant]

You are correct. It was an increase after the cad and I haven't made any changes since the quote. Thank you everyone for the advice. I will let you know what happens in the end.

 

[TravelingGal]

You are correct. It was an increase after the cad and I haven't made any changes since the quote. Thank you everyone for the advice. I will let you know what happens in the end.

Please do!

 

[Gypsy]

I was told I needed to pay the setting price at time of purchase which I did. Then after receiving the cad drawings it said any changes to the ring after approval of the cad (by me) would incur a cost. I also just noticed that at the end it did say I will let you know about any price adjustment after speaking to the bench. So I guess it is my fault for not reading that portion of the email in enough detail. But is a price adjustment of 25% really acceptable. I do understand things can change, but I don't think all the costs should fall on me.

It definitely rubs me the wrong way...

It seems contradictory to require that you pay for the setting up front, but also say "I'll let you know about any price adjustment after speaking to the bench". That would imply to me that the price wasn't firm. Hopefully some of the fine experts here will be able to advise you on how to best proceed.

OK, reading this more carefully it seems...

1) You paid for the ring once the design was agreed. The gave the the quote beforehand.
2) The CADs were done. Seems you approved it with no changes?
3) The fine print you are reading was not there at the time you paid for the ring, but at the time of the CAD?

In which case, if all the above is the case, this does not seem reasonable to me.

I agree. That's not reasonable, if that's what happened.

 

[JaneSmith]

I'm late to this party but feel like I need to reply.

This sounds like bad business to me. To receive a firm quote AND pay up front is a done deal. The onus is on the retailer to provide the goods as agreed on. If there is any fine print in your contract, I hope you've given it a good read.

I'm in the middle of a semi custom piece from WF. Their quote was only good for 48 hours and I had to pay in full up front to keep the firm price and get work started.
I've had custom work done by a B&M in pre PS days where I got range quote (eg $1500 - $1800) and had to pay nothing until I saw the finished piece; I then had to pay the top end of the quote, of course.

I hope this works out for you and it doesn't spoil your enjoyment of your jewlery once you get it.

 

[denverappraiser]

If, after producing the CAD, the jeweler needed to make revisions in the original plan in order to make it work, for example using more stones, different sizes, more metal or different techniques, it seems fair that they should discuss this possibility at the front end when the job begins, and to land on a firm price at the point that the wax and the final design is approved. The price at this point should be firm. This works both ways. If it’s lighter, less work, fewer stones or whatever, the price should drop at this point as well.

If the client revises the job in the middle, I think it’s entirely fair that the price is subject to change based on those revisions.

 

[Enerchi]

Denverappraiser said it perfectly, of course!

Can you further discuss the price with your vendor? That should be something they would want to make fair fro both sides - just as posted above. Is it too late to walk away at this point and start new with another vendor? If yes. Then Id want to try and work out a compromise since this 25% increase is significantly over budget. Even house renos say to expect 10%! This is way more...

Ultimately you want to enjoy your ring not resent it, and thats how I ended up feeling after a while with my custom project. Best of luck hat it works out and you enjoy the project after all.

 

[VRBeauty]

After the beginning work for the setting was complete (Wax represntation), they determined that the ring would cost more due to it being more complicated than they originally thought. They want to charge me between 500-1000 extra dollars for the ring because it was more difficult to create and might use more material (platinum).

This just seems so wrong to me. The vendor is supposed to have the expertise to give you a reasonable estimate of the cost. If there's some uncertainty on their part, they could have delayed the quote until thy had investigated the design challenges and cost more thoroughly. For them to change the quote later, after they've had your project in house for awhile and without any design changes on your part, is just wrong.

 

[denverappraiser]

After the beginning work for the setting was complete (Wax represntation), they determined that the ring would cost more due to it being more complicated than they originally thought. They want to charge me between 500-1000 extra dollars for the ring because it was more difficult to create and might use more material (platinum).

This just seems so wrong to me. The vendor is supposed to have the expertise to give you a reasonable estimate of the cost. If there's some uncertainty on their part, they could have delayed the quote until thy had investigated the design challenges and cost more thoroughly. For them to change the quote later, after they've had your project in house for awhile and without any design changes on your part, is just wrong.

The CAD is routinely part of the design process, and understanding the design is part of the bidding process. If the client wasn't told this upfront, I can see a problem with the sales people and the take in form but it's a pretty common thing that the final price quote isn't made until the design is complete. Up to that point they're working with a range. You will usually have the opportunity to bail on the job at that point but it's also common, and in my opinion reasonable, to have a non-refundable fee for doing the design work if the client withdraws the job at that point.

 

[TravelingGal]

After the beginning work for the setting was complete (Wax represntation), they determined that the ring would cost more due to it being more complicated than they originally thought. They want to charge me between 500-1000 extra dollars for the ring because it was more difficult to create and might use more material (platinum).

This just seems so wrong to me. The vendor is supposed to have the expertise to give you a reasonable estimate of the cost. If there's some uncertainty on their part, they could have delayed the quote until thy had investigated the design challenges and cost more thoroughly. For them to change the quote later, after they've had your project in house for awhile and without any design changes on your part, is just wrong.

The CAD is routinely part of the design process, and understanding the design is part of the bidding process. If the client wasn't told this upfront, I can see a problem with the sales people and the take in form but it's a pretty common thing that the final price quote isn't made until the design is complete. Up to that point they're working with a range. You will usually have the opportunity to bail on the job at that point but it's also common, and in my opinion reasonable, to have a non-refundable fee for doing the design work if the client withdraws the job at that point.

I can see where this makes sense if the vendor says "it will cost from X to X, but we won't know where until we get the CAD". But if the OP was given a set price and was not told this, then the cost raised up to 25% at the time of the CAD? That doesn't seem to make much sense to me.

Plus most vendors I've worked with have seem to have a good understanding of jewelry design (what will and won't work) so there doesn't seem to be any surprises. Whenever I work with Whiteflash, Bob seems to not quote me anything until he talks to their jeweler first.

I get that stuff happens, but then at that point I think it's fair to offer the customer a full refund, minus a small fee for design. But I almost think that if the design can't work because of oversight on the vendor's part, it's isn't unreasonable to expect the entire refund and no fee for design.

 

[SFGiant]

Hi everyone. Looks like the vendor ended up adding some more diamonds to the setting therefore the cost did go up. They did however admit their mistake and we settled on a price increase of 150 dollars (seems reasonable to me). It looks as if the threat of alienating pricescope members has caused them to eat whatever price increase they wanted to charge me. Thank you everyone for weighing in.

 

[TravelingGal]

Hi everyone. Looks like the vendor ended up adding some more diamonds to the setting therefore the cost did go up. They did however admit their mistake and we settled on a price increase of 150 dollars (seems reasonable to me). It looks as if the threat of alienating pricescope members has caused them to eat whatever price increase they wanted to charge me. Thank you everyone for weighing in.

Did you mention PS as a negotiating tool, or did they read the thread for themselves?

It doesn't sound unreasonable, but if they admitted their mistake, why are you paying at all?

And I hope you do let us know who the vendor was - unless it was part of the deal not to divulge.