Diamond Dealers

[kizor]

While researching diamonds online i have noticed the same diamond listed on different sites. Do these vendors have access to the same inventory? Has anyone else noticed this.

 

[Mr. Talkie]

Yes, I have noticed this, too. My understanding is that this is a business model. Some of these sites buy lists of diamonds that they don't have in stock. If you show interest in the diamond, then they get it from their source. The source, or wholesaler, sells one of their diamonds and the site earns a commission from the wholesaler. There's something in it for everyone -- the site appears to have tons of diamonds available for you to shop and compare, and the wholesaler is provided with another avenue to sell their stones. I think that gives consumers an advantage of shopping around for best price since ultimately the site and the wholesaler are competing with each other. Good luck!

 

[Caratz]

Some of the pricescope vendors are really acting as brokers -- that's how different vendors can all be offering the same stone at the same time. The advtantage of this approach is that they can offer thousands of different stones without putting up millions of dollars in inventory. The problem is that they have never seen the stones they are selling.

Some pricescope vendors maintain their own inventories of hand-selected stones. The advtantage of this approach is that they can tell you more details about the stone, and can give you an implied warranty that the stone does not have any hidden defects that are not listed on the cert. The problem is that their selection is limited.

 

[69gm]

i actually ended up purchasing a diamond with multiple listings. noticed it when i got a copy of the cert from 2 different people. my local B&M brought in the stone for both of us to examine, no obligation to buy. another on-line vendor had written to me a few days prior letting me know about the same stone. he offered it to me for less than my B&M. i let my B&M know this and he matched the offer! it ended up being a win-win situation for me because i got the price i wanted from the other dealer, yet got to see the actual stone from the B&M. this kinda illustrates at least one advantage to having multiple persons having access to the same stone...competition and therefore competitive pricing.