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DiamondsImporter

DiamondsImporter

Rough_Rock
Trade
Joined
Jan 8, 2015
Messages
16
Hi everyone, I really enjoy reading these postings, I also have a question. or a few...

Im a new diamond buyer and seller, I buy diamonds overseas and am selling here in the USA. I was wondering since i am attempting to sell retail, and testing the markets, what you guys recommend for a markup to sell retail and wholesale.

So I get a 1 to 1.5 carat diamonds wholesale from the cutters for lets say 900 - 1500 depending on quality, what would I sell it for here in the US.

my stones are clean, SI and most are on the lower scale of color, l - M color although i sometime get lucky when I find a d color stone...

thanks in advance for your help..

Peter
 
Hi Peter,

If you really get SI in those colours at those prices, you do not need to worry about selling them retail. I am more than happy to take them from you in bulk, the more the better. I will not even sell them retail, just sell them wholesale again.

But do not come crying if it turns out that your merchandise is not what it is pretended to be.

Live long,
 
Peter,

It’s pretty easy. After you get them back from the lab, price them based on what comparable goods sell for in your marketplace. Easy Peasy. The database here is a free and publicly available place to look for comps. What you PAID has nothing whatever to do with it so ‘markup’ doesn’t really apply. If you’re good at selling things and you can get more than the folks here, bully for you. Do it. If you have to discount to get buyers, so be it. The difference between those has more to do with you than diamonds.

I second Paul’s comment that there is a HIGH likelihood that you’re being taken for a ride by your seller(s). The key testing point will be the above mentioned lab that’s deciding the grade. Use GIA or AGS. Accept no substitute. You weren’t planning on using a lab because the seller told you it was unnecessary? You’re a fool. Even if you ARE an expert grader yourself, your clients are going to want it so you should do it anyway, but the real trap is if you think you’re an expert but aren’t. That's your call and I don't know the first thing about you but your question suggests that you're not. The potential pitfalls are enormous and 'markup' is the least of your worries.
 
Peter,


I agree with Paul & Neil.

You need to decide whether you're a trader or a retailer- it's difficult and ill-advised to be both.
I'll take whatever Paul doesn't take.


eB
 
Thanks for the comments, Right now I only have about 10 stones, of those, 1 is a 1.10 carat but has 2 black small looking inclusions on the inside of the stone, looks like black feathers, they are outside of the table next to the edge of the stone, im pretty sure it would be hidden in a ring... a few have small cloud inside, and 1 has a small inclusion below the table. all stones are eye clean to me... and i have really good eyes.

also, most of the stones i have gotten are not colorless, or even light yellow, but fall off a little grey/brownish when upside down looking at the color.. they look to me like k-m color... thats why i want to submit them to a lab.


so im not sure if i should submit that stone to GIA, as it will be graded as an I1 or 2 also since these stones are off color, as most people want h or better color, thats a key reason the price is cheaper for me. should I only send the really nice stones to GIA or should I send the lot?

I know a little about this now as i have researched this for the last year, and know an I1 when i see it... these stones are pretty clean, and i would think they are SI quality. sure we dont have perfect cut and there are small clouds in a few. they look a whole lot nicer that the stones selling in the malls for 6-8K, I was quoted $9500 for 2 CTTW studs, I1-2. Im planning on selling my stones around 3-3500 if this works for me.

you know what they say, little knowledge is a dangerous knowledge

thanks again for your comments. looking forward to posting and commenting as I learn.

Peter
 
Are you selling in a mall? If not, what difference does it make what they’re charging there? For what it’s worth, what it says on the tag isn’t necessarily the same as what they actually get. Certain stores are famous for complicated pricing/discount programs where the actual transaction price is considerably less than the tag price.

OK, so you’re selling a 1.10/I-1 of unknown but presumably low color and cutting that has a document calling it SI/H and you’re charging $1500/ct for it. How’s that going?

What’s the question you’re asking here?
 
Thanks Denver, my question was should I send only my good stones to GIA or all of them.

I think i will send them all to gia, so i know what i have
 
DiamondsImporter|1422406267|3822966 said:
Thanks Denver, my question was should I send only my good stones to GIA or all of them.

I think i will send them all to gia, so i know what i have
Click to expand...
Good plan.

Credible lab grading serves several purposes for you:

1) You know what you have. This is quite likely to be different from what the seller told you. That way you'll know whether to buy more. You've got quite a bit riding on this new business venture and it's good to know as much as possible up front.
2) It will be useful as a sales tool. GIA graded stones sell both faster and for more in nearly every marketplace.
3) It will avoid grief at the back end if you have customers who say you misrepresented something.

It's no coincidence that the big dogs in this business, like Blue Nile and James Allen, grade single stone above tiny with either GIA or AGS papers.
 
DiamondsImporter|1422406267|3822966 said:
Thanks Denver, my question was should I send only my good stones to GIA or all of them.

I think i will send them all to gia, so i know what i have
Click to expand...

You definitely need to send them in. If you are short on cash, just send in a few at a time, but you will be responsible for selling what you say you are spelling, and your lack of education is NOT an excuse if you sell something that is clarity enhanced or otherwise not what you said it to be. Since you are now in the business, the Law will consider you an expert.

It sounds like you likewise can not represent these as in compliance with the Kimberly Process either. My supplier has these three statements on each invoice that I receive from him, and I recently started putting them also on all of my diamond invoices. Were they on the invoices that you received for your diamonds?

The diamonds herein invoiced have been purchased from legitimate sources not involved in funding conflict and in compliance with United Nations Resolutions. The seller hereby guarantees that these diamonds are conflict free, based on personal knowledge and / or written guarantees provided by the supplier of these diamonds.

By shipping goods pursuant to this invoice, we warrant that, to the best of our knowledge, the diamonds invoiced have not originated from Zimbabwe and have received similar assurance of non-Zimbabwe origin from any supplier from whom we have obtained the diamonds invoiced.

The diamonds herein invoiced are exclusively of natural origin and untreated based on personal knowledge and/or written guarantees provided by the supplier of these diamonds

You have stepped onto a minefield of potential problems by buying goods you do not understand. I hope you can navigate it safely.

Wink
 
Hi Wink,

thanks for the reply, Yes my invoices do have a kimberley stamp on them, I did read on the govt websites that they want us to have similar text on our invoices confirming Kimberley certified. I am adding that to my invoices going forward.

Thanks again for the comments and feedback
 
Hi Guys, so i received my 1st results back from GIA heres the first diamond that was graded

.76 Carat SI2 Clarity
5.8x5.75x3.67
O - P color
VG cut
G polish
VG cemetery
no flour
m-thick girdle
GIA report number 2171018026

what would be the estimated market value for this diamond.

**edited by moderator, please see our trade policies**

Thanks
 
Are you sure the GIA report # is correct? I cannot find the report when using the GIA report checker
 
How does the GIA grading compare to what you were originally told about the stone?

BTW You can use the diamond search to figure out what's being asked for comparable diamonds.
 
Thank you for your replies, pretty close on with the description and what i was expecting but off on the color, those guys in Asia beef up the color on the stones that dont have certs, now i know... I did receive a 9 diamond lot, so I was told that the original color average was around j - K color so you can clearly see that GIA grades are really strict. this diamond got an O-P color grade with GIA. we'll see the other grades. they all looked pretty close in color to me... this was the smallest rock, with all the others over 1 carat.

I think the link to check certs online with the GIA gets activated when i pickup the diamonds and pay for the grading, as i personally dropped them off at their campus in Carlsbad. right next door to me in Dana Point.. haha

Thanks again for all your replies.
 
DiamondsImporter|1422325704|3822486 said:
Hi everyone, I really enjoy reading these postings, I also have a question. or a few...

Im a new diamond buyer and seller, I buy diamonds overseas and am selling here in the USA. I was wondering since i am attempting to sell retail, and testing the markets, what you guys recommend for a markup to sell retail and wholesale.

So I get a 1 to 1.5 carat diamonds wholesale from the cutters for lets say 900 - 1500 depending on quality, what would I sell it for here in the US.

my stones are clean, SI and most are on the lower scale of color, l - M color although i sometime get lucky when I find a d color stone...

thanks in advance for your help..

Peter
Click to expand...

I forgot to ask you initially. If you are saying above your cost is 900 to 1500, is that price per carat or price per stone?

Live long,
 
Hi Paul, thanks for your reply, thats per CT.
 
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