Diamond Pricing--Advantages of E-Vendors?

[Asschman]

This question was prompted by my recent visit to the jeweler who is setting my stone here in DC. I purchased the stone through one of the PScope vendors (big ups to my pals Lesley and Brian at Whiteflash!) at what I thought was a great price for an awesome stone. When I told the nice fellow at the local jewelry place what I paid for it, he was literally speechless, and said he couldn''t have gotten close to matching the price of the stone, particularly given its quality.

So how exactly do places like Whiteflash, Dirt Cheap Diamonds, Good Old Gold, and the other PScope vendors manage to offer these stones at such amazing prices? Is it just as simple as lower overhead costs? And how else has the internet revolutionized the business models of diamond sellers?

Asschman

 

[thirdcoast]

I would love to know that as well. Cutting out the middleman really drive down their cost.

 

[lmurden]

I got the same response when I got my ring appaised in Maryland. The appraiser asked me three times how much I paid. He couldn''t believe it!

 

[codex57]

Date: 2/17/2005 11:12:25 AM
Author:Asschman

So how exactly do places like Whiteflash, Dirt Cheap Diamonds, Good Old Gold, and the other PScope vendors manage to offer these stones at such amazing prices? Is it just as simple as lower overhead costs? And how else has the internet revolutionized the business models of diamond sellers?

It''s not just diamond sellers. It''s pretty much the same for most B&M stores. Internet gives you the advantage of lower overhead, broader market, easier/more effective marketing when you decide to do so, etc. This can be applied to most retail items.

 

[pqcollectibles]

We have a local B&M owner that travels to Antwerp several times a year on buying sprees. He''s a member of some sort of independent jeweler''s buying cooperative. They all go together to buy lots of diamonds and get the lower price/volume discount. But that doesn''t stop him from charging an arm and a leg more than what I would pay for comparable items from PScope Vendors.

It''s just common business sense when you have lower margins, you make up for it in volume. Any one of the PScope Vendors probably turns in 1 day what that little local shop does in a month or several months. The local shop has local clientele with fewer numbers of sales. Their operating cost is a higher % of the sales price of each item sold. PScope Vendors market to the world. By selling more items to a broader market, their operating expenses are a lower % of the sales price of each iterm.

 

[Paul-Antwerp]

Date: 2/17/2005 4:21

5 PM
Author: pqcollectibles
We have a local B&M owner that travels to Antwerp several times a year on buying sprees. He''s a member of some sort of independent jeweler''s buying cooperative. They all go together to buy lots of diamonds and get the lower price/volume discount. But that doesn''t stop him from charging an arm and a leg more than what I would pay for comparable items from PScope Vendors.

Ah yes, the group-buying trip to Antwerp. I always feel sorry for these retailers. These trips are organised by an insider in a number of Antwerp offices, where he takes his group to. Of course, he first arranges a commission with these offices, while the jewelers think that he only takes a commission from them.

Then, if a jeweler does not reach a sufficient volume, he will start charging extra expenses.

And if the jeweler is big enough to come unorganised next time, he will keep on collecting the commission from the offices.

I think the main advantage of the e-vendors is that they are focused, either on quality or on price. Many B&M''s lack that focus.

For the B&M''s that do wish to focus on quality, I am looking for them. Our brand is aimed at servicing them, at giving them what they need, and at making the competition with the Internet possible. I am sure that they can be successful in this. However, if they start combining it with a small website for education, they will quickly become one of the successful e-vendors too.

Live long,

 

[strmrdr]

This is how whiteflash does it :}

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/for-wf-are-there-3-in-house-options-which-come-w-egg-roll.24499/