What should be a very happy process has turned a little uncomfortable for the time being (Warning, this might be long).
So I contacted Vendor A, who has an excellent reputation on these boards, about an engagement ring. I asked for a modified version of one of his settings and he told me that custom work would take 3-4 weeks. I needed the ring in approximately four weeks, so I told him we should start work on the setting and in the meantime, I'll hunt for a center stone. He asked for full payment upfront to begin work but said if I was unhappy with the CAD design, he would refund my money back. So I paid it. During this time,I gave him a list of 8 or so stones from his virtual inventory to consider. He informed me he could only get access to one of those stones (because others were across the country or in India or required payment upfront, etc.). He sent me images of this stone, but it was not "the one". I told him I would go through his inventory again and give him a list of more contenders (based on HCA scores, etc.). A few days later, I gave him a list of five or so diamonds to check out but most of these stones were apparently located in CA or India again.
Frustrated, I turned to Vender B, who also has an excellent reputation on these boards, to source a diamond for me. Success on the first try! I asked him to hold the diamond for me and I would send payment next week. I had explained to him earlier that I just needed a center diamond and no setting. He was okay with this until he found out who was doing the setting. He then suggested that I get a setting from him as well, but the setting I have in the works is going to be the best option even though it is $1300 more expensive, ha. He conceded this but had some suggestions (like to go with WG over Plat, etc.).
Finally thinking things are back on track, I called up Vender A to tell him the good news. He was not too happy about me finding a center stone elsewhere and said there's additional fees to insure the stone during the setting and asked me to send him the dimensions and the value of the stone. He also asked for the cert#. I emailed him just the dimensions and the value but inquired why I needed to pay these additional fees because I was planning on having it insured through JM before it is set. He informed me that the additional $100 is for setting the stone and shipping. In this same email, he told me he found my diamond and told me it's out on memo to Vendor B and I should tell Vendor B that I wanted to cancel so Vendor A can get the stone for me instead and would charge me $400 less (and waive the $100 fee for setting/shipping). I told him I was uncomfortable with this, but he tried to guilt me by saying he's put in a lot of time researching and sourcing a stone for me (which I don't believe is true).
What I really want to do, is ask for a refund for the setting from Vendor A, buy stone from Vendor B, and have someone else work on it. I'm worried that he will not let this go that easily for me and not process my refund, which will cause me more headaches.
Any advice on how to deal with this situation?
So I contacted Vendor A, who has an excellent reputation on these boards, about an engagement ring. I asked for a modified version of one of his settings and he told me that custom work would take 3-4 weeks. I needed the ring in approximately four weeks, so I told him we should start work on the setting and in the meantime, I'll hunt for a center stone. He asked for full payment upfront to begin work but said if I was unhappy with the CAD design, he would refund my money back. So I paid it. During this time,I gave him a list of 8 or so stones from his virtual inventory to consider. He informed me he could only get access to one of those stones (because others were across the country or in India or required payment upfront, etc.). He sent me images of this stone, but it was not "the one". I told him I would go through his inventory again and give him a list of more contenders (based on HCA scores, etc.). A few days later, I gave him a list of five or so diamonds to check out but most of these stones were apparently located in CA or India again.
Frustrated, I turned to Vender B, who also has an excellent reputation on these boards, to source a diamond for me. Success on the first try! I asked him to hold the diamond for me and I would send payment next week. I had explained to him earlier that I just needed a center diamond and no setting. He was okay with this until he found out who was doing the setting. He then suggested that I get a setting from him as well, but the setting I have in the works is going to be the best option even though it is $1300 more expensive, ha. He conceded this but had some suggestions (like to go with WG over Plat, etc.).
Finally thinking things are back on track, I called up Vender A to tell him the good news. He was not too happy about me finding a center stone elsewhere and said there's additional fees to insure the stone during the setting and asked me to send him the dimensions and the value of the stone. He also asked for the cert#. I emailed him just the dimensions and the value but inquired why I needed to pay these additional fees because I was planning on having it insured through JM before it is set. He informed me that the additional $100 is for setting the stone and shipping. In this same email, he told me he found my diamond and told me it's out on memo to Vendor B and I should tell Vendor B that I wanted to cancel so Vendor A can get the stone for me instead and would charge me $400 less (and waive the $100 fee for setting/shipping). I told him I was uncomfortable with this, but he tried to guilt me by saying he's put in a lot of time researching and sourcing a stone for me (which I don't believe is true).
What I really want to do, is ask for a refund for the setting from Vendor A, buy stone from Vendor B, and have someone else work on it. I'm worried that he will not let this go that easily for me and not process my refund, which will cause me more headaches.
Any advice on how to deal with this situation?
I think you really need to assess your feelings about both vendors at this point and your comfort with moving forward with either of them. Although, like DS stated, there are some settings that I would just be uncomfortable moving forward with from some vendors. If your setting has intricate pave work then I would want that done by a pave master. but if it's a simple solitaire than I feel any PS vendor is capable of setting the stone. So, I guess how I proceeded would greatly depend on the setting. If these are reputable PS vendors, I wouldn't be concerned about the refund of your deposit.
300x240.png)