E-bay questions & concerns...

[tawn]

Found this on E-bay, and love the style/setting...but, am concerned after reading about e-bay diamond purchases!

The rest of the information on the ring follows...(sent seller an email requesting more details regarding cut, etc...) Has anyone dealt with the seller, MDC Diamonds?? He seems to have a great feedback rating...

Thanks for any feedback...
Tawn
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http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2685021017&category=42952

Center Stone
Cut Princess Cut
Carats 0.75 Carat

Clarity VS1 (eye clean)
Color F - White (Colorless)

Polish Very Good
Symmetry Very Good

About The Setting
Antique style ring with 26 round brilliant cut diamonds 0.26 Carat Total Weight
Setting 14K White Gold
Ring Size 7 - free ring sizing
from size 5 to size 9
Accompanied by GHI certificate and appraisal $5,400
Return policy 100% satisfaction guaranteed
10 Days Money Back
Delivery time 3 business days
Stock # US18583L:TALSTK1200
All the diamonds on sale are 100% natural and not enhanced in any way

 

[TooMuchInformation]

Hard to say. You do have a 10 day money back guarentee, but 10 days might be a little slim for you to determine if this stone is really what he's advertising.

A few points for you to consider:

- The stone is certified by GHI. I've never heard of them (though that doesn't mean anything), and their grading standards could be vastly different from GIA standards. What they say is an "F" color stone could very well be a G, H, or I (or worse); you'd ultimately have to get this sort of thing exampined by a professional before you could believe the ratings.

- You (apparently) have a 10 day money back guarentee. I wouldn't consider buying something like this from e-bay without one. Worst case scenario, if you go with the purchase, you can validate the quality of the stone with a trusted third party, and if you're not happy, return it.

- He is selling it with a "Buy It Now". That means there is no auction, and the price he is offering would probably hold anywhere, even outside of e-bay (What I mean by this is that he's not leaving this purcahse up to chance. He's quite happy to sell the stone for what he's asking for it). What this means I couldn't tell you.

I haven't dealt with that seller personally, and I'm sorry if you already know all of the stuff that I just told you. I didn't mean to ramble (but I did).

Regardless, if you go ahead with the purchase, please let us know how it goes.

 

[valeria101]

The ring looks ok, I don't know the seller either... but a 5 min look on his website reveled that most of those prices ("most" because I did not check all against any other source but my knowledge, some I did compare with online sellers' prices, both on pricescope and not) are at least 1/3 less than my wildest dreams. No idea what to make of the pictures: they are seriously manipulated and without knowing anything about the seller I would refrain from judging whether this is good or bad or neither. The fact that they are not consistent (i.e. same digital "treatment" applies to all items) does not strengthen my confidence. For example the picture of their 5.01 J, VS2 looks strangely close to the simmulated pictures on the Debeers "adiamondisforever" website (the applet for composing one's own ring model). No idea what a deeper dig may reveal (i.e. spot checking some customer reviews and piecing a "customer" and "sales" profile).

Just me eBay-er's 0.2, of course...

 

[Mara]

Love the setting!!! That is a really beautiful piece.




As for the actual ring...who knows if it's a great deal. eBay is a hat toss at best. Even feedback doesn't really help for large purchases like this because not everyone on eBay will care what they got, as long as it looks like the picture. Also I have found the feedback mechanism to be faulty at best...not everyone wants to leave neg feedback because then the reciprocal may happen and you have a sullied record as well. I have had a horrible experience or two that I never bothered to feedback on...because I didn't want a black mark put on against me since I have a 100% perfect record.




The 10 day return policy is great, but again..how do you know how much of a pain it is to really return something to this seller. Someone recently on here was talking about an eBay purchase that was not what it seemed, the seller let them return it but it sounded like a horrible pain to do so...with alot of time invested and then the return of the piece BEFORE your money is refunded. At some point the seller will have both the ring and your money...it's a frightening thought depending on the cost.




Anyhow, would buyer beware..if you are not completely hung up on the 'great deal' that eBay can represent (e.g. for smaller items...I buy Pottery Barn stuff on there all the time at 50% off retail!); take that picture and have that setting replicated by a reputable jeweler, with a princess center stone you can handpick yourself to your own specifications. Then you know what you are getting and you can still get that same look. Just a thought.




Good luck. One thing to note is that no one takes a bath on something when selling it. So why are prices so low for some items like this? I tend to think of quality....and you get what you pay for. Unless it's quantifiable (e.g. this Pottery barn duvet brand new from the store...if I have seen it at the store, I know what I am getting, no deviations), then it's a huge risk.

 

[diamond dazed]

Here's my gut instinct --

I clicked on the auction, and then the seller's feedback -- ya know what? Something doesn't seem quite right.... the feedback reads like ad copy -- they seem to all tell people to "buy! buy! buy from this honest seller!!" Also, many of the people leaving the feedback have very few feedbacks themselves.....

I dunno, I don't always put a lot of stock in "gut instincts" but, for what it's worth, I wouldn't buy from them.