Ebay engagement ring??

[jcomeaux95]

Hello all!

I was wondering if anyone has purchased an engagement ring on eBay.. anything to watch out for? Did you get what you thought you were getting?

 

[dollyanjuli]

this depends on many different things. Are you talking about buying a second hand branded piece, like a Tiffany ring? Is it GIA certed? Who is the seller a jeweler seller or a random person? What is the return policy? What are you hoping to achieve?

If you are just trying to find a "Deal" on a stone and you see something that seems extremely low priced, you should definately be wary.

If this is for you an you have something in mind, can you post the listing you are looking at and some additional info? Thats going to be the best way to get folks to help you.

I remember one example of someone buying an ashoka diamond ring from eBay (it had a GIA cert) and the buyer got not only an authentic piece but a FANTASTIC deal. I was jealous hahahaha. There have also been several members who have successfully bought antique diamonds from eBay from reputable sellers.

My MO is if you are going to buy from eBay, do so with your eyes open. Make absolutely sure the seller has a solid return policy so if you purchase and things aren't what was promised you can return with no hassle. Check out feedback from their other listings. Engage in a conversation with the seller and ask very specific questions. And know that if you are getting a "deal" from a random person on an uncertified stone, you most likely aren't getting a deal at all .

 

[Niel]

I have made purchases through ebay however there are many pitfalls and i would not do it on your first jewelry purchase without help from this community.

 

[whitewave]

I have bought two pieces from ebay. They were with sellers who had thousands of 100% feedback, One had a B&M store, and communication with both was thorough and easy with prompt replies.

 

[Niel]

May I ask what you're trying to buy?

 

[Bron357]

Hi, I've been buying on eBay for nearly 12 years and I mostly buy jewellery.
My tip is to stick with established business sellers. Many of these also have a bricks and mortar store and use eBay to expand their clientele.
Buying from a private buyer can be fraught with trouble. You generally won't get high quality photos and if there is a valuation that's no guarantee the stones in the ring are the same when it was assessed. Sometimes they aren't even diamonds and then you have the huge hassle and long time frame to get your money back.
It's also unlikely you'll get a GIA report or any of the other reports that you can get from diamond merchants. If you are spending $$$$ on a diamond ring then you want to be sure you are getting what you're paying for.
All that said, if you are after a lower priced ring and are happy to proceed without all the extra information you can get from a diamond merchant and you are comfortable with maybe not getting the quality you were hoping for, eBay can be a great place to shop.

 

[Gypsy]

I'm sorry, this post makes me just laugh. Somewhat hysterically.

YES. You could write a book as thick as the bible with things to look out for. Buying an engagement ring is already a hard process. You want to take the Double Black Diamond route.

The question is WHY? WHY do you want to shop on ebay?

If you have some... misguided idea that you will get a deal?

We get 1000s of people on here a day. We have many many members, current and former who scour ebay for deals. These are experienced jewelry buyers who already know the 'rules' and know what to look for, and what to avoid. And even then they end up returning items and getting things that are barely worth what they paid that they are stuck with.

Tell us what THE WEARER (not the buyer) wants. And tell us what the budget is.

 

[motownmama]

I've bought a few bands. Nothing over $1K. I echo everything that's been said - including if you're buying Tiffany second hand (especially proprietary cuts) and you have all the documentation, you can get a much better deal than in store!

 

[AdaBeta27]

I bought rather a great amount of used semimounts on ebay in 2004 - 2007 or so. I actually bought one great 3 stone platinum ring with three Old European Cut diamonds in it that I consider a super deal. I was the ONLY bidder. The ring came with an appraisal from an appraiser in West Virginia who would be a complete unknown to probably 99.9% of the ebay viewers. But I used to live in that city and I already owned one estate piece with an appraisal from them. So I pretty much knew the ring wouldn't be junk. To anyone else, that purchase was a huge risk. To me it was a much smaller risk. I'm happy with that ring, and happy with the used semimounts for the most part, but I did have to return a few of those because they were real dogs in person.

Keep in mind that ebay will hose the seller at least 10% and probably more like 15% of the total price including shipping. So any knowledgeable seller on ebay has put at least 15% fat and probably more like 20% to cover the ebay fees and also any costs associated with a return should that buyer return the item and ebay make the seller pay for return shipping.

If you want a brand new ring, buy one from a Pricescope vendor. If you want a used ring, I think it's actually better to go to pawn shops and estate & used jewelry dealers, where you can inspect the diamond in person. You can buy an ASET scope and also an Idealscope, but the ASET scope will be of more use. But in truth, you won't find a great deal of today's top-performing H&A superideal RB diamonds selling on the secondhand market. We've had discussions on here that Tiffany diamonds may not be as well-cut as GOG Signature, or Whiteflash ACA, Brian Gavin's stuff, etc. What you're likely to find on the secondhand market is boatloads of poorly or average cut diamonds of the mass-produced type that's sold in mall stores. They'll be cut to retain weight instead of have great performance, or they will be shallow stones with huge broad tables that look big but are lifeless diamonds, or they will be I1 or I2 diamonds that look good in a display case but have obvious inclusions and are not remotely close to eyeclean. Or they might be EGL graded stones that are actually 2 or 3 color or clarity grades below what their paper says. (There were lawsuits over that not long ago. Search for threads here.)

You get what you pay for when buying a diamond. If you want a used diamond, then your best bet is to look at the Preloved sections here, or maybe place a Wanted ad. Look at Loupe Troop listings. Check out http://www.loveaffairdiamonds.com/where Pricescope people and others sell better than average items on consignment.

 

[ChristineRose]

My take on e-Bay is that if you know how to evaluate what you're looking at, know how to evaluate what you get, and stick to vendors with decent return policies and reputations, you will get burnt maybe one time out of ten (no idea how accurate that is--just a guess), and get a bargain nine times out of ten.

So if you get 15% off nine times out of ten, and lose 100% just once, you'll come out ahead.

There are quite a few pros and semi-pros who do this for a living. They also mark up and resell the nine winners. For a non-expert looking for only one ring, it's not a good plan. Especially if you have any preference at all in ring style. You are not going to outmaneuver someone who's been doing this for years, and the price of these chancy items will rise until just the point where a pro can make a profit by cherry-picking the best stuff.

 

[whitewave]

I didn't buy either piece because I thought they were bargains. I felt they were fair prices for unique antique pieces I hadn't seen before.

 

[distracts]

Hi, I've been buying on eBay for nearly 12 years and I mostly buy jewellery.
My tip is to stick with established business sellers. Many of these also have a bricks and mortar store and use eBay to expand their clientele.
Buying from a private buyer can be fraught with trouble. You generally won't get high quality photos and if there is a valuation that's no guarantee the stones in the ring are the same when it was assessed. Sometimes they aren't even diamonds and then you have the huge hassle and long time frame to get your money back.
It's also unlikely you'll get a GIA report or any of the other reports that you can get from diamond merchants. If you are spending $$$$ on a diamond ring then you want to be sure you are getting what you're paying for.
All that said, if you are after a lower priced ring and are happy to proceed without all the extra information you can get from a diamond merchant and you are comfortable with maybe not getting the quality you were hoping for, eBay can be a great place to shop.

See, my best deals have all come from private buyers with shoddy photographs and minimal information. Buying from established sellers is fine but you're going to be paying regular prices, not "deal" prices. Of course, when buying from someone who has little idea what they have, you do have to take it to get appraised and should include that in the cost, and be sure you can get it to an appraiser within the amount of time you have for the return. And don't spend more money than you're comfortable being out, if the worst comes to worst and ebay or paypal won't refund you. This is obviously not for unpracticed people - my skills have been built up over time and with a lot of practice, both in buying and returning things AND looking at listings. If I am shopping for a piece of jewelry that I want to spend only a certain amount of money on and that certain amount is significantly less than the usual price, I spend 2-4 hours a day browsing ebay, and often have to do that for months before I find an item that fits the bill. I have to spend that much time because the best deals are found with super vague search terms like "old diamond ring," etc. Most people would probably be better served by just taking up a second job and using that to pay for their jewelry purchases.

 

[Gypsy]

Hi, I've been buying on eBay for nearly 12 years and I mostly buy jewellery.
My tip is to stick with established business sellers. Many of these also have a bricks and mortar store and use eBay to expand their clientele.
Buying from a private buyer can be fraught with trouble. You generally won't get high quality photos and if there is a valuation that's no guarantee the stones in the ring are the same when it was assessed. Sometimes they aren't even diamonds and then you have the huge hassle and long time frame to get your money back.
It's also unlikely you'll get a GIA report or any of the other reports that you can get from diamond merchants. If you are spending $$$$ on a diamond ring then you want to be sure you are getting what you're paying for.
All that said, if you are after a lower priced ring and are happy to proceed without all the extra information you can get from a diamond merchant and you are comfortable with maybe not getting the quality you were hoping for, eBay can be a great place to shop.

See, my best deals have all come from private buyers with shoddy photographs and minimal information. Buying from established sellers is fine but you're going to be paying regular prices, not "deal" prices. Of course, when buying from someone who has little idea what they have, you do have to take it to get appraised and should include that in the cost, and be sure you can get it to an appraiser within the amount of time you have for the return. And don't spend more money than you're comfortable being out, if the worst comes to worst and ebay or paypal won't refund you. This is obviously not for unpracticed people - my skills have been built up over time and with a lot of practice, both in buying and returning things AND looking at listings. If I am shopping for a piece of jewelry that I want to spend only a certain amount of money on and that certain amount is significantly less than the usual price, I spend 2-4 hours a day browsing ebay, and often have to do that for months before I find an item that fits the bill. I have to spend that much time because the best deals are found with super vague search terms like "old diamond ring," etc. Most people would probably be better served by just taking up a second job and using that to pay for their jewelry purchases.

Ditto this. I've gotten a handful of great deals on ebay. Most of which I did resell. That's in 10 years. All of them were under "diamond ring" or "diamond band". Little to no detail, and terrible images. Not something I would advise anyone do for an engagement ring.

 

[WillyDiamond]

If you buy an ER on eBay, you have to be ok with the fact you might get scammed and be prepared to lose all your money.
Why not work with a PS vendor?

 

[distracts]

Hi, I've been buying on eBay for nearly 12 years and I mostly buy jewellery.
My tip is to stick with established business sellers. Many of these also have a bricks and mortar store and use eBay to expand their clientele.
Buying from a private buyer can be fraught with trouble. You generally won't get high quality photos and if there is a valuation that's no guarantee the stones in the ring are the same when it was assessed. Sometimes they aren't even diamonds and then you have the huge hassle and long time frame to get your money back.
It's also unlikely you'll get a GIA report or any of the other reports that you can get from diamond merchants. If you are spending $$$$ on a diamond ring then you want to be sure you are getting what you're paying for.
All that said, if you are after a lower priced ring and are happy to proceed without all the extra information you can get from a diamond merchant and you are comfortable with maybe not getting the quality you were hoping for, eBay can be a great place to shop.

See, my best deals have all come from private buyers with shoddy photographs and minimal information. Buying from established sellers is fine but you're going to be paying regular prices, not "deal" prices. Of course, when buying from someone who has little idea what they have, you do have to take it to get appraised and should include that in the cost, and be sure you can get it to an appraiser within the amount of time you have for the return. And don't spend more money than you're comfortable being out, if the worst comes to worst and ebay or paypal won't refund you. This is obviously not for unpracticed people - my skills have been built up over time and with a lot of practice, both in buying and returning things AND looking at listings. If I am shopping for a piece of jewelry that I want to spend only a certain amount of money on and that certain amount is significantly less than the usual price, I spend 2-4 hours a day browsing ebay, and often have to do that for months before I find an item that fits the bill. I have to spend that much time because the best deals are found with super vague search terms like "old diamond ring," etc. Most people would probably be better served by just taking up a second job and using that to pay for their jewelry purchases.

Ditto this. I've gotten a handful of great deals on ebay. Most of which I did resell. That's in 10 years. All of them were under "diamond ring" or "diamond band". Little to no detail, and terrible images. Not something I would advise anyone do for an engagement ring.

And usually few feedbacks, for miscellaneous non-jewelry items (not bad feedbacks though).

The advice for "how to get deals" is pretty much opposite the advice for "how to buy safely on ebay."

 

[Niel]

Hi, I've been buying on eBay for nearly 12 years and I mostly buy jewellery.
My tip is to stick with established business sellers. Many of these also have a bricks and mortar store and use eBay to expand their clientele.
Buying from a private buyer can be fraught with trouble. You generally won't get high quality photos and if there is a valuation that's no guarantee the stones in the ring are the same when it was assessed. Sometimes they aren't even diamonds and then you have the huge hassle and long time frame to get your money back.
It's also unlikely you'll get a GIA report or any of the other reports that you can get from diamond merchants. If you are spending $$$$ on a diamond ring then you want to be sure you are getting what you're paying for.
All that said, if you are after a lower priced ring and are happy to proceed without all the extra information you can get from a diamond merchant and you are comfortable with maybe not getting the quality you were hoping for, eBay can be a great place to shop.

See, my best deals have all come from private buyers with shoddy photographs and minimal information. Buying from established sellers is fine but you're going to be paying regular prices, not "deal" prices. Of course, when buying from someone who has little idea what they have, you do have to take it to get appraised and should include that in the cost, and be sure you can get it to an appraiser within the amount of time you have for the return. And don't spend more money than you're comfortable being out, if the worst comes to worst and ebay or paypal won't refund you. This is obviously not for unpracticed people - my skills have been built up over time and with a lot of practice, both in buying and returning things AND looking at listings. If I am shopping for a piece of jewelry that I want to spend only a certain amount of money on and that certain amount is significantly less than the usual price, I spend 2-4 hours a day browsing ebay, and often have to do that for months before I find an item that fits the bill. I have to spend that much time because the best deals are found with super vague search terms like "old diamond ring," etc. Most people would probably be better served by just taking up a second job and using that to pay for their jewelry purchases.

Ditto this. I've gotten a handful of great deals on ebay. Most of which I did resell. That's in 10 years. All of them were under "diamond ring" or "diamond band". Little to no detail, and terrible images. Not something I would advise anyone do for an engagement ring.

And usually few feedbacks, for miscellaneous non-jewelry items (not bad feedbacks though).

The advice for "how to get deals" is pretty much opposite the advice for "how to buy safely on ebay."

Yes I found a van Craeynest by searching through the most generic search, it returned 10k+ items, and I just happened upon it under a random listing.

The best things ive gotten second hand were this way, but this would not at all be something I would suggest to others, particularly on their first diamond purchase.

 

[Gem Queen]

I agree.
I am an experienced buyer. I love trolling on Ebay. I have found some awesome stuff and it's even better in person than the pictures.
I love when they are vague descriptions. That tells me they are not the normal brick and mortar stores selling on Ebay.
What are most of your search engine lines you type in when looking for items?

 

[Zizzy]

I bought my Cartier diamond eternity off eBay. The seller is an established trader in high-end jewellery though, with a physical shop in my country (UK) and a very high buyer feedback rating on eBay. The ring is immaculate and it saved me £5000 on buying new.

 

[dollyanjuli]

I agree with many of the longtime posters- I have gotten many good deals on eBay. I have also gotten a few things where i opened the envelope and went WTF- and promptly back they went, as I was protected by a good return policy.

For someone who wants to make a first time purchase on eBay to buy an engagement ring, i think the risks can often outweigh the reward. That said OP hasn't responded in a while, so we are pretty much talking to ourselves right now