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Have your local jewelers heard of Pricescope?

Tonks

Tonks

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Dec 27, 2017
Messages
1,676
This community is such a wealth of knowledge. I remember mentioning it when I was browsing in a local jewelry store several years ago, and was so surprised when the sales associate hadn’t heard of Pricescope. Since then, I’ve made a point to casually ask or mention it when browsing in person, and I have yet to meet anyone in the jewelry business who is aware of this site. I am curious whether local jewelers in your areas are similarly unaware of this resource (or possibly too busy to be able to take advantage).

Also, ran across this gem of a thread this morning (with a fantastic linked article inside).

A jeweler’s guide for how to get along with Pricescope

There is a new article on Pricescope journal by Neil Beaty (denverappraiser). "A jeweler’s guide for how to get along with Pricescope " http://journal.pricescope.com/Articles/55/1/A-jewelerâs-guide-for-how-to-get-along-with-Pricescope.aspx I want to thank him for his contribution to the...
www.pricescope.com
 
No. Not in my experience. The wonderful women at our favorite jewelry shoppe have never heard of PS. And I rarely mention PS when I go jewelry shopping unless it’s a PS vendor.
 
nope.
 
This is fascinating to me. If I were in the trade and there were this direct line to consumers, especially informed consumers, I would be ALL IN. How can you pass up the chance to interact directly with your most informed and passionate customers? And what a pleasure that would be, compared to the ones who come in and just want to get in and out as quickly as possible.

I think of the guys who work in timepieces at my local Rolex AD. They are active on watch forums and local watch clubs. This doesn’t seem super different.
 
No, in fact I haven't met anyone IRL who knows about PS.
 
nope, not at all
 
Not to my knowledge
 
No, though probably not surprising since I'm on a different continent. I doubt I would mention PS, on one hand I know enough to make my own informed decision but possibly not enough to hold my own if the opinion I offered was challenged. I tend to listen to the various conversations in the shop, if I like what I hear I stay, if not, I move on.
 
There is a local jeweler that participates on a different diamond/jewelry site because they can sell stones there. I bet they probably know
about PS but since they cant sell stones here they probably dont see any benefit.
 
My local jeweler had never heard of Pricescope which I found really interesting. I found Pricescope by doing very simple searches like “going from a solitaire to a halo”, etc. years ago before I ever even made an account.

I don’t know how you could look up anything jewelry related online and not stumble upon PS. I also would think that a jeweler would be interested in seeing the thoughts of some of the biggest jewelry fanatics.

PS has some haters though for sure so maybe there are some politics at play that I don’t know about ‍♀.
 
Interesting thread @Tonks. I often hear jewelers on trade sites complaining about Pricescope and other sites they consider threatening. I suspect that many owners know about PS and probably do not discuss it with their workers.

Years ago, at the JC-K shows and Polygon Conclaves, I used to tell my fellow jewelers about PS, but got so much negativity from them I just decided I did not want to have them bring those feelings to a forum that I love.

These are hard times for Bricks and Mortar jewelers and I feel it is even more important today to not only know about the competition, but to understand and strategize about how to compete with them than it was all those years ago when I came to Pricescope.

Personally, I am glad I came and even more glad I stayed.

Wink
 
None of our jewelers have heard of it - of the few I've asked, they are skeptical and think I'm getting bad information. I no longer ask. Interestingly, I started a thread recently about a supposed Cartier ring - and when I called the Boston Cartier about the ring, the manager was very interested in PS. It is the first genuinely positive response I've had from a B&M. @Wink, I for one am very glad you joined and stayed!
 
I don't know.
I'd never shop there because there's no chance they'd have anything I want, or priced I'd pay.

But I believe even if they did know about PS they likely not admit it to a customer.
If they're smart they'd play dumb.
 
I’m in the process of getting my engagement ring upgraded. I’m working with a jeweler who has been in business for 40 years. She has never heard of PS.

I was searching for a new diamond for my engagement ring and my jeweler found a few for me. I posted the info here and PSers cautioned me against buying any of the diamonds my jeweler showed me. I told my jeweler the specific depth and angles I wanted and she thought I was being a bit crazy. So, PSers found me a diamond (thank you again) and I bought the diamond. When my jeweler saw it she said, “WOW, there may be something to all your crazy specific angles etc”.

I’m so glad I found this site! By the way, the badly cut diamond my jeweler found and the fantastic cut diamond found by PSers were the about the same price! My jeweler is a fantastic person who is kind and knowledgable about diamonds, but she does not have the kind of knowledge that PSers have. In my opinion, all diamonds are pretty and sparkle, but PSers are looking for the super sparklers and they find them! Now, I stalk this website daily trying to soak in all of the knowledge you guys have.
 
Tonks said:
This is fascinating to me. If I were in the trade and there were this direct line to consumers, especially informed consumers, I would be ALL IN. How can you pass up the chance to interact directly with your most informed and passionate customers? And what a pleasure that would be, compared to the ones who come in and just want to get in and out as quickly as possible.
Click to expand...

Many jewelers don't care about customer passion, and do not want informed customers they can not rip off because they sell poorly cut diamonds graded by faux labs at inflated prices.
They love ignorant customers with money.

During my 15 years at PS I've read many jewelers that do know about PS hate it because it ruins their little scam.
 
No. They said they never heard of it.
 
@Tonks, great idea for a thread. I can't get the article link to respond - is there another way to access it?
 
The jeweller I used for the good lady's ring didn't really come across as negative or positive when I mentioned the forum (IIRC).

There might have been a small sigh and a look towards the heavens, though - probably thinking 'oh great, another smart-arse who's read something on the internet and thinks they know it all... :roll:' LoL :lol:
 
I asked my local jeweler if they had heard of it last time I went in for a ring re-sizing and they had not. It does seem surprising since it is so easy to find online. I mean, I found it and I'm inept at all things computer/technology but I can google.
 
nope I mentioned it and they were clueless
 
Tonks said:
This community is such a wealth of knowledge. I remember mentioning it when I was browsing in a local jewelry store several years ago, and was so surprised when the sales associate hadn’t heard of Pricescope. Since then, I’ve made a point to casually ask or mention it when browsing in person, and I have yet to meet anyone in the jewelry business who is aware of this site. I am curious whether local jewelers in your areas are similarly unaware of this resource (or possibly too busy to be able to take advantage).

Also, ran across this gem of a thread this morning (with a fantastic linked article inside).

A jeweler’s guide for how to get along with Pricescope

There is a new article on Pricescope journal by Neil Beaty (denverappraiser). "A jeweler’s guide for how to get along with Pricescope " http://journal.pricescope.com/Articles/55/1/A-jewelerâs-guide-for-how-to-get-along-with-Pricescope.aspx I want to thank him for his contribution to the...
www.pricescope.com
Click to expand...

My local shop is really awesome. The owner is actually the outgoing AGS prez! His shop does fun, free events for the community. About jewelry, and about other stuff. I bought a share in my local grocery coop at an event that they sponsored! The owner used to have a treasure hunt where he would write the most clever clues about local landmarks. And hide free giveaways from his store... Until he got in trouble for hiding the one carat diamond ultimate treasure on State Farm HQ property.... about 30 cars descended on headquarters at once and freaked out security, lol! Anyway, that was the last year for the treasure hunt...


I’m not sure if he personally peruses PS, but I know that his staff didn’t know about it when I asked a few years ago. I am in my local shop for small purchases (2K or less), but I’m thinking of buying a watch through them next year. I like to support them. And I need a local jeweler that I trust! They had the bench that told me I needed a new head for my original oval ering before it fell out (it did fall out! My then 10-year-old found it on the white kitchen tile).

I do think some PSers can be difficult customers. I think that some vendors consider that the cost of doing business. There are so many lurkers here who may be a “one time” customer for about 5 or 10 years, then they want to return for anniversaries, etc. so maybe dealing with a “discerning” PSer is easy to swallow in the big picture?

All that said, I also could not access the article!
 
Wink said:
Interesting thread @Tonks. I often hear jewelers on trade sites complaining about Pricescope and other sites they consider threatening. I suspect that many owners know about PS and probably do not discuss it with their workers.

Years ago, at the JC-K shows and Polygon Conclaves, I used to tell my fellow jewelers about PS, but got so much negativity from them I just decided I did not want to have them bring those feelings to a forum that I love.

These are hard times for Bricks and Mortar jewelers and I feel it is even more important today to not only know about the competition, but to understand and strategize about how to compete with them than it was all those years ago when I came to Pricescope.

Personally, I am glad I came and even more glad I stayed.

Wink
Click to expand...

That is a fascinating perspective, Wink. Thank you for sharing. It hadn’t occurred to me that jewelers would find PS threatening, but I suppose that would be the case for any site that allows consumers to compare pricing and merchandise. Huh. Lots to think about.

We are also glad you are here. We all learn so much from those of you who are in the trade and take the time to post from your years of experience.
 
KristinTech said:
My local shop is really awesome. The owner is actually the outgoing AGS prez! His shop does fun, free events for the community. About jewelry, and about other stuff. I bought a share in my local grocery coop at an event that they sponsored! The owner used to have a treasure hunt where he would write the most clever clues about local landmarks. And hide free giveaways from his store... Until he got in trouble for hiding the one carat diamond ultimate treasure on State Farm HQ property.... about 30 cars descended on headquarters at once and freaked out security, lol! Anyway, that was the last year for the treasure hunt...


I’m not sure if he personally peruses PS, but I know that his staff didn’t know about it when I asked a few years ago. I am in my local shop for small purchases (2K or less), but I’m thinking of buying a watch through them next year. I like to support them. And I need a local jeweler that I trust! They had the bench that told me I needed a new head for my original oval ering before it fell out (it did fall out! My then 10-year-old found it on the white kitchen tile).

I do think some PSers can be difficult customers. I think that some vendors consider that the cost of doing business. There are so many lurkers here who may be a “one time” customer for about 5 or 10 years, then they want to return for anniversaries, etc. so maybe dealing with a “discerning” PSer is easy to swallow in the big picture?

All that said, I also could not access the article!
Click to expand...

Try this link for the article—I just went back and tried through the thread I posted and I couldn’t access it that way either—that link must be broken.

www.pricescope.com

A jewelers guide for how to get along with Pricescope.

Pricescope represents an amazing opportunity for jewelers who are willing to take the plunge but it’s a difficult step to take. Quite a few industry pros have asked for advice […]
www.pricescope.com

Amazing that your local jeweler is so awesome. I am laughing about that giveaway. WOW. It is definitely nice to have a bench you trust locally!

I’m sure you’re right that some PSers can be difficult. I remember one thread not too long ago where a CS vendor said he would no longer sell to PSers. But PSers can also be fantastic people who can write glowing reviews that can be an enormous source of business. It seems like a no-brainer to me. If I were in the trade I would prefer an educated consumer.
 
oodlesofpoodles said:
I asked my local jeweler if they had heard of it last time I went in for a ring re-sizing and they had not. It does seem surprising since it is so easy to find online. I mean, I found it and I'm inept at all things computer/technology but I can google.
Click to expand...

That’s exactly why I’m so surprised. It’s literally the first thing that pops up if you do any online research about pretty much any engagement ring or wedding band related topic. It is not hard to find.
 
NicoleNeedsHelp said:
I’m in the process of getting my engagement ring upgraded. I’m working with a jeweler who has been in business for 40 years. She has never heard of PS.

I was searching for a new diamond for my engagement ring and my jeweler found a few for me. I posted the info here and PSers cautioned me against buying any of the diamonds my jeweler showed me. I told my jeweler the specific depth and angles I wanted and she thought I was being a bit crazy. So, PSers found me a diamond (thank you again) and I bought the diamond. When my jeweler saw it she said, “WOW, there may be something to all your crazy specific angles etc”.

I’m so glad I found this site! By the way, the badly cut diamond my jeweler found and the fantastic cut diamond found by PSers were the about the same price! My jeweler is a fantastic person who is kind and knowledgable about diamonds, but she does not have the kind of knowledge that PSers have. In my opinion, all diamonds are pretty and sparkle, but PSers are looking for the super sparklers and they find them! Now, I stalk this website daily trying to soak in all of the knowledge you guys have.
Click to expand...

Finding this site was so helpful for me- I was in the same position of upgrading my engagement ring and I made it to age 40 without ever really knowing about diamonds beyond the “4Cs”.
For my situation it totally helped (since I was looking for a pear I learned about the bow tie effect, facet patterns and ratios, and most brick and mortar shops don’t have a large selection in-house so I got ideas for where to look online). I feel like a savvy shop owner would know about PS and use it as a tool for themselves, but I’m sure the PS folks are a small minority of their customers.
 
kenny said:
Many jewelers don't care about customer passion, and do not want informed customers they can not rip off because they sell poorly cut diamonds graded by faux labs at inflated prices.
They love ignorant customers with money.

During my 15 years at PS I've read many jewelers that do know about PS hate it because it ruins their little scam.
Click to expand...

Ughhhh how depressing!

I wonder how much the sales structure at brick and mortar jewelry stores factors into this. I honestly don’t know how PS vendors structure things, but I think most B&M jewelers are on a commission structure (at least judging by how sales associates at some stores sprint to greet you at the door). It seems that commissions might incentivize making a sale NOW as opposed to selling the best product even if it takes a bit longer to find.
 
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