HELP - Id this setting

[sincraft]

Ok so after a LONG courtship, my girlfriend and I are going to tie the knot.

HOWEVER, we are having some serious difficulties with diamonds and settings.

It appears that everywhere we turn, independent - online - mall...something is wrong that turns us away from the retailer.

After long review, we are willing to purchase a setting online but WILL NOT buy a diamond from someone I can''t reach out and grab if need be.

With that said, we are having an issue finding a setting. She wants a simple setting that has an antique appeal to it. We settled on a setting from Stein http://www.steindiamonds.com/product-details/2518

They agreed to send us the one they had which was a 5.5 with a CZ mounted in it. They also agree to not charge a restock fee. She loved it. BUT when I called to tell them that this one had a scratch on it, the owner stated it left in mint condition ...but regardless they would be cutting it to fit a 5. We were told (just hours before by another rep) that they would be ordering a new one. So obviously we are a bit worried that they are going to try to charge us for this defect that they didn''t notice. It was a small scratch on the bottom of the setting. I noticed it with my eye loop (yes I own one). Then when you look at it with just the eye, its noticeable. A concern obviously.

I''m also concerned that the crown didnt include the cz like they mentioned. Why take that out and send us just the setting, this concerns me that they have done this before and that the top is going to be too weak to hold the stone.

We have a local dealer that has a stone that is nice. It''s a 1.5 carat with good stats and alot of brilliance.

BUT the setting is our issue. We found another one similar in a catalog at a small dealer near where we live, but they will not bring in one to look at, and state that we would have to buy it sight unseen.

So how do we find this setting without all the craziness attached? I''m also concerned that we have $2k tied up with Stein as we will probably have to fight to get our money back I''d imagine based on the owners statements on the phone tonight.

Sorry if I sound a bit scatterbrained, it''s been a rough night.

 

[lucyandroger]

There''s this Tacori: Link

 

[CharmyPoo]

The setting you selected looks more modern than antique to me but as long as she loves it .. that is all that matters. If you paid $2000 +, would it be nice to just get the Tacori setting? I am assuming the one you got isn't Tacori (but I can't really tell).

I think your concerns can be easily resolved by asking the store. If not, you have a 30 day return policy.

 

[sincraft]

Yes! That was it. It was a Tacori. With a scratch. I found several other dealers. THANKS!

 

[Collee]

I am confused. No need to ID as the the item number is stated on the page. The setting is Tacori 2565. Did the store not provide the designer info? If not the name "Tacori" is stamped on the inside of the setting.

The setting that they sent you is a sample setting. Someone correct me if I am wrong but sample settings (unless the product is discontinued) are not for resale. All Tacori settings are made to order to fit your stone measurements. Tacori is a TOP NOTCH reputable designer with a great warranty policy. No craziness should be attached when purchasing this setting. It should be a very simple and straight forward process.

Why do have money "tied up" with Stein when you haven't even placed the order? Wasn't the setting sent for viewing purpose and not as an intent to purchase that particular setting? Again, settings are made to order and this setting should be NO different.

Perhaps I am reading your post wrong but IMO something sounds very fishy. I would cut your ties with Stein and find another Tacori retailer.

 

[sincraft]

With all due respect, who in their right mind is going to send you a $2000 setting without securing some line of credit or charging you outright?

They charged our card and guaranteed a 0% restock to try this setting out. They the rather cocky, pushy guy on the phone who turned out to be the owner - slighted me by telling me that the unit left new , must have happened on our end. And had the audacity to try and sell me a diamond to put in the setting they expected us to keep and they wanted to resize it.

Im going to get on the phone now as I found some local dealers. I expect to pay more but, at least it will be new.

 

[Collee]

Totally understandable that you were charged the price of the setting to view in the comfort of your own home. However, the charge should have been credited once the setting was returned. Sure, a small fee might be charged for shipping the setting and extending the service to you but by NO MEANS should that charge equal the price of the setting.

 

[Todd Gray]

Obviously I don''t know the situation, so I''m not going to comment on the issues between you and the vendor, but would like to provide some insight from the vendor side of the equation.

Is the scratch deep or can it be polished out? Rings often scratch while being used for display, even when care is taken to try and prevent this from happening, but usually minor scratches are easily removed with polishing.

With the above information in mind, it is ridiculous for a vendor to go off on a tangent of "it was in mint condition when it was shipped out" for something as minor as a scratch which can most likely be easily polished out. "We can take care of that for you" is probably a much more suitable approach.

Tacori offers free sizing for merchandise purchased from authorized vendors... The structure / design of the lower shank on this ring does lend itself easily to sizing.

 

[sincraft]

Thankfully we didn''t fall for the bank wire discount.


Ok so it gets deeper. I found a local dealer but they want $50 to bring in diamonds for us to look at, refundable. He said they were sick of getting diamonds on a no show.
BUT they have the setting for $2250.

Fine.

So I call Stein Diamonds and talked to Michelle our original sales person. She wanted us to pick out a diamond to have placed on the ring. I explained to her that the previous nights experience talking to Martin was not a good one. He wanted to resize the ring where the scratch was located. ??? She said OH NO I just talked to him 5 minutes ago, it will be remade. ??? WE will remake it. ??? Wait. It''s a Tecori ring, how are you going to remake it I asked. She replied back with , WE make the ring based on that design. ??? She said theirs is much nicer, she was surprised that the Tecori looked the way it did compared to theirs.
This all sound nice but, if it is the SLIGHTEST bit different than what my GF thinks she is getting , she will FLIP OUT. So I said OH NO we can''t have that. Are you a Tecori reseller? NO, we purchase at full retail.

???? But I thought they made the ring. ??/

So obviously to someone like me, who is already feeling a bit taken, is going to worry. I asked her if she would buy an LCD tv sight unseen...after someone tells her "its like this one...just different" ????

Who buys stuff sight unseen? esp for 2k? THEN I asked..

Would I be able to return the setting if she doesnt like it if you make it since it will be custom.

NO. ROFL. Yea ok just give me my money back.

Suddenly the attitude changes. WELL you know, that scratch is going to cost us money , its not sellable now....continuing for another 20 seconds.
She said that jewelery is very delicate and scratches very very easily, we should have remove it and inspected it with TISSUE PAPER and not tried it on.

??????? WTF ??????????

I was JUST about to mention that we were going to file fraud charges on the credit card when she said dont worry about it, send it in and your money will be refunded.

Sadly, they have diamonds on their site that interest us. But I feel that it''s very possible those come with strings attached too.

Maybe I''m wrong in all of this, overly paranoid, and a bit ''twice shy'' about buying things ...esp a ring. Hey, I do don''t this everyday you know.

Hopefully the money will be taken off of the card. If not, fraud charges will be files, the BBB will be contacted, their states attorney gen will be notified, and of course, I''ll use my skills as a web entrepreneur to ensure that ANYONE looking for a diamond or diamond setting will see my website first with a warning not to purchase from them.

BUT lets hope it doesn''t get to that shall we?

 

[Collee]

YOU are not wrong OR being overly paranoid.

Where are you located? Are there any PS vendors in your vicinity?

Someone correct me if I am wrong but my views are;

As stated in a previous post, Tacori makes the setting to accommodate your stone. Settings are not or should not be sold AS IS. The settings carried by the merchant are sample settings, NOT for resale. To state that they custom make the SAME (but better) setting is a copyright violation. Not sure what Tacori's policy is by other designers have a 20% rule (20% of the design must be changed) if recreated. I agree that you should cut ties and move on but I would be VERY curious to see "their" Tacori setting. Did she offer to send you pics?

and BTW - the $2,250 seems more on par with what the setting should cost. The $2,000 cost that you were quoted IS NOT full retail. Not sure what the setting cost is to the merchant but in order to make a profit (um isn't that what they are in business for?), a retail markup is added. Seems to me as if they were trying to sell you the sample setting (explains the lower cost of what the setting normally retails for) or offer the setting at a lower cost if you agree to purchase a diamond from them.

I hope that your next setting and diamond browsing experience will be much more enjoyable and free of drama!

ETA: what agreement was made when they sent you the setting to view? it must be stated somewhere or presented to you in writing.

 

[sincraft]

They normally charge 5% restock fee. I told them that wasn''t acceptable if they wanted our biz so they waived it. I hope.

Probably not though. So I''ll just sue them. No big deal. I as the consumer and a credit card company have the upper hand believe it or not.

Their website does not list a 5% restock fee.


As to your question about the setting. She said it would be EXACTLY the same. Yes, I know - a severe copyright violation if there ever was one. But these people don''t seem to care, they seem slimy after dealing with them. But that''s ok, so has every jewelry store we have been to thus far.

I feel like I''m buying a used car. Even the nicer more upscale stores are trying to pull the wool over my eyes.

Pretty sad. There is a big market for a decent store around here that doesn''t play games.

our first store played a diamond switch-a-roo on us. Here is the diamond, love it? Yes...ok. Come back to put a deposit on it. OH WE SOLD THAT you took too long, but look at this one. Love it? yeaaaaaaaaaaa I guess it''s nice too but I THINK that other was nicer. How much is this one? OH, $1000 more...then no thank you see you.

OH BUT WAIT look what I have in my pocket, it just came back in earlier I found out.

oooooooook.

Although Stein didn''t seem as bad as the first store we dealt with, it was pretty close.

Highly recommend anyone reading this through google researching stein, seriously consider what they are getting into. They may be fine to deal with at their store, but honestly our experience has been such that we feel like we may have to fight for a $2000 credit on our card, but feel as if it was setup.

Love it - great, no bad reviews then.
Hate it - oh but wait we have more for you...return?!?!? no no no let us send you something else you will LOVE. return?!?!?!? so did you pick the diamond from our site? return?!!? Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeell you know, you did have it for a full day, we are going to have to charge you for that. And it probably took a plane ride to get to your house so yeaaaaaaa we will have to charge you for that as metal degrades at altitude.

Honestly - when she said you should have picked it up with tissue paper and not tried it on, I REALIZED THEN that my little skit above wasn''t far fetched and that they were at the very least, shady dealers.

 

[Tuckins1]

What a nightmare!

Keep us updated!

 

[Collee]

Did you read the Terms of Service Page prior to having the setting sent?

It states,

..."we offer a hassle-free, 30-day money back guarantee on any non-Special Order Items. If you are not satisfied with an item that you have purchased online, you may return the item for a refund in accordance with our guidelines below. The refund issued will be the full amount paid for the item minus the shipping and handling charges incurred by Stein Diamonds when initially shipping your order.


...."When using a credit card, all returns, refunds, and cancellations are subject to a 5% restocking fee. No Exceptions...."

Although not the answer/outcome you were hoping for, it seems as if the shipping charges and 5% restocking fee is non-negotiable.

 

[Todd Gray]

Date: 10/20/2009 5:39:29 PM
Author: Collee
Did you read the Terms of Service Page prior to having the setting sent?

It states,

...''we offer a hassle-free, 30-day money back guarantee on any non-Special Order Items. If you are not satisfied with an item that you have purchased online, you may return the item for a refund in accordance with our guidelines below. The refund issued will be the full amount paid for the item minus the shipping and handling charges incurred by Stein Diamonds when initially shipping your order.



....''When using a credit card, all returns, refunds, and cancellations are subject to a 5% restocking fee. No Exceptions....''

Although not the answer/outcome you were hoping for, it seems as if the shipping charges and 5% restocking fee is non-negotiable.

This might actually be due to the terms of service with their credit card processing merchant bank... Some banks do not refund the service fees charged to merchants for credit card processing and thus they would be out the money in the event of a refund.

 

[Collee]

I agree but whatever the reasoning, I guess sincraft did not read or understand these policies prior to having the setting shipped.

Sincraft, I again urge you to select a PS vendor (search for testimonials and reviews) for your setting and diamond purchase. This should be an exciting and enjoyable shopping experience and not one filled with frustrations and resentment.

 

[sincraft]

pretty sure I looked and didnt see that previously. So I asked and that''s when they told me 5%. They waived it ''verbally'' for this order. I said IF they refund the full amount when we return the setting then we would feel comfortable ordering a diamond from them, so they agreed (if we chose not to go with the setting and just wanted a diamond).

Either way, I''m not paying them a penny. I''ll call and harass them daily as not one but TWO people agreed to waive the fee.

BUT somehow I think I''m going to be fighting with them. Luckily, there is no money taken out of my bank, just a promise to pay via my credit card. My cc will go to bat for me as it is well known to do for people who feel ripped off.

I understand they have costs to cover, but these costs are usually factored into the cost of doing business. I paid $28 to have it shipped back, they didn''t even insure their package. They sent it standard mail with signature verify. Mine is insured for $2k.

Lets hope there are no issues. I''m sick and really don''t want to deal with the added stress ya know?

Oh well, hope for best prepare for the worst.