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Help! I''m feeling confused about store front purchase vs internet

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ohbaby532

Rough_Rock
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May 6, 2008
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I have been opposed to purchasing a stone through a store front, knowing that the mark-up is significant and that the stones are typically not as nice. I have been a little unsure how to proceed with the band but thought I could probably find better pricing outside a store front for this as well. However, I have some old family friends who run a jewelry store. They have assured me that they can give me as good, if not better, pricing than I would be able to find anywhere ... Plus, it''s nice to know a trustworthy jeweler is dealing with your very expensive purchase and that they will take care of you if anything happens. So I have found a ring in their store ... and I am feeling a little bit confused about how to proceed. I didn''t even want to go through them because I hate to make friends feel as though I''m using them or taking advantage of them. My boyfriend and I went back to look yesterday and basically they are saying that it will be $8000 for this ring. $2000 for the bands in the pictures (plus one additional band on the outside, identical to the other outer band) plus $6000 for the stone we saw yesterday (the stone in the pic is a 2 carat CZ ... the one we looked at is approx 1 carat, I color, VS1 or VS2 (I can''t remember)). Is this a good deal? Should we do it? I understand that one can probably always find a better deal so I''m not looking for the absolute lowest price for the absolute nicest ring ... but knowing the price comparison from store front to internet, I''m just not sure that I''m actually getting a "deal" here. Can anyone offer some advice or feedback?

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Do you have more information about the diamond? The cut? The cert?

Run comparison on this web-site, I have a feeling you can do much better than $6k.
 
Hi ob, I am going to be perfectly blunt here. If I had a dollar for every time I have read a post with, "I have a family friend who is a jeweler", that didn''t end/go/look well, I''d have a nice little nest egg. Seriousy, you might try typing in "family jeweler" in the search function and see what pops up. These type of situations rarely go well, and rarely are they ever truly giving someone a great stone at a great price. I know that sounds harsh to accuse a "friend" of not playing fairly, because, a friend wouldn''t do that, right? Wrong. They can, and they will, almost every time. I''ve seen it a lot over the last two years here.

We couldn''t even begin to comment on the offer. We would need all the info on the stone from the grading report. But my guess is, you could do better. As far as price, since you weren''t sure, I did a search for a VS1, as that would be the more expensive, and they are starting out online at 4760.00.

Just some things to think about.
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OB, there''s no way to know if you''re getting a ''deal'' until you know more about the stone. If it''s a top-make stone from AGS or GIA, then the price would be very good -- comparable with online.

If the stone isn''t as well-cut or comes with paperwork from a lesser lab (or perhaps no paperwork at all), it may be less of a deal.

You sound realistic in your expectations and realizing that the local source will likely have a slightly higher price than online, so that''s good.

I''d suggest you get some more information on the stone for starters.....Sarin or similar, and grading documents if they exist. You need to know dimensions, crown/pavilion measurements, depth, table, fluorescence, and girdle for starters. Would be nice to know polish/symmetry info as well.

If you don''t want to play the ''paper-chase'' game, you could opt instead to make the sale contingent upon acceptable results from a local independent appraiser.

Best of luck to you.
 
Date: 5/6/2008 12:34:14 PM
Author: Ellen
Hi ob, I am going to be perfectly blunt here. If I had a dollar for every time I have read a post with, ''I have a family friend who is a jeweler'', that didn''t end/go/look well, I''d have a nice little nest egg. Seriousy, you might try typing in ''family jeweler'' in the search function and see what pops up. These type of situations rarely go well, and rarely are they ever truly giving someone a great stone at a great price. I know that sounds harsh to accuse a ''friend'' of not playing fairly, because, a friend wouldn''t do that, right? Wrong. They can, and they will, almost every time. I''ve seen it a lot over the last two years here.


We couldn''t even begin to comment on the offer. We would need all the info on the stone from the grading report. But my guess is, you could do better. As far as price, since you weren''t sure, I did a search for a VS1, as that would be the more expensive, and they are starting out online at 4760.00.


Just some things to think about.
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Ditto! I''d back out and buy online. The diamond seems very overpriced, and you don''t even have any information on the cut, which is the most important part.

You can always blame it on your boyfriend and say he knew someone else and he wanted to go with them.
 
Thanks to everyone below who gave their advice! We decided against the B&M :) I''ll probably be asking for some opinions on some stones later today. Thanks again!!
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You''re welcome!

And we''d love to help you out.
 
Date: 5/8/2008 12:12:35 PM
Author: ohbaby532
Thanks to everyone below who gave their advice! We decided against the B&M :) I''ll probably be asking for some opinions on some stones later today. Thanks again!!
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Good decision! I think it is totally fine to buy a setting locally as the prices online are really not much better. But you WILL get a better quality diamond for a better price online. Many of us can personally vouch for that!!!
 
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