Help! (just found my EGL report being used online by a retailer)

[TD220]

so i recently purchased a diamond from my local jewler, and am waiting for my setting to pick it up. to compare the price i would have paid online, i did a scope here on PS. i found a diamond at Abazias that had very similiar specs, and when i pulled the report, it was the exact same report my retail jeweler gave me, same EGL number! is this normal? i know some online retailers pitch the same diamonds, and the first one to sell gets the diamond, but my jeweler has the diamond in house? how do i know my jeweler didnt just give me a report from the internet, how do you know if the report matches the diamond?

 

[:)]

It is not uncommon for jewelers to list their stones ''virtually'' for other vendors to include in their database (gives them a wider market). Yours just hasn''t been removed from the database yet. If I called Abazias to buy it, they would go to look and tell me it had been sold.

 

[:)]

To answer your second question, have your jeweler run you through the plot of the stone on the report and compare it to your stone. THey should match. If not, wrong report!
Alternatively, take to independent appraiser to confirm.

 

[TD220]

thanks. im getting it appraised on Monday. what jerks me is the price online is $1,100 less then I paid. my jeweler told me they sold it barely over cost. i understand a retail store needs to make money, but is it possible the online price is true wholesale, same as my jeweler paid? or is it safe to assume my jeweler paid even less then the price i can get online? i want them to make money, but i dont want to be decieved either.

 

[JulieN]

wholesale is below online retail.

 

[:)]

Your jeweler paid less than what you are seeing online. Jewelers prices are typically higher as they typically have more overhead for a storefront.

 

[TD220]

if retail is 32k, online is 24k, what would you guess retail is? i want the jeweler to make money, but id like to know the margin..

 

[:)]

Depends on things like where the retailer is located, size of store, # of employees, etc. to determine mark up...
I am not an appraiser, but it was explained to me by one that online is usually 10-20%. Somewhere like diamond district in LA, NY, etc maybe 30-40%, ''high end'' retailer like Tiff can be up to 80-90%, b&m usually 50-70% - of course those are not hard and fast #s, but generalities.

 

[JulieN]

Date: 12/5/2008 12:21:42 PM
Author: TD220
if retail is 32k, online is 24k, what would you guess retail is? i want the jeweler to make money, but id like to know the margin..

You said your stone was +1000. 32-24 is 8000.

Easier to just ask me what regular internet markup is...which I believe is about 5%...maybe an appraiser will answer.

B&M price depends on lots of things, like where you are...

 

[TD220]

sorry i made a typo...

full retail = 32k
online retail = 24k
wholesale to jeweler = ?

i know it can vary depending on how much they buy, etc, but a ballpark number?

 

[JulieN]

I don't need to know the 32 to figure out wholesale to jeweler...especially since B&M pricing can be way more random on pricing.

internet price * .95 = wholesale price

IF internet markup is 5%...which I'm trying to double-check for you...markup also depends on the stone. If it's a branded cut or otherwise hard to find, markup should be higher.

If internet markup is 10%, then it would be internet price * .9 = wholesale price. I do not think it is higher than 10%...

Anyway, $1000 is not a huge markup if you bought an average size/quality stone.

 

[TD220]

wouldnt wholesale be $22,900?

24k * .05 = 22,900

your numbers reflect wholesaler price above retail?

thanks for all your help!

 

[JulieN]

sorry, I used 28

But you know enough to correct me, so it seems you're fine.

i'm not sure what "wholesaler price above retail" means?

 

[TD220]

sorry meant you wrote "wholesale price higher then online retail price"
just a typo.

my head hurts...thanks for your help

 

[JulieN]

Ok, you said earlier that you got a 3 ct cushion for 25K

If you paid 1000 over internet price, that is more than reasonable!

 

[purrfectpear]

The bottom line is that you just gave away $1000. Hopefully you like your local guy and if so, then it''s worth that to you.

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 12/5/2008 1:08:44 PM
Author: purrfectpear
The bottom line is that you just gave away $1000. Hopefully you like your local guy and if so, then it''s worth that to you.

Yup. Your local guy is giving you a bit of a line for sure...hope you like his service.

 

[oldmancoyote]

I don''t particularly like this jeweller (whom I don''t know!) given his statements over grading reports (see the other thread by TD220). However, I must say that $1000 above internet is not unreasonable, especially for someone based in a major city; don''t confuse mark-up with profit... ("margin" is a pretty vague concept)

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 12/5/2008 12:30:24 PM
Author: TD220
sorry i made a typo...


full retail = 32k

online retail = 24k

wholesale to jeweler = ?


i know it can vary depending on how much they buy, etc, but a ballpark number?

8% margin on lowest virtual price from a drop shipper isn't far off.

Your jewelers wholesale price specially if he got it on memo which is likely if it is still on the lists can be higher than internet retail.

 

[TD220]

ive asked my jeweler to match the price. while they have overhead, the reality is either they will match the price or i will walk away. last time i checked small profit was better then no profit. ive been happy w/ my jeweler so far, and expect them to do the right thing.

 

[swingirl]

You have had the benefit of seeing the stone in person. You would eat up some of that $1000 if you had the stone shipped to you, got it appraised and shipped it back to be set.

 

[JulieN]

Date: 12/5/2008 4:50:45 PM
Author: TD220
ive asked my jeweler to match the price. while they have overhead, the reality is either they will match the price or i will walk away. last time i checked small profit was better then no profit. ive been happy w/ my jeweler so far, and expect them to do the right thing.

sometimes, no profit is better than a customer you don''t want to work with.

 

[Sharon101]

Hey anyone can sell you this stone for any amount if they dont have it!!!!!

It ends up being exhausting and time consuming trying to `catch` a good one from a drop shipper.

You would have to put some value on a shop that is actually paying rent and wages to be able to show you this stone.

 

[honey22]

Date: 12/5/2008 12:10:15 PM
Author: TD220
thanks. im getting it appraised on Monday. what jerks me is the price online is $1,100 less then I paid. my jeweler told me they sold it barely over cost. i understand a retail store needs to make money, but is it possible the online price is true wholesale, same as my jeweler paid? or is it safe to assume my jeweler paid even less then the price i can get online? i want them to make money, but i dont want to be decieved either.

We say it here all the time - don''t just blatantly trust a jeweller - of course he is going to tell you he sold it barely over cost, they all say the same thing!! Every sales person in just about every trade says it!

If you return it and then try to get it elsewhere, it will likely come up as unavailble as your jeweller nows has it. Just be done with it, and enjoy your diamond, and next time, buy online

 

[dbsdiamonds]

Not all jewelers own their inventory. If the stats match then it is the same diamond and most likely the diamond is on "memo" with your local jeweler. That is, until you bought it...and when others update their online inventory and when the supplier who actually owned the diamond removes it from the general inventory listings it''ll disappear...

The great lesson here is the pricing difference between local and online. Could be rather informative to the newbies who question buying online.

Marty
Diamond Brokerage Service Inc
www.dbsdiamonds.com
"see it, we beat it"

 

[TD220]

thanks again for everyones responses...i recently had the stone appriased, and as expected, the report was very different from the EGL report. while cut and color were consistent, he gave the stone an S12 rating, far lower then the VS2 EGL came up with. however, he did say my stone has no black, and the inclusions i have are all on the perimeter of the stone, nothing in the middle. i took this information back to my jeweler who has offered to match the online price of the diamond.

now, bottom line is my jeweler was dishonest on several occasions, but as it stands i think its a good price on a diamond i like. now i have to decide if an s12 diamond is going to bother me or if i should just take the diamond and call it a day.