Help me choose a vendor?

[Garchie]

My girlfriend and I are working together to find an E-ring. We''ve been looking at both online and local B&M vendors. As we''ve been looking, we''ve noticed that James Allen appears to have some lower prices than a lot of places both online and offline and have found a few possibilities for diamonds we might like there.

This weekend we went to a reputable local dealer. He showed us some diamonds we really liked, but we noticed they seem somewhat more expensive than what we''ve found at James Allen. Without us mentioning this, the vendor volunteered that his prices are very competitive, but that his stones are very well cut, and that if we see comparable stones at lower prices, those diamonds are probably not the same quality, since most vendors buy their stones from the wholemarket at very similar prices. And, in fact, his prices do appear to be similar to several online vendors that are popular on this forum (WF, GOG).

So, that got me thinking, why is it that JA stones appear to be less costly than many others? Are they of the same quality, or are there factors about the stones that don''t come across looking at pictures and numbers on their site, but that make many of their stones not up to the level of other vendors?

Also, on a different but related note, are there advantages to buying from a B&M over an online vendor? I have to say that it is nice to examine the stones in person.

 

[hihowareyou]

I have no experience with JA so can't really comment there except to say that there are many people on this site that have bought from them and love the results.

B&M vs internet?

B&M stores certainly have a perceived advantage that you get to see and touch what you are buying before spending the money. At the same time though many jewelry stores use deceiving lighting that makes everything look like a fireball in the store even though they may be poorly cut stones. Most internet stores will offer you money back periods if you are not pleased with the stone so you can see it, touch it, etc and then decide if you want to keep it.

B&M stores offer 'check ups' on rings, protection plans, etc which they use as a selling point. Usually when you buy online you are not able to easily take the ring to the vendor to have it checked but any jeweler will generally give a ring a once over to make sure everything is holding together for no charge. Most internet stores offer upgrade plans, warranties, etc that are as good or better than B&M stores. You will always need to insure your ring separately with an insurer to cover theft, accidental loss etc so 'protection plans' offered by some of the B&M store that cover chips or durability issues are not really needed.

The biggest pitfall of the internet industry is the sigma associated with it. When we told friends we were buying online 90% of people were certain we were going to be scammed. Diamonds + internet = scam to most people. Either we were getting a lesser quality diamond and paying way too much for it, it was going to arrive 1/4 of the size that we expected or we'd send our money and get nothing. Of course we research the company well before sending them any money and I'd be lying if the fact that GOG also has a B&M store didn't make me feel more comfortable about the sale. The number of times we heard from jewelers 'when you buy online you don't know what you are getting' yet when we bought from GOG we knew 100x more information about the stone that we were getting than if we had bought from a local jeweler.

With regards to price. An internet dealer can offer lower prices because generally they have lower overheads. They don't need to lease expensive retail space, have as many staff, etc, etc so they are able to keep costs lower. How low may depend on the level of service, etc. E.g. you mention that GOG is more on the expensive side of online vendors but they also give a great deal more information on the stones without needing to ask.

No matter what you decide if you are unsure on a stone you can always post the specifications here and some of the resident experts will be able to help you, I know they helped me

 

[stone-cold11]

Date: 9/27/2009 9:11:59 PM
Author:Garchie
Without us mentioning this, the vendor volunteered that his prices are very competitive, but that his stones are very well cut, and that if we see comparable stones at lower prices, those diamonds are probably not the same quality, since most vendors buy their stones from the wholemarket at very similar prices. And, in fact, his prices do appear to be similar to several online vendors that are popular on this forum (WF, GOG).

What you local dealer said is not true for the branded cuts of GOG, WF, HPD, NiceIce. These are cut by a specific cutting house for those vendor and are thus priced higher, also the service provided are different for each vendor and so price is charged accordlingly. Comparing the price between your local dealer and JA is more correct. JA stones are from the general market/virtual stone inventory, also their upgrade policy is more strict and do not have a buy back policy from what I remember.

 

[Gayletmom]

Hi Garchie, and welcome. Here is my revised "consumer perspective" of the question of online vs. B&M, for what it''s worth.

When I joined PS, about a year ago, my purpose was to learn a little so that I could be an informed consumer and shop at my local B&M-didn''t consider shopping online for a diamond safe. After spending a lot of time on this site, I have done a complete about-face.

My comfort level with online vendors (at least those recommended here) has increased tremendously and I am less comfortable with a B&M. The beauty of the online vendors here is that you can often actually get more info on a diamond than many B&M''s offer. A PS consumer also has many, sometimes hundreds, of customer reviews to guide her and, in many cases, a lifetime trade-in policy. In my opinion, there are few things that will keep a vendor as honest as a public forum where their dirty laundry can be displayed for all eternity and few things that say "we stand behind our diamonds" more strongly than an offer to take them back! In addition, many of these vendors will send you a stone, or even two, to see in person before you are fully committed. My local B&M is a very nice family owned store that has been around for a while but they don''t have nearly the expertise on diamonds that I find with the PS vendors.

This is obviously something you have to be personally comfortable with but I thought you might be interested in another opinion.

Happy shopping!

 

[YoungPapa]

Date: 9/28/2009 5:50:47 AM
Author: Stone-cold11

JA stones are from the general market/virtual stone inventory, also their upgrade policy is more strict and do not have a buy back policy from what I remember.

Stone -

Actually, the part about our buy back policy is not correct. From the FAQ section of our website:

I purchased a loose diamond from you. Do you have a buy back policy?
Yes. We have a two-year buy back policy. If you need to sell your diamond, we will buy back your loose diamond for 70% of the original purchase price. The diamond must be in original condition and accompanied by original laboratory grading document. Please note that our buyback program only applies to loose GIA or AGS graded diamonds and does not apply to engagement rings or other fine jewelry.

 

[stone-cold11]

Sorry about that. Somehow I miss that.

 

[Garchie]

Thanks for all the responses. I appreciate everyone''s help. One thing I''d still like to understand better, though, is why JA appears to have slightly lower costing diamonds than other online vendors I''ve seen. Maybe I''m wrong, but as I look at that site and others like WF, GOG, etc, it seems like JA stones are slightly less on average, all things being about equal (and not including the special named cuts on some sites).

Are they just pricing themselves a bit more competitively? Or are the diamonds there actually a bit lower in quality in some way that doesn''t come across in the reports?

 

[thelvyn123]

From my limited experience in shopping for a diamond in the past few days, I believe many online shops source the exact same diamonds through their suppliers. I have personally seen this with WF and BN but I''m guessing it is true of other vendors as well. The differences I''ve noted have been fairly minor (maybe $20-$40 on a $1000 stone) and neither vendor has consistently supplied lower prices. In short if you take the signature cuts of various shops out of the picture, I think the stones are probably the same quality at JA as they are at any of the other vendors. I tihnk in the end it comes down to which vendor has the setting/trade in policy you need.

(I''m very new to this so please feel free to correct any part of the above statement if it is incorrect)

Thel.