Help!!

[icegirl]

Hi Everyone:

Please help! I stupidly purchased diamond studs via a vendor on Ebay recently. I actually bought 2 pieces: 2.01 carat tw F, VS2 platinum princess cut studs, and a 1.8 carat tw platinum princess cut 5 stone ring all stones G, VVS2. I was to pay $4400 for the earrings, and $2375 for the 5 stone band. The vendor had great feedback, had been very accomodating in our numerous phone conversations regarding both pieces etc. I told him I would have the earrings appraised, which he encouraged, and he guaranteed they would be the color and clarity described, and that if I was unhappy I would get a full refund. So, I decided to go ahead. I also did this before finding this forum, so never talked about the cut though he said - and his appraisal says - they are "very well cut 1b." Also, none of these stones were certified by an independent lab.

Anyway, I received the pieces and immediately noticed that the earrings looked much smaller than I had thought they should. I happen to have a .64 carat H VS2 princess cut diamond from a previous pair of earrings and these new earrings seemed only very slightly larger. Also, the stones on the band seemed to not all be the same size either. I took them to the appraiser and found I was right. The earrings came back as:

1) .87, G, SI1, depth 83.3, table 70, girdle very thk, G/G, fluor strong

2) .93, F, SI1, depth 82.5, table 70, girdle very thk, G/G, no fluor

I realize, and even the appraiser said, there can be some small variations in appraisals, say 5%. Also, he saw the stones mounted, but I don''t feel any of this should make such a huge difference between what I thought I got and what I actually got. I also realize that the diamonds probably look extra small because of the high depth percentage.

The 5 stone ring''s stones were all different sizes - from .28 - .36. Only 1 was vvs2 clarity, 3 were vs1, 1 was vs2, though all were G color with a total carat weight of only 1.52.

Anyway, the seller immediately agreed to replace or refund the 5 stone band, but has given me a hard time about the earrings. Eventually, he indicated he could replace the earrings, but offered to give me some money back instead - 10% of my total purchase price to just keep them. That would be about $680 if I kept both the earrings and the band, $440 if I just kept the earrings.

I have pretty much decided to return the ring for a refund, but am not sure what to do about the earrings. I don''t feel all that confident that I would get anything better the second time around, and maybe for the price I paid, it''s not even realistic. (though I might be willing to spend a bit more for a better pair) I also am worried I might have trouble getting my money back for the earrings now. The earrings are pretty, though smaller than I thought they would be and my gut tells me to send them back but I also have read that earrings do not have to be as good quality as they are not as noticed in the ear.

Should I trust my gut, or just be happy with what I got for the price I paid?

Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated!!!!!! Thanks!!!!!!

Nicole

 

[Diamondsbybree]

WOW.... follow your gut, I would send them back. He completely misrepresented his merchandise....Not on just one of the purchases, but BOTH....

. The price alone for 2 (1.00ct) VVS2 g stones for $2200 each??? I don't think so~!

Good luck and let us know what you decide.

 

[icegirl]

Thanks for your input. Yes, I agree he totally misrepresented his merchandise, though I thought I was buying 2 carat tw F, VS2 princess cuts -the G, VVS2 was for the band.

I now think he probably could not have gotten the F VS2's for that price...

 

[victorianblue]

Nicole, good for you to have the insight to take the items to another source for appraisal. To prevent any further financial outpour & unwarranted worry, return all items ASAP !!! --Be sure when returning the items, you send them overnight w/tracking number to avoid any delay---and I am talking about getting them sent out today!

Be firm on the decision & do not let the seller "suck you in" any further! Unfortunately, you are not the only consumer that has come on this site with issues regarding sellers from that particular internet site.

Nicole, with the money that your were considering investing,allow yourself some time to do a little more research on the educational material, the comments and the vendors on this site.

 

[mangie]

Is it unethical to state here in this forum who the seller is? I'd really like to know.

 

[moremoremore]

OH MY WORD. I have never seen stones that deep before.

ok- So I'm estimating that each stud is going to look like a well cut .65 stone should. On dirt cheap you can get a well cut stone .61 F si1 for $1653.

So in my opinion, it is not worth it to keep them. They are probably only fair performers at best....why keep them even with the discount when you can get simiilar stones that are well cut for the same price?

 

[moremoremore]

You could even get F vs2 for that same price I bet!

Don't look at carat weight...look at the size you got

 

[Diamondsbybree]

Can you give us the seller?

 

[ame]

Be sure you make a huge deal on his feedback about how he misrepresented his product and while he rectified it you wouldn't recommend him.

And people wonder why I will never even go to the ebay site.

 

[icegirl]

Thanks everyone for your input.

At this point I don't want to say who the seller is until I resolve this issue. Does anyone know if it is allowed? If anyone is thinking of buying anything on Ebay contact me and I will tell you if you are dealing with the same person. You are all probably too smart to use Ebay anyway...

The seller tried to tell me that carat weight being off by 10% is common - though I reminded him that the earrings are actually slightly more than 10% smaller - and even 10% seems way too high to me. He also said that the stones really were VS2, but that the appraiser would grade them as low as possible because of liability concerns. He also said that because they were graded in the mountings they would not be graded as accurately as he had been able to prior to mounting them. He said I could have the appraiser take them out and grade them again for better accuracy but that princess cuts are more likely to chip and if they did he would not be able to take them back. I realize there can be some discrepancy but is it really that much? Also when I mentioned having him replace them with certified stones he said that the grading from labs - even within the GIA - varies so much and that there is no guarantee that the cert will actually be for that stone. I thought certs took the worry out of the purchase.

Anyway they are way too deep so you are all right, I really should probably just buy smaller, better cut diamonds for a similar price.

Should I give him the chance to replace them? He already has my money so I am hoping he will refund as he said he would. If not - I will go after him aggressively using everything possible - but I am obviously hoping to avoid that scenario, if possible.

By the way - moremoremore - good for you for rescuing animals. I have had an small local nonprofit animal rescue group for 8 years though due to lack of good volunteers and my inability to do it alone full time we now simply spay and neuter animals at the local pound. I have 3 rescued dogs

- all formerly abused that spent forever at the pound before I found them - and they are all THE BEST!!!!I hope Juno finds a home soon and I will put the word out.

Thanks again and any further thoughts are greatly appreciated!!!!

 

[MelanieC]

I say return them as quickly as possible. I hope all goes well and you get your money back. You could do so much better purchasing a well cut pair on your own and have them mounted yourself, and they would be certified.

He doesn't know what he is talking about with the GIA. If the GIA or AGS cert has a plot with the inclusions, then any appraiser can verify that it's the same stone.

Be very leary, it sounds like he is a talker and wants to talk you into keeping them. If those stones are not certified, it's his word what he thinks they are. You are paying for what you can't see since they are too deep.

Hope all works out well.

 

[victorianblue]

Nicole,

I just wanted to reiterate that you strongly consider returning the items via the fastest documented courier service possible.

You may want to search this site for prior posts/experiences as a result of purchases from some sellers on the site that you utilized.

Regarding providing a name of the eBay handle or company you purchase from, you might want to hold off posting the name for the moment. If there is someone that is in the process or transacting with a eBay purchase and they see your post, they can email or contact you private.

If your situation further sours, there is nothing wrong or unethical about posting truthful consumer information.

In regards to the auction/sale site you used, if you paid by credit card, you do have the option for stoping/reversing the charges--you would need to contact your credit card company to pursue this. If you utilized the Paypal system which is part of eBay, you also have a potential back up system there for assistance AND possibly the Square Trade system which is also offered through that site.

Again, do not wait to act-do not accept a peace offering-it's a well used and known stall tactic by some sellers on that particular site. Fast action is necessary to avoid a expensive lesson. Believe me, I know what I am talking about here on this type of issue

 

[fire&ice]

Am I understanding that neither diamond reached the 1 carat mark. It is not normal to be off 10% when one represents a diamond as a full carat.

Take them back. If I understand the way these were advertized, it's fraud to call each a full carat.

 

[Rank Amateur]

Rip him on the feedback, too. That's what it's for.

Oh wait, I forgot, feedback is meaningless.

 

[moremoremore]

what are you talking about? It's not meaningless at all. (at least the negative isn't meaningless...you can buy positive feedback)

 

[Rank Amateur]

The very fact that she is reluctant to rip him shows how little meaning it has. Add that to the fact that he "had great feedback" and yet is blatantly misrepresenting his goods and deceiving the public.

Exactly how bad do you have to be before someone leaves negative feedback?

 

[moremoremore]

That's not the point. If there WAS bad feedback there to begin with, a buyer might be discouraged. That is not to say that you can completely trust good feedback...But you can make a decision to NOT deal with a seller if bad feedback is already there.

 

[icegirl]

Hey, I never said I would be reluctant to rip him on Ebay,! In fact, I intend to! All I said was that I didn't want to rip him here yet in the event that he actually comes here and sees it before I get my money back. He has my money and I don't want to jeopardize getting it back. After I have it, anything is fair game!