As many of you know, I had been in the process for a very long time to find a sapphire for my engagement ring. I want to share my experiences with a pricescope vendor so that the forum is aware of a situation that (in my eyes) is a clear display of horrible customer service. If you want to know who this vendor is, please PM me and I will be happy to share.
I used a vendor that is recommended on this site (although on other sites this vendor is not reputable) vendor to source my sapphire. I received a phone call from this vendor to let me know that they had a "beautiful" sapphire to view and that they could ship it to me. I wasn't told how much shipping would be, but when I received the stone, a $95.00 shipping charge was assessed to ship from coast to coast, including insurance. No big deal at first. I told the vendor that I would be taking the stone to my appraiser (aPHENOMENAL pricescoper) to ensure the stone was what it was marketed as. To my horror, there was a GIANT chip on the surface of the stone. My appraiser stopped the appraisal after the first 5 minutes and showed me under the microscope. I emailed the vendor right away and stated to him that there was a giant chip in the stone and that I would be returning it. More importantly, I had stated that I did not feel like I should have to pay for shipping on this item as I would have never bought or asked to look at a chipped stone. He claimed that chips in stones are quite common (not sure how common they are in sapphires as I looked at 20 or 30 stones and this was the only one with a giant chip in it) and that they could "buff it out" free of charge. I didn't get into details on who would pay for me to ship the stone back to him to buff it out had I decided to buy it as it was a pretty significant chip (at least significant enough to where my appraiser stopped the appraisal in the first 5 minutes).
I subsequently looked at one other stone from this jeweler as I had figured that this might have been a fluke. The second stone was a nice stone, but the pricing for shipping/insurance did seem somewhat questionable. They charge a flat fee, no matter where you are shipping to and shipping from, for all of their shipments. Anyone who has worked with fedex knows that shipment is not the same price if it's coast to coast vs a closer location.
Regardless, I did not feel as though I should have had to pay for the shipping of the chipped stone. He fought tooth and nail with my credit card company to ensure that I would have to cough up the cost, but I will never recommend this vendor to any pricescoper or friend.
Please feel free to chime in with your opinions!
I used a vendor that is recommended on this site (although on other sites this vendor is not reputable) vendor to source my sapphire. I received a phone call from this vendor to let me know that they had a "beautiful" sapphire to view and that they could ship it to me. I wasn't told how much shipping would be, but when I received the stone, a $95.00 shipping charge was assessed to ship from coast to coast, including insurance. No big deal at first. I told the vendor that I would be taking the stone to my appraiser (aPHENOMENAL pricescoper) to ensure the stone was what it was marketed as. To my horror, there was a GIANT chip on the surface of the stone. My appraiser stopped the appraisal after the first 5 minutes and showed me under the microscope. I emailed the vendor right away and stated to him that there was a giant chip in the stone and that I would be returning it. More importantly, I had stated that I did not feel like I should have to pay for shipping on this item as I would have never bought or asked to look at a chipped stone. He claimed that chips in stones are quite common (not sure how common they are in sapphires as I looked at 20 or 30 stones and this was the only one with a giant chip in it) and that they could "buff it out" free of charge. I didn't get into details on who would pay for me to ship the stone back to him to buff it out had I decided to buy it as it was a pretty significant chip (at least significant enough to where my appraiser stopped the appraisal in the first 5 minutes).
I subsequently looked at one other stone from this jeweler as I had figured that this might have been a fluke. The second stone was a nice stone, but the pricing for shipping/insurance did seem somewhat questionable. They charge a flat fee, no matter where you are shipping to and shipping from, for all of their shipments. Anyone who has worked with fedex knows that shipment is not the same price if it's coast to coast vs a closer location.
Regardless, I did not feel as though I should have had to pay for the shipping of the chipped stone. He fought tooth and nail with my credit card company to ensure that I would have to cough up the cost, but I will never recommend this vendor to any pricescoper or friend.
Please feel free to chime in with your opinions!