How does it all work?

[wedding_crasher]

I was just curious about the whole online buying process. Let''s say you find a diamond and a setting you want to buy. For simplicity, they are both from the same online vendor. What next? Do you buy the diamond and have it shipped so you can view it and have it independently appraised? Then send it back to the company to have it set and sent back to you? Wait until you have the completed piece and get it appraised? What''s the norm?Thanks!

 

[EZ]

First I did a little research on the vendors I was considering including BBB searches, internet searches, searches through different diamond forums, etc. Then I called a couple of them to make sure I wasn''t dealing with obvious jerks. If you get a rude person over the phone that is a bad sign. If they were condescending, pushy, or otherwise gave off a bad vibe I''d also drop them.

After they check out I called the finalist again and negotiated. Price may not be a negotiable factor but other things can be. For example, will they extend the viewing time by a few days? After that, I ordered a diamond. After looking it over and deciding that I liked it (well, first my fiance had to like it

) then I spent the money to have it appraised. Only after all that did we start shoping for a setting. We were told the setting is going to take about 3 weeks to come in and another day to set. We also got the setting from a different vendor (but were looking at and comfortable with the original vendor also.)

Your needs may be different, your mileage may vary.

 

[dazedland]

I don''t know what all the policies are exactly, but I know that some people have them shipped directly to an independent appraiser and some like my fiance and I had the stone shipped directly to us because we had looked into the vendors on PS in the forums and trusted them. After we got the stone we decided to go with a custom made setting so we got a quote and sent the stone back to them. They then shipped the completed ring back to us and we had it appraised for insurance and it apprasied for more than we paid for it, so it all worked out very nicely. I haven''t heard any really bad things about any of the vendors on PS. We used Whiteflash and they were fantastic. I would definitely shop with them again in the future, especially when we get our wedding bands.

Most of the vendors have info. about their policies on their sites, but the ones I have spoken to have been very nice on the phone and I am sure they will answer any questions you have about the process.

 

[cutes814]

Date: 8/16/2005 9:42:03 PM
Author:wedding_crasher
I was just curious about the whole online buying process. Let's say you find a diamond and a setting you want to buy. For simplicity, they are both from the same online vendor. What next? Do you buy the diamond and have it shipped so you can view it and have it independently appraised? Then send it back to the company to have it set and sent back to you? Wait until you have the completed piece and get it appraised? What's the norm?Thanks!

It depends on which vendor. Have you given them a call and spoken to someone regarding the stone and setting you are interested in? If you haven't, I suggest you do that first. The vendors on PS are very reputable. But if you are working with a vendor off the site, find out their return policy. Some vendors have strict return policies, they might not refund the full amount if the diamond has been set. Some vendors do offer full refund, if the stone is set in their setting. Is the setting custom made? That factors in too.

Do you trust the vendor? or the person helping you? If not, you might want to look at the stone first before setting it. You can check with the vendor to see if they can ship the diamond to an independent appraiser. If they don't offer that, I wouldn't want to go with them. Reputable vendors don't mind doing so because they don't fear what the appraiser will say about their diamonds. If they don't offer that service, it'll seem kind of sneaky to me.

There isn't really a norm way of buying the ring. Some people like to have the diamond set first then shipped and then appraised. Some like to have the diamond shipped to them for examination and they bring it to an appraiser, or shipped to an appraiser directly, then shipped back to vendor for setting and finally shipped back to them when the ring is complete, and then get it appraised. Some people trust the vendor enough and don't get it appraised again (some vendors offer a seperate appraisal done by an independent company) and the list goes on.

I bought two rings online(one for cousin and one for FMIL), both were set and then shipped to me. The vendor had a good return policy and I trusted them (WF). With the third ring, I had them ship me the diamond first, because my setting was coming from my local jeweler. It all depends on your situation, how much time you have, how much patience you have. Some people don't like to ship back and forth, some people don't mind it at all. It's all up to you. Am I giving you a good idea of how this works? or am I just confusing you more? Heehee

I hope you found some of that info useful.

 

[Regular Guy]

Date: 8/16/2005 9:42:03 PM
Author:wedding_crasher
What''s the norm?Thanks!

Though not sure what the norm is...I think what you''ve suggested is probably optimal.

Regards,