How to negotiate in this unique situation...

[neildawg]

All,

I am seeking your advice on how to negotiate the price of the diamond as I find myself in a unique situation. I recently visited a local diamond store to purchase a loose diamond. After looking through their inventory, they were unable to find a diamond that matched my specifcations. The saleslady was kind enough to locate a diamond for me and have it shipped in for me to look at.

This past Tuesday, the diamond came in along with the AGS certificate, which she immediately faxed to me. I felt as though there would be some room to negotiate so I turned to PriceScope to find the "low" price for a similar diamond. My search on PriceScope turned up something very interesting. I noticed a diamond from Diamonds.com that had the identical specs as the one the local dealer had obtained for me. Curious, I called Diamonds.com and requested the AGS cert number. Sure enough the two cert numbers were identical!!

So here I am in this situation, where I know how much the local shop paid for the diamond, which is exactly $1063 less than the price the quoted me. How would you advise I approach this situation? What would be an appropriate amount of profit the local store should realize? Should I also factor in some dollar amount for convenience of service? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I want to go into this store prepared and walk out with a beautiful engagement ring.

Thank you for all of your help.

-Neil

 

[niceice]

It's simple enough, show the jewelry store the details from the web site you found it on and say something like "I like to keep my business on a local level and I'm willing to pay a reasonable profit, but I'm not going to pay more for the exact same item simply for the pleasure of supporting your store" and if she's not willing to match the price, walk out and order the stone from the internet dealer... Be sure to tell the dealer that the stone is likely to be on memo to the jewelry store where you've seen it and to tell their supplier that you have no intention of buying the stone locally because of the price. That way the cutter who owns the stone will be more likely to pull it back from the jewelry store and forward it on to the internet dealer so you can purchase it... This is a fair approach, the reality is that the store might be in the habit of making a higher profit on a face to face basis with their walk in clients, however the smart store owner will adjust their prices when presented with this type of scenario... Those that don't will lose a little business and as you might imagine we're really torn up about it

 

[icelady]

Hi Neildawg,

As a consumer who just purchased a stone from a local jeweler, I found it worth the extra money because of the convenience and ability to see several stones all at once (the jeweler pays shipping and shipping insurance costs for getting the stone in so rapidly).

Will you have the internet vendor find the setting and set it for you? If not, would you feel comfortable to go back to the local jeweler with your new diamond and have it set there?

These are all things I took into consideration for such a huge purchase as this. Yet, I know there are many, many satisfied consumers who purchase from internet vendors and are very happy! So, my take on this is purely a personal preferance on this particular purchase.

I have stated in another thread that there are other purchases I will happily make on line, but I had to do a lot of comparing for my ring!

 

[weemodin]

I found myself in a similar situation when I was shopping for a diamond. At the time, I had primarily been looking for an eyeclean 1.00 ct H SI2 with near ideal cut (not H&A). The local store had one in stock that was EGL USA certed, and he quoted me a price of 5200 for it. I politely explained to him that I had seen similar stones on the internet and pricescope for as low as $3300.00, and that I could understand if he couldn't match the price since he had more ovehead, but that I couldn't possibly afford to pay 5200 for the stone (which was the absolute truth). He looked me straight in the eye and said, "I'll sell you this one for 3200."

Needless to say, I was floored by my ability to negotiate with him. It wasn't any special skill, it was just me presenting him with facts gathered from my research coupled with the fact that I honestly couldn't afford to pay 5k for a stone.

We didn't end up buying from there because when my boyfriend came in to look at the stone, he said he could see the inclusions (he has 20/10 vision). However, the price for the stone was still outstanding IMHO.

Moral of the story: arm yourself with facts and a firm price and anyone facing you will likely negotiate if they really want your business.

You've got extra leverage here because it's the same exact stone. I would suggest that you go in with an exact price that you are willing to pay for the stone. Suggest somethihng slightly lower at first to the jeweler, and if that's impossible, move it up, but absolutely stop once you get to your asking price! If they can sell it to you for that price, they will. However, you have to be willing to be firm and like niceice said, you must be willing to walk out of the store if they won't meet your price. Don't worry, they aren't going to lose money by making a sale to you -- they'll never sell to you for a loss.

Good luck and bargain away!!