HUGE PROBLEM!

[firstbase32]

Ok so I just was looking at the James Allen website and also dirtcheapdiamonds.com which is ran by James Allen. I noticed there was a diamond that was similar to the one I am about ready to purchase so I started looking into it more. There was only one difference that I could find....$487!!!

I looked at the GIA certificates and they are identical...EVEN THE BARCODE # IN THE TOP RIGHT CORNER!!!

I e-mailed JA and am awaiting a response to explain this to me.

 

[firstbase32]

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamond.asp?cid=131&item=315372
and
http://www.dirtcheapdiamonds.com/diamond_detail.cfm?did=8975566


look for yourselves

 

[Scintillating]

They are the same company.
Dirtcheap is the original website James Allen is the flagship.

Wait and see what they say regarding the price.

Scintillating...

 

[sanfranciscoellen]

I''d put that James Allen puppy in your shopping cart and buy it

If it is an error, though, they always reserve the right to say, "Nope!" I believe.

 

[firstbase32]

haha i actually thought about that... But Jim has been pretty awesome to me....now if he''s willing to sell it for $500 when I had it on reserve for almost $1000....i''m game for that haha

 

[firstbase32]

I e-mailed him yesterday just to make sure I had it on reserve and the lady said it''s still on hold for me and that he''s out of the office this week

 

[Gypsy]

ETA: I shouldn't have said that I would be surprised if they didn't give you a lower price... this isn't a pair of shoes at The Nieman Marcus Outlet... but a diamond. So... I shouldn't have said that.

 

[firstbase32]

well it makes me feel safe though because i tried to add it to my basket and check out and it said the diamond was unavailable....well...that either makes me feel safe...or scared that it got bought haha

 

[firstbase32]

Well I just talked to them and at first they said they always do if it''s lower on website then you get that, until I mentioned that it was $467 lower. I probably should have skipped that little bit of info don''t ya think? Then she was like one second...and discovered that I was correct and there was a HUGE error in my favor. Of course no company is going to take that kind of punch and so she said that they couldn''t sell it to me for the $510 and that the actual price is $997. I thought they should atleast have given me some sort of discount don''t you guy thinks?

 

[FireGoddess]

When the error is that much, most companies will not honor the mistake price.

I saw a bracelet online at Fay Cullen for $750 and I bought it - and when the invoice came by email, the price was $1500. I said, "Hey - I bought it for $750, see for yourself" and they told me that it was a mistake, the price was $1500, and did I still want to buy it. In that case, I didn't. The bracelet is still there today, months later.

The point is, I do think they should have offered me something in the middle....not necessarily the $750 but perhaps something in between that and the $1500. But they didn't. Mistakes happen, and sometimes the vendor is willing to take a small hit because of it, but sometimes they are not. In this case, I can see how they can't give you the $510 price but maybe a small discount? Good luck...Fay Cullen didn't do that for me!

 

[firstbase32]

oh i know, i totally agree with you. $510 for that diamond is almost like stealing it and I would feel bad for even trying to take it for that from Jim. He''s been amazing to me and I have nothing to complain about with JA. I am still going to buy the diamond today after work though because it is still a good price for the diamond.

 

[aphisiglovessae]

I'd say walk away. They can either take the $487 hit or not sell it at all. Like Firegoddess's situation, they ended up losing out on a sale and that piece is still sitting there, months later. Most places I know honor mistake prices because they'd rather make some money than none at all, especially with the high mark-up percentage in the jewelry industry.

I've also had some situations where I said no to a similar mistake and they changed their minds.

It depends on the vendor. I'm always confident I can find another deal anyway.

 

[codex57]

It''d be nice if they offered you something in the middle. To be honest, I''ve never heard of any company that has. At best, you get a "thank you for notifying us of our error". Often times, you don''t even get that.

 

[Gypsy]

Hmm... yeah. I think they should have offered a discount off the price... but then again... it was an honest error. It''s still al ovely diamond at a great price.

 

[Mara]

most likely JA like almost every other internet commerce website has some sort of one liner policy on their site somewhere about how they are not responsible for honoring price errors on the website. we have heard of cases on here like this before where diamonds are hugely discounted and they typically do not get honored. a discount would be nice but it''s not required. if you don''t buy it, someone else eventually will.

 

[firstbase32]

well i had new the website price was $997 because JA had told me in advance that was the price but then i saw it on the other site and was like WOAH! So I had anticipated $997 the whole time...if it would have been the other way around i probably would be alittle upset lol

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 6/6/2006 2:04:57 PM
Author: aphisiglovessae
I''d say walk away. They can either take the $487 hit or not sell it at all. Like Firegoddess''s situation, they ended up losing out on a sale and that piece is still sitting there, months later. Most places I know honor mistake prices because they''d rather make some money than none at all, especially with the high mark-up percentage in the jewelry industry.


I''ve also had some situations where I said no to a similar mistake and they changed their minds.


It depends on the vendor. I''m always confident I can find another deal anyway.

If it had been a $100 he might have done it and made the ~$50 profit but at $487 off it would have been a very long way under his cost.
He dont operate on that kind of margin, none of the internet dealers do and very very few b&m''s do either these days.

 

[DiamondExpert]

Most sites have a disclaimer somewhere in the text to the effect that they are not responsible for pricing errors and that prices are subject to change without notice.