I bought a diamond ... I think?

[Igotarock]

So I bought a diamond more than a week ago by bank wire through a Pricescope trusted vendor, but the day it was supposed to be arriving to the gemologist there was a delay with the bank and then once the bankwire went through with the transaction the diamond supplier went on vacation. That was a little frustrating but we’re trying to be patient because we know things happen. He was supposed to be back Monday and now it’s Wednesday night no response from the supplier. The vendor says they have been trying to contact him but no success. So now we are completely clueless to what’s going on with this diamond. We have no way of knowing if their diamond supplier will be back tomorrow, next month, or never. Meanwhile, the vendor has our money, we have no diamond, and are beginning to wonder if their supplier is shady. We are at a loss to what to do. We really wanted to have her ring ready by March, but we don’t know where this supplier is and we don’t know how long a refund would take or even if we would be able to find a new diamond by March. Do you think the supplier sold our diamond out from under us? As an aside, we had been in contact with this vendor regarding this diamond since the end of January. It was put on hold for us, and then we purchased it. Is this just a hazard you have to deal with when working through a drop shipper? Are we being too impatient? How long is reasonable to wait? We are soooo done with this project and really don’t want to start again without even having had the chance to get the first diamond. We’re so donezo...

 

[the_mother_thing]

@Deiss923 I’m so sorry to hear about the frustrating delays with the ‘drop-shipping’ diamond process. I SOOOO feel your pain, and will no longer buy through vendors who don’t have diamonds in-house for this exact reason ... too many cooks in the kitchen, and I also grew tired of the repeated excuses of “overseas holidays” that closed suppliers for more than a week at a time. If it were me, if the vendor you bought from does not have confirmation by this Friday that the diamond is (not ‘will be next week’) en route, I’d cancel the order and start over elsewhere. But I’m not the most patient when someone else is holding onto my money.

 

[Igotarock]

Have any of you ever had a vendor sell you a diamond that was put on hold for you only to have their trusted diamond supplier sell it to someone else? Initially this diamond was supposed to be flown to the vendor’s offices?the first week of February, but was delayed due to weather conditions, so they’ve never had it in hand. We’re worried we may have been sold a diamond that’s been sold to someone else despite assurances of it being ours since we had it on hold that initial week and subsequently bought it. The vendor itself is not shady, but what if their supplier is?

 

[lovedogs]

Have any of you ever had a vendor sell you a diamond that was put on hold for you only to have their trusted diamond supplier sell it to someone else? Initially this diamond was supposed to be flown to the vendor’s offices?the first week of February, but was delayed due to weather conditions, so they’ve never had it in hand. We’re worried we may have been sold a diamond that’s been sold to someone else despite assurances of it being ours since we had it on hold that initial week and subsequently bought it. The vendor itself is not shady, but what if their supplier is?

I think the issue here is that the vendor is likely a drop shipper (B2C, JA, ED, and others use this model). That's usually fine, except that they have these stones listed online even though the same stones are listed on many websites. So you reserve the stone on JA, but someone else buys it from the supplier (overseas) in the meantime. That leaves you without a stone and waiting for a refund. I've heard of that happening to people with both enchanted diamonds and JA, and I believe B2C as well. That's why some people on these forums only will deal with "in house" stones/vendors who have stock themselves.

 

[Igotarock]

 

[Igotarock]

We are working through one of the vendors you just listed. Although we have been assured that the stone is ours and has not been sold since buying it, seeing what you wrote it seems that we have a legitimate concern. Given the fact that this situation has happened to this vendor in the past, it seems that they may know this is indeed a possibility. Are we just getting the run around with their assurances?

 

[the_mother_thing]

We are working through one of the vendors you just listed. Although we have been assured that the stone is ours and has not been sold since buying it, seeing what you wrote it seems that we have a legitimate concern. Given the fact that this situation has happened to this vendor in the past, it seems that they may know this is indeed a possibility. Are we just getting the run around with their assurances?

My experience (repeated delays due to supplier) was also with one of the vendors @lovedogs noted. They showed me a track record of over-promising and under-delivering ... even if the source of the problems was the supplier, it’s the vendor (middleman) I dealt with, and that left a bad taste in my mouth.

 

[rockysalamander]

You have to decide if you want to wait for the vendor to produce the diamond you wanted or simply get a refund and start anew. Do you want to post the link and GIA and we can advise if we think waiting is worth it?

 

[kmoro]

We are working through one of the vendors you just listed. Although we have been assured that the stone is ours and has not been sold since buying it, seeing what you wrote it seems that we have a legitimate concern. Given the fact that this situation has happened to this vendor in the past, it seems that they may know this is indeed a possibility. Are we just getting the run around with their assurances?

It is definitely a possibility, but if the vendor is assuring you that the stone has not been sold to someone else, perhaps it hasn’t been. There are also stories of diamonds taking a long time to arrive at the vendor’s from the suppliers. The vendor will know if the diamond has been sold by someone else to someone else by now. Even though this is something that happens, the vendors do tell you if the stone is no longer available, and they are likely to offer alternatives if that happens.

If this is still leaving a bad taste in your mouth, you don’t want to wait, etc.... it’s still your right to cancel the sale and start over.

 

[Igotarock]

You have to decide if you want to wait for the vendor to produce the diamond you wanted or simply get a refund and start anew. Do you want to post the link and GIA and we can advise if we think waiting is worth it?

I actually did on s previous post and decided it was worth further investigation. We were to receive ASET and ideal-scope images but...yea.

 

[mandyXL]

Sorry you have to go through all these. I feel bad for you. I myself just found this forum after some headaches with one of the vendors mentioned above. Someone told me similar things happened to him twice before. I guess the reliability is a big issue with many of the online vendors.

 

[kmoro]

Sorry you have to go through all these. I feel bad for you. I myself just found this forum after some headaches with one of the vendors mentioned above. Someone told me similar things happened to him twice before. I guess the reliability is a big issue with many of the online vendors.

It’s a virtual inventory problem, where many vendors have listed the same stone. I think the vendors do what they can to keep the inventory lists up-to-date, and quite often when the stone ends up being sold by someone else, it’s beyond their control. It’s really the risk that you take with buying virtual inventory, imo.

I still feel badly for you that this is happening. I hope it gets sorted out soon!

 

[Igotarock]

Sorry you have to go through all these. I feel bad for you. I myself just found this forum after some headaches with one of the vendors mentioned above. Someone told me similar things happened to him twice before. I guess the reliability is a big issue with many of the online vendors.

Sorry you were in the same boat

 

[Igotarock]

So I talked to the vendor and they are going to be cutting ties with that supplier and removing all of his stock from their website. They say they’ve never had an issue with the supplier like this before where they just disappear. They are offering to help us look for a new stone with a small discount on the ring setting and possibly stone. we are still undecided if we are going to continue working with them. Just really disappointed that this project isn’t done yet Trying to stay positive.

 

[kmoro]

So I talked to the vendor and they are going to be cutting ties with that supplier and removing all of his stock from their website. They say they’ve never had an issue with the supplier like this before where they just disappear. They are offering to help us look for a new stone with a small discount on the ring setting and possibly stone. we are still undecided if we are going to continue working with them. Just really disappointed that this project isn’t done yet Trying to stay positive.

If you’re considering going with virtual inventory with another vendor, I think you might be better off to stay with this vendor since they are going to give you special attention and some discount. Other vendors might be working with the same supplier. I honestly don’t think your vendor is being shady. You can save some money with virtual inventory, but you take some chances with that discount. You can blame the vendor, but really this is a well known issue with virtual inventory, and you have some responsibility for choosing a virtual inventory stone ... I’m not saying you deserve it or anything and I understand your frustration, but this is a risk you chose to take. If you want a sure thing, please consider in-house inventory.

I do hope you have a shiny gorgeous FINISHED ring soon.