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Interesting experience at Tiffany

kb1gra

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I went in to Tiffany yesterday as a good friend is looking for a ring for his girlfriend and she really likes the True, but hasn't been able to see one in person. I am near a store, so I went to go be his "eyes." Yes, I know the value proposition isn't there for buying a Tiffany ring, but he knows I personally happen to have one and so thought I'd be the one to ask.

Anyway, I found out some interesting information.

Tiffany has changed their upgrade policy. Whereas before, if you purchased a Tiffany ring, they had a little-known upgrade program where you could trade in the entire ring for a prorated amount within 5 years towards a new ring of at least double the price, the policy has changed.

You now can upgrade your ring for the original purchase price at any time towards a ring of double the price, as long as you have the original paperwork and the ring is not materially damaged (no chips, etc). The only exclusion is you cannot upgrade to a yellow diamond ring. She looked at my ring then and there and I produced a copy of the original valuation with date of purchase, and I could have traded it in on the spot for $6200 (the 2013 purchase price) had I wanted to.

This would be, as far as I know, the only trade in policy that offers you full credit for the entire ring at purchase price forever. Obviously it's up to you if you'd ever want to trade up and spend double, but I would think this does substantially improve their value proposition. My ring is sentimental, so I'd be unlikely to avail myself, but I imagine for the man buying a .40 and wanting to trade up to the 1ct in a few years - getting that full $5k back makes a big difference!
 

edelweissmaedl

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Wow! Thanks for sharing as that could be a better offer for some people. I upgraded mine at about 6 years (they were a little flexible with the previous 5 year rule) and there was about a 10% credit loss back then.
 

stonehunter20

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thanks for sharing! this is very helpful!
 

kb1gra

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Wow! Thanks for sharing as that could be a better offer for some people. I upgraded mine at about 6 years (they were a little flexible with the previous 5 year rule) and there was about a 10% credit loss back then.

it is a much better offer - especially since now they sell diamonds down to the I/VS2 range and previously they did not. It would have been possible for me to trade up from 0.52 to 1.07 with only $6500 out of pocket. Obviously, that is still more than if I put a ring together myself, but it is not nearly as bad a deal as previously when you'd have to sell the ring on the open market for less than 50% of the purchase price.
 

RunningwithScissors

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Does Tiffany allow you to upgrade more than once?
 

kenny

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That's nice.

But IMO you'd be trading a possibly-non-super-ideal diamond cut for which you overpaid for another one that you overpaid for ... but this time at twice the price!

DOH! :doh::doh::doh:
 

kb1gra

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That's nice.

But IMO you'd be trading a possibly-non-super-ideal diamond cut for which you overpaid for another one that you overpaid for ... but this time at twice the price!

DOH! :doh::doh::doh:

And for some that's the right purchase for other reasons. I can assure you that my ring is not a super ideal cut and it's not round, and both those things are fine by me.

For those who enjoy the brand, this is a better deal than before and it's not publicized anywhere, so that is why I was sharing.
 

denverappraiser

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Tiffany is a fine company and that's a reasonable enough offer, but they're far from the only retailer to offer it. It's even fairly typical. As pointed out above, the zinger, if you want to call it that, is that you must spend at least double the original transaction price on the new one. I suspect you must also be the original buyer. This sort of program is not generally transferable. For you, that may not matter but for others, it might.
 

kb1gra

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Tiffany is a fine company and that's a reasonable enough offer, but they're far from the only retailer to offer it. It's even fairly typical. As pointed out above, the zinger, if you want to call it that, is that you must spend at least double the original transaction price on the new one. I suspect you must also be the original buyer. This sort of program is not generally transferable. For you, that may not matter but for others, it might.

I am not the original buyer of my ring. As long as I had the paperwork showing the original sale price/purchaser, I could have traded it in.

Meanwhile, I have yet to find a place that gives you full credit for the setting price as well as the diamond. Whiteflash will give you half, if you buy one of their designer settings. I believe Diamonds By Lauren will also make you a fair offer on the completed piece. Every other that I've ever seen requires you to unmount the stone at your expense to upgrade, and many also require you to spend at least double as well, setting additional.
 

denverappraiser

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Try the mall. Kays. Helzberg. Fred Meyer. Jareds. ShaneCo.

If it's transferable, that's a huge difference.
 

Rockdiamond

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We’ve included the ring on countless trade in occasions.

We do require that the new item must be in stock and that the new purchase be double.

The clause that the trade in ring is “not materially damaged” is wide enough to drive a truck through. In fairness we also use wording that allows us to refuse the ring portion.
Although it’s rare I’m sure other sellers besides Tiff and us would allow it.
In my opinion- the goodwill generated is hard to place a dollar value on.
 

denverappraiser

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If you can meet the 'no material damage' standard, which would include resizing it, Costco's policy is 100% cash refund for any reason forever. You can trade it for a set of tires or just take the money. Even they aren't transferable.
 

oldminer

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Gaining and retaining customer loyalty is very expensive. Large stores and chains calculate the cost of getting new customers and also the cost of retaining loyal, previous customers. Changing their trade in or trade up policies from time to time is somewhat normal. Many such policies are subject to change just as they would be if the store went out of business. The promise is only as good as the life of the store or the durability of the policy in many instances. It is all a bit of a numbers game. Figure that you won't change up many times in an entire lifetime, but you may buy lots of items over decades. How to calculate this is not what jewelers do, but they high bean counters who can fine tune the house's odds on such a gamble. It's good to have choices and there is no problem with upgrading policies coming into the mix when you make a purchase. It can be less costly not to worry about it at all, but it gives no peace of mind. You need to be comfortable to make a big purchase so when you reach that level of making your decision just think what best suits your personality and plans.

In my previous business of buying and selling estate jewelry for decades I never bought anything with a trade in or trade up plan. I paid a fair price and tried to make a profit. Sometimes I made a loss or broke even. Everyone can do the same although some do it far better than others. I was pretty good at it and very fortunate. If you buy a very good value item, you will have an easier time of doing well on an eventual re-sale or trade in. If you overpay at the beginning, you are sort of stuck with a larger future problem no matter what you do short of never selling or trading for a new item. Paying far too much at the beginning is the end of any real potential for making a great future deal. Tiffany's plan sounds tempting, but you have to look at the terms and be willing to go "all-in". That trade up policy isn't for everyone, just as shopping in Tiffany is not for everyone, either.
 

kb1gra

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Try the mall. Kays. Helzberg. Fred Meyer. Jareds. ShaneCo.

If it's transferable, that's a huge difference.

Can't say I've ever bought jewelry from any of those places, so I wouldn't know.

I do know that I'm not the original purchaser but I do have a record of the original transaction, and it was 100% not an issue.
 

mrs-b

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Very useful information - thank you for sharing!
 

Rockdiamond

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Regarding trading in an item which someone purchased second hand.
It seems so obvious to me this is a tremendous opportunity for the seller. The person looking loved your stuff enough to buy it from a consumer - now they’re giving the seller the opportunity to have them as a client directly. Tiffany policy is very smart imo
 

MollyMalone

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I went in to Tiffany yesterday as a good friend is looking for a ring for his girlfriend * * *
Anyway, I found out some interesting information.

Tiffany has changed their upgrade policy. Whereas before, if you purchased a Tiffany ring, they had a little-known upgrade program where you could trade in the entire ring for a prorated amount within 5 years towards a new ring of at least double the price, the policy has changed.

You now can upgrade your ring for the original purchase price at any time towards a ring of double the price, as long as you have the original paperwork and the ring is not materially damaged (no chips, etc). The only exclusion is you cannot upgrade to a yellow diamond ring. She looked at my ring then and there and I produced a copy of the original valuation with date of purchase, and I could have traded it in on the spot for $6200 (the 2013 purchase price) had I wanted to.
The upgrade policy currently posted on Tiffany's website is actually appreciably more favorable than what the sales assistant you spoke to described (assuming you were in a USA Tiffany store), for Tiffany is not requiring USA customers to spend at least twice the cost of the original:
Wouldn't it be great if Tiffany management ensured that all their employees "know the drill"?! :wall: (That's been a chronic problem for some time: different personnel, even in the same store, do not always have-impart the same information.) If your friend does end up buying a Tiffany e-ring, suggest to him that he print out -- with the header/footer showing the URL and date -- a copy of the upgrade FAQ l linked above, so he has proof for future reference as to what the policy was at the time of his purchase.

I am not the original buyer of my ring. As long as I had the paperwork showing the original sale price/purchaser, I could have traded it in. * *
Did you let the Tiffany sales assistant know that you were not the original purchaser, that it was a pre-loved purchase for you? The reason I ask is 'cause Tiffany has long been antagonistic to the second-hand market, so it would be a radical departure for them to award the upgrade policy -- especially this latest one which is not time-limited & doesn't require making the investment of twice the original purchase price -- to second-hand buyers.
 

snotty_pie

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Jan 18, 2006
Messages
224
The upgrade policy currently posted on Tiffany's website is actually appreciably more favorable than what the sales assistant you spoke to described (assuming you were in a USA Tiffany store), for Tiffany is not requiring USA customers to spend at least twice the cost of the original:
Wouldn't it be great if Tiffany management ensured that all their employees "know the drill"?! :wall: (That's been a chronic problem for some time: different personnel, even in the same store, do not always have-impart the same information.) If your friend does end up buying a Tiffany e-ring, suggest to him that he print out -- with the header/footer showing the URL and date -- a copy of the upgrade FAQ l linked above, so he has proof for future reference as to what the policy was at the time of his purchase.


Did you let the Tiffany sales assistant know that you were not the original purchaser, that it was a pre-loved purchase for you? The reason I ask is 'cause Tiffany has long been antagonistic to the second-hand market, so it would be a radical departure for them to award the upgrade policy -- especially this latest one which is not time-limited & doesn't require making the investment of twice the original purchase price -- to second-hand buyers.

This is the first time I have seen that they weren’t requiring 2x original purchase price. I wonder when that changed? Thanks for pointing it out!
 

kb1gra

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jul 6, 2012
Messages
1,118
The upgrade policy currently posted on Tiffany's website is actually appreciably more favorable than what the sales assistant you spoke to described (assuming you were in a USA Tiffany store), for Tiffany is not requiring USA customers to spend at least twice the cost of the original:
Wouldn't it be great if Tiffany management ensured that all their employees "know the drill"?! :wall: (That's been a chronic problem for some time: different personnel, even in the same store, do not always have-impart the same information.) If your friend does end up buying a Tiffany e-ring, suggest to him that he print out -- with the header/footer showing the URL and date -- a copy of the upgrade FAQ l linked above, so he has proof for future reference as to what the policy was at the time of his purchase.


Did you let the Tiffany sales assistant know that you were not the original purchaser, that it was a pre-loved purchase for you? The reason I ask is 'cause Tiffany has long been antagonistic to the second-hand market, so it would be a radical departure for them to award the upgrade policy -- especially this latest one which is not time-limited & doesn't require making the investment of twice the original purchase price -- to second-hand buyers.

Yes, not only did I let her know I was not the original purchaser, but there is very clearly another name on the paperwork.

It did not seem to represent a problem. I imagine, though, that it may be to the store manager's discretion.

I also note that the page posted says to contact a diamond expert for details, so there may be additional requirements not stated. I haven't had a chance to call for the full details of the program.
 

MollyMalone

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Yes, not only did I let her know I was not the original purchaser, but there is very clearly another name on the paperwork.

It did not seem to represent a problem. I imagine, though, that it may be to the store manager's discretion.

I also note that the page posted says to contact a diamond expert for details, so there may be additional requirements not stated. I haven't had a chance to call for the full details of the program.
I know you weren't looking to replace it, but a part of me wishes you'd decided to take her up on the offer to trade in your pre-loved ring "on the spot" for the original purchase price.;)) Because it would be really interesting to know how that would play out. E..g., would the manager have told you that they would need to ship your ring to NYC for an evaluation and approval of the credit before giving you credit and processing the sale of a new ring? Or would the manager have told you that this new policy applies only to those whose original purchase is after the new policy took effect and/or never to second-hand purchases.

Don't know how you arrived at a page that says to contact a diamond expert for further details, but there's nothing about that on the FAQ page I linked:

www.tiffany.com_faq_love-engagement-faq_can-i-upgrade-my-tiffany-engagement-ring_.png
 
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MollyMalone

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This is the first time I have seen that they weren’t requiring 2x original purchase price. I wonder when that changed? Thanks for pointing it out!
I'm wondering about that too. :think: That FAQ page is not in the Wayback Machine's database, but I am almost certain that I looked at Tiffany's FAQs in January-February because of a question posed here & the current policy is not what was then posted.

(I'd be surprised if an e-ring purchased before the date this new policy went into effect will qualify for this more generous policy.)
 
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snotty_pie

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I'm wondering about that too. :think: That FAQ page is not in the Wayback Machine's database, but I am almost certain that I looked at Tiffany's FAQs in January-February because of a question posed here & the current policy is not what was then posted.

(I'd be surprised if an e-ring purchased before the date this new policy went into effect will qualify for this more generous policy.)

Good idea checking the Wayback Machine. I was wondering if they didn't change to a more generous policy given the acquisition by LVMH hasn't gone through and their Q1 was a little rocky with net sales down half YoY for Q1... which was before all the shutdowns really happened. Q2 will be brutal for them.

I'm curious enough that I sent them an email inquiry. Will let you know what they say. I am not sure if their emails get routed to a local Tiffany, their corporate HQ, or a call center?
 

kb1gra

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I know you weren't looking to replace it, but a part of me wishes you'd decided to take her up on the offer to trade in your pre-loved ring "on the spot" for the original purchase price.;)) Because it would be really interesting to know how that would play out. E..g., would the manager have told you that they would need to ship your ring to NYC for an evaluation and approval of the credit before giving you credit and processing the sale of a new ring? Or would the manager have told you that this new policy applies only to those whose original purchase is after the new policy took effect and/or never to second-hand purchases.

Don't know how you arrived at a page that says to contact a diamond expert for further details, but there's nothing about that on the FAQ page I linked:

www.tiffany.com_faq_love-engagement-faq_can-i-upgrade-my-tiffany-engagement-ring_.png

I could have done it that day. The store manager inspected the ring, verified the diamond matched the serials and was not damaged, and if they had a piece in stock that I had wanted, I could have done it on the spot - she just said it must be double, and cannot be a yellow diamond. They do not need to send it to New York. She knew the original purchase was from 2013 and it was not an issue.

I did call the main phone number and spoke to someone there who confirmed the double value requirement, but did not mention the yellow diamond restriction. You need the original Tiffany diamond certificate, and preferably the valuation paper from the time of sale.
 

anon34985

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This might be a silly question, but here it goes haha. Do you need the original receipt, or just the Tiffany certificate?
 

msop04

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There are several vendors that will give you 100% back on a trade in... I believe Whiteflash and HPD are among those. Diamonds Direct gives you 110% of amount you paid towards the purchase of a new diamond, and you only have to spend $0.01 more on the new stone (no receipt needed, as it's in their computer...although I always keep mine - just in case).

With these vendors, there is no limit to the amount of times you can upgrade.
 
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kb1gra

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There are several vendors that will give you 100% back on a trade in... I believe Whiteflash and HPD are among those. Diamonds Direct gives you 110% of amount you paid towards the purchase of a new diamond, and you only have to spend $0.01 more on the new stone (no receipt needed, as it's in their computer...although I always keep mine - just in case).

With these vendors, there is no limit to the amount of times you can upgrade. So compared to all these upgrade programs, Tiffany's is not great.

This is not just the diamond. It is the entire ring. And according to the person I spoke to at Tiffany, it is now unlimited - you can trade up the purchase as many times as you like, for life.

I have been told upthread that Shane Co/Jared/Etc will give you full credit for the setting as well, but I don't see that documented anywhere. The comparable Vatche setting for my novo costs over $2000 in platinum, that's not a small amount of money to lose when trading up the diamond, since I'd also have to buy the setting again to fit the new stone. Whiteflash is the only vendor that I am aware of that will also credit you for the setting at 50%, but only for their designer settings. I believe Tacori has their own policy for 70% as well.
 
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Petalouda

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We are looking at potentially upgrading my ring at Tiffany too. I know, we can get a great diamond somewhere else etc. but we are still considering Tiffany’s for personal reasons. We actually went last week ( not in nyc) and Tiffany’s said they would give us the full purchase price too. When we looked at doing this 4 years ago, they would of taken some of the value off as a fee. I’m glad this won’t be the case anymore. We still aren’t sure to what route we will go. I’ve been eyeing Victor Canera but flying to LA isn’t an option for us right now.
 
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Petalouda

Guest
@anon34985 they have the ring in their databases. They didn’t even ask to see our certificate. They can verify through the diamond laser inscription and the number on the setting.
 

anon34985

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We are looking at potentially upgrading my ring at Tiffany too. I know, we can get a great diamond somewhere else etc. but we are still considering Tiffany’s for personal reasons. We actually went last week ( not in nyc) and Tiffany’s said they would give us the full purchase price too. When we looked at doing this 4 years ago, they would of taken some of the value off as a fee. I’m glad this won’t be the case anymore. We still aren’t sure to what route we will go. I’ve been eyeing Victor Canera but flying to LA isn’t an option for us right now.

Do you have to spend double? The wording online seems as if you do not need to spend double, but OP was told that you do!
 

LilAlex

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This would be, as far as I know, the only trade in policy that offers you full credit for the entire ring at purchase price forever. Obviously it's up to you if you'd ever want to trade up and spend double, but I would think this does substantially improve their value proposition

But you'd then be spending an incredibly high margin on a much higher amount! I see where it's great for Tiffany. For you? Not so much, imo.

It's like all those people who want to upize their home in a super-hot market because they can get so much for their smaller, less-expensive home (!). Upsize in a cool market; downsize in a hot market to minimize the impact of the margin.
 
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