Interesting experience at Tiffany

[Petalouda]

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!

Nope. Even four years ago they never mentioned the requirement. I think market conditions have forced them to become more forgiving.

 

[kb1gra]

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.

Okay. I am going to say this one last time and then stop responding to posts like this.

Obviously, you can get more for your money not going with a designer brand.

Those that HAVE, now have a MUCH IMPROVED trade-up option that DOES apply to previous purchases and DOES apply to pre-owned purchases.

You can otherwise save your financial analysis for those that care.

Thank you.

 

[kb1gra]

Nope. Even four years ago they never mentioned the requirement. I think market conditions have forced them to become more forgiving.

Interesting. More than one rep has insisted to me that you must spend double, both on the phone at Tiffany's main customer service line and in the store.

Perhaps it's at the store manager's discretion?

 

[Petalouda]

Interesting. More than one rep has insisted to me that you must spend double, both on the phone at Tiffany's main customer service line and in the store.

Perhaps it's at the store manager's discretion?

Wow. Perhaps! We definitely won’t be spending double and they know that. It’s truly a silly policy even in profitable times.

 

[LilAlex]

You can otherwise save your financial analysis for those that care.

Your whole post was a financial analysis. Did I offend you in some way?

And I "save" all my posts for those who care. Note that I did not DM you.

My point was not that "Tiffany is expensive," as you seem to infer. I have a vintage Tiffany piece (but not diamond, of course). My point was that Tiffany is not being generous. They got their (let's say) 100% mark-up on your first purchase of x dollars, and they will again get that same mark-up, in absolute dollar amount, with your second purchase for 2x dollars -- even after they credit you for your full purchase price.

 

[kb1gra]

Your whole post was a financial analysis. Did I offend you in some way?

And I "save" all my posts for those who care. Note that I did not DM you.

My point was not that "Tiffany is expensive," as you seem to infer. I have a vintage Tiffany piece (but not diamond, of course). My point was that Tiffany is not being generous. They got their (let's say) 100% mark-up on your first purchase of x dollars, and they will again get that same mark-up, in absolute dollar amount, with your second purchase for 2x dollars -- even after they credit you for your full purchase price.

They are being more generous than they used to be. It is important for their customers. That was the point of my post, not to get educated on how I overpaid for my engagement ring.

$6200 for my current ring would represent substantially more than it, or any used ring, would be worth on the resale market.

 

[snotty_pie]

Their email consultant replied that you still need to double the price of the original ring:

Thank you for your interest in a Tiffany Engagement Ring, and congratulations on your upcoming Upgrade. My name is <name>, and I am a Tiffany Diamond Specialist. I would be happy to assist with this exciting purchase.


You may trade in your Tiffany Engagement ring for a new engagement ring. The new ring must be twice the price of the original ring for the upgrade program. You will receive credit towards the new ring of what you paid for the original one, subject to an inspection. The program is limited to purchasers in the US and Canada, and the upgrade must be done in the same country as the original purchase.

 

[denverappraiser]

Their email consultant replied that you still need to double the price of the original ring:

Thank you for your interest in a Tiffany Engagement Ring, and congratulations on your upcoming Upgrade. My name is <name>, and I am a Tiffany Diamond Specialist. I would be happy to assist with this exciting purchase.


You may trade in your Tiffany Engagement ring for a new engagement ring. The new ring must be twice the price of the original ring for the upgrade program. You will receive credit towards the new ring of what you paid for the original one, subject to an inspection. The program is limited to purchasers in the US and Canada, and the upgrade must be done in the same country as the original purchase.

I’m still very suspicious about this, especially the transferability part. As mentioned above, this would represent a radical shift in Tiffany’s approach. All of the links I’ve seen like the one above refer to ‘you’. That’s a reference to the reader but I suspect they are assuming ‘you’ are the original purchaser. Even with the doubling thing, transferability effectively makes a genuine Tiffany piece with paperwork into a coupon at the store. That’s fungible.

A Tif ring that costs $10,000 new, generally won’t bring anything like that much on the secondary market. That’s not a criticism, it's the case with most jewelry, but you’re lucky to get half, and that’s if it’s in fantastic condition. Less is you’re bad at selling things, it's ugly, or it’s just no longer in fashion. If you can now BUY a used Tiffany piece for $5000 and use it as a $10,000 credit against a $20,000 purchase, that’s huge. Tiffany doesn’t do coupons and never has in their 200+ year history. They can change, just like everyone, but it seems unlike them. Without the doubling, it’s even more extreme. A $5000 second-hand purchase on eBay can be traded straight across the counter for a $10,000 NEW thing at Tifs! It seems highly unlikely that they would allow this.

 

[anon34985]

I’m still very suspicious about this, especially the transferability part. As mentioned above, this would represent a radical shift in Tiffany’s approach. All of the links I’ve seen like the one above refer to ‘you’. That’s a reference to the reader but I suspect they are assuming ‘you’ are the original purchaser. Even with the doubling thing, transferability effectively makes a genuine Tiffany piece with paperwork into a coupon at the store. That’s fungible.

A Tif ring that costs $10,000 new, generally won’t bring anything like that much on the secondary market. That’s not a criticism, it's the case with most jewelry, but you’re lucky to get half, and that’s if it’s in fantastic condition. Less is you’re bad at selling things, it's ugly, or it’s just no longer in fashion. If you can now BUY a used Tiffany piece for $5000 and use it as a $10,000 credit against a $20,000 purchase, that’s huge. Tiffany doesn’t do coupons and never has in their 200+ year history. They can change, just like everyone, but it seems unlike them. Without the doubling, it’s even more extreme. A $5000 second-hand purchase on eBay can be traded straight across the counter for a $10,000 NEW thing at Tifs! It seems highly unlikely that they would allow this.

I totally agree with all of this, but how to they decipher the purchaser from the receiver of the ring? My husband purchased my ring, however, it is mine (if that makes sense?) Couldn't you just say that so and so gave me the ring for engagement?

 

[kb1gra]

I’m still very suspicious about this, especially the transferability part. As mentioned above, this would represent a radical shift in Tiffany’s approach. All of the links I’ve seen like the one above refer to ‘you’. That’s a reference to the reader but I suspect they are assuming ‘you’ are the original purchaser. Even with the doubling thing, transferability effectively makes a genuine Tiffany piece with paperwork into a coupon at the store. That’s fungible.

A Tif ring that costs $10,000 new, generally won’t bring anything like that much on the secondary market. That’s not a criticism, it's the case with most jewelry, but you’re lucky to get half, and that’s if it’s in fantastic condition. Less is you’re bad at selling things, it's ugly, or it’s just no longer in fashion. If you can now BUY a used Tiffany piece for $5000 and use it as a $10,000 credit against a $20,000 purchase, that’s huge. Tiffany doesn’t do coupons and never has in their 200+ year history. They can change, just like everyone, but it seems unlike them. Without the doubling, it’s even more extreme. A $5000 second-hand purchase on eBay can be traded straight across the counter for a $10,000 NEW thing at Tifs! It seems highly unlikely that they would allow this.

Well, I'm not sure what I can do to convince you. They did not even check my paperwork beyond to see that I had it. They inspected the ring and presumably looked at the purchase. They looked at the original store receipt, which, being on thermal paper, is barely legible but does exist. That was all they wanted to do, all the papers were at their disposal, and I can assure you nobody is confused that I am the original purchaser whose name was very male and clearly distinct from mine.

As above, often the future husband is the purchaser on the paperwork. There's no law that says I have to change my name to prove anything to Tiffany, and I doubt they'd take that position.

Short of going and trading in my ring and producing the receipt I'm not sure what else I can say.

 

[evergreen]

This is fascinating. Maybe Tiffany is getting sensitive to the idea that their items are easily obtained on the preowned market for much less, and by doing this, they retain more control of the market value of their items? If all preowned Tiffany rings, with appropriate documentation, could be traded up, that incentivizes people who no longer want their Tiffany to upgrade (if they can swing it) rather than selling it for half of their purchase price on the secondary market.

I've been trying to sell an Etoile with all the original documentation, including original receipt, for <40% of its original price. Maybe I'll try to trade it in instead!

 

[snotty_pie]

Unlimited upgrades is limited by the "double the cost" though. How many times can you double the price before it's prohibitive? And especially at their margins.

I do like the fact that (well, pre-COVID anyway) I could go into their NYC store and have instant access to a clean bathroom with no line (while I got my ring cleaned). Maybe I am the only weirdo that sees that as a benefit though. Haha!

 

[kb1gra]

Unlimited upgrades is limited by the "double the cost" though. How many times can you double the price before it's prohibitive? And especially at their margins.

I do like the fact that (well, pre-COVID anyway) I could go into their NYC store and have instant access to a clean bathroom with no line (while I got my ring cleaned). Maybe I am the only weirdo that sees that as a benefit though. Haha!

Well, you used to only be able to upgrade once, no matter how much you wanted to spend. 5 years, one time.