Internet Diamond Buying Safety on pricescope

[c_doclover]

How safe is it to buy from these places on pricescope''s diamond search. I looked at a few and they didn''t have a ebay-like customer rating to give me that sense of security. Is it really safe to buy or am I being a goober. I just don''t want to lose 2-3 grand. And I think my girlfriend is worth more than a mallstore diamond when I see these on the site that are incredible. How many of you guys have bought and are really happy??? I do appreciate it I am a nervious...newbie...and need so helpful advice. thanks

 

[limey]

I purchased from GoodOldGold, never felt like I was buying online. aljdewey makes a great point, PS allows you to buy a class of diamond you generally will not find locally.

Good luck!

 

[researcher]

I was nervous at first, but received UNBELIEVABLE customer service from Denise at White Flash. And to ease your nerves a bit, we spent $20000 on a 3.22 ct princess cut stone and semi-custom platinum band. I can honestly say that, after searching every store in our area, I have yet to find a stone that performs as well

 

[verticalhorizon]

Is there something like epinions.com for companies rather than just products?

I've thought that it would be nice if vendors had some sort of rating metric, where good and bad experiences could easily been scored.

 

[bling]

Definitely! The vendors mentioned above have excellent customer satisfaction ratings. Their stones are of the elite..and the service is outstanding. I think they have to be, as much of their business is through the internet. Should their reputation here be tarnished, it could potentially cost them business. But again, they are all excellent! And they have very good return policies should you not be satisfied with your purchase.
I have done business with almost all of them for one thing or another, and each and everyone was fantastic to deal with.

 

[strmrdr]

There are a couple companies that list diamonds on the PS search engine that I would never buy from.
But there are also a lot of them I wouldn’t hesitate to buy from.
Do a search on the forum for the vendor your looking at and if they have a lot of great customer testimonials you are all set to go.
Or just ask here if you cant find anything doing a search.

 

[Number6]

I purchased a diamond and setting from Whiteflash and I was extremely pleased with my purchase. I too was nervous, considering that this was the third most expensive purchase of my life. (House, Car, Ring)

I would not hesitate to purchase from them again.

 

[niceice]

We're not aware of any outstanding issues regarding ANY of the vendors here on PS. However, that does not mean that you should toss your hard earned money into cyber space without doing a little due diligence first. Contact the Jewelers Vigilance Committee at (212) 997-2002 and ask them about the vendor you are considering buying a diamond from, they are kind of like the Better Business Bureau for our industry, but they have much sharper teeth.

Also, most of the vendors employ the services of Epinions, The Public Eye, etc. and offer a reasonable inspection period. The extent of these services vary from site to site, so read each specific offer as stated on the web site and print down a copy for your records before placing your order.

You might consider having the diamond you are considering sent to an independent gemologist for evaluation prior to purchasing it, there is a list of appraisers available via the appraisers link at the top of this page and practically every one of the vendors here on PS cooperates with this concept.

 

[hoorray]

We felt the same trepidation when we first started looking for my upgrade stone. DH insisted that he would not send the $$ before seeing the stone so that he wasn't sending it off into some vaporus vendor who then left town etc....
Needless to say we have spent major $$ since then on stones through Internet vendors, and the high end jewelers I see rave about the stones. (I was at one today, who really gushed.)

If you protect yourself and are smart about it it can be a better experience than a B&M since your choice is so much broader and you have more control/knowledge about the pricing.

First: get smart about diamonds. Read the tutorials here and at some of the vendors sites (Niceice and goodoldgold have good ones). Search here on PS about the various vendors to find out what experiences people have had.

Second: Search for stones here on the PS engine and on the various vendors' sites. When you have a few, post the specs and questions here, and people will give you more help than you know what to do with. Call the vendors with the interesting stones, and see if there is one or a couple that you feel most comfortable with. THey can often search for what you are looking for if you don't find the perfect stone.

third: Have the final one or few sent to either a local appraiser or one of the top ones recommended here for their objective input -- BEFORE you send any money.

fourth: when you find THE ONE, send the $$ in and you will have the stone released to you.

There are some variations in these steps depending on where you are located and what you are doing for a setting, but that is the basic gist.

Good luck -- this can be a fun process!