Internet Prices - Haggling???

[curiousone]

Hello...new to the forum. Thanks to pricescope and diamondtalk, I have been better educated on diamonds at least a hundred fold. I appreciate everyone's posts and experiences and they have been incorporated into several decision making factors for the diamond that I am looking for.

The reason for this post is to get everyone's opinion on whether or not it is appropriate to haggle on internet prices? Are internet prices firm? Finally, do internet brokers actually match other competitor prices?

Thank you in advance for your responses.

 

[Hest88]

I wouldn't "haggle" per se, but I'd certainly contemplate asking the jeweler "is this the best price you can give me?" or asking if they can match another price. As long as you're polite and are not offended if the answer is "no" it wouldn't hurt.

 

[Richard Sherwood]

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The reason for this post is to get everyone's opinion on whether or
not it is appropriate to haggle on internet prices?
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It's never inappropriate to ask for a better price. I don't care if you're asking God for a discount to get through the pearly gates. Any seasoned businessman will respect someone who tries to get the best value for his money. If they can give you a better price, they will. If they can't, they won't.

You'll always know if you've got their best price if they're willing to let you "walk" rather than go any lower. Then you make your decision.

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Are internet prices firm?
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Some are, some aren't. You'll never know unless you ask. "You have not because you ask not." My 20 year old son (whom I have taught the art of negotiation over the years) just phoned in a pizza order for us. Instead of just telling them what we wanted, he asked "What kind of specials are you offering today?". The pizza place replied that they had a special on two large size pizzas with two toppings each. So he tailored our order to fit within those parameters and saved us $7.

Then it took a while for the pizza to get to us. When the guy arrived my son said, "Gee, heavy traffic tonight huh? Do you guys offer a late delivery discount?" The fellow called the pizza place on his cell phone and they said to knock the price in half.

Heh heh heh... I've watched him do this countless times, always in a very gracious manner. I have no idea how many thousands of dollars he's saved over the years, but I can tell you he's one of the few 20 year olds I know that has more in his savings account than I do.

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Finally, do internet brokers actually match other competitor prices?
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You won't find this as much (if at all) because of the unique nature of diamonds. No two are alike. You might find two graded exactly alike, with even similar cut grading parameters, that justifiably sell for different amounts for one reason or another. Dealers know how hard they had to look for a particular stone, how much they were willing to pay up for it, and how much their willing to let it go for. Most make their decisions based on that, not how much the "other guy" is purporting to offer a similar stone for (which he often doesn't even have in stock).

 

[niceice]

Be forewarned that most of the internet dealers including ourselves do not have the margins enjoyed by most of the brick and mortar retailers and thus there is very little room for discount... We suggest being happy with the discount you are already enjoying off of traditional retail prices and let the internet dealers make what little profit they do... Most of us provide more in-depth information than you could even hope to obtain from your neighborhood jeweler, providing that information takes time and very expensive equipment... Personally, we're not interested in discounting any more than we already do...

 

[Mara]

I am in definite agreement with Rich on asking. You don't know unless you ask. They can only say NO right?

As long as you are polite and phrase it well, you should be fine. Don't be offended if they do not want to come down in price...many internet vendors are priced way lower for the most part than B&M. But from what I have seen on the forums and via email from forum members, some vendors on Pscope will definitely be willing to discuss the modification of pricing depending on the circumstances (e.g. you have found the perfect stone but its $250 more than your max budget).

I think you have a better chance of the actual competitor price matching if you were looking offline at a B&M company, as they already usually have such high markups that they are normally able to negotiate a bit and still be fine. A few people on here have used Pscope's pricing structure and negotiated better pricing in an offline store. If the offline jeweler knows he may lose your sale to an online vendor for less $$, he may be more interested in talking.

We found a stone online and our offline jeweler offered to match the price and bring in similar stones. We ended up going with him though we were close to an online purchase. But then again we had history with him and trust already built up. He would have sold our stone easily for at least $2-3k more in his store. We appreciated him being so quick to give up his profit cushion, and he sold us the stone at a very slim profit margin. But we gave him the custom setting business too so I am sure he made some $$ off that!

Good luck!

 

[diamondsman]

Why dont' you cut to the chase by doing a search of a few different websites and comparing (somtimes the same stones)and see who is giving you the best prices for your money!!
that would save the haggeling part,both you and the seller would be happy!!!