Is Ebay worth the risk?

[About2ask]

I was talking to a coworker about purchasing diamonds from Ebay. How secure is this? I know Ebay has its rules but I would not be surprised if someone would screw me out of some money, especially if it was for a few thousand. I have heard of the other superstitions, such as "bad luck rings" and such, but if I could save $2,000 - 3,000 for the same quality... why not? Has anyone tried it or heard anything good about it?

 

[SB621]

hate to be blunt but i think this is the dumbest idea ever...now with that said...i did it

I lost a diamond pendant I had and i wanted to replace it. I bought from a seller on ebay who had 100% feedback that was positve and seemed to be trustworthy. i thought i was buying a near colorless stone. however, it came and it was a tea colored yellow- i was not happy. It was hard to go through the return process with ebay and the seller. The lesson i learned from this is that what they call D VS might really mean J SI1. While ebay does have buyer protection etc you are really not getting a deal or anything and the process is still frustrating. I would contact some of the PS vendors- which is what I did. I got a great diamond for just a little bit more then what I paid for our ebay- without the hassle and ebay bs to deal with.

 

[Dreamer_D]

To me, no. But I like to buy diamonds from a vendor with good follow-up customer services.

 

[glitterata]

Ebay isn''t a single store--it''s a collection of different sellers. Some are honest, upright people with wonderful merchandise. Some are crooks. Some are something in between.

I have made many, many wonderful purchases on ebay, often winning genuine antique pieces for a tenth or a hundredth of what they would cost at retail. (My most exciting recent coup: a $70 pair of gold earrings that the seller thought were Victorian, but which turned out to be 2,000 years old, from ancient Rome.) However, I''ve also made a lot of mistakes.

I wouldn''t spend more on ebay than I could afford to lose, except perhaps I had a lot of personal experience with the seller and they had perfect feedback.

 

[D&T]

Date: 12/15/2009 10:49:01 PM
Author: glitterata
Ebay isn''t a single store--it''s a collection of different sellers. Some are honest, upright people with wonderful merchandise. Some are crooks. Some are something in between.


I wouldn''t spend more on ebay than I could afford to lose, except perhaps I had a lot of personal experience with the seller and they had perfect feedback.

I love this advice! and completely agree with Giltterata!

 

[yssie]

Date: 12/15/2009 10:51:02 PM
Author: D&T

Date: 12/15/2009 10:49:01 PM
Author: glitterata
Ebay isn''t a single store--it''s a collection of different sellers. Some are honest, upright people with wonderful merchandise. Some are crooks. Some are something in between.


I wouldn''t spend more on ebay than I could afford to lose, except perhaps I had a lot of personal experience with the seller and they had perfect feedback.

I love this advice! and completely agree with Giltterata!

+1.


There are amazing finds on ebay, though, I just made my first purchase and I''m really thrilled. My expectations were nonexistent, so to get something I actually very much like is fantastic

 

[outatouch0]

NO

 

[LaurenThePartier]

Ebay sellers can be incredibly hit or miss(more often 'miss' when it comes to jewelry), but at times, you can come across a little gold mine, but you REALLY have to know what you're doing, and as Glitterata said, be willing to wave bye-bye to your hard earned money in the event that things don't go as planned.

I've found quite a few old european/old miner cut diamonds on Ebay, one or two that I really, really lucked out on that were not over promised and under delivered.

Realistically, to a novice with very little diamond knowledge, I would not recommend turning to Ebay.

The only real advice I can offer is cliche, but true; "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is".

 

[arobert22]

I don''t think I would ever buy expensive jewelry from ebay....to many variables. Try craigslist. At least this way the person who is selling the item is local and you can get a appraisal before purchasing

 

[outatouch0]

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/wow-extremely-rude-ebay-seller.131882/

 

[Liane]

I would never buy loose diamonds from eBay. When it comes to diamonds, I am a good little PS'er who believes that cut is paramount, and I don't think you can find diamonds cut to that level of care on eBay. Also, I'm not that confident in my ability to spot fakes and bogus deals from eBay photos. I think this is easier when it comes to evaluating old cuts (at least it's definitely easier for me), but even then, I just can't tell whether I'll love the stone from a photo, and so to me it's not worth the trouble of sorting through and sending back 20 iffy stones to find one good rock.

I will buy, and have bought, colored gemstones (strictly inexpensive ones at < $100 apiece, and strictly from PS-recommended vendors) and antique jewelry on eBay (when it comes to good Edwardian jewelry, I'm willing to drop a couple thousand, but I'm a lot more confident about my spotting ability there). My eye is not nearly as good as glitterata's, so I confine myself to the dealers who know exactly what they have (and charge accordingly), but I know enough to tell when antique jewelry looks authentic and when it's modern repro or mass-produced crap. I've scored some fair deals on eBay and have never been ripped off, but I am also super conservative and cautious in my bidding.

But a loose modern-cut diamond? No, never.

 

[HVVS]

You won't find many modern super-ideal diamonds on eBay. And the only way you can be assured of getting a "refund" is to charge the whole amount on a credit card via PayPal, b/c you can do a credit card reversal in a deal gone bad. If you pay cash via bank account through PayPal, you only get a refund if that seller has money in his/her PayPal or possibly a credit card that PayPal can charge. Smart sellers keep no money in their PayPal bank account and a maxed-out credit card on file, ever since eBay got refund-happy and sellers started getting ripped off by scammers.
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/the-jury-is-in-ebay-diamond-under-ideal-scope.105491/

 

[Lisa Loves Shiny]

Ebay is not for the those who cannot risk losing the money and not for those who do not have time to search it almost daily for just the right bargain to come along. I have bought 5 incredible diamond rings for a fraction of the cost and all are high quality. 3 came with lab/appraisals included in the sale and 100% money back return policy. BUT...........I used to troll ebay daily, and only searched for diamonds from private sellers who do not sell jewelry as a rule. You know- somebody who occasionally sells on ebay and wants to sell a ring that was left to them or needs money. After taking the biggest risk yet (over 2K) I was lucky and decided not to try my luck any further. Also I do not have the time to devote to it anymore and do not need any more diamonds. Yes- I said that. lol

With the reputable vendors that advertise on this forum you know you will get what you want and will have a diamond that you will be able to send back if needed. There are too many members who would "out" any vendor not reputable. So if your co-worker wants "THE" diamond I would not risk ebay. It is only for those who love the thrill of taking a risk for an incredible score.

Lisa

 

[butterfly 17]

I would not buy a loose diamond on ebay, but I have purchased a few designer pieces for some great prices.
Ebay can definitely be hit or miss, so for diamonds, I would be wary as they can sell you one thing and send you something else.

Having said that, I do purchase fairly expensivish stuff on ebay and so far (knocking on wood), have not had a problem. Everything I purchased has been legitimate and authentic. I have also been able to save a lot from the original retail prices on these pieces, so my husband is happy as well.

 

[clgwli]

I have had better luck finding vintage pieces on ebay than I have locally. When not going for amazing quality new items, I have had really good luck in general off of e-bay. No way would I buy a high quality item from them. Again I have found some used and vintage pieces I have loved over the years (and consequently sold later when tastes changes) but I wouldn''t be spending more than a couple hundred on any item from e-bay.

 

[Circe]

I''ve found a few awesome deals on eBay, but they''ve been based on recognizing the hand of a specific designer in a piece that''s been being sold off for its stones. For diamonds, it''s a little tougher, since the value is intrinsic to the substance ... but it can be done.

Check and double-check return policies and ratings, though: I was sick to my stomach when I bought an "VS1" diamond pendant a month or two ago only to have it arrive and be chipped to hell and back. Luckily the seller was courteous about refunding my money and promised to have it regraded, but ... that could easily have gone badly. I think the idea of shopping on eBay as gambling is pretty much dead on!

 

[Circe]

I''ve found a few awesome deals on eBay, but they''ve been based on recognizing the hand of a specific designer in a piece that''s been being sold off for its stones. For diamonds, it''s a little tougher, since the value is intrinsic to the substance ... but it can be done.

Check and double-check return policies and ratings, though: I was sick to my stomach when I bought an "VS1" diamond pendant a month or two ago only to have it arrive and be chipped to hell and back. Luckily the seller was courteous about refunding my money and promised to have it regraded, but ... that could easily have gone badly. I think the idea of shopping on eBay as gambling is pretty much dead on!