is paying full rap sheet too much?...

[Dancing Fire]

it seems like every diamond is traded x percentage back of rap. even on AGS and GIA certs. looks like you could buy at 25-30% back of rap sheet on ebay all day for an average diamond. so therefore my question is, even for top ideal cuts, should we be able to buy at 10% back? where the vendors still make a good profit?

 

[Nicrez]

I would never use E-Bay for a diamond price analysis. You have over charging, UNDER charging (secondary markets of people selling their rings) and so the informed buyer does not normally go to E-Bay for a "deal". They go to the internet retailers or B&M stores.

E-Bay is an animal unto itself with factors such as seller ratings and visibility that cause it's prices to be high or low, regardless of the item quality.

I would honestly never pay full RAP for a stone unless it was EXTREMELY well cut or branded. Even my branded Radiant wasn't full RAP price. A diamond seller will always try to get the best price they can, the buyer should always try to get the best price HE can...Somewhere in the middle is the percent off RAP you can get.

But YES, some stones can be full RAP retail, which in essence is just a slightly inflated average of stones within that color, clarity and carat, compiled for market use, not consumer.