Re: Is there any wiggle room on the listed prices for diamon
Some years a go a good gemologist buddy of mine actually published quarterly diamond price information which not only broke diamonds down by shape, weight, color and clarity, but by cut grade. Strange as it may seem, the diamonds with the poorer cut grades almost always had the highest asking prices. All the prices published back then had to do with asking prices as there was no public internet display of actual diamond selling prices. We gave it a great deal of thought as to why the very best stones did not appear to command the highest asking prices and then we had a moment of genius where we began to better understand the diamond market. Dealers have, or allow themselves, the most wiggle room on their least desirable stones. They must be highly competitive in their best cut stones, but they can allow the client to wiggle into a comfort zone more readily on diamonds that are not so fabulous and need to be moved out to make room for others being cut. If a customer was not too smart, they'd overpay on the poorest stones. Not many fools around, but the possibility existed and surely happened from time to time.
Any time you are looking to compromise some element of quality, especially in the cut quality of a diamond you are about to buy, the wiggle room may be somewhat larger than if you are going to stick to only shopping for the very best. Those who insist on getting the very best have to bite the bullet and pay the price, or very close to it. If they don't, someone else will. On lesser stones, the dealer may see a somewhat lower offer as acceptable.
A large part of success in negotiation is based on the attitude, or lack of an attitude, that you are able to convey. You want to negotiate based on some knowledge, not just based on a concept that every price is a rip-off. You can't negotiate in good faith if the price asked is already a superb deal compared to other stones. If you are willing to do the homework necessary to make your case and to state it in a business-like way, the dealer may be inclined to budge sometimes. Done politely and with knowledge, a negotiation is not harmful, but mark-ups generally on-line and in competitive stores are not as high as they once were so don't expect big moves even if your delivery of a lower offer is perfect.
