Issues with James Allen?

[kb1gra]

I'm wondering if I should be considering my experience with James Allen to be outside of what is considered reasonable, or not.

I have two rings on order with them.

Order #1 was placed on Jan 29. This was for a setting for a stone of my own. I paid a $100 setting fee and a $30 shipping fee on top of the price of the setting, which was discounted due to their current sale. They sent me the label to ship in the stone at 11:52am. I dropped the package off at a staffed fedex depot less than five hours later. The stone was not received by them until 10:55am on Feb 3, despite being sent FedEx 2 day and dropped off before the last cutoff. Whatever, JamesAllen can't be blamed for Fedex, though for the $30 they charged me for the label, I could have it sent Fedex Overnight. Anyway, when I ordered the setting, the rep clearly stated that it takes approximately 6 days from the time the stone is received to make the setting. This seemed reasonable since the ship date for the setting with their own stone was roughly the same.

Well, as of Feb 6, nobody can tell me when the setting will ship except that a new rep now says it is 10 business days from when they receive the stone, maybe, ish? Every rep I speak to says "there should be a shipping date posted tomorrow." All they can tell me is they received the stone. I do not find this comforting at all.

I understand that 6 days is not considered a long time to have a setting made. I also understand it is close to Valentine's day. However, this stone is a calibrated size, and I submitted the exact report dimensions when I ordered the setting. One of the reasons I chose JamesAllen was because they could make a setting more quickly than the 3-4 weeks someplace like BGD wanted, and I wanted this stone reset fairly quickly as it's replacing my engagement ring.

Last night I decided to order a ring I had been tossing around the idea of, mostly to take advantage of 15% off a setting that would otherwise be a bit out of reach pricewise for this ring. I ordered both the ring and the diamond from them. Admittedly I had ordered, and cancelled, this same diamond twice before because I was waffling on the setting, and once an order is placed they require you to cancel it and reorder (starting the clock over again...) any time you want to change the order. So anyway, once I placed the final order, I find out that because my stone is a "fancy shape" (cushion) they need an additional indeterminate amount of time to make that setting, too.

In both cases they will not commit to a ship date on either ring, but I'm less upset about the second one since I wasn't told 6 days and then told 10 or more, but I am disturbed that they won't commit to delivering either product by any particular date. My cards have been charged for both rings.

Is it unreasonable to expect to receive a firm commitment on when my items will be made and shipped? I'm getting extremely frustrated at this point.

 

[WillyDiamond]

Well, since it is 7 days from Valentine's Day, you know what that means, I think you can expect longer delivery times because of their volume. I would stay on top of them to get it done.......you know about the squeaky wheel.

 

[kb1gra]

Well, since it is 7 days from Valentine's Day, you know what that means, I think you can expect longer delivery times because of their volume. I would stay on top of them to get it done.......you know about the squeaky wheel.

I'd be fine with a longer delivery time if they would pick one date they can meet and stick to it. What I'm not cool with is the "we'll get to it, eventually, someday." It should not be difficult to manage your supply chain to the degree that you can firmly deliver on a particular date-- and your order volume or other people's problems/late orders they want for Vday, etc, should not impact MY order.

If they told me on Jan 29 that if I shipped the stone to them THAT DAY that I would not receive a ring until approx. Feb 18 or possibly later-- I would not have ordered it.

 

[SparklySoprano]

kb1gra,

I just ordered a JA ring to set a diamond I owned. What happened to me was that I ordered it and was told I would get it by a specific day, which was very important because I had to get it appraised before going off on trip we had planned. They were very clear that the time the internet shows for delivery date would need to be moved by two business days since they would have to wait for my stone before beginning the process. That seemed reasonable, and it would still arrive in time. I checked in periodically to see how things were going and to discuss questions or concerns that came up during the wait. At one point, the delivery date changed to a point that would not accommodate getting the ring in time. I was not happy about that, but I politely reminded them about my date needs, which they had input into their system during the order. So, they offered to have it overnighted (to arrive on a Saturday). Well, some storm came through the east coast putting the flight on delay mode and the ring ended up in another city and did not arrive to my house until Monday morning. I had to scramble to the appraiser that very morning (turned out beautifully) and then breathed a sigh of relief.

So, I guess I would say I had a similar situation confounded by weather issues for FedEx. I would definitely contact them and tell them that you were promised a certain date and ask what can they do to accomplish this. With their sale (you lucky ducks that got it! ) on top of Valentine's Day, I'm sure they are overwhelmed. The thought did cross my mind though that if I would have purchased the center stone from JA, would they have pushed my order back?

Best, SS

 

[julesxxxooo]

I purchased two rings from them in Dec. one was a ring with center stone also from JA, they other was a wedding bad with 7 stones. I ordered them on two different dates. They had a big sale similar to their Valentine's Day sale and as a result,they had a huge increase in order volume. Both of my rings were given an initial expected ship date that changed once the ring actually went into production. And then changed again during production. This wasn't ideal as I am impatient when it comes to buying things online, I want it yesterday. But, these rings are being made for you, they are not mass produced and being plucked off of a shelf. For such an important purchase and for the cost, I didn't mind the wait when you think of it in terms of the end result. I'd rather they not rush to make my ring and do it right. In my case, the wait was well worth it.

I ended up having to send back one of the rings to get resized, I had a similar Fedex experience but I think they received the ring when expected but they didn't process it until a day or two later. Not sure if this is also what happened to you. This resize also experienced a delay in ship date but it was fine for me because it's my wedding band and I'm not yet married so I'm not wearing it and didn't mind.

I have never purchased from them when there wasn't a big "jewelry" type holiday so I don't know if this is normal during the rest of the year.
Having said all of that, I'd buy from them again in a heartbeat despite having these issues.

Good luck!

 

[SparklySoprano]

I agree with you Julesxxxooo that if waiting a day or two more meant better, more careful results, I was completely fine with that, too. My main worry was having it delivered while we were gone.

Julesxxxooo, Is your avatar picture the rings you purchased? How are you enjoying the three-stone? Which one did you get? I was debating a three stone look myself, but ended up with a halo. Would love to know more about your JA ring!

~SS

 

[julesxxxooo]

I agree with you Julesxxxooo that if waiting a day or two more meant better, more careful results, I was completely fine with that, too. My main worry was having it delivered while we were gone.
~SS

Funny you should mention that. My engagement ring was shipped the day before Christmas Eve, so delivery date was on Christmas Eve. I work from home and was glued to the window aaaaaaaaallllll day long waiting for it. We had a big family party that night and we had to leave and it hadn't come yet. I was really bummed that they would then have to deliver it after the holidays. Imagine my surprise while at the party, I got a text from Fedex tracking that they delivered the ring!! I was freaking out bc it was shipped signature required and thought they left it in my door. When we got home there was a note that they left it with my next door neighbor (we live in a condo). I interrupted their Christmas Eve party to get that package! He had no idea what he had signed for!

Julesxxxooo, Is your avatar picture the rings you purchased? How are you enjoying the three-stone? Which one did you get? I was debating a three stone look myself, but ended up with a halo. Would love to know more about your JA ring!
~SS

Yes, those are my JA rings. It's actually not a three stone, it's this setting with a 1.01 h&a center stone. The wedding band is its matching band. I am in love with them and get many compliments. Tons of sparkle!
http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/side-stones/14k-white-gold-scalloped-shared-prong-engagement-ring-item-3362

 

[Lookinagain]

I think you should understand that their business is probably much busier than normal as Valentine's Day approaches; that as someone already noted, these rings are made to order and not plucked off a shelf and also that the weather in the North East has been brutal. My office has been closed because of heavy snow 3 days over the last two weeks. It's possible JA may have had to close for a day or two, or close early, a few days as well. I think you should cut them a little slack.

 

[SparklySoprano]

Julesxxxooo, That's too funny! Yes, I'm sure he did not know that that package contained quite a little treasure. I'm surprised the FedEx deliverer gave it to a neighbor, though. We were told that it would get sent back to the FedEx location if we weren't home. But, I'm really glad for you that he did. I could not imagine missing it by that little bit, especially right at Christmas.

I'm sorry I mis-interpreted your picture. I absolutely love the scallop setting. That was another one that I debated about. It did look like it would produce some spectacular sparkle, so I'm so glad you are thrilled with it. When you can, I would love to see some hand shots. (Maybe on the SMTB forum page?)

And to the OP, I apologize for the brief digression here. I am hoping you get the results you hope for with your delivery, and the ring itself. I ended up just two days ago sending mine in for a resize and to see if a pave was missing, in addition to smoothing down one little slightly rough prong. My ring has a lot of melee stones in it and I just happened to notice a dark spot upon cleaning it where I thought a diamond had been. Some of them are pretty tiny. But I am not deterred or disappointed with my purchase in any way. They are going to take about two weeks to return it. I was hoping for ten days, but with the Valentine's Day sale, I'm not surprised. I do hope though, it's not too much longer than that!

 

[kb1gra]

I think you should understand that their business is probably much busier than normal as Valentine's Day approaches; that as someone already noted, these rings are made to order and not plucked off a shelf and also that the weather in the North East has been brutal. My office has been closed because of heavy snow 3 days over the last two weeks. It's possible JA may have had to close for a day or two, or close early, a few days as well. I think you should cut them a little slack.

I'd be fine with it, though not thrilled, if they told me "it's going to be three days late."

The only answer I'm getting, however, is "they haven't started it yet and there's no shipping date in the system" when the original rep at time of purchase told me 6 days from receipt of stone, which would have the ring shipping on Tuesday.Then another rep told me 10 days. Now they can just say "it will be updated soon."

One is acceptable...one is not.

 

[SparklySoprano]

Not having at least a date in the system would annoy me. Did they say why that was the case?

 

[kb1gra]

Not having at least a date in the system would annoy me. Did they say why that was the case?

No, just that they've received the stone and it will be updated "soon." In the case of the second ring, it is because it is a fancy shape and needs 'additional time' but they would not specify how much additional time they needed.

Here's what my order pages look like:

 

[SparklySoprano]

My guess is they didn't plan for as many orders as they've received and they are overwhelmed. I do recall seeing automatic shipment delays for "fancy" stones, as well, on their site. Perhaps ask to chat with a manager and see if they can give you a better target date on both rings.

 

[julesxxxooo]

Not having at least a date in the system would annoy me. Did they say why that was the case?

No, just that they've received the stone and it will be updated "soon." In the case of the second ring, it is because it is a fancy shape and needs 'additional time' but they would not specify how much additional time they needed.

Here's what my order pages look like:

Just to give you an idea, one of my orders was placed on Dec 1 shipped Dec 17.
The other was Dec 11, shipped dec 23.
Not that that helps you out but it was during peak busy hours so maybe gives you an idea of expectations.

In my experience, the shipping status is just a guess until it actually goes into production, that is when I got my estimated shipping dates.


SS- I did post a few pics in the show me your wedding sets post in the SMTB Forum

 

[kb1gra]

Not having at least a date in the system would annoy me. Did they say why that was the case?

No, just that they've received the stone and it will be updated "soon." In the case of the second ring, it is because it is a fancy shape and needs 'additional time' but they would not specify how much additional time they needed.

Here's what my order pages look like:

In my experience, the shipping status is just a guess until it actually goes into production, that is when I got my estimated shipping dates.

So if my ring hasn't even gone into production yet, what exactly have they been doing with my diamond for the past four days? I don't like the idea of my diamond just sitting out in the ether until they get around to it. My understanding of the process, and why they needed the dimensions, was they would start the ring, confirm the fit and set the stone when it arrived, and do the final polish/check and get it shipped. Not that they wouldn't even start it until a week after the stone arrived?

 

[julesxxxooo]

Not having at least a date in the system would annoy me. Did they say why that was the case?

No, just that they've received the stone and it will be updated "soon." In the case of the second ring, it is because it is a fancy shape and needs 'additional time' but they would not specify how much additional time they needed.

Here's what my order pages look like:

In my experience, the shipping status is just a guess until it actually goes into production, that is when I got my estimated shipping dates.

So if my ring hasn't even gone into production yet, what exactly have they been doing with my diamond for the past four days? I don't like the idea of my diamond just sitting out in the ether until they get around to it. My understanding of the process, and why they needed the dimensions, was they would start the ring, confirm the fit and set the stone when it arrived, and do the final polish/check and get it shipped. Not that they wouldn't even start it until a week after the stone arrived?

Well, I would only be guessing but I think your order is just put in line, they are filling lots of orders and have lots of people ahead of you. You can't expect that they would put your order to the front of the production line, cutting everyone who placed orders ahead of you. As far as your diamond sitting in their facility, I'm not sure what else you would expect? I'm sure it's secured, not just sitting on a counter with a sticky note attached. I get that it isn't an easy thing to send off something that valuable but I think you have to have a bit more faith that they know what they are doing. Have you used the online chat with them? I had great service using it and my questions were answered to my satisfaction.
Julie

 

[MollyMalone]

fyi: unless your stone is worth less than $1000 -- or you were willing to declare its value as being no greater than that, you could not have FedEx'd it yourself. One needs to have a special DVX account established with FedEx in order to for them to agree to accept a package with jewelry, gems, or pearls declared as worth more than $1000 & you have to apply, and be approved, for a DVX account; a mere consumer won't qualify:
https://www.fedex.com/us/declared-value/apply.html

P.S. when asking them to deliver a complete ring -- not a mounting/semi-mount, with an eye to having a local jeweler set the stone(s) -- I wouldn't expect JA or anyone else to put my order in the pipeline until after they received my stone, even if it's a calibrated stone and/or I had a lab report with mm dimensions to relay.

 

[kb1gra]

fyi: unless your stone is worth less than $1000 -- or you were willing to declare its value as being no greater than that, you could not have FedEx'd it yourself. One needs to have a special DVX account established with FedEx in order to for them to agree to accept a package with jewelry, gems, or pearls declared as worth more than $1000 & you have to apply, and be approved, for a DVX account; a mere consumer won't qualify:
https://www.fedex.com/us/declared-value/apply.html

P.S. when asking them to deliver a complete ring -- not a mounting/semi-mount, with an eye to having a local jeweler set the stone(s) -- I wouldn't expect JA or anyone else to put my order in the pipeline until after they received my stone, even if it's a calibrated stone and/or I had a lab report with mm dimensions to relay.

I do have a declared value account with Fedex, actually, not that it's relevant. I have never used it for jewelry, so I don't know about that, but I can overnight a box of the size specified by JamesAllen, with an item worth many many many times more than my diamond in it, and send it overnight for less than $30.

For that matter I could have dropped off the stone in person for less than $30 as I live less than 100 miles from the address I sent it to, but that's also beside the point.

From a consumer perspective, I would expect my "place in line" to be reserved by my time of order, not by the arrival of my stone, especially since it doesn't seem to matter when the stone arrived in terms of when the ring gets made. If I placed my order and was 653rd in line, and by the time my stone arrived I was 202nd in line, I would expect my ring to be the 202nd one made from that point, not to suddenly become 768th despite my order having been placed 5 days prior to somebody else's.

 

[kb1gra]

Well, I would only be guessing but I think your order is just put in line, they are filling lots of orders and have lots of people ahead of you. You can't expect that they would put your order to the front of the production line, cutting everyone who placed orders ahead of you. As far as your diamond sitting in their facility, I'm not sure what else you would expect? I'm sure it's secured, not just sitting on a counter with a sticky note attached. I get that it isn't an easy thing to send off something that valuable but I think you have to have a bit more faith that they know what they are doing. Have you used the online chat with them? I had great service using it and my questions were answered to my satisfaction.
Julie

I never said I expected them to put me at the front of the line. I expect that my place in line is held by my order date.

If I place an order on Jan 29, and it says "Ships by February 8" and the rep confirms that they need 6 days from the date of arrival (which, had the package been delivered on time, would have been February 8 ) to make the ring, then I don't expect that, on the last business day before that date, the ring has not even been started yet.

as I described in my post above, my position in line should be assured by the date I placed my order. If I place my order on Jan 29, and someone else orders a ring that is set with a stone JA is selling on Jan 29, then we should have equal places in line, since the only time it should matter is if my stone arrives AFTER my place in line would have normally been produced, in which case the delay is my fault.

In other words, if I had ordered a JA stone, and my order was 700th in line, and the person after me was 701, our rings would be made in that order and shipped at roughly the same time. What should NOT happen is that #701 gets assigned a place in line, but I get a place in line that would be the same as someone who ordered a JA stone on Feb 3, when my stone arrived. Because either way the rings hadn't been started yet, so to me as a consumer when my stone arrives should be immaterial as long as it arrives before they would have normally started the ring had I bought a stone from them.

Make sense?

I have chatted with them several times -- the chat rep is the one who keeps saying "it should be updated tomorrow." Which has now been said every day since I checked in the day after the stone arrived on Tuesday.

 

[SparklySoprano]

kb1gra, I do think you make sense with your explanation. I actually thought that was how it would work for my order, too. But since it was technically shipped only one day late, I was fine with that. Plus they did offer the overnight Saturday delivery that they usually don't do, which was late due to weather so it ended up arriving 3 days late due to the weekend. I am clearly not in the same boat as you. They did try to accommodate my request and honor their original time frame as best as they could. I know you are as anxious as I was about getting your purchase. I wish you the best, and hope you get it soon!!! It makes me think of how I almost got a Tacori, and that would have taken 4-6 weeks! I would have not been able to handle that time frame!!!

Julesxxxooo, I saw your pics and commented on the wedding sets post. Really beautiful! I bet you can't wait to wear them together. Good luck with the rest of your wedding plans.

 

[kb1gra]

For the record I just chatted with them again, and they say that the first ring will ship "on 2/17 or 2/18" but they won't guarantee ship dates "because we make every ring to order." That is a full 10 days later than the ship date shown when I ordered the setting and confirmed with the rep. I distinctly recall her saying "6 days after we receive the stone" because I thought that was quite good and I wanted the ring expeditiously. Further, I found out that despite the fact I mailed them the stone 2-day on 1/29, and they signed for it on 2/3, they didn't put it into their system until 2/4, and are counting 10 days from THAT date.

Unfortunately they had a stone and setting I wanted together, or I would cancel the second ring at this point, since lord knows how long that is going to take. I am not happy in the least.

 

[SparklySoprano]

I'm glad you at least got somewhat of a date. Personally, I would add a day or two to what they just quoted since my guess is that's what will likely happen. And if in fact they do end up sending by the 17 or 18, you will hopefully feel pleasantly surprised. Please post them when you get them as I would love to see!

 

[julesxxxooo]

I don't know how this sale compares to the one at Christmas time, but I'd bet it is similar. I was told by my rep who was helping me with the gemologist review that normal sales for them run around 1,000 orders per week and they were getting 600 per DAY during their sale. Again, not that it helps you but I think you purchased at a less than optimal time.

 

[SparklySoprano]

Julesxxxooo, that is a huge amount of sales! I wonder how many jewelers they have working there?! I'm also curious to know how that compares to Tacori or Veraggio?

 

[kb1gra]

I don't know how this sale compares to the one at Christmas time, but I'd bet it is similar. I was told by my rep who was helping me with the gemologist review that normal sales for them run around 1,000 orders per week and they were getting 600 per DAY during their sale. Again, not that it helps you but I think you purchased at a less than optimal time.

Yes, I completely gave up on the gemologist review for the second ring after they told me it would be 5+ days just for that.

I am still tempted by 15% off the matching wedding bands for the ring but not if it's going to take a month to get those, too.

 

[SparklySoprano]

Wouldn't the review be helpful though to ensure you get exactly what you want? I'm not sure what type of review they would be doing, but I'm guessing it has to do with the stone. My guess is the more professional-level PS'ers would tell you to use those five days despite the extra time in receiving. I suppose you could just return it too, if you didn't like it, but it seems that would be more of a hassle.

15% off wedding bands is a good deal, too. Like I alluded earlier, I'm bummed I missed out on this sale. I would have saved more than $300 and to me that's a nice chunk of change! You have to make that call, of course.

 

[kb1gra]

In the case of the second ring, I purchased a cushion, and an ASET would have told me what I already know (that the faceting is not going to give me world-beating light performance like a branded cushion might) and it's a VS2 so I'm not too worried about the eye cleanliness. I wasn't comparing two stones (since the only other one with this facet pattern was smaller, cheaper, and lower in color, or smaller, higher in color, and several thousand more expensive) additionally, I didn't want to wait too long because my husband was on board with ordering the ring, and he can be a bit indecisive, so I wanted it ordered before he changed his mind again

 

[WillyDiamond]

kb1gra-
Do you needs the rings by Valentine's Day?

 

[kb1gra]

NEED them? No. It's just a ring, I'm not proposing with it-- it's a replacement for my engagement ring that was damaged in a horse-related accident. But I ordered in enough time that, considering the ring said "ships by February 8" underneath it when I ordered, I wasn't really expecting to get it on February 19. And since it's replacing my engagement ring, I'd obviously like it as soon as possible.

The second ring is a RHR, I don't particularly care when it shows up, but I would like to know when that would be, instead of "please allow extra time for fancy shapes" which could be a day or a month, for all I know or anyone can seem to tell me.