James Allen online review?

[nucleon]

Hi,

Initially I was looking to purchase an engagement diamond from BN but since they cannot provide anything other than an image of the diamonds in their virtual inventory I headed over to JA where you can see 360 degree view of diamonds listed on their website and they can provide an Ideal Scope image on request. I know based on looking through messages on this forum most people have had positive experiences with them, but I wanted to do my own due diligence and found a few negative reviews online, specifically pertaining to receiving a diamond not matching the online GIA certificate (more than one instance) and settings of poor quality.

Should I be concerned buying from JA?

Thank you, as always!

 

[ladidalola]

My fiance and I had a positive experience with James Allen I'm very very happy with the ring he gave me

 

[Christina...]

I've had several positive experiences with JA and would happily purchase from them again.

 

[focusr3]

I just bought a full Ering from them. Do a search for "the ring is in" I had a great experance with them very timely and I could e-mail them at anytime and get a responce in less then 24 hours most of the time right away almost like they where waiting on me to ask a question.lol I delt with a guy by the name of garret jenkins and couldn't be happier i think it turned out better than I expected. I will tell you that with the help from this forum I picked a stone online better than i could have in real life and i looked at over 30 stones in person. I hope that helps.

 

[diamondloveaffair]

all vendors no matter how good they are will receive some negative feedback at some point in time. it is how they address the issues that make them worth doing business with.

 

[user_jason]

It's pretty alarming to hear reviews that the diamond doesn't match the GIA cert. But given that they have a 60 day return policy, it seems like you could certainly return it if that ever happened.

I'm placing an order with JA tomorrow. My experience up until now has been very good.

 

[nucleon]

Thanks for the replies. They are reassuring. If I do order from JA, I will have the diamond appraised when it arrives to make sure it matches the GIA certificate.

 

[Biglet]

I would not recommend James Allen.

I purchased a diamond ring from them, and the GIA certificate that came with the ring, was NOT the one that was on the website. When I asked them about it, they asked me to post the certificate back so they could send the correct one. However, as the incorrect one was making its way across USA, they then informed me that it was, infact, the correct certificate - and that I could not return the ring without including this certificate.
(I was only in america for 5 days - so this left me in a pickle to say the least) as I was heading to NZ - which has 2x FEDEX stores!

Then, I find they changed the picture of the diamond online that I had purchased! Terrible, terrible experience.

You would think, considering I had made it quite clear that I was only in America for 5 days, that they might accommodate me? Maybe change their 60 right of return policy seeing as it was their fault? But they couldnt have been less sympathetic.

Not return business from me.

 

[YoungPapa]

Hi Biglet,

I would like to take a moment to respond to your post, as well as offer (for a second time) my personal assistance with this matter.

We advertised a 0.90ct I-VS2, GIA graded diamond on our website in November of last year. All of the information on the website detailed and described the diamond as such. Unfortunately, however, the GIA report that was on our website was not for the correct diamond and referenced a diamond of similar carat weight, but of "G" color. This was a mistake on our part, although completely unintentional.

When you placed an order with us, all of our correspondence (including the order confirmation emails, order summary pages, and Receipt of Purchase) described a 0.90ct I-VS2 diamond. When it arrived, it included the GIA report for the diamond described on our website.

It is my understanding that at that point you contacted our office and stated we sent the incorrect report, and that the diamond you purchased was supposed to be "G" in color. It took us a day or two to figure out what happened, at which point we explained the mistake and offered our apology and the opportunity to return or exchange the diamond.

At some point soon thereafter you left the country, at which point I became involved. I contacted you directly to see if I could assist, but you stated that you were traveling and unable to return the diamond.

I am not aware that at any time we refused to allow you to return the diamond. A statement like that is contrary to everything we believe and the culture of customer service that we work very hard to build. If, however, that happened, I apologize. I am also not aware of when (or why) we would have ever switched the picture on a sold item.

At the end of the day we want you to be happy. Regardless of how much time has passed, you can absolutely return that diamond for a full refund or exchange. We will glady cover any and all expenses associated with the return/exchange as well. Just contact the office and let them know I am involved.

I hope this offers some clarity to the thread, as well as resolution to Biglet.

Respectfully,

 

[Christina...]

Hi Biglet,

I would like to take a moment to respond to your post, as well as offer (for a second time) my personal assistance with this matter.

We advertised a 0.90ct I-VS2, GIA graded diamond on our website in November of last year. All of the information on the website detailed and described the diamond as such. Unfortunately, however, the GIA report that was on our website was not for the correct diamond and referenced a diamond of similar carat weight, but of "G" color. This was a mistake on our part, although completely unintentional.

When you placed an order with us, all of our correspondence (including the order confirmation emails, order summary pages, and Receipt of Purchase) described a 0.90ct I-VS2 diamond. When it arrived, it included the GIA report for the diamond described on our website.

It is my understanding that at that point you contacted our office and stated we sent the incorrect report, and that the diamond you purchased was supposed to be "G" in color. It took us a day or two to figure out what happened, at which point we explained the mistake and offered our apology and the opportunity to return or exchange the diamond.

At some point soon thereafter you left the country, at which point I became involved. I contacted you directly to see if I could assist, but you stated that you were traveling and unable to return the diamond.

I am not aware that at any time we refused to allow you to return the diamond. A statement like that is contrary to everything we believe and the culture of customer service that we work very hard to build. If, however, that happened, I apologize. I am also not aware of when (or why) we would have ever switched the picture on a sold item.

At the end of the day we want you to be happy. Regardless of how much time has passed, you can absolutely return that diamond for a full refund or exchange. We will glady cover any and all expenses associated with the return/exchange as well. Just contact the office and let them know I am involved.

I hope this offers some clarity to the thread, as well as resolution to Biglet.

Respectfully,

Umm...yeah. THIS ^^^ is the problem with online reviews...seldom do you ever hear both sides of the story. In this case the consumer received the diamond she ordered. That's sort of a big difference from implying that you purchased a stone that was misrepresented or switched by the vendor in my opinion.

I agree with diamondloveaffair, that any vendor will have an unsatisfied customer at some point. Its been my experience though from being a forum member that PS vendors are willing to go the extra mile for the customers and that it's extremely unusual to see a situation where the consumer wasn't made happy. I hate to see 'complaint threads' that are not updated by the original poster, it leaves others looking for a review unsure how or if the situation was resolved and I feel that is unfair to the vendor.

 

[focusr3]

One more thing JA provided an appraisal, for the ring.
The stone I purchased was inscribed I have a 25x loupe pen and as soon as I opened the very nice packaging I checked the inscription and it was a match.

 

[Biglet]

Rewrote reply below

 

[Biglet]

Umm...yeah. THIS ^^^ is the problem with online reviews...seldom do you ever hear both sides of the story. In this case the consumer received the diamond she ordered. That's sort of a big difference from implying that you purchased a stone that was misrepresented or switched by the vendor in my opinion.

I agree with diamondloveaffair, that any vendor will have an unsatisfied customer at some point. Its been my experience though from being a forum member that PS vendors are willing to go the extra mile for the customers and that it's extremely unusual to see a situation where the consumer wasn't made happy. I hate to see 'complaint threads' that are not updated by the original poster, it leaves others looking for a review unsure how or if the situation was resolved and I feel that is unfair to the vendor.

I just wanted to take a moment to reply to your post.

It depends on what you say when I "received the diamond she ordered"? Here is the stone I ordered
http://www.jamesallen.com/?a_aid=dmnd1357&chan=x#!/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.91-carat-i-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-175524

If you look at the stones description at the bottom of the page, it gives measurements that are the same as on the certificate also listed on the website - for a stone that I did not order (this was not the certificate that came with my stone)
If you look at the certificate, it is the certificate for a stone that I did not order.

Obviously, there was a mistake between uploading the certificate and marrying up the correct picture of the stone, and the certificate of the stone.

Hope this clears things up?

 

[focusr3]

I have a few questions maybe to help me understand what happened.
I think you ordered an I color and received a G color is that correct?
The stone you received matches the report you received?
Or the stone you received didn't match the report you received?

 

[YoungPapa]

Hi Biglet,

Thanks for coming back the thread and replying. I wrote my response based on memory, but agree the diamond was an I-SI1, not an I-VS2.

With that said, the crux of the issue is still the same. The GIA report uploaded to our website was incorrect and did not match the description of the diamond (at least for color and clarity - there may have been a further mistake with measurements). It was never our intention, however, to mislead, and we made several efforts to resolve this matter to your satisfaction.

As stated before, we're still here to help. Just call the office (we're open 24/7) or email me directly.

All the best,

 

[Biglet]

I have a few questions maybe to help me understand what happened.
I think you ordered an I color and received a G color is that correct?
The stone you received matches the report you received?
Or the stone you received didn't match the report you received?

I ordered an 'I' colour - and I did, indeed get an 'I' colour (I wanted an 'I' colour).
The stone that I ordered, however, came with a certificate that was not the one listed/associated with the stone on the website (see the link above).
So I thought, when I got the ring and the certificate, that there must have been a mix up - they've sent me the wrong certificate? When they told me I had the right certificate, it felt like I actually hadnt picked the diamond at all - as I was looking at all the depth, table, pavilion etc numbers that were listed on the certificate... that didnt match the stone.

Does that make sense?

 

[Biglet]

Hi Biglet,

Thanks for coming back the thread and replying. I wrote my response based on memory, but agree the diamond was an I-SI1, not an I-VS2.

With that said, the crux of the issue is still the same. The GIA report uploaded to our website was incorrect and did not match the description of the diamond (at least for color and clarity - there may have been a further mistake with measurements). It was never our intention, however, to mislead, and we made several efforts to resolve this matter to your satisfaction.

As stated before, we're still here to help. Just call the office (we're open 24/7) or email me directly.

All the best,

Thank you - I really do appreciate your reply, and I will be in touch with you/your office

 

[Christina...]

Umm...yeah. THIS ^^^ is the problem with online reviews...seldom do you ever hear both sides of the story. In this case the consumer received the diamond she ordered. That's sort of a big difference from implying that you purchased a stone that was misrepresented or switched by the vendor in my opinion.

I agree with diamondloveaffair, that any vendor will have an unsatisfied customer at some point. Its been my experience though from being a forum member that PS vendors are willing to go the extra mile for the customers and that it's extremely unusual to see a situation where the consumer wasn't made happy. I hate to see 'complaint threads' that are not updated by the original poster, it leaves others looking for a review unsure how or if the situation was resolved and I feel that is unfair to the vendor.

I just wanted to take a moment to reply to your post.

It depends on what you say when I "received the diamond she ordered"? Here is the stone I ordered
http://www.jamesallen.com/?a_aid=dmnd1357&chan=x#!/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.91-carat-i-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-175524

If you look at the stones description at the bottom of the page, it gives measurements that are the same as on the certificate also listed on the website - for a stone that I did not order (this was not the certificate that came with my stone)
If you look at the certificate, it is the certificate for a stone that I did not order.

Obviously, there was a mistake between uploading the certificate and marrying up the correct picture of the stone, and the certificate of the stone.

Hope this clears things up?

It does clear things up, and I understand your frustration. Perhaps I only immediately noticed that the report didn't match the stone because it had already been pointed out, but I still don't understand why it hasn't been resolved before now. It seems like such an easy fix. I know that you left the country within 5 days, but JA offers a 60 day return period. That seems adequate to have arrived in your home country and returned the stone even with only the 2nd day Fed ex option. I have no idea how JAs free returns work for overseas purchases, and it appears that you wanted the ring while in the states to avoid paying the additional taxes and fees, so I would have requested that JA attempt to resolve some of these concerns before leaving negative reviews.

Of course this is only my opinion and I do appreciate when people leave honest reviews of vendors for other consumers benefit, however, it's my feeling that they should be left only after all options with the vendor have been exhausted and you have been left feeling uncompensated. I'm happy for you though that it appears that Jim is willing to work out this issue with you and correct a mistake that his company made. This is what makes vendors great in my opinion.....when they are willing to go the extra mile to ensure that their customers are happy. And this has been my experience with PS vendors.

 

[Biglet]

It does clear things up, and I understand your frustration. Perhaps I only immediately noticed that the report didn't match the stone because it had already been pointed out, but I still don't understand why it hasn't been resolved before now. It seems like such an easy fix. I know that you left the country within 5 days, but JA offers a 60 day return period. That seems adequate to have arrived in your home country and returned the stone even with only the 2nd day Fed ex option.

As per my initial post (although it wasnt written too clearly) NZ has only 2x FEDEX outlets in the whole country neither of which I was near, and the time spent in NZ lapsed the 60 day return period.

However, regardless of the time lapsed, we are working towards a resolution now and thats the best I could have hoped for.

 

[Biglet]

Hello again

I just wanted to post an update, that since my last post I have returned the ring for a full refund and have found the James Allen staff more than helpful, and am happy with the outcome.

 

[Riesz]

I would recommend James Allen in a heartbeat.

I only purchased my loose diamond from JA, as I had my heart set on a specific band already. I can't comment on the quality of their settings because of this, but can tell you that the diamond I purchased is outstanding.

Customer service was friendly and helpful and very patient with my questions and how picky I was about the diamond. In the end I found a lovely stone exactly in line with my budget.

I bought a $3 loupe and checked my loose diamond before it was placed into my setting and it is definitely the diamond advertised on the website and the same diamond as the GIA certificate shows that was sent.

I live in southern Ontario and received my diamond with free next day shipping, which I was totally blown away with.

I've only bought the one diamond from JA but the experience was great. Hope this helps!

 

[AprilBaby]

As you can see, and try to find other posts with the same problem, James Allen usually appears and apologizes for any mistake and makes it right! That speaks volumes to credibility!