Find your diamond
Find your jewelry
shape
carat
color
clarity

Lurkers 'stealing' stones?

D

DonA

Rough_Rock
Joined
May 29, 2017
Messages
9
I was reading an older post and there was mention of lurkers stealing stones whenever links to diamonds are posted. Is that really a thing?

Wouldn't searching for diamonds that match their own criteria be quick and easy to do themselves? Why 'steal' a stone from a link that a person provided when discussing a diamond they are considering?

I'm curious if I'm missing something, or are people just lazy? In any case, I'll have to keep that in mind for my future posts :think:
 
I'm sure my perspective is completely different from some of our consumer members, but lurkers "stealing" a stone seems like a highly unlikely occurrence to me.
A popular website can get thousands of hits a day.
For sure, consumers can miss a deal if a stone they're looking at gets sold out from under them- but IMO that would happen more when a consumer buys a diamond having nothing to do with PS, than a concerted consumer effort here on PS.
Look at the thought process- if consumer Jane Doe wants a 2ct whatever, are they going to actively shop, or wait till someone comes onto PS with a "perfect" stone?
Seems to me that sellers would LOVE the idea of lurkers snatching diamonds which might pressure people into buying. But I don't think it's a common occurrence. Maybe a stone which is really an outlier....somethign very rare....but that's just not common.
 
I also think that people are looking for different things in stones. Taste is so individual when it comes to shape, color/clarity parameters (some people are more color sensitive than others; some prefer finger coverage and like the look of warmer stones, some people are more sensitive to "mind clean" than others), cut quality/pattern (MRB, OEC, transitional cut, chunky flashes/fire vs brilliant sparkle, etc.), and style. Plus people have different budget points, prefer one vendor over another, etc. I've never seen anyone get into a dispute over "hey, you nabbed my stone out from under me" here before. Besides, how awkward would that be in SMTB???
 
I have seen it several times that a stone will be in the inventory for ages then as soon as it's posted, it'll be gone. If people have replied saying this is a great stone great find, then the reassurance is there and hard work done.
 
HI:

"Stealing"?? The person first who pays is the buyer and owner. Timing is everything.

cheers--Sharon
 
Put me in the camp that thinks that while it does happen from time to time, it's actually uncommon. The fact is that most diamonds being offered for sale are 'virtual' inventories listed on multiple sites, as well as being accessible to brick and mortar stores through trading networks. Stones do get sold while customers are considering them, but not usually a result of discussions here. Sometimes one or more of these lists will be very out of date and the stone is simply not available to begin with. And it is often not until a customer actually decides to pull the trigger that it is determined that the stone is "sold". Can be very frustrating for a customer - especially one on a deadline who has invested time and effort in the selection.
 
gm89uk said:
I have seen it several times that a stone will be in the inventory for ages then as soon as it's posted, it'll be gone. If people have replied saying this is a great stone great find, then the reassurance is there and hard work done.
Click to expand...
+1 to Bryan on this and he touches upon why.
The virtual database is not always current- so stones hang around in the virtual world that are not there in the real world.
When someone asks about that diamond, and virtual seller calls the actual owner of the stone, the actual owner of the stone updates the list. So it looks like someone asking about the stone here got it sold, but all it did was correct the virtual listing. Add to this the fact that of the outdated listings, many are at the wrong ( too low) price. We've seen this a lot here. Someone buys and pays for X stone, which is a great deal- but ooops- they get a notice that stone is gone, and a more expensive substitute is offered.
 
I don't know how vendors would necessarily know someone is "stealing someone else's diamond" unless the buyer volunteers that information. There are potentially many people lurking here, and probably most who "steal" a diamond from a PS discussion thread are not going to openly say so. It's pretty widely known here that if you want to reserve something, you put a deposit in it. Otherwise, it's available for sale to the public. Since this is a public forum (and a global market), I think it's entirely possible that there are buyers whose interest got piqued by parsing threads on here. They might not necessarily be actively looking for a diamond, an e-ring, or a stone to upgrade to. But they might see a thread discussing diamonds in their price range or specs range. And if they have the money just sitting there ready to spend, and someone else links a diamond that is desirable and affordable, I think there's a good chance that a lurker could suddenly make a purchase even though they were not searching in earnest before they read a particular thread.

Some people buy diamonds for themselves, not necessarily e-rings, and those people can make a unilateral decision and a purchase at any moment if the right deal comes along. Some people wanted a particular carat weight or color or clarity, but made a tradeoff when they purchased a diamond, due to time or budget constraints, or both, and they are just waiting until a more desirable diamond deal presents itself. Diamond prices increase, or decrease, and suddenly a lurker might realize they are now in a great position to buy or upgrade. Probably everyone has gone to a store, or auction, or flea market, or estate sale, or ebay, and bought something that they didn't know they wanted until they saw it. :lol:

If you want to reserve a diamond, you put a deposit in it. eta: True, there have been "some" instances where the virtual database was not current, particularly regarding stones held by cutters and offered worldwide, 24/7. There are problems with drop-shippers, but these have been concentrated around maybe 2 of the larger drop shippers, from what I've observed in my lurking. (Not naming any names or casting any aspersions.) I deal with vendors who offer mostly in-house diamonds on their sites.
 
Last edited:
Some vendors such as whiteflash will 'hold' a diamond for a short period. If a poster is after an opinion re: a stone it would be advisable provided there is a refundable or no deposit to reserve it prior to posting a direct link to a purchase page.

Otherwise, there's simply nothing stopping any other reader of the forums who would acclaim first in, best dressed.
 
It's not "stealing", whether it happens often or not. People come here all the time to get help finding a stone. I see nothing wrong with them reading existing threads to learn what the forum is like. If they happen to like the advice given and buy a stone linked on another thread, I don't have a problem with that. Put stones on hold if you are strongly interested. But the first one to reserve and pay gets the stone!
 
Of course it happens, and I would bet that it's because a man (sorry lads) knows he wants to spend, say, $5,000, sees recommendations in that price range and follows the links. My fiance has no idea about diamonds, he had a budget and I did the leg work. If he saw a post with eight people agreeing that GIA stone 9655282954 is a great stone he'd look it up too (for example).

You also need to remember that stones being recommended here are generally good stones - even better if they are at a good price range! So it makes sense to assume they are going to be in demand from a global audience.
 
It's funny, that many times I don't like the people's diamond selection so I don't make a comment. Sometimes I see how nice diamonds are left behind for some reasons.
I definitely don't think that someone intentionally "steal" the not so beautiful diamond that someone else choose. :rodent:
Remember, the beauty is in the eye of the beholder!
 
Lol the question is funny "why would someone take a stone suggested in another thread instead of doing work themselves"

Seems pretty self explanatory. I don't think it's rampant, but back when this site was frequented more and 5 people were looking for the same "g vs2 XXX 1.2 CT FOR A STEAL PLEASE HELP" of course of it was suggested somewhere else other posters would see it.

I think these days it's much more common in the colored stones sides of the world.
 
I see it is not common in general, but it can be more common for stones with certain 4cs and price, for example 5k 1.0c I VS2 and 20k 2.0c G/H SI/VS
 
flyingpig said:
I see it is not common in general, but it can be more common for stones with certain 4cs and price, for example 5k 1.0c I VS2 and 20k 2.0c G/H SI/VS
Click to expand...
I think this is a valid point. Certain high demand/hard-to-find combinations could be more commonly poached when pricescope community gives a thumbs up.
 
diamondseeker2006 said:
It's not "stealing", whether it happens often or not. People come here all the time to get help finding a stone. I see nothing wrong with them reading existing threads to learn what the forum is like. If they happen to like the advice given and buy a stone linked on another thread, I don't have a problem with that. Put stones on hold if you are strongly interested. But the first one to reserve and pay gets the stone!
Click to expand...

I agree with DS... maybe we should call it "nabbing"?? ;) Lots of times, PS members will advise the OP to put the stone(s) on hold so that a lurker (or another consumer, totally unrelated to PS) "nabs" the stone in question.
 
Niel said:
Lol the question is funny "why would someone take a stone suggested in another thread instead of doing work themselves"

Seems pretty self explanatory. I don't think it's rampant, but back when this site was frequented more and 5 people were looking for the same "g vs2 XXX 1.2 CT FOR A STEAL PLEASE HELP" of course of it was suggested somewhere else other posters would see it.

I think these days it's much more common in the colored stones sides of the world.
Click to expand...

Exactly!! The work is done!
 
If someone posted a link to a 4 or 5 Ct peruzzi cut diamond.... I'll admit, I may try to get details from the seller! The chances of finding that particular diamond is very rare and when it's out there, I hope my gem collectors tell me first. Otherwise, I may be that girl. I wld never do that for a modern cut anything, just a once in a lifetime find, such as a high carat peruzzi!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
GET 3 FREE HCA RESULTS JOIN THE FORUM. ASK FOR HELP
Jewelry Blog
PriceScope-Concierge-Ad
Find prime cuts.
Top