Panhandler80
Rough_Rock
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2011
- Messages
- 19
Okay, so I have a somewhat sticky situation on my hands. PLEASE don't lecture me on what I should have done. Trust me, I'm beating myself up enough as it is... seriously.
Under no circumstances will I reveal the name of the person I'm dealing with. I have not been able to find any mention of the seller's name on this forum, so those of you who do sell and post here, you are not the person I'm talking about. I want to be clear up front about that so as not to inpune anybody who does not deserve it.
Below is my story... I'm just not sure what to do about it now. My guess is sit tight and hope for the best.
Pretty sure I just got the ulitimate bait and switch from a seller... now what? Does it really matter? Not the biggest deal in world because IF all goes as planned, I'm still getting a fair to good deal. Only problem is, I have confirmed that the seller is not honest and I'm a little freaked out now.
The person is in the US, but not near me.
I was talking with seller about a diamond that seller had posted online. GIA with Cert, specs looked good, price great (compared to new, not to for sale by owners... but jewerly shops gobble them up before I can ever get to em!) etc. We are in process of talking settings, how to do money, etc. All is looking good. Then over the weekend a week and a half ago, seller sold it out from under me. On the phone seller initally said that sold diamond was not the most perfect cut, if you're looking for a ideal cut, you need to loose some weight and we'll keep color, clarity and price about the same. Well seller sells the initial diamond and low and behold seller just happens to have one that is in fact smaller, better cut and a bit more money, but better proportioned etc. I am considering this one, and then seller pushes me on the new one. Starts refering to a June 17th 2011 DeBeers price hike that I can't find any chatter about, that the new diamond I'm considering would have been at least another $600 to seller had seller not talked his supplier into honoring pre-price June 17th 2011 price hike prices, that seller has other people lined up for this new smaller and more expensive diamond (mind you, seller didn't let me know that initial diamond had other prospective buyers)... so seller pushes this new one hard.
Well, I bit. Yesterday I wired seller the money.
Money hit sellers account yesterday afternoon (please don't lecture me. I'm freaked out enough as it is. I researched the seller and found nothing bad about seller online, found where seller's two businesses are registred with state they are in, confirmed by voice recognition on youtube and our phone conversations, as well as some phone number tracking that person I was talking to is the person found on the internet.). So money hits sellers account yesterday and VOILA! The original (and supposedly sold) diamond his the internet again.
I had a friend from a different state halfway across the country call the seller this morning about the ad that hit the internet last night. Seller tells my friend it's available and gives my friend the same story I got about the history on the diamond, etc.
I call seller to ask if my funds have showed up in sellers acount, because they AIN'T IN MINE ANY MORE! Seller said it showed pending, but that seller was sure it would show up soon. Told seller great, just want to make sure you have money so we can wrap this up. While I have you, I say to seller.... I noticed that last night the orignal diamond you and I talked about is online again, what's the deal? I think I might rather have that one at the price posted last night (which was actually a couple hundred dollars more than it was the first time I saw it). Seller responded (which I would be the response)... my assistant doesn't always know which ones to post and which ones are gone.
Mind you, 10 minutes earlier, seller told my friend that it was available. I bit my tongue.
So, at the very least seller is dishonest. Not sure why seller is being dishonest, but seller is. Mabye seller is making a killing on the diamond I commited to and the initial diamond had deal fall through. Still, it's killing me to know that a dishonest person has almost my entire bank ancout and I have nothing. Now what?
Looks to me like seller's assistant (or seller) posts freakin' BAIT just to get you to call. I thought this might have been the case then, but I pretty much know now. When orignal diamond vanished, I even told my girlfriend that it coudl ahve just been a "come-on" to get you to call.
So here I sit...
Like I said, I have to play my cards carefully because
1. I still want a good ring (seller is going to polish down the rough casting that I picked out to a thinner width, seller is going to plate it, mount the 3 point side stones... all of which are better quality than you'll find on most websites, lots of local shops and all Kay / Jerad's / etc places, mount my center stone, blah blah)
2. For what I'm getting (if it all goes down like planned... which I'm worried about now) sellers price is still fair. I'm getting a bit of deal and seller is making money. I'd estimate that I'd pay 30-40% more at my local high-end jewlery place here, and 20% more at a Blue Nile type deal. That's also just dollars. Does not account for better quality sidestones and a thicker plating that seller is going to do.
3. Most importantly - dishonest seller has my moeny.
So... it's a matter of curiousity as much as anything else. I now know that the intial ad was just bait. I don't want to drag sellers name through the mud and don't plan on it. I don't want to accuse seller to his face in case I'm missing something, I want him to like me... tick seller off and seller might not do the job that seller is capable of, etc. BUT... I'm nervous as a freakin' cat now! And it's not my fault.
Not much I can really do about it at this point... seller has my money and I don't want to tick him off between now and when I get the ring. I just can't believe I fell for seller's "1. Sold it out from under ya. 2. Price hike. 3. Better buy this one now. 4. Get my money. 5. Find a new bait and switch sucker." When seller sold the original one, my girlfriend was pretty ticket because that was the diamond she wanted. I told her then that there might have never even been one and that's just his way of getting people on the line. Guess I was right and I new it at the time... to have seller lie to me over phone after all our conversations and emails really brought me down just now, though.
And, GF is the one that found the sellers re-post of the add last night. So, she's wanting me to get to the bottom of it, or move on and find a ring elswhere. It's very tough hearing her bad-bouth the seller and the operation... seeing as I'm trying to surprise her. After months of searching, she found a much better ring last night. She's showing me that and I'm just dying inside because seller has my $$$$ and I can't even tell her to quit with the searching.
Suggestions?
EDIT: I believe that I'm still going to get a ring adn the diamond. I'm just nervous now because obviously the seller is not of the utmost character. I'm not even all that concerned with the bait-and-switch... it happens everywhere, just having seller tell buddy oen tihng and then me another minutes later burns me up. Fact that seller is even ABLE to do that makes me really question seller's character and integrity and seller's estimation of my intelligence. At least say "original diamond came back yesterday. Like I told you, I'll always take it back if she's not happy with it." Nope, instead, the stupidity and arrogance of the seller prompts him to just LIE about it to me, or to my friend... either way it doesn't matter.
At the VERY least, I'm going to have it shipped directly to a jeweler so that I can have a witness when I open the package and jeweler can confirm what kind of diamond is in it. I'd hate to have this seller send me a POS diamond, and then claim that I swapped them out and pocketed the good one. But heck, what if the new-hire at the jewelry store signs a bogus name and puts the package in his truck!?
Starting to wish I'd just paid the premium and delt locally. Really really really am.
ONE MORE EDIT: As long as things go as planned, I will NEVER reveal the seller's name or the seller's business. ONE THING GOES SIDEWAYS though, and I promise... not onl will seller have a legal battle on seller's hands like seller won't believe, but I will make it my daily objective to litter this board and every board with every last ounce of seller's contact info and business information.
I REALLY REALLY REALLY don't want to do that. Honestly.
Under no circumstances will I reveal the name of the person I'm dealing with. I have not been able to find any mention of the seller's name on this forum, so those of you who do sell and post here, you are not the person I'm talking about. I want to be clear up front about that so as not to inpune anybody who does not deserve it.
Below is my story... I'm just not sure what to do about it now. My guess is sit tight and hope for the best.
Pretty sure I just got the ulitimate bait and switch from a seller... now what? Does it really matter? Not the biggest deal in world because IF all goes as planned, I'm still getting a fair to good deal. Only problem is, I have confirmed that the seller is not honest and I'm a little freaked out now.
The person is in the US, but not near me.
I was talking with seller about a diamond that seller had posted online. GIA with Cert, specs looked good, price great (compared to new, not to for sale by owners... but jewerly shops gobble them up before I can ever get to em!) etc. We are in process of talking settings, how to do money, etc. All is looking good. Then over the weekend a week and a half ago, seller sold it out from under me. On the phone seller initally said that sold diamond was not the most perfect cut, if you're looking for a ideal cut, you need to loose some weight and we'll keep color, clarity and price about the same. Well seller sells the initial diamond and low and behold seller just happens to have one that is in fact smaller, better cut and a bit more money, but better proportioned etc. I am considering this one, and then seller pushes me on the new one. Starts refering to a June 17th 2011 DeBeers price hike that I can't find any chatter about, that the new diamond I'm considering would have been at least another $600 to seller had seller not talked his supplier into honoring pre-price June 17th 2011 price hike prices, that seller has other people lined up for this new smaller and more expensive diamond (mind you, seller didn't let me know that initial diamond had other prospective buyers)... so seller pushes this new one hard.
Well, I bit. Yesterday I wired seller the money.
Money hit sellers account yesterday afternoon (please don't lecture me. I'm freaked out enough as it is. I researched the seller and found nothing bad about seller online, found where seller's two businesses are registred with state they are in, confirmed by voice recognition on youtube and our phone conversations, as well as some phone number tracking that person I was talking to is the person found on the internet.). So money hits sellers account yesterday and VOILA! The original (and supposedly sold) diamond his the internet again.
I had a friend from a different state halfway across the country call the seller this morning about the ad that hit the internet last night. Seller tells my friend it's available and gives my friend the same story I got about the history on the diamond, etc.
I call seller to ask if my funds have showed up in sellers acount, because they AIN'T IN MINE ANY MORE! Seller said it showed pending, but that seller was sure it would show up soon. Told seller great, just want to make sure you have money so we can wrap this up. While I have you, I say to seller.... I noticed that last night the orignal diamond you and I talked about is online again, what's the deal? I think I might rather have that one at the price posted last night (which was actually a couple hundred dollars more than it was the first time I saw it). Seller responded (which I would be the response)... my assistant doesn't always know which ones to post and which ones are gone.
Mind you, 10 minutes earlier, seller told my friend that it was available. I bit my tongue.
So, at the very least seller is dishonest. Not sure why seller is being dishonest, but seller is. Mabye seller is making a killing on the diamond I commited to and the initial diamond had deal fall through. Still, it's killing me to know that a dishonest person has almost my entire bank ancout and I have nothing. Now what?
Looks to me like seller's assistant (or seller) posts freakin' BAIT just to get you to call. I thought this might have been the case then, but I pretty much know now. When orignal diamond vanished, I even told my girlfriend that it coudl ahve just been a "come-on" to get you to call.
So here I sit...
Like I said, I have to play my cards carefully because
1. I still want a good ring (seller is going to polish down the rough casting that I picked out to a thinner width, seller is going to plate it, mount the 3 point side stones... all of which are better quality than you'll find on most websites, lots of local shops and all Kay / Jerad's / etc places, mount my center stone, blah blah)
2. For what I'm getting (if it all goes down like planned... which I'm worried about now) sellers price is still fair. I'm getting a bit of deal and seller is making money. I'd estimate that I'd pay 30-40% more at my local high-end jewlery place here, and 20% more at a Blue Nile type deal. That's also just dollars. Does not account for better quality sidestones and a thicker plating that seller is going to do.
3. Most importantly - dishonest seller has my moeny.
So... it's a matter of curiousity as much as anything else. I now know that the intial ad was just bait. I don't want to drag sellers name through the mud and don't plan on it. I don't want to accuse seller to his face in case I'm missing something, I want him to like me... tick seller off and seller might not do the job that seller is capable of, etc. BUT... I'm nervous as a freakin' cat now! And it's not my fault.
Not much I can really do about it at this point... seller has my money and I don't want to tick him off between now and when I get the ring. I just can't believe I fell for seller's "1. Sold it out from under ya. 2. Price hike. 3. Better buy this one now. 4. Get my money. 5. Find a new bait and switch sucker." When seller sold the original one, my girlfriend was pretty ticket because that was the diamond she wanted. I told her then that there might have never even been one and that's just his way of getting people on the line. Guess I was right and I new it at the time... to have seller lie to me over phone after all our conversations and emails really brought me down just now, though.
And, GF is the one that found the sellers re-post of the add last night. So, she's wanting me to get to the bottom of it, or move on and find a ring elswhere. It's very tough hearing her bad-bouth the seller and the operation... seeing as I'm trying to surprise her. After months of searching, she found a much better ring last night. She's showing me that and I'm just dying inside because seller has my $$$$ and I can't even tell her to quit with the searching.
Suggestions?
EDIT: I believe that I'm still going to get a ring adn the diamond. I'm just nervous now because obviously the seller is not of the utmost character. I'm not even all that concerned with the bait-and-switch... it happens everywhere, just having seller tell buddy oen tihng and then me another minutes later burns me up. Fact that seller is even ABLE to do that makes me really question seller's character and integrity and seller's estimation of my intelligence. At least say "original diamond came back yesterday. Like I told you, I'll always take it back if she's not happy with it." Nope, instead, the stupidity and arrogance of the seller prompts him to just LIE about it to me, or to my friend... either way it doesn't matter.
At the VERY least, I'm going to have it shipped directly to a jeweler so that I can have a witness when I open the package and jeweler can confirm what kind of diamond is in it. I'd hate to have this seller send me a POS diamond, and then claim that I swapped them out and pocketed the good one. But heck, what if the new-hire at the jewelry store signs a bogus name and puts the package in his truck!?
Starting to wish I'd just paid the premium and delt locally. Really really really am.
ONE MORE EDIT: As long as things go as planned, I will NEVER reveal the seller's name or the seller's business. ONE THING GOES SIDEWAYS though, and I promise... not onl will seller have a legal battle on seller's hands like seller won't believe, but I will make it my daily objective to litter this board and every board with every last ounce of seller's contact info and business information.
I REALLY REALLY REALLY don't want to do that. Honestly.
But seriously, if you decide to pull the plug on your deal, let us know and I'll really put an effort into finding you something comparable with a reputable dealer. I know that your tired, buy hey, we will do all the work and you just yah or nay them as we show them to you, how much simpler do you want it?? 
300x240.png)