* My experience with Whiteflash *

[caligirl08]

Hi Pser''s- thanks for letting me share my experience...

My bf purchased a ring from WF which we tried to return after the return date (we had a very good reason). Unfortunately, we weren''t able to reach a resolution. I feel as though Allison was caught in the middle of things and was trying to help us out and I really appreciate her efforts.

My bf spent a huge portion of his savings on the ring and of course doesn''t want to take a loss on it. One option is for me to sell WF credit (so to speak) on ebay/craigslist since I can essentially upgrade the ring to a different ring that someone is planning on purchasing from them. However, from a business perspective, wouldn''t it make more sense for me to return the ring to WF instead and pay them a restocking/handling fee? I know some companies are willing to take a loss for customer satisfaction/loyalty and write it off when filing taxes at the end of the year- but i''m not suggesting that they do that and would want to compensate them for any inconvenience. I know there is a buyback policy, but I''m thinking that a $700-$1000 fee would be reasonable, considering that had we purchased from any other vendor we would''ve gotten a full refund. I can''t imagine it taking them long to re-sell the diamond, as I''ve seen several people on PS lately who were looking for the same size/color.

In addition to working with customer relations, I tried to contact Debi and Brian and was really disappointed that they didn''t respond. It would have meant a lot to me to speak with one of them directly. I know they are both extremely busy- and they have customer relations to address issues/complaints- but nonetheless every customer should be regarded as important. How many people do we (Pser''s) refer to preferred vendors? To say that I''d refer 3-5 people to WF over my lifetime- who would actually buy from them- would be an understatement.

Thanks very much for taking the time to listen- it''s great to have a supportive community to share things with.

 

[LaurenThePartier]

I'm sorry you're going through this. It all seems like timing was such a problem, and had your Mom known your bf was going to propose, she could have told him about the ring she had in the safe, and this all could have been avoided. Are you now going to be using your Mother's ring as your e-ring?

In your last thread, Lesley explained that for in-house diamonds, they could have extended the return policy to 30 days, but because this was a virtual diamond, the final sale notice had gone out on the 14th day.

Maybe you could just use the trade-up policy as a way of getting a fabulous right hand ring?

 

[cara]

Date: 8/22/2008 3:37:13 PM
Author:caligirl08
My bf purchased a ring from WF which we tried to return after the return date (we had a very good reason). Unfortunately, we weren't able to reach a resolution. I feel as though Allison was caught in the middle of things and was trying to help us out and I really appreciate her efforts.

My bf spent a huge portion of his savings on the ring and of course doesn't want to take a loss on it. One option is for me to sell WF credit (so to speak) on ebay/craigslist since I can essentially upgrade the ring to a different ring that someone is planning on purchasing from them. However, from a business perspective, wouldn't it make more sense for me to return the ring to WF instead and pay them a restocking/handling fee? I know some companies are willing to take a loss for customer satisfaction/loyalty and write it off when filing taxes at the end of the year- but i'm not suggesting that they do that and would want to compensate them for any inconvenience. I know there is a buyback policy, but I'm thinking that a $700-$1000 fee would be reasonable, considering that had we purchased from any other vendor we would've gotten a full refund.

Cali, so sorry your ring has not worked out. Of course you don't want to take a loss. Unfortunately there are very few ways for an individual to unload a recently purchased new diamond ring without taking a loss. Is there any way that this ring *could* work for you? Trade to a different diamond from whiteflash for example?

On the bolded part, I am not sure that that is true - any other vendor would have given you a full refund?? There have been several threads on this recently, there is not an industry standard in the jewelry industry on returns. But I say that without knowing your reasons for the return.

If it is just that you need the money for something else, then do whatever is likely to yield the highest price. It might be consigning the ring at Pearlman's whole, or just reselling the diamond to Whiteflash. Their website says they will give you 70% back on the diamond for the first year post-purchase. Even if you feel the 30% penalty is unfair or too much of a hit, 70% of purchase price is probably better than you would do reselling the diamond alone in another place. If the setting is a substantial portion of the overall cost, you might do better to consign the whole ring vs. reselling the diamond back to WF alone.

Sorry your engagement ring has been such a downer! Best of luck finding a resolution that works for you and your FI.

ETA: Ok, surprise family ring exists as reason for return. At least that is a happy reason! Would WF accept a return and issue you an extended credit? Kind of like an "upgrade" except most of the money goes into a pool of credit for you to use over the years for... earrings, pendant, fun jewelry, etc. Obviously this would be an exception to the standard upgrade policy, and your money would be tied to a store credit but the loss would be less... Just thinking here.

 

[AprilBaby]

Make it into a wedding pendant and upgrade it to something else later?

 

[Cleo]

I think Lauren & April''s suggestions are excellent.

I''m sorry you haven''t been able to resolve returning your ring outside the returns period.

However, as your FI had budgeted to spend the money anway, would it not be possible to trade it in for a lovely right-hand ring, a pendant, or bracelet?

As April suggested this could be a special wedding gift to you.

It might be a nice way to get a happy ending for you.

x x x

 

[Kaleigh]

I'd contact Lesley at WF. Making it into a wedding pendant sounds like a great idea. I didn't get that the whole jist from your original post.

 

[:)]

How about making your mom's ring into a pendant (near your heart), and sticking c/ the original ering you and your BF picked out.

 

[Allison D.]

Cali, I just want to express how sorry we are that we couldn't come to a resolution despite all our best efforts.

I feel badly for your situation; we know unexpected things can happen. That's why we offer a buy-back policy to help our customers when those unexpected things arise. We are among the very few companies to offer a buy-back; in most other cases, the purchase is final when the return period expires and no other options are available. Because of our commitment to customer service, we choose to offer a 70% buy-back within a year of purchase.

As others have mentioned here, a 70% buyback offers much more financial relief than having to resell in the secondary market or on consignment.

I'm sorry you're disappointed, but I do want to clarify that both Debi and Brian did respond to your messages in routing them to me for response as the Consumer Relations channel. While they didn't speak to you directly, both did spend considerable time reviewing the details of your situation not only at your initial request but again after both your second and third requests to reconsider your circumstances. This wouldn't happen if Whiteflash didn't consider every customer important.

I can certainly understand wanting to opt for your mother's ring. Many have offered viable suggestions for possible ways to reset/reuse the purchased diamond that would allow you to avoid taking any financial loss.

We share in your disappointment; we realize the great customer experience we'd hoped for you and your boyfriend has suffered due to the unfortunate personal circumstances you face. We remain hopeful that our buy-back and trade-up options will pave the way toward an ultimately positive experience with Whiteflash.

Most sincerely,