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Negotiating Minimum Upgrade Policy (Retail Store)

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billian

Rough_Rock
Joined
May 31, 2019
Messages
8
The brick and mortar I got my ring at has an upgrade policy of applying 100% of original ring to a new one, with $15k minimum increase. Anyone have experience trying to negotiate this $15k down? We got our wedding bands from them too, so I'm hoping they feel like they made enough money from us to drop it to say, $10k minimum increase? :lol:

In terms of details, we're looking to go from 1.35ct to 1.8-1.9ct ish. We're probably ok with a lower color+clarity grading as long as the cut good enough, so I'm hoping won't have to drop 15k on the upgrade.
 
I am a tad confused, are they wanting the trade in value on top of the 15k increase or is the trade in value included. If its on top of then thats huge, might want to shop around a little bit before making that decision and see if you could sell your stone to WhiteFlash or somewhere else that has a better upgrade policy
 
They're going to make money on you... I've found that it's much more difficult to get my retailer to work with me (pricewise) for the upgrades. The initial purchase is when they seem to negotiate price better. Hope you have better luck.

ETA: the 100% upgrade is for a reason with B&M's. Mine (Diamonds Direct) isn't as easily haggled with when it's come to my upgrading. I had to stay on them and play hard ball... make them understand that it's make less money than they hoped on me, or no money at all. I left the store a couple of times before actually agreeing on a price for my upgrade. I'm starting the process again with them, so I feel you.
 
KKJohnson said:
I am a tad confused, are they wanting the trade in value on top of the 15k increase or is the trade in value included. If its on top of then thats huge, might want to shop around a little bit before making that decision and see if you could sell your stone to WhiteFlash or somewhere else that has a better upgrade policy
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No they want the new ring to be an additional 15k. So if I had paid 20k for the original ring, they require the new ring to be 35k. Hope that clarifies?
 
billian said:
No they want the new ring to be an additional 15k. So if I had paid 20k for the original ring, they require the new ring to be 35k. Hope that clarifies?
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:shock:
 
KKJohnson said:
...see if you could sell your stone to WhiteFlash or somewhere else that has a better upgrade policy
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I actually did look into Whiteflash. Unfortunately in my case, the trade in value is a bit too low that I might end up paying the extra 15k anyways on Whiteflash.
 
@billian... as bad as I hate to say it, I was in the same boat as you. I reached out to WF as well, but it just made more sense to stay with DD (they have a 110% upgrade trade-in amount). However, you only have to spend $1 more, as opposed to $15K (damn, that's a lot!!!). Maybe save up and do one upgrade - like the upgrade to last a lifetime... or at least a very long time. The very good news is you are getting 100%, as opposed to the 60-70% you might have gotten with WF trade-in.

It's kind of "6 one way, 1/2 dozen the other" sometimes. If you think you'll upgrade continually, maybe it's worth it to lose with WF, then take advantage the next time you trade up with them??
 
msop04 said:
@billian... as bad as I hate to say it, I was in the same boat as you. I reached out to WF as well, but it just made more sense to stay with DD (they have a 110% upgrade trade-in amount). However, you only have to spend $1 more, as opposed to $15K (damn, that's a lot!!!). Maybe save up and do one upgrade - like the upgrade to last a lifetime... or at least a very long time. The very good news is you are getting 100%, as opposed to the 60-70% you might have gotten with WF trade-in.

It's kind of "6 one way, 1/2 dozen the other" sometimes. If you think you'll upgrade continually, maybe it's worth it to lose with WF, then take advantage the next time you trade up with them??
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This is what I was thinking
 
Yes, I would consider trading with Whiteflash. Should you ever want to upgrade yet again, you'd have to spend ANOTHER 15k with your jeweler. You may think you would never want to but time has a way of making you change your mind. You would get a better cut stone with Whiteflash as well so something to really consider.
 
MissGotRocks said:
Yes, I would consider trading with Whiteflash. Should you ever want to upgrade yet again, you'd have to spend ANOTHER 15k with your jeweler. You may think you would never want to but time has a way of making you change your mind. You would get a better cut stone with Whiteflash as well so something to really consider.
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I feel like you have personal experience here :P2.

I will consider that though. Another hesitation is that the setting I have now I just couldn't find at Whiteflash.
 
Actually I just realized I don't know exactly what Whiteflash's upgrade policy is. I know they have 100% trade in value, but is the minimum tradeup 50% more?
 
My first inclination is to advise you to bite the bullet now and take the loss at WF. But I would also suggest that you research your max upgrade and how realistic it will be. Also, are the prices of your current jeweler fair? Or are they marking them up? If they are fair, then I would be inclined to stick to my jeweler.
 
I would take the loss now and go with WF. They are outstanding, and as noted above their upgrade policy is $1 more. That's it. The other vendor with that policy and an 80% lifetime buyback policy is high performance diamonds. Both vendors are great. I'd reach out to HPD If you haven't already.
 
RE the WF trade... I think it really depends on how much of a hit you're willing to take IN ADDITION TO the extra cost of the new diamond of the same size. For me, it would've been a HUGE expense and not worth it due to my 110% trade in policy. But with the extra $15K the OP has to spend anyway, it should certainly be given consideration, IMO.
 
I do wonder about your jeweler’s pricing Bc going from your actual to desired size should not be 15k or will you go even bigger for those 15k?
 
nala said:
I do wonder about your jeweler’s pricing Bc going from your actual to desired size should not be 15k or will you go even bigger for those 15k?
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I think this just guarantees the jeweler makes "enough money" to even allow an upgrade - and maybe even discourage clients from doing it (unless it was "worth it" for him/her). It also allows them to be able to advertise an upgrade policy, even if not the greatest.
 
nala said:
My first inclination is to advise you to bite the bullet now and take the loss at WF. But I would also suggest that you research your max upgrade and how realistic it will be. Also, are the prices of your current jeweler fair? Or are they marking them up? If they are fair, then I would be inclined to stick to my jeweler.
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This... I've found that they do tend to mark them up, just to see if you'll haggle with them and *think* you've gotten a deal afterwards.
 
Good advice up-thread already about cutting your losses now with current dealer and going elsewhere - even if at a loss - to get a better diamond, better upgrade policies, etc.

To that point, I would also suggest - in addition to WF - that you reach out to High Performance Diamonds for a CBI diamond, as I believe Wink has/does consider/accept trade-ins on a case-by-case basis.
 
billian said:
I actually did look into Whiteflash. Unfortunately in my case, the trade in value is a bit too low that I might end up paying the extra 15k anyways on Whiteflash.
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If you ever want to upgrade again, you'll be better off having WF to do it with. It may be worth taking the loss now to trade up with them, so that you retain their stellar trade-up policy for the future. You'll likely make up your loss (and maybe then some) with the next trade up vs. having to go with your current jeweler's policy again.
 
Of course they're going to make money on you. That's what merchants do. That's what pays the rent. That said, I'm having a hard time understanding the deal on the table. What do you have? What did you pay for it? What do you want? What does it cost? I'm suspecting the answer is going to be no but details ALWAYS matter on these things.
 
They’ll only credit your stone-not the whole ring.

What if your stone was $3k?

You can upgrade by giving them your $3k stone and $15k?

Not me. I’d go to WF or HPD. Or sell privately and start over. With some retailer with a more reasonable policy.
 
You can only but ask. Remind them very nicely that you give them other business and will continue to do so ie an eternity ring will be on the cards!
A customer in the hand can be worth a lot!
 
Hard to advise if we don't know the details. How much was your original stone and what are the stats (color? clarity? GIA certified?) Was it actually $20K? That seems quite high for a 1.35 carat unless it was something like a D/VVS or D/IF... which leads me to believe that this jeweler's prices are ridiculously high compared to what you would pay online. Also, is $35K what they would charge for a 1.8-1.9 carat? Again, ridiculously overpriced unless it's a D/VVS.

I would certainly weigh the loss you would take on the original stone if trading into WF or HPD vs the amount you would save on the upgrade buying online. For example, if you take a 10K loss on the original stone by trading it into WF/HPD (which is probably what you should be expecting if you paid 20K for a 1.35 carat...) but then saved 10K on the upgrade stone from WF or HPD, then it basically comes out as a wash on cost, and you've bough into the better upgrade program should you get the urge to upgrade in the future.
 
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