Online Vendor vs In Store

[ooandyoo]

I've looked at many of the recommended online vendors on PS and I've also gone to a few stores and a college friend who's a jeweler. For the most part, the diamond prices from my college friend and the in-store prices are about $2-3k lower for similar specs from the online vendors. I'm just wondering if theres something I'm missing or if the online stones are just cut better? All the stones are GIA or AGS with similar specs. 2ct, F or G, VS2-VS1. Since I havent seen the stones from the online vendors its really difficult for me to compare it with the stones I see at the store.

 

[SimoneDi]

You can give some examples of stones you are looking at, include the GIA/AGS numbers please. There can be multiple differences between stones that seemingly have the same characteristics, which ultimately can drive the price up and down.

 

[Rockdiamond]

HI ooandyoo
TO be clear, you're noticing that online pricing is lower than in store pricing, yes?
Besides the points SimoneDi raised- real differences in value based on aspects we can identify from a GIA report-
A store has more expenses, so the prices will be higher.
On the other hand, they are providing a space for you to walk in and inspect the diamond. Which is worth a lot to some consumers.

 

[tyty333]

I read it the other way around Rockdiamond...so I'm ???

On line should be cheaper but you may not be comparing apples to apples.

Post some reports so we can see what kind of stones you're comparing.

 

[Rockdiamond]

I agree tyty does look like the op is saying the store is cheaper- which would raise a big red flag if that's the case.

 

[OoohShiny]

@ooandyoo

You can order a diamond you fancy from the online vendors and then assess it against the best of what your friend is offering.

My bet is that the top-notch cut of the branded stones from the online sellers will be noticeably better than what you'll find 'on the street' when viewed next to each other in a variety of lighting conditions (noting that well-cut stones with very few inclusions look dark in strong sunlight, of course).

 

[ooandyoo]

HI ooandyoo
TO be clear, you're noticing that online pricing is lower than in store pricing, yes?
Besides the points SimoneDi raised- real differences in value based on aspects we can identify from a GIA report-
A store has more expenses, so the prices will be higher.
On the other hand, they are providing a space for you to walk in and inspect the diamond. Which is worth a lot to some consumers.

I meant that the in store pricing is lower than the online vendor pricing for similar specs.

 

[ooandyoo]

@ooandyoo

You can order a diamond you fancy from the online vendors and then assess it against the best of what your friend is offering.

My bet is that the top-notch cut of the branded stones from the online sellers will be noticeably better than what you'll find 'on the street' when viewed next to each other in a variety of lighting conditions (noting that well-cut stones with very few inclusions look dark in strong sunlight, of course).

Thanks. So it looks like the price difference is mostly due to the cut quality? Its amazing to me how much variability in price there is for stones even with similar specs. Cut is probably the hardest thing for someone like me to gauge.

For example,
GIA 2.010 G VS1 EX EX EX ~ $25k HCA 1.9 GIA 5181340922
AGS 2.010 G VS2 000 ~$29k HCA 1.7 AGS 104092411001

 

[bmfang]

The GIA 2.010 has a CA (36) a little bit higher than what we'd recommend for a stone with a 40.6 PA (CA of 35.5 max). But without any scope images, actual diamond photos or videos, it's hard for us to comment further.

The AGS 2.010 that your friend's store has in stock looks like it is a traded in Victor Canera H&A stone. The ASET on the grading report looks very good. Unless it's like a similar scenario to what we saw a couple of months back on here where a poster asking for help on a stone stumbled across an apparent Brian Gavin Black stone on James Allen which turned out to be a stone that should not have had that grading report attached to it.

At times, AGS graded stones (especially with super ideal proportions) may sell for a higher price compared with a comparable GIA graded stone.

 

[ooandyoo]

The GIA 2.010 has a CA (36) a little bit higher than what we'd recommend for a stone with a 40.6 PA (CA of 35.5 max). But without any scope images, actual diamond photos or videos, it's hard for us to comment further.

The AGS 2.010 that your friend's store has in stock looks like it is a traded in Victor Canera H&A stone. The ASET on the grading report looks very good. Unless it's like a similar scenario to what we saw a couple of months back on here where a poster asking for help on a stone stumbled across an apparent Brian Gavin Black stone on James Allen which turned out to be a stone that should not have had that grading report attached to it.

At times, AGS graded stones (especially with super ideal proportions) may sell for a higher price compared with a comparable GIA graded stone.

Thank you. The GIA stone is actually through my friend and the AGS stone is through VC. These are just examples. The prices I see through my friend and in-store are pretty close to each other at about 24-25K. The prices I see through VC and WF are about 3-4k higher. I was just curious if the price difference that I'm seeing is mostly due to better cut quality / proportions in the online stones.

Heres a video of the GIA stone:
http://hdfiles.in/hd.aspx?stoneid=4822830294

 

[bmfang]

Ahh ok, that makes more sense to me.

The GIA stone is decently cut, but from the video, looks like the optical symmetry is off a bit.