ONLINE VENDORS

[Iceberg]

Hello everyone,

Small question. Why is that when you search for diamond vendors on the net, three names come up the majority of the time.

Mondera, Arial Ice and especially Blue Nile.

On this site, when someone requests as to where they should look to purchase a diamond, Whiteflash and Good Old Gold are suggested.

I am by no means discrediting the WF and GOG (I truthfully believe that they are excellent and trustworthy). I was simply wondering as to why the three others are not suggested as well.

Any opinions ?


Paul

 

[ame]

Because the vendors usually mentioned here are repeatedly giving better quality for a better price.

 

[windowshopper]

Date: 9/12/2005 10:01:24 AM
Author: ame
Because the vendors usually mentioned here are repeatedly giving better quality for a better price.

I couldn't DISAGREE more.............. roughly 95% of all diamonds purchased are round brilliants: whiteflash is best known for its rounds. you will find that when a cushion or emerald or asscher are being sought after or has been purchased then you may see Mark Turnowski of ERD, James Allen/Dirt Cheap Diamonds etc etc (no offense to anyway else).

GOG specializes in finding value stones its true but Ive notced much of their inventory is of a more moderate color and clarity stones-- which cost less so those type of stones are more often purchased in general than say D's and E's.

These two vendors are top flight but they have a niche. When I wanted a killer EC with a high color etc etc I only found what I wanted through a different vendor...............(James Allen)

oh and regarding Blue Nile, Mondera etc--they pay for advertising that comes up with your google/yahoo searches.......................

 

[valeria101]

This is the first time I hear about Arial Ice. Mondera and Blue Nile are just big businesses so they might have taken care of being more visible too, I would think.

I am not sure what sort of web search you have in mind. There is no way I could tell what causes such 'bias' in a random one via Google. In a database like the one on Pricescope, it is a matter of simple stats: the more listings a shop has (and just one cold have the vast majority of some given type of merchandise), the more you see them. At some point I asked if the 'Cut Quality Search' is just Whiteflas - and the answer is... well, no, but they do hold the majority of stock so their listings simply swamp all others at least in some cathegories.

This about all that comes to mind. What sort of search are you referring to?

 

[windowshopper]

Date: 9/12/2005 10:36:12 AM
Author: valeria101
This is the first time I hear about Arial Ice. Mondera and Blue Nile are just big businesses so they might have taken care of being more visible too, I would think.

I am not sure what sort of web search you have in mind. There is no way I could tell what causes such ''bias'' in a random one via Google. In a database like the one on Pricescope, it is a matter of simple stats: the more listings a shop has (and just one cold have the vast majority of some given type of merchandise), the more you see them. At some point I asked if the ''Cut Quality Search'' is just Whiteflas - and the answer is... well, no, but they do hold the majority of stock so their listings simply swamp all others at least in some cathegories.

This about all that comes to mind. What sort of search are you referring to?

Ana:

i was responding mainly to this comment "On this site, when someone requests as to where they should look to purchase a diamond, Whiteflash and Good Old Gold are suggested." He/she is referrring to pricescopers responding not to a pricescope search for a stone............

 

[strmrdr]

Whiteflash and Good Old Gold are suggested because they are trusted and mostly give us what we want and help out here.
They aren''t perfect and there may be other vendors out there just as good but they have the longest and largest track record here.

 

[aljdewey]

Date: 9/12/2005 9:53:32 AM
Author:Iceberg
Hello everyone,

Small question. Why is that when you search for diamond vendors on the net, three names come up the majority of the time.

Mondera, Arial Ice and especially Blue Nile.

On this site, when someone requests as to where they should look to purchase a diamond, Whiteflash and Good Old Gold are suggested.

I am by no means discrediting the WF and GOG (I truthfully believe that they are excellent and trustworthy). I was simply wondering as to why the three others are not suggested as well.

Hi, Paul.....welcome to PS!

I''ve never heard of Arial Ice, either, so I don''t know where that''s coming from. I think that may you see Blue Nile and Mondera simply because they are larger and more hugely marketed.

I don''t suggest Mondera because they don''t provide enough information about stones'' cut proportions, and that which they do provide isn''t as reliable as I''d like it to be. An example:

http://www.mondera.com/diamonds/product.asp?mscssid=4CJ1HB1C2CBK9GJ6WN91SS5V9E4T73P3&partno=422267

This diamond is being deemed "ideal" in cut by Mondera, but if you look at the certificate, the Cut Grade is only "Good". Even if you look at only the cut proportions part of the cut grade, you''ll see it''s "excellent", but not "ideal", and the crown measurement reflects that this diamond didn''t meet the AGS0 standard.

Also, look at their offerings. I had to page through more than 400 diamonds before I found one with an AGS report instead of GIA; I like GIA but they don''t provide cut proportion information on their grading reports, and if memory serves, Mondera can''t provide Sarin info as a substitute.

Blue Nile used to be more pricey than online vendors, although that''s not so much true today. However, Blue Nile doesn''t provide some of the tools that many shoppers here like to have...i.e. pictures of stones, ideal scope images, etc etc. That may be why they are less recommended.

 

[Regular Guy]

Paul,

Agree with especially what Ana and aljdewey have to say.

Not knowing Arial Ice, I did a Google search on them. Spending less than 10 seconds on the result, and not knowing this for sure, I think think they may have suspect practices, and have been accused here of things like stealing images and such from vendors here. But not sure; you may want to do a search on Arial.

Regards,

 

[Iceberg]

Hummmmmm.....

A month and a half ago, searched and searched on the web in order to learn on how to best purchase a diamond.

Unfortunately, I had not had the pleasure to find PS instead, I found '' diamond-engagement-rings-guide.com ''

From that site I learned as much as possible. Such as, Mondera, blue Nile AND Ariels Ice.

Oh well, when you haven''t the fogiest idea where and what to look for....As I said, in my humble beginning as a wannabe diamond buyer, I learned a great from that site until.....after more searching, I found PS.

There is sooooo much out there ! Who can you believe ? Most of all, who can you trust ? Everyone wants your hard earned money and me, all I wanted was to have peace of mind regarding my purchase. Hey Mister, here''s a beautiful diamond almost free for you today at ONLY 6000$ ! But what am I getting ??

I asked regarding WF and GOG ''cause I wondered...why they were so popular on this site. I have had the honor and have been very fortunate because on PS, I have met passionate individuals who, on a daily basis, help complete strangers for nothing in return. Admirable in this day and age. I must, I must, I must openly admit that I''ve had the chance to have had correpondance with Rhino who, I believe works at GOG. This man has shown me the true meaning of integrity. He helped me and still is...without EVER asking anything in return. Moreover, his help has been more than valuable.

In conclusion, if EVER, I know of someone looking into buying a diamond and/or a setting and needs opinionssssss, PS would be without a doubt THE place to use for all infos. A ONE-STOP shop.

Thumbs up to you all, you are all such good people. I which I could have a huge party and invite you all. I can just imagine...PRICELESS !!!

Your friend,

Paul

Thank you for your replies.

 

[denverappraiser]

Ariel's Ice is www.icestore.com. They aren't anywhere near as big as the other two you've mentioned but they are a reputable dealer. You can use the search box at the top right corner of the page to see what other customers have had to say about them. Be careful that lots of dealers use very similar names so be sure you're reading a testimonial or a disparagement of the correct people.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ISA NAJA
Independent Appraisals in Denver

 

[valeria101]

Date: 9/12/2005 12:37:26 PM
Author: Iceberg

I asked regarding WF and GOG ''cause I wondered...why they were so popular on this site. I have had the honor and have been very fortunate because on PS, I have met passionate individuals who, on a daily basis, help complete strangers for nothing in return.

Pricescope does offer some services to sellers - listing diamonds in a shared database, running those adds on top of the page and probably others... Although buyers come with posts about random shops as well, the conversation turns around the diamonds and the shops listed close by, so it is not 300% true that no one gets anything out of this. It is a carefully kept set of rules that keep sellers interested in offering free and as much as possible impartial advice to passers by (such as Jonathan at GOG gave you and other do all the time). These sellers are prohibited from presenting their own products in posts, so all they can show off with is their charm and expertise. And they do... thankfully. You may find that I wrote far too many posts on this forum for confort, but it really makes a pleasant club. A few others treat Pricescope as a get together place as well - just look for the number of posts and you''ll get the idea. Professionals are among the few dozen people who kept particupating to the forum for years, but they are not even the most frequent posters. ''Guess everyone would want to know precisely why this is so and what exactly makes this forum work. Surely the administrators have an idea

... but the same theory also produced deal forums!

Glad to hear you foudn the place cool

 

[Regular Guy]

I''m sorry.

I suppose I remembered this thread, and flipped around the defamer and the defamed.

As Neil says:

Date: 9/12/2005 12:54:11 PM
Author: denverappraiser
Ariel''s Ice is www.icestore.com. They aren''t anywhere near as big as the other two you''ve mentioned but they are a reputable dealer. You can use the search box at the top right corner of the page to see what other customers have had to say about them. Be careful that lots of dealers use very similar names so be sure you''re reading a testimonial or a disparagement of the correct people.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ISA NAJA
Independent Appraisals in Denver

I''m sure they''re fine, and so sorry, again.

Regards,