Online Vs. B&M

[Mashira]

As the search continues, I''m having some of my initial doubts about buying online. To put my mind at ease, I thought I would get your opinions on buying online (a PS vendor, of course) vs. a B&M. Call me old fashioned... but it''s hard for me to wrap my mind around buying something of this much importance without seeing it first.

 

[clgwli]

Well my original e-ring wasn''t a diamond but we even still bought it online back in 1997 LOL. My last two diamond purchases were online. One a vintage piece from ebay and the other (in my avatar) from DBL. I had lots of great pictures for both rings/stones before I bought and felt comfortable. Granted the vintage piece was only $115 total, but the other was obviously much more than that. I feel trust in vendors is important when buying online.

 

[anitabee]

pawn shop (hence, i answered b & m store since ''pawn shop'' wasn''t an option).

 

[PenguinIce]

Date: 7/2/2010 4:47:01 AM
Author:Mashira
but it''s hard for me to wrap my mind around buying something of this much importance without seeing it first.

In a similar boat, however, what I found is most of the online PS Vendors (which many are also local B&M stores -- it''s not like they operate in a unmarked van in some dark back alley) have very generous evaluation periods where you can personally inspect the diamond (as long as you have enough credit) in the convenience of your home.

In many ways this gives you an opportunity to thoroughly "test drive" the stone in various lighting areas and more importantly in "real life" whereas in a B&M I find myself needing to find the dark corners to get away from the bright lights to really gauge performance and the sales rep get very ancy if I try to head to the parking lot to see how it performs outside...

The cost is merely shipping fee which given how large of an investment is very nominal. I do like the idea of a local B&M but when you start weighing the benefits of larger selection, much more data about the diamond, good upgrade and buy back policies, and of course cost (I found B&M about 20% higher plus you save on sales tax which could be huge) than why *NOT* buy online?

If anything you can always try using the online quote pricing as bargaining points if you still decide to go B&M.

Happy shopping!

 

[grandeyota]

Bought my fiancee''s e-ring online. I went to the local places and checked out a bunch of online sites as well. Local B&Ms didn''t want to beat what the online place had. I looked at pics/stats/vendor opinions and the 1st time I saw the ring/stone I went with was when I picked it up from Fedex.

18 months later, I couldn''t be happier with the way things worked out.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Mine was from a B&M, but keep in mind, that was a 1994 purchase.

Since then, I''ve purchased three diamonds online, all from WF, and they''ve been impeccable. If I were to buy another diamond, I probably would buy online, *unless* I found a B&M with comparable diamonds AND prices to online. (FWIW, all the stones I purchased were small, so somehow due to that, if tax is factored in, I paid approx 1/2 price for each of the stones!)

 

[slg47]

I bought stone from B&M, only after careful shopping and because prices were BETTER than online. However, I think this is very rare.

 

[swingirl]

Online for me. I like the level of information (images and reports) the PS vendors offer. I like the personal service they offer and I like feeling comfortable with returning something if I decide to. The online vendors all have slightly different return policies but it gives the buyer enough time to evaluate their stone and have it appraised if they want. Returning isn't an problem.

I really don't like the whole salesperson thing in a B&M, but that's just me.

Quick frankly, I don't think I am educated enough about diamonds that I can look at one in a store environment and pick the best one. I NEED the numbers, magnified photos, ASETs, etc.

 

[slg47]

ditto, I was slightly uncomfortable with B&M (although felt better since diamond had AGS platinum report). I got ASET/Hearts pics taken of it after buying and it checked out (i had seen under hearts viewer). Anyway, the amount of info you get online is much much more in many cases, and is more reassuring

 

[diamondringlover]

B&M store for me, my first E ring was purchased in 1983, the other in 2001, both were bought before I had a computer

but if I was purchasing a new one, then I would probably buy online

 

[PavePrincess]

Date: 7/2/2010 12:45:03 PM
Author: slg47
I bought stone from B&M, only after careful shopping and because prices were BETTER than online. However, I think this is very rare.

Same here. I looked extensively online, but our local jeweler prices their stones very fairly so we couldn''t pass it up.

 

[Mashira]

Thank you for all of the responses! I certainly love the wealth of information I would get about my diamond
online, and I appreciate your reminding me about the return policies PenguinIce! I''ll have to take a look at
those for the vendors I''ve been considering. It seems there is an overwhelming ''yes'' for Online buying, and
hearing your stories really does put my mind at ease. Thank you again, everyone!

 

[Hest88]

I bought mine locally, but this was back in 2000. If I were to do it today I would totally buy from one of the PS vendors.

 

[AprilBaby]

Bought in B&M but only because internet had not been invented! Would definitely buy online now!

 

[calibali]

Another vote for PS vendor - it was very easy, the seller was straightforward, plus we know we didn''t overpay. Couldn''t be happier

 

[Laila619]

My original diamond was purchased by my DH from Jared. Upgrade diamond was purchased online from Whiteflash.

 

[NeverEndingUpgrade]

I''ve bought from Blue Nile, GoodOldGold.com, and HighPerformanceDiamonds.com. GOG of course has a B&M shop, but I did buy online. I had great experiences with all 3. I have also visited with Brian Gavin in his shop and can tell you that I definitely want to put him on my list of PS vendors that I have bought from. Gorgeous stones!

 

[hawaiianorangetree]

B&M (in Australia) because at the time of purchase the AU$ was very low so there was no benefit to buying online in the US.

I am currently waiting for the $ to go a little higher so i can buy some diamond studs.