Outrageous Auctions - (eBay Seller)

[The_Running_Realtor]

Has anyone dealt with them before? They have 100% feedback which is impressive as it only takes 1 unhappy customer to mess that up. I was watching one of their auctions and the diamond ring ending up selling for well below what I was expecting. It has enhanced clarity, which I somewhat understand, and realize that may affect resale value, etc.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=005&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=150118737972&rd=1&rd=1

Is the fact that it has enhanced clarity the biggest factor for a lower price like this stone?

Thanks in advance for any info-

 

[denverappraiser]

Why were you expecting it to go for more than that?

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver

 

[neatfreak]

Well, for a clarity enhanced, probably poorly cut diamond, I certainly wouldn''t even pay that.

You should really read up on clarity enhancement. Not only can it affect the resale value, but the fillers can come out in ultrasonics, it can block light performance, etc.

Remember, you get what you pay for and if it seems to good to be true IT IS.

Please don''t buy something as important as an engagement ring off of ebay.

 

[decodelighted]

Date: 5/10/2007 1:45:26 PM
Author: neatfreak
Please don''t buy something as important as an engagement ring off of ebay.

DITTO

Don''t let your ego-pursuit of a "great deal" get in the way of what''s really important here.

That stone was rated by some random yicky lab .. the "appraisal" value is laughable. Read up on clarity enhancement & decide if you want to explain that to your lady.

I really urge you to stick around & let the Pscope peeps help find you great LEGIT deals. They''re not gonna be pie-in-the-sky kinda deals ... but solid value/solid quality.

Isn''t that what you want to represent your ENGAGEMENT??

 

[The_Running_Realtor]

I will do more research on the 4 C''s. I was thinking that size and color and the two most important factors in the grand scheme of things..thus the reason I expected the stone to sell for more. Thanks for the heads up. I do understand that the cut and clairty are also very important but for me, both will rate below size and color, with regard to importance...hopefully not far below though.

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 5/10/2007 1:53:36 PM
Author: The_Running_Realtor
I will do more research on the 4 C's. I was thinking that size and color and the two most important factors in the grand scheme of things..thus the reason I expected the stone to sell for more. Thanks for the heads up. I do understand that the cut and clairty are also very important but for me, both will rate below size and color, with regard to importance...hopefully not far below though.

No, no, no, NO!!! CUT is the most important of all. A badly cut diamond won't sparkle AT ALL, it will look like what we refer to as "frozen spit". Also, stick with AGS and GIA certifications, those are the only two labs that grade reliably almost all the time.


ETA: If I were you, I would drop to a G color, which is VERY safe. No one can really tell the difference between a G and something higher once the stone is set. Also, you can safely go down to VS2 clarity without sacrificing anything there, or even an eye clean SI1 or SI2, but drop below that and you are again risking the frozen spit look.

 

[decodelighted]

What''s your budget?
Is princess the desired shape (as in the auction piece?)
White metal (as in the auction piece)?

People around here are eager to give suggestions & know where to look -- from MANY vendors that have good reputations on Pricescope ... or even up & coming vendors -- usually people will say if they have personal experience with a vendor or if it''s just "word of mouth". And you can always ask!

 

[kcoursolle]

Date: 5/10/2007 1:38:54 PM
Author:The_Running_Realtor
Has anyone dealt with them before? They have 100% feedback which is impressive as it only takes 1 unhappy customer to mess that up. I was watching one of their auctions and the diamond ring ending up selling for well below what I was expecting. It has enhanced clarity, which I somewhat understand, and realize that may affect resale value, etc.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=005&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=150118737972&rd=1&rd=1

Is the fact that it has enhanced clarity the biggest factor for a lower price like this stone?

Thanks in advance for any info-

Not true, an ebay seller can have withdrawn feedback from when a deal goes bad and arbitration steps in. This seller has 10 mututally withdrawn feedbacks and if you actually read some of the positive statements, they aren't so great.

Also, this stone is not certified by a reputable lab. Stick with AGS and GIA stones. Finally, do a search for ebay to read some horror stories here about people who have purchased on ebay. Often they have it appraised to find that they didn't get what they paid for and have a difficult time getting their money back even though the sellef offers a return policy...bleh, it's just not worth it in a large purchase like this.

 

[RockDoc]

I looked over a different stone purchase on ebay for someone else that was relying on the value given by AGAL.

They have NO APPRAISAL CREDENTIALS! and valuing that item for $ 10K, it''s obvious that they went to the ALICE IN WONDERLAND SCHOOL OF APPRAISING, and THE MAD HATTER AS THE PROFESSOR INSTRUCTING!!!!!!!!!!!

Rockdoc

 

[Dogmom]

I''ve not been here as long as other PSers, but I have already come to learn that CUT is the most important of the 4 C''s. A well-cut stone will out-perform color and size every time. You may want to re-think your priorities.

 

[RockDoc]

In reality, that stone is most likely a Gussied up I-2, maybe even I-3 !


Then one ponders how other people say how beautiful there purchases were for previous sales, most likely the same type stone this is. Pretty obvious, they didn't have them checked out by an independent.

DUMB!

Rockdoc

 

[The_Running_Realtor]

Thanks for all the replies. I will re-think my thoght process and learn more about the cut aspect. My budget is about $4000 for the stone alone. I will then let her pick out the setting/mounting. I am ok with G and eye clean SI1.

Thanks again.

The Running Realtor

 

[kcoursolle]

Date: 5/10/2007 2:16:36 PM
Author: The_Running_Realtor
Thanks for all the replies. I will re-think my thoght process and learn more about the cut aspect. My budget is about $4000 for the stone alone. I will then let her pick out the setting/mounting. I am ok with G and eye clean SI1.

Thanks again.

The Running Realtor

What shape stone would you like to get her?

 

[The_Running_Realtor]

Round

 

[oshinbreez]

Would you mind going down to an I in color? It would still be white. I found this and this Both are princess ACA's and only $150 over budget with bank wire. My earrings are J's and are nice and white. I LOVE them.

ETA: Sorry, didn't notice you were looking for round.

 

[decodelighted]

Here are a couple stones -- not all have pictures yet, but you could contact the vendor & ask 'em for them ...

.85 AGS A Cut Above branded H&A G/Si1 for $3672 (before discount)

I dunno if this will work -- but

a comparison of three stones


I also found
this beauty at a different vendor ... lots of pix already up. Tasty! I think they have a "pricescope" discount too - or wire transfer or something ... be sure to ask.

And this one is just a wee bit over budget -- but nice!

 

[dfb]

If I was working with your budget - I would really consider looking for a H eye clean SI1 - I would bet a bunch of money that you would not be able to tell the difference mounted of a solid H color very well cut to the vast majority of G''s out there - and a quick check on the pricing here for H Si1 1 carat RBS should quite a few pop up that were not more than a couple of hundred dollars above the $4000 budget you note - build a relationship with one or a couple of the vendors here and let them sort through some stones with you - I would bet with so patience and a little work you could come up with a very nice performing RB that faces up very white in your budget and get right up to a carat.

 

[denverappraiser]

There are several red flags to watch for in ebay advertisement that I would encourage you to be careful about in your shopping. These are hardly unique to that particular seller or even to ebay.

#1 The appraisal starts out by stating facts that you KNOW to be false, namely the value conclusion. This is reason to ignore the appraisal report in it’s entirety. Don’t discount the price, don’t assume the grading must be close, don’t even take it as evidence that the materials are genuine. BS is BS. Telling you that it’s ‘worth’ $10,600 and that they will be thrilled to sell it for $800 tells you nothing at all about the stone but it says volumes about the dealer and the appraiser.

#2 Grading matters. If they’re going to call it SI2, G, 1.01cts, etc. it’s important to understand what their source is. Refer to item #1 if it’s the ‘appraisal’ being supplied. If it’s a lab, what lab? Why should you care what they think? Is it the seller themselves? Evaluate the credibility of the grader involved. If you can’t figure out who they are or why you should believe them, give their opinions the same credibility you would to any other anonymous and uncontactable stranger.

#3 Scales. This is tough if you’re not familiar with diamond grading but there are a lot of different scales used. They often use the same titles to mean very different things. SI2 does not mean the same thing to every grader and SI2* (enhanced) is both a wildly different item and covers an even bigger range. Avoid the tendency to see the titles and assume that they are comparable with other offers that have similar titles. A rose may be a rose, but an SI2* is not an SI2. You MUST look deeper or you are going to get screwed. When you read a grade, the first thing to look at is the source of that grade. Look the lab up in the forum here, in the BBB, and Google to see what you can find. If you don’t find some reason outside the advertisements for the jeweler and the lab themselves that you should trust them, don’t.

#4 7 day return. That’s tolerable but tight. Make sure you’ve got an appointment with an appraiser in place before you have them ship. Some appraisers are pretty busy. Don’t skip the appraisal step because they make it logistically difficult. If anything, this should make you more determined. Notice that they require an RMA# back from them before you are permitted to ship so they have an incentive to be uncommunicative.

#5 100% feedback. As pointed out above, this isn’t really as impressive as it seems although it’s a good place to start. Similarly, a 99% with a thousand sales might be a pretty good score depending on what the problem was. Read the comments themselves, not just the summary number.

#6 Private sales. Sellers do this, in part, to protect their customers from pirates that come in and try to steal the sale at the last moment but, more importantly, it makes it easy for them to use shill type bidding tactics to manipulate the auction. A good rule is to never bid on a private auction.

#7 Pictures. These guys look pretty good but a common tactic is to use ‘sample’ photographs where you’re not even looking at the item your bidding on. With real pictures, bear in mind that some photographers are far more skilled than others and that the quality of the advertising image doesn’t make the product better. If you don’t believe me, go look at the menu and a McDonalds restaurant and compare the pictures with what you actually get.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver

 

[kcoursolle]

I would much rather have a lovely round that deco posted from a reputable vendor that is *beautiful*, but a bit smaller than a piece of frozen spit from an ebay vendor. Also, whiteflash, goodoldgold.com, jamesallen.com all have "upgrade policies" meaning that if she wants a bigger stone later on you can trade in your old one for 100% of the price you originally paid for it!

Also, in a *well-cut* round you can easily drop to I/SI range and still have a very white and clean diamond. Cut is what determines sparkle and how beautiful a stone looks.

 

[decodelighted]

Date: 5/10/2007 3:10:36 PM
Author: kcoursolle
Also, in a *well-cut* round you can easily drop to I/SI range and still have a very white and clean diamond. Cut is what determines sparkle and how beautiful a stone looks.

True ... I whole-heartedly agree with the "go H or I" & get as close to 1 ct (in weight and spread) as possible

I just realize that it''s scary to some folks who are new to Pricescope -- somehow CLARITY ENHANCED & EBAY aren''t "scary" ... but GIA/AGS "H" or "I" color is way scary

.

Just joshin'' ya, Running Realtor -- it''s common, so I''m not picking on you!!!