P.O.''ed at Tacori

[NeverEndingUpgrade]

Well some of you lovely fellow pricescopers have been helping me with a setting for my new 1.05 ct. Jubilee, so I wanted to post something that really ticks me off. I saw a Tacori setting at Bailey Banks and Biddle that I like. The setting in made for a 1.5 ct. princess cut, but the saleslady called Tacori to see if they ring could be made custom for my diamond. Tacori said yes, and I was given a price of $6,020.00 for the custom setting. I even talked to the saleslady about putting in radiants instead of princess cuts on the side to match the shape of my Jubilee, and she said they could do anything I want.

The ring is a 3-stone design in engraved platinum with .48 ct. of fancy yellow diamonds on each side set into 18K yellow gold. I think it is an old design from them. Something about the ring really "spoke to me", which is more than I can say for everything else I have seen. I think it would be great with either a diamond band or an engraved platinum band to match.

Anyway, I came home to try to find a photo of it online and found out the Tacori style number is HT 2245. I googled this number and the ring is appearing on overstock.com for $2,168.99!!!!! Naturally, I can't buy it because it is not made for a 1 ct.

This makes me furious!

I wouldn't even consider paying $6,020.00 for a ring that is showing up on overstock.com for a third of that price. Does this tick anyone off like it is ticking me off? Here is the link to the heavily discounted ring (it is beautiful in real life, too bad I can't get it):

http://www.overstock.com/Jewelry-Watches/Tacori-Platinum-CZ-Yellow-Diamond-Bridal-Ring/2623262/product.html?searchtype=HP_Header&keywords=10828649

 

[Sparkalicious]

It sure is annoying, isn''t it?!

Quite honestly though, I think that the whole pricing in jewelry thing is really a survival of the fittest of sorts. Those who put the work in and research and compare pricing etc, really end up on top, whereas those who don''t will end up paying whatever to the highest bidder for what they are looking for. They remain unaware that the same thing could be purchased at a lesser price/same quality elsewhere. Maybe this is what makes the jewelry industry so lucrative especially given that many purchases are deeply steeped in emotion.

When we found the Simon G setting that I am getting, we were dealing with one place. We got the style# from them and then started researching everywhere else that dealt with Simon G to see what type of pricing we could get. We wanted to keep our business with this company, however, our purpose was just to ensure that we were getting a fair price. Herein lies the beginning of our drama ... We couldn''t believe how greatly pricing varied for the same setting. Our place was selling it for $3,250, another place for $4,400 and the place we finally went with offered it for $2,500. We were careful to compare that we were asking the price for the same product and no one could explain or actually wanted to explain/justify why their price was so much higher. They blamed it on Simon G and said that he makes the prices and they aren''t able to make them lower.

Anyways, I can understand and completely relate to your annoyance, however, you are one of the "fittest". You are educating yourself and making an informed decision. Now that you have the info you need, you can go ahead and call around to see if any other store might be able to assist with getting your setting, custom or not, at a lesser price. My suggestion would be to deal with a reputable jeweler in your area, not necessarily a Tacori vendor, and see if they are able to get this ring for you. This is what I did. The place we decided to deal with is a diamond broker/jeweler and they are not a vendor for the ring designer, however, they are well connected and have access to get designer jewelry from their brokers and can usually offer it at 25 - 30% off the prices offered elsewhere. I don''t know if it has to do with their lower overhead etc, however, it works for me! I''m so glad that we put the time and effort in!

Good luck to you and I hope that you get what you are looking for at a price that is just right!

 

[door knob solitaire]

I am sure you feel miserable. $4k seems to have that effect on most people. You have to understand that overstock is a liquidation center where all retail add ons are removed.

The store you visited was richly carpeted and lighted and staffed with employees with benefits that have to be paid for. High budget for advertising and high rent as they are usually in prominent locations in malls. OVER HEAD BABY!! It adds up. I agree where is the $4k-you aren''t interested in supporting the college education of the store owners kid.

I think the bottom line here is you had no problem with the original quote...and if you agreed to go forth under those terms...then you have to suck it up. But I think the way you have phrased your post, you have yet to pull the trigger.

I know that having a designer name in a ring is cool...but I would encourage you to contact a few of the PS vendors and get quotes on a custom build using that design that talks to you. For that price you can really add some great personal details. Like maybe a hidden stone or a square shank or thinned and more cohesive to match a band. The side stones you can source through the vendors will far exceed the quality you can get from most designers-as you are far out of contact from the actual builder in a designer choice.

That design is lovely. It is great that it spoke to you. You are lucky in that you know what you like. You have tried it on. Use that experience and build on it. And be not discouraged until you search out all your options. A wise consumer never fails. §

 

[NeverEndingUpgrade]

I plan on taking the printout of the overstock.com page to show the saleslady at BBB. I''m sure she''ll be in for a shock.

 

[Kaleigh]

Date: 12/16/2007 3:56:36 PM
Author: NeverEndingUpgrade
I plan on taking the printout of the overstock.com page to show the saleslady at BBB. I''m sure she''ll be in for a shock.

Indeed she will be. Maybe they will match the price?? I know wishful thinking, but ya never know....

 

[Ellen]

Date: 12/16/2007 4:10:17 PM
Author: Kaleigh

Date: 12/16/2007 3:56:36 PM
Author: NeverEndingUpgrade
I plan on taking the printout of the overstock.com page to show the saleslady at BBB. I''m sure she''ll be in for a shock.

Indeed she will be. Maybe they will match the price?? I know wishful thinking, but ya never know....

I think there''s a much better chance of finding out that Santa really exists....

But, yes, it certainly can''t hurt to try.


And I also echo DKS on getting some quotes from other vendors for a custom job.

 

[tberube]

but you''re paying that much because it''s going to be made custom for you and because it''s the name Tacori. I bet if you asked another jewelry designer to custom make something similar to it, it would cost less. That''s a LOT of money for just a setting. Wow.

Just my $0.02.

 

[Kaleigh]

Date: 12/16/2007 4:36:06 PM
Author: Ellen

Date: 12/16/2007 4:10:17 PM
Author: Kaleigh

Date: 12/16/2007 3:56:36 PM
Author: NeverEndingUpgrade
I plan on taking the printout of the overstock.com page to show the saleslady at BBB. I''m sure she''ll be in for a shock.

Indeed she will be. Maybe they will match the price?? I know wishful thinking, but ya never know....

I think there''s a much better chance of finding out that Santa really exists....

But, yes, it certainly can''t hurt to try.


And I also echo DKS on getting some quotes from other vendors for a custom job.

Hehe, yeah ain''t that the truth.

Going custom is a great idea. That way you can have an inspired setting with your own personal twists. Best of both worlds.

 

[NeverEndingUpgrade]

Unfortunately, I think that most of the cost will be in the matching .25 ct. yellow diamonds. But I probably could shave some of the price if I go custom. I have been looking at Knox Jewelers. They have some nice stuff.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Can you buy it somewhere else? I had a custom head made for my Tacori (I have an EC it was designed for a RB) and was charged NOTHING for it. I know a few PS venders carry Tacori (GOG maybe?) contact them.

 

[96TL]

You can easily get a custom made setting by Leon Mege or Mark Morrell for $6K.

A very nice one too I might add.

 

[NeverEndingUpgrade]

Man O''Mystery, yes, I probably can.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Wait a minute. Where do you see the size of the head of that stone in the overstock ad? Did you call and ask them? All it says is that it has a cz in the middle. I am not seeing a size of the center stone.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I still don''t understand why you are angry w/ Tacori???

 

[iheartscience]

You should order the ring from Overstock.com and get someone to make a custom head for it like Tacori E-ring did. That''s the obvious (and cheap!) solution! I''m sure you can return the ring to Overstock.com if a jeweler doesn''t think your diamond will look good/fit in the ring.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

The Overstock ring does not even give the head size as far as I can see. For all we know, it might be the right size! I don't know if Overstock has a return policy, but if her ring size is not too far off from the size of that ring, I'd order it, too! There's no way it will cost $4000 to replace the head!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Date: 12/18/2007 10:53:19 PM
Author: thing2of2
You should order the ring from Overstock.com and get someone to make a custom head for it like Tacori E-ring did. That''s the obvious (and cheap!) solution! I''m sure you can return the ring to Overstock.com if a jeweler doesn''t think your diamond will look good/fit in the ring.

Actually Tacori made the head for me when they made the ring (when you buy from a jewelers each ring is made to order) but that could work. It''s worth a try since you love the setting. I am sure overstock has a good return policy. I still think you NEED to get another quote from a different B&M.

 

[TheDoctor]

Maybe this is what makes the jewelry industry so lucrative especially given that many purchases are deeply steeped in emotion.



I don''t know about lucrative, but I do know that there is a lot of misrepresentation online, and to find an actual duplicate of a style that isn''t a knock-off, or one that has been removed from a store''s stock because there is some sort of problem with it, is pretty rare. Pricing is relative to what you are buying. The ring in question is reduced for a reason. All retailers take out the garbage once in a while. Often, a piece of jewellery is priced attractively in spite of the fact that it took many days to conceive and produce, for a multitude of reasons.


The wonderful thing about jewellery is that nobody needs to buy it. Unlike heating fuel, car repair, and real estate, we can ignore jewellery if we please. Keep that in mind.


While we''re debating the subject of price, has anyone had a quote from the building trades to pour a concrete pad or floor? How about plumbing?? Electrical? With a two year apprenticeship or less, these trades charge upwards of $90.00 per hour and more plus materials at 10 times their actual cost. Most jewellers work for less than a third of that.

The jewellers of the world aren''t getting rich on the race to the bottom on internet pricing, most are simply getting by. Jewellery is a high-labour item, and the stuff worth owning takes a great many years of training to learn how to make. I could have earned 2 university degrees in the time it took to go through my apprenticeships, but jewellers don''t form associations where fees are established like in the professions.
The market decides how we survive. If you don''t wish to purchase the time and effort of a jeweller who has good chops, you can go to someone else. Don''t expect parallel product, though, it''s a jungle out there, and, in the same way you wouldn''t go to the cheapest eye or brain surgeon, you shouldn''t view the works of many hundreds of jewellers as being "the same".

 

[elmo]

Date: 12/18/2007 11:14:15 PM
Author: TheDoctor
If you don't wish to purchase the time and effort of a jeweller who has good chops, you can go to someone else...the cheapest eye or brain surgeon, you shouldn't view the works of many hundreds of jewellers as being 'the same'.

If Tacori pieces are showing up on overstock.com, then Tacori deserves to be price shopped and treated as the lowest common denominator commodity that it has apparently become. No sympathy from me for them or the jewelers carrying the line. Quite a different situation from the one-of-a-kind handmade pieces of a master craftsman.

 

[NeverEndingUpgrade]

Elmo, my sentiments exactly.

To all those confused about my issue with Tacori: The ring is made stock for a 1.5 ct. princess. This info comes from the saleslady at BBB. The center stone basket is integral with the design of the ring, not a prong setting that can be easily changed out. I could buy the ring from overstock.com and have a local jeweler change out the center basket, but I am afraid that it will look like a Frankenstein ring when I am done (been there- done that- don''t wish to do it again).

I am just scratching my head over the retailers that have told me that "Tacori sets their pricing so it is pretty standard across the board", making it sound like Tacori protects their jewelers, but it sounds like Tacori themselves don''t mind undercutting their own dealers.

I sent an email asking Tacori about this. I am curious to see what they will say.

 

[dtnyc]

Do you have a local independent bench jeweler who you trust? (who''s platinum work you like?)

I would print out a picture of the ring from overstock and ask him or her if they think it would be feasible to adjust the prongs to accommodate your stone. At that price it''s totally worth it to ask and find out.

 

[HollyS]

Having a Tacori setting myself, and having it customized, and having bought it at a jewelry store . . . let me say that you just might be getting ripped off. I don''t think this setting is really that high; not even as high as the "original retail price" of over $5500. on overstock.com.

Now, you do realize you are paying for 2 diamonds, and Tacori only uses G or higher VS1 or higher in their stones they put into the setting? Some of your cost will be associated with those two diamonds that will come from them and not from a source of your own choosing. You''re also paying for the prestige of Bailey, Banks, and Biddle.

So buy the overstock.com setting and take your business and a stone you bought via one of the well-known (by PSers) vendors, and get the ring of your dreams for less. I''m assuming you did NOT pay for something you have not received; at least not the full amount. Do whatever it takes to get your money back if you can.

 

[dtnyc]

Date: 12/19/2007 11:14:08 AM
Author: HollyS
You''re also paying for the prestige of Bailey, Banks, and Biddle.

I wouldn''t say that BBB is all about prestige- until October they were owned by Zales. You would be paying for their overhead though.

 

[HollyS]

Date: 12/19/2007 11:23:42 AM
Author: dtnyc

Date: 12/19/2007 11:14:08 AM
Author: HollyS
You''re also paying for the prestige of Bailey, Banks, and Biddle.

I wouldn''t say that BBB is all about prestige- until October they were owned by Zales. You would be paying for their overhead though.

No, I think BBB, which was originally a Boston institution founded in the 18th century, bought Zales. But, mind you, I''m speaking about things I read in a trade publication a couple of years ago, and I don''t have any real personal knowledge about it myself.

 

[NeverEndingUpgrade]

Like I said, I hesitate to buy the ring from overstock.com that is made for a 1.5 ct. princess and have it adjusted for a 1 ct. Jubilee--I just don''t think it would look right. And if I bought the ring for the diamonds, I would still have to have something made up. Sounds like too much trouble when I have found some other things that might work for me.

"All retailers take out the garbage once in a while." TheDoctor, I assure you that this ring is not garbage.

 

[dtnyc]

Date: 12/19/2007 11:26:47 AM
Author: HollyS

Date: 12/19/2007 11:23:42 AM

Author: dtnyc

Date: 12/19/2007 11:14:08 AM

Author: HollyS

You''re also paying for the prestige of Bailey, Banks, and Biddle.

I wouldn''t say that BBB is all about prestige- until October they were owned by Zales. You would be paying for their overhead though.

No, I think BBB, which was originally a Boston institution founded in the 18th century, bought Zales. But, mind you, I''m speaking about things I read in a trade publication a couple of years ago, and I don''t have any real personal knowledge about it myself.

Zales bought them in 1962 and sold them in Sept/Oct. BBB started in Philly in 1832.

http://www.jckonline.com/article/CA6483864.html

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Date: 12/19/2007 11:35:05 AM
Author: NeverEndingUpgrade
Like I said, I hesitate to buy the ring from overstock.com that is made for a 1.5 ct. princess and have it adjusted for a 1 ct. Jubilee--I just don''t think it would look right. And if I bought the ring for the diamonds, I would still have to have something made up. Sounds like too much trouble when I have found some other things that might work for me.

What about buying from a DIFFERENT Tacori dealer? You might be surprise if you shop around....Have you checked?

 

[NeverEndingUpgrade]

I contacted another dealer, and he thinks that someone sold some Tacori rings to overstock.com without authorization. He has alerted Tacori as to what is going on. Should be interesting what he finds out.

Tacori E-ring, I LOVE your ring. I saw it on another post. Is it in platinum, and if so, have you been happy with the platinum?

 

[mrssalvo]

Date: 12/19/2007 12:18:36 PM
Author: NeverEndingUpgrade
I contacted another dealer, and he thinks that someone sold some Tacori rings to overstock.com without authorization. He has alerted Tacori as to what is going on. Should be interesting what he finds out.

it''s possible, but i''ve seen scott kay rings on there too. good idea to contact tacori though b/c if they really are trying to protect a high class image, their branded rings selling at a discount on overstock will hurt them.

if you really love the setting, why not call goodoldgold and Mark T at engagementringsdirect for some quotes.

 

[HollyS]

Date: 12/19/2007 11:38:46 AM
Author: dtnyc

Date: 12/19/2007 11:26:47 AM
Author: HollyS

Date: 12/19/2007 11:23:42 AM

Author: dtnyc

Date: 12/19/2007 11:14:08 AM

Author: HollyS

You''re also paying for the prestige of Bailey, Banks, and Biddle.

I wouldn''t say that BBB is all about prestige- until October they were owned by Zales. You would be paying for their overhead though.

No, I think BBB, which was originally a Boston institution founded in the 18th century, bought Zales. But, mind you, I''m speaking about things I read in a trade publication a couple of years ago, and I don''t have any real personal knowledge about it myself.

Zales bought them in 1962 and sold them in Sept/Oct. BBB started in Philly in 1832.

http://www.jckonline.com/article/CA6483864.html

Okay, I believe you. It says so on their website. But I find it really strange that the article I read a few years ago was about Zales being in trouble and BBB buying them and building them up!!! Truly weird. If I hadn''t thrown that publication out when I moved in October, I would go reread it and quote from it here! Very odd journalism. I remember the pictures and the paragraph about BBB being quite old and Boston based! Philly wasn''t even mentioned!

Boy, does that prove that you can''t trust what you see in print!