shape
carat
color
clarity

POLL: Considerations when choosing your diamond/e-ring vendor

Choose your top six considerations for an e-ring vendor

  • Price

    Votes: 91 72.2%
  • Total Selection

    Votes: 58 46.0%
  • Ease of Contact

    Votes: 69 54.8%
  • Payment Options

    Votes: 21 16.7%
  • No Risk Policies

    Votes: 98 77.8%
  • Product Images

    Votes: 91 72.2%
  • Showroom

    Votes: 10 7.9%
  • Jewelry Quality Focus

    Votes: 61 48.4%
  • Cut Quality Focus

    Votes: 93 73.8%
  • Post-Purchase Benefits

    Votes: 61 48.4%
  • Responsive Website

    Votes: 46 36.5%

  • Total voters
    126
  • Poll closed .

John Pollard

Shiny_Rock
Staff member
Premium
Joined
Dec 2, 2020
Messages
481
Hi PriceScope members. We're doing a little research.

Question: Do you ever wish you could go back in time and help your younger self with knowledge you've now gained? (I sure do)

If you could send a note back to yourself (or the person who bought your e-ring) prioritizing six of these considerations, when choosing your diamond/e-ring vendor, which six would you choose?

There are no wrong answers. Feel free to suggest other considerations in the thread.

Definitions:

Price
- The cost of an item compared to the same item elsewhere (post-purchase benefits not included)
Total Selection - Full range of diamonds, jewelry and gemstones offered
Ease of Contact - Responsive and available by phone, email, chat, text, etc.
Payment Options - Wire, CC, PayPal, Financing, other
No Risk Policies - Free shipping, 7+ day inspection periods, free returns
Product Images - 360 videos, photos from different angles, jewelry hand shots
Showroom - By appointment or walk-in, in one or more locations
Jewelry Quality Focus - Prioritizes jewelry quality, offers custom work/high end designers
Cut Quality Focus - Prioritizes diamond cut, offers Ideal-Scope/ASET (H&A) knows HCA, etc.
Post-Purchase Benefits - Warranty, resize, upgrade, buyback, loyalty program
Well-Reviewed - Reputable according to Google, PriceScope, Yelp, BBB, etc.
Responsive Website - Shopping, ordering is as fast and easy on phone as on desktop

Have fun.

You can view the results after you choose. :cool2:
 

John Pollard

Shiny_Rock
Staff member
Premium
Joined
Dec 2, 2020
Messages
481
Happy Tuesday. Trying again. :D

Does this make sense, or did I overcomplicate it? :read: (it wouldn't be the first time)

 

sledge

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 23, 2018
Messages
5,791
I think the poll is interesting. I am curious the intent of collecting the data — pure interest, working with (select) vendors, creating a new product, etc?

Also while it’s likely a necessary category I wonder how much truly meaningful data can be extracted from price. You have to consider that in root level, price matters to everyone as the product we want to purchase has to fit the budget. Granted some people have more variance in their budget than others but they all have ceilings rather defined by monetary reasons or personal preferences.

Moving beyond that, price continues to get more tricky. If shopping virtual stones it’s possible to really shop between various vendors for best price which I think was the intention of this category.

But as soon as product isn’t identical it’s not as easy to truly compare pricing because you likely have a sacrifice of different magnitudes with each vendor.

Or what if vendor A has 5 stones in 1.20 HVS2 but everyone else has something smaller or larger? Then product inventory affects perception of price and indirectly steers the buyer that vendor A has “best” price.

Or what about vendors like IDJ, B2C and WF who can bring in virtual stones but will also offer advanced imaging and detailed reports that JA or Adiamor won’t and/or can’t? What value is that worth? How does the buyer separate that?

My point being I think price is really hard to dissect with truly meaningful results without understanding the why behind all those votes. Overall it’s obviously important and drives decisions, and if things aren’t priced right sales will suffer.
 
Last edited:

John Pollard

Shiny_Rock
Staff member
Premium
Joined
Dec 2, 2020
Messages
481
I think the poll is interesting. I am curious the intent of collecting the data — pure interest, working with (select) vendors, creating a new product, etc?

Thank you @sledge . I believe the responses could be useful in different ways.

It's interesting to see the answers informed by "what I know now." For sure, the note I'd send back to my younger self would absolutely point that guy toward a few different things I've learned.

The collective opinions of such an educated group of experienced consumer/prosumers might be useful for newbies to know.

This could also be useful information for new (or existing) PriceScope vendors who are interested in knowing what the community is interested in.

Something I like is the fact that every category has received votes from at least 10% of respondents so far.

Also while it’s likely a necessary category I wonder how much truly meaningful data can be extracted from price. You have to consider that in root level, price matters to everyone as the product we want to purchase has to fit the budget. Granted some people have more variance in their budget than others but they all have ceilings rather defined by monetary reasons or personal preferences.

Moving beyond that, price continues to get more tricky. If shopping virtual stones it’s possible to really shop between various vendors for best price which I think was the intention of this category.

But as soon as product isn’t identical it’s not as easy to truly compare pricing because you likely have a sacrifice of different magnitudes with each vendor.

Or what if vendor A has 5 stones in 1.20 HVS2 but everyone else has something smaller or larger? Then product inventory affects perception of price and indirectly steers the buyer that vendor A has “best” price.

Or what about vendors like IDJ, B2C and WF who can bring in virtual stones but will also offer advanced imaging and detailed reports that JA or Adiamor won’t and/or can’t? What value is that worth? How does the buyer separate that?

My point being I think price is really hard to dissect with truly meaningful results without understanding the why behind all those votes. Overall it’s obviously important and drives decisions, and if things aren’t priced right sales will suffer.

Agreed. We couldn't not include price, though because it's...well...price. :cool2:

I stipulated "post-purchase benefits not included" to imply apple to reasonably-close-apple, rather than bare-apple to upgradable-apple. I also placed certain 'value adding factors' into their own categories.

That said, we will trust the community to apply their own interpretations. Hopefully, as thoughtfully as you have.
 

Karl_K

Super_Ideal_Rock
Trade
Joined
Aug 4, 2008
Messages
14,632
I have the email of a vp or higher up in the company in my contacts. :}
 

valenledge

Shiny_Rock
Joined
May 13, 2021
Messages
110
This is fun, John! I think this could be interesting as a survey to distribute to the trade, too.

I’m amazed how much better I feel about my purchase and experience with good, responsive customer support and clear expectation setting, which leads to repeat purchases, reviews, recommendations for brand-new customers, etc.

With PSers tending to be detail-oriented (and loving it), combined with the high investment of money, time, and emotion equals a recipe for anxiety, and a high-touch experience goes a long way to keeping all involved focused on the happy end goal.

Of course, now we see our favorite vendors with long wait times because they have so much repeat and new business! :lol: Good for all involved, and well-deserved!
 

sledge

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 23, 2018
Messages
5,791
.Agreed. We couldn't not include price, though because it's...well...price. :cool2:

I stipulated "post-purchase benefits not included" to imply apple to reasonably-close-apple, rather than bare-apple to upgradable-apple. I also placed certain 'value adding factors' into their own categories.

That said, we will trust the community to apply their own interpretations. Hopefully, as thoughtfully as you have.

Yup, you can’t exclude. And you are right that while identical comparisons aren’t possible, reasonably near ones can. And there are things to be learned there.

As far as some of things I would actually tell myself. Being a guy and the buyer for his (now) wife, I would say LISTEN BETTER!

I thought I did a decent job at the time but the one area I discounted was her ability to see color so easily. Thankfully she’s not bothered by it but I likely would have bought D-F, instead of H, had I been more in tune.

Also, I would tell myself to slow down and that it’s okay to learn and understand the different “personalities” of a stone. I think the main push is good light return and with good reason, but in my case I initially had a WF ES G-VS1 with a 36/40.6. At the time I didn’t really grasp how proportions work in unison and that stone threw a little more fire than than the average bear in select lighting. I remember the rep even commenting how well impressed they were with it. Not to say the stone I got was “bad” but it has bigger table, shallower crown, etc and while still a super ideal has a different personality.

This is probably one of the reasons I got so interested in learning about diamonds. I want to know the “why” behind a stones behavior. And while people don’t really ask it that way, I think they do too. I’m a far cry from an expert but this is one of the reasons I enjoy helping people here. I try to take the things I’ve learned and break it down as simple as possible so hopefully others can gain that knowledge as well.

IMO, knowledge is power and leads us to the best decisions regardless of the situations we face.

Lastly, never under estimate the power of community. In my journey I was greeted by so many friendly people that got excited and helped me weather decisions that was completely out of my element. Picking the diamond seemed “easy” in a way. Doing a custom setting was a challenge, although one I did enjoy. The input and opinion of so many people here was simply invaluable. Learning the lingo was a big deal too as it allowed me to streamline conversations with the designer for more effective results.

I am truly grateful for this community and all those that were invested in my journey. Afterwards I shared all this with my wife and this is forever a part of our story. It makes the ring very meaningful to both us. We would not have received that had PS and the good folks here not existed. So thank you so much, words will never properly express the gratitude!
 

John Pollard

Shiny_Rock
Staff member
Premium
Joined
Dec 2, 2020
Messages
481
I would have voted for that had it been an option.

My apologies for the omission. For online purchases I imagine this is probably high on the list. Possibly compulsory.
 
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