Post-2008 Recession Wealth Gap on PS -- Have you noticed?

[maccers]

Re: Post-2008 Recession Wealth Gap on PS -- Have you noticed

Has anyone noticed an increase/decrease in preloved activity? As best as anyone can gauge that sort of thing online.

 

[Rockdiamond]

Re: Post-2008 Recession Wealth Gap on PS -- Have you noticed

I see this from a totally different perspective
The polarization we see all around us has an effect here.
For every person that posts, 20 or more read, and never post.
Let's face it, personal things like jewelry and diamonds inspire strong opinions. If there's a "trend" of people going in one direction, it's hard to publicly buck it.

Someone was asking on SMTB for a thread of a certain style of cushion that's been dissed here for years.
No wonder there's few responses- I'd venture to say that there's a whole lot more people that like and own that cut reading who would not post because that particular cut has been spoken about so many times in such unflattering terms.

The point is- there's a lot of jewelry purchases going on that have been inspired by PS, yet never gets mentioned on PS.
So trying to gauge the market by posts is misleading.

 

[Modified Brilliant]

Re: Post-2008 Recession Wealth Gap on PS -- Have you noticed

Real world, as an appraiser, I was seeing alot more 1.50-2.00 ct. diamond engagement rings being purchased
3-4 years ago. Currently seeing 0.75 - 1.25 ct diamonds, mostly round brilliants, and more replica vintage style mountings, some with OEC diamonds. Cushions and princess cuts have slowed down considerably.
But overall, the guys are spending less and even lowering their grading standards...seeing alot more I-J colors.
So, I would say that economic uncertainty and/or job security might be a factor.
Just my observations in the greater Boston and north of Boston area. Opinions and observations of others may vary depending on locale.

And....looking forward to seeing all of my PS friends and fellow trades folk next week at the PS GTG!

 

[ruby59]

Re: Post-2008 Recession Wealth Gap on PS -- Have you noticed

I agree that maybe the intensity factor on PS has turned off or maybe scared newbies from posting. The stranger thread below this one seems to still be feaking them out.

Some on here can be a little neurotic in what the ultimate diamond "must" be, and are very outspoken about it. And many of the threads here lately have been about 3, 4, and 5 carat honkers, which seem to be getting all the attention. I have seen new poster requests scroll off with little or no response. Newbies might be feeling as if their more simpler needs no longer fit into what Pricescope has become, unfortunately, and are moving to less intense but more welcoming boards.

We need to listen more to what new posters are asking and tailor the response to their needs not ours. That is why we need a newbie section on Priscescope where basic information is in one area, and their posts are not competing with the cliques and the upgrades.

 

[yssie]

Re: Post-2008 Recession Wealth Gap on PS -- Have you noticed

I agree that maybe the intensity factor on PS has turned off or maybe scared newbies from posting. The stranger thread below this one seems to still be feaking them out.

Some on here can be a little neurotic in what the ultimate diamond "must" be, and are very outspoken about it. And many of the threads here lately have been about 3, 4, and 5 carat honkers, which seem to be getting all the attention. I have seen new poster requests scroll off with little or no response. Newbies might be feeling as if their more simpler needs no longer fit into what Pricescope has become, unfortunately, and are moving to less intense but more welcoming boards.

We need to listen more to what new posters are asking and tailor the response to their needs not ours. That is why we need a newbie section on Priscescope where basic information is in one area, and their posts are not competing with the cliques and the upgrades.

I can't call myself an RT regular any more but there are certain posters I really admire. DS, Dreamer, Gypsy, Christina, Mara, Lorelei and Belle and Ellen and others of previous eras... they dive in to answer the same questions tens of thousands of times with just a few bits of "new and interesting" sprinkled in to break the monotony. It's painstaking and often thankless except for the personal satisfaction of hopefully having learnt something yourself. I may not always agree with what they're saying, or why they're saying it, or how they're saying it, but I respect their dedication to the fora. That dedication is directly responsible for the state of the fora (as in, the fact that PS is still actually relevant!).

One consequence of that is that while I completely agree with the bolded sentiment, I must admit that its expression rather rubs me the wrong way. Changes like this don't happen by people telling other people what to do. They happen by people taking the time and effort to learn and question and then jumping in and participating themselves, gradually effecting a new way of thinking or problem solving. The forum is a living thing - it'll change as the people change, or as people's ideals and beliefs change, and those who feel that it's going the wrong way certainly have the power and opportunity to make a difference should they choose to.


I'll be honest, I don't think a newbie section would help - I think it wouldn't get much traffic because it would necessarily isolate itself from discussions about minutiae that keep the regulars interested, and the newcomers would be less likely to participate in or get anything from those discussions, and I also think the cliques of "oldies" wouldn't bother exploring a different section...

Is RT unwelcoming or intimidating to those who've decided that they want to try and make that sort of difference? I can't say I've ever felt that way, and it's disappointing to think that newbies would

 

[yssie]

Re: Post-2008 Recession Wealth Gap on PS -- Have you noticed

*double

 

[SB621]

Re: Post-2008 Recession Wealth Gap on PS -- Have you noticed

I agree that maybe the intensity factor on PS has turned off or maybe scared newbies from posting. The stranger thread below this one seems to still be feaking them out.

Some on here can be a little neurotic in what the ultimate diamond "must" be, and are very outspoken about it. And many of the threads here lately have been about 3, 4, and 5 carat honkers, which seem to be getting all the attention. I have seen new poster requests scroll off with little or no response. Newbies might be feeling as if their more simpler needs no longer fit into what Pricescope has become, unfortunately, and are moving to less intense but more welcoming boards.

We need to listen more to what new posters are asking and tailor the response to their needs not ours. That is why we need a newbie section on Priscescope where basic information is in one area, and their posts are not competing with the cliques and the upgrades.

I can't call myself an RT regular any more but there are certain posters I really admire. DS, Dreamer, Gypsy, Christina, Mara, Lorelei and Belle and Ellen and others of previous eras... they dive in to answer the same questions tens of thousands of times with just a few bits of "new and interesting" sprinkled in to break the monotony. It's painstaking and often thankless except for the personal satisfaction of hopefully having learnt something yourself. I may not always agree with what they're saying, or why they're saying it, or how they're saying it, but I respect their dedication to the fora. That dedication is directly responsible for the state of the fora (as in, the fact that PS is still actually relevant!).

One consequence of that is that while I completely agree with the bolded sentiment, I must admit that its expression rather rubs me the wrong way. Changes like this don't happen by people telling other people what to do. They happen by people taking the time and effort to learn and question and then jumping in and participating themselves, gradually effecting a new way of thinking or problem solving. The forum is a living thing - it'll change as the people change, or as people's ideals and beliefs change, and those who feel that it's going the wrong way certainly have the power and opportunity to make a difference should they choose to.

I'll be honest, I don't think a newbie section would help - I think it wouldn't get much traffic because it would necessarily isolate itself from discussions about minutiae that keep the regulars interested, and the newcomers would be less likely to participate in or get anything from those discussions, and I also think the cliques of "oldies" wouldn't bother exploring a different section...

Is RT unwelcoming or intimidating to those who've decided that they want to try and make that sort of difference? I can't say I've ever felt that way, and it's disappointing to think that newbies would

I couldn't agree with this more. I wasn't go to post a response but you said it so well Yssie that I just had to agree.

 

[Lula]

Re: Post-2008 Recession Wealth Gap on PS -- Have you noticed

Real world, as an appraiser, I was seeing alot more 1.50-2.00 ct. diamond engagement rings being purchased
3-4 years ago. Currently seeing 0.75 - 1.25 ct diamonds, mostly round brilliants, and more replica vintage style mountings, some with OEC diamonds. Cushions and princess cuts have slowed down considerably.
But overall, the guys are spending less and even lowering their grading standards...seeing alot more I-J colors.
So, I would say that economic uncertainty and/or job security might be a factor.
Just my observations in the greater Boston and north of Boston area. Opinions and observations of others may vary depending on locale.

And....looking forward to seeing all of my PS friends and fellow trades folk next week at the PS GTG!

Thanks for your input MB. What you've noticed about guys spending less goes to the heart of what I've been noticing on RT, i.e., fewer first-time buyers in general; those first-time buyers who are buying are spending less, or want to "save" money by buying a stone from one of the less-respected grading labs (there have been several threads about this!); and, also a trend away from larger solitaires in favor of smaller stones in fancier settings (not sure if this is a money-saving trend or a fashion-trend).

I'd like to hear what other vendors/appraisers have noticed in terms of buying trends over the past few years.

I have wondered if the threads about the large (large = over 3-carats, way over 3 carats) upgrades scares newbies off -- it might feel a bit intimidating to post about a 0.50 - 1.0 carat diamond if many of the treads on SMTB or RT showcase diamonds 2 - 5 times bigger than that. But I don't think there should be a separate newbie forum. Out of all the forums on PS, I regularly visit just one or two, depending upon my particular bling interests/needs. So, for me anyway, it would be unlikely that I'd remember to check out the newbie forum. I try to help out in RT when I can, but I am pretty inexperienced when it comes to shapes other than rounds. I know nothing about settings, and really miss Gypsy's input in that area. I have noticed many new posters stepping up to give advice on RT, which I think is a good thing.