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Pretty upset with JamesAllen

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gonzalcx

Rough_Rock
Joined
Apr 13, 2015
Messages
14
So, I have been lurking here for awhile and created an account today. After being very apprehensive about buying online, I decided to move forward with JA because you can view the diamonds you want to buy first which I think is a plus.

Well, i spoke with someone over chat on Thursday and placed a diamond in my order basket.
This weekend, I spoke with someone else on chat and they helped me in getting the order finalized and sent me the bank wire details.
This morning, I went on chat again to confirm the diamond was available since I have been on this website and read that people have had this exact issue happen in the past in which they wire funds and then the diamond is unavailable. I was assured this morning that the diamond was there.

So now, before I leave my office to head to the bank, I decided to ask once more for verification of the diamond, as well as inquired about a PriceScope discount and access to the idealscope images....well lo and behold, the representative on the chat informs me that the DIAMOND IS NOW UNAVAILABLE ?!?!?!? This is what the rep said "This just happened to the the one-in-a-million happenstance that someone else was also looking at purchasing the diamond at the same time and the windows of your purchases overlapped."

But, I ADDED THIS STONE TO MY BASKET LAST THURSDAY!

This has left a bad taste in my mouth. And it appears to happen often with JA.

What do you all recommend?

My price range is $10k and I was looking at this stone - GIA# 6195417411 and an HCA rating of 2.1 in a double halo setting in 18k white gold.
 
Hi Gonzalcx,

I received an email notifying me of this thread, so I hope you don't mind if I jump in and try and help.

First and foremost, my apologies for the situation. It is very rare that this happens (not one in a million, but far less than 1%), but when you're in that 1% the rarity of the problem becomes irrelevant.

As a company, we've made many changes over the years to prevent this problem. In this case, however, the system generated an email with wire instructions prematurely. An order placed on Saturday should not have had wire instructions sent until the diamond was confirmed available, which typically would take place Monday morning. I'm looking into that issue now and expect to have a fix in place shortly.

Regardless, our goal is to help you find a diamond and I know that someone has already reached out to you in an effort to find a suitable replacement. Feel free to get me involved if I can be of help, and know that [regardless] I'll be watching from behind the scenes to see what I can do.
 
Hi James,

I appreciate your prompt reply. I was speaking with several people on Chat this past Thursday, Friday, and even this morning so I am sure you can see why I was taken back when I heard that it was no longer available.

Currently, I am on a Chat session and looking at comparable stones.

I will keep you updated.

Many thanks,

Carlos
 
Carlos,

Just a note of explanation about the jewelry industry. Last Friday through the weekend was a major Jewish holiday and lots of people were closed. Depending on how the timing worked, it's entirely possible that a query to the supplier sent late Thursday wouldn't get a response until Monday (today).
 
Ah, that makes sense. I am a newbie to the Jewelry Biz, and so I have been learning alot these past couple of days. This site is incredible :)
 
I just went through something similar with JA. I put 3 EC's on hold, asking for ASET's. They told me one of them wasn't available locally and they couldn't get me the ASET on that one particular stone. Ok then, no problem. I went back the very next day with the intent to purchase and they told me the diamond was sold. WHAT? How do they sell a diamond placed on hold. Then I was told that the diamond that I wanted, the same one that they couldn't get an ASET on, wasn't available for any "holds" and they never put it on hold in the first place. No one ever told me the diamond wasn't placed on hold, so I was very upset. All along I thought I had 3 diamonds on hold. So I cancelled the other 2 ASET's and took my business elsewhere.
 
Canadian_Rocks|1428949912|3861343 said:
I just went through something similar with JA. I put 3 EC's on hold, asking for ASET's. They told me one of them wasn't available locally and they couldn't get me the ASET on that one particular stone. Ok then, no problem. I went back the very next day with the intent to purchase and they told me the diamond was sold. WHAT? How do they sell a diamond placed on hold. Then I was told that the diamond that I wanted, the same one that they couldn't get an ASET on, wasn't available for any "holds" and they never put it on hold in the first place. No one ever told me the diamond wasn't placed on hold, so I was very upset. All along I thought I had 3 diamonds on hold. So I cancelled the other 2 ASET's and took my business elsewhere.
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Yes this is all very frustrating indeed. The customer service rep has done a good job of finding me a couple of comparable stones.
I am willing to place a deposit on this in order to keep someone else from "stealing" it but she is waiting until 6pm EST to give me a final confirmation if this stone is indeed available.
 
Update: I just received this "...but since the diamond is not at our New York location, we will not be 100% sure until tomorrow morning. I have several people keeping an eye on this, and I will have a definitive answer for you when I get to work in the morning at 10am EST."

Stay tuned. I am hoping to hear good news in the morning.
 
Update: I was informed the stone was available and that it would be placed on hold for me. I have also just gone to the bank and setup a wire transfer in the full amount. Now, here goes some commentary (and I hope James is still following this thread silently):

I have been doing alot of reading on this incredible forum. Only recently did I discover it and also the HCA calculator. The stone I just purchased is here: GIA # 6192661583. The results of the HCA are: 2.0. Fire is Excellent and all others are Very Good.

I asked to see an Ideal Scope image and was told that because this rock does not come from the NY office, they do not have any IS images available at all. This is what the customer service rep said in her email this morning:

" Hi Carlos,

As I mentioned yesterday over chat, this diamond is not at our New York location and therefore is not eligible for IdealScope imaging. Are you sure that we are talking about the same diamond? We currently have diamond xxx on hold in an order for you. Please let me know if there is anything else I can do for you in the mean time.

Jessica"

Given the fact that the previous diamond I had in the shopping cart over the weekend was no longer available, I went ahead and pulled the trigger on this stone since I am under the assumption that if I am not satisfied for any reason, I can return the ring or possibly get it exchanged.

So, can any of you PS gurus give me your insight? Is this a good stone that will make my soon to be wife extremely excited? will it have the fire and luster I am paying alot of $$$ for, or did I make a mistake?

As always, I will keep everyone updated with this thread.
 
UPDATE:

Ring arrived yesterday and I was blown away! When I started this thread, I was pretty upset but after I calmed down and worked with James and his customer support team, we found a comparable diamond with even better quality than the one I initially had chosen.

The ring, and the packaging which included the appraisal and GIA cert was the icing on the cake :love:

I spent hours looking at the diamonds with the 360 degree zoom on the JA website which is equivalent to 40x zoom. It looked better in person!

Overall, I am extremely satisfied and will not hesitate to do more business with JA in the future :wavey:

img_7734.jpg
 
Beautiful!!!!
 
Your ring is just beautiful and I'm so happy for you that everything worked out great in the end!
 
It's a stunner!! wow.. love the setting. :love: :love:
 
I'm glad everything worked out for you and that you ended up with a beautiful ring - and in a relatively short time! Congratulations on your engagement!
 
Gorgeous! So glad you are happy! JA really does try to please!
 
It's gorgeous! Looks great on too! :love: I'm glad you updated the thread with the lovely photo collage. It's wonderful to hear that James Allen made sure you were taken care & the ring turned out beautifully! :clap:
 
Looks stunning! I am glad it all worked out for you. :clap:
 
Beautiful outcome and great customer service by JA! So glad it all worked out so well in the end. JA has a good reputation so I expect them to solve matters like this.
 
Congrats, nice ring and I am glad it worked out in the end!!!
 
Yay! Who doesn't love a happy ending? I also own a JA ring. So glad they pulled through for you with flying colors! :dance:

And the ring looks gorgeous on you!
 
thanks for the kind words everyone :D :D :D
 
Very glad to hear it all worked out so well in the end!! Its always wonderful to hear a great customer service story ---kudo's to James Allen and congratulations on your engagement ring!! Its beautiful!
 
That is one BEAUTIFUL ring! I'm so glad everything worked out for you! CONGRATS! :appl:
 
New ring is beautiful. It doesn't seem like the title to this thread is appropriate any more. James Allen made good.
 
That is so gorgeous!! Great job to you and JA!
 
I do sympathize, but James Allen is a drop shipper which is how they are able to keep their prices low. Blue Nile is the same. This means that shoppers everywhere can see this inventory because the stones aren't inhouse - the company hasn't paid for them so isn't bearing the cost of initial outlay, the stones sitting there for however long, insurance, etc. This is how the company is able to offer great prices. BUT, it does mean that the diamond isn't yours until you actually buy it. The fact that the stone was in your basket on Thursday means nothing. And while you were sorting out the wire transfer, someone in Singapore could have been buying it quickly using a credit card. This is the way drop shippers work, so I don't think it's JA's fault.

With Blue Nile they can put diamonds on hold. Perhaps find out if JA has this option.

Good luck!

Edit: Just seen the ring - what a stunner! It's absolutely beautiful!!
 
Jambalaya|1430147469|3868418 said:
I do sympathize, but James Allen is a drop shipper...
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Hi Jambalaya,

Just a quick note: We are absolutely NOT a drop-shipper. That term infers that we sell products that we never see or inspect. In reality, we inspect every diamond (loose or mounted) and every piece of jewelry prior to shipment.

We do, however, list diamonds that are outside of our New York office, and as you've pointed out adding something to your basket does not reserve the item. Once it's on hold or in an order, however, we have a fairly sophisticated reservation system that does ensure (99% of the time) that the diamond is available.

Hope this helps.
 
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