Price fluctuations on James Allen and Enchanted Diamonds listings. What determines this?

[hobbitfancier55]

Hi all! I’m sure this has been discussed before at some point, but i couldn’t find a specific back post with the same question.

I’ve noticed specifically with James Allen and Enchanted Diamonds, the price of a specific diamond on any given day will change anywhere from around $100 to $500 difference.

For example, when i first saw a listing for a diamond it was $3,230. It went as low as $2,960, and now is up to $3,410.

Every listing of every diamond I’ve ever bookmarked on my phone (i note the original price) has done this. Is there some algorithm that determines this?

At first i thought it had to do with the number of hits that page was getting (they assume people are looking and interested) and lowering the price x amount would act as an incentive to the buyer. Now that I’ve seen the prices go up, i figured I’d ask the experts!

 

[YoungPapa]

Hi @hobbitfancier55,

It's fairly common in the online industry for websites to use a "Cost +" pricing methodology. This means that the retailer will decide on a fixed margin, then add that to the cost being presented by the diamond supplier. If the supplier moves their cost up or down, the retail price will follow. There are other factors that can influence retail pricing, but they probably don't happen with the frequency you've described.

Hope this helps.

 

[Johnbt]

Does it happen on the first of the month? Does the seller have a boat payment due?

 

[hobbitfancier55]

Hi @hobbitfancier55,

It's fairly common in the online industry for websites to use a "Cost +" pricing methodology. This means that the retailer will decide on a fixed margin, then add that to the cost being presented by the diamond supplier. If the supplier moves their cost up or down, the retail price will follow. There are other factors that can influence retail pricing, but they probably don't happen with the frequency you've described.

Hope this helps.

Thank you so much for responding! That makes a lot of sense. I appreciate the explanation.

 

[Bron357]

And if you’re in a different country and shopping online, or a “virtual diamond” being sourced from a different country the changing exchange rate also affects the price.
Being in Australia we really feel that!