Prices higher for jewelers?

[austinj]

Ok so this happened to me a few months ago and still kind of bugs me so I thought I would ask you guys.. I was making a peice of jewelry with a good reputation vendor, and looking for a stone. So he said he found me a stone by a certain vendor I know about and it was priced at 2000/ct so it was going to be over 4000$ but he could give it to me for 3200$. So I said yes! Then I went on the vendors site and saw the stone with the exact carat weight and almost exact same description so I'm pretty sure that was my stone, and it was priced for anyone to buy online for around 2700$. I went back to look again a couple hours later and it was off his site. So I'm pretty sure that's the one that I bought.although I have no proof. Is this a normal thing to do for a jeweler? I'm confused!

 

[chrono]

Yes, this is normal. The more hands it passes through, a mark up is added to cover the cost (shipping, customer service, insurance, etc).

 

[deskjockey]

It's probably normal for any kind of business.

He tacks on extra to pay for his time and trouble in locating the stone, and also because he wants to maximize his profit.

And by telling you something is $$$$, then offering it for $$$, it makes you feel warm and fuzzy about it as well.

But since technically he is buying the stone, then selling it to you, not much you can do about the markup.

 

[austinj]

Phew! Ok I feel better now. I don't mind paying extra I just don't like being taken for a ride. So that's great news! I didn't even tell my boyfriend about it because he was already nervous buying online and I feared if he knew he might have cancelled the ring! Glad I didn't say anything!

 

[tourma-guy]

Yea its normal. When I went to my local jeweler to have my blue zircons set, they were trying to upsell me on stones that they could source claiming that I paid too much for mine for the quality. Kind of annoyed me, but its just them doing business.

 

[minousbijoux]

Well I wish there was a way the process could be subtler so you wouldn't end up knowing that you could've gotten it for less. But once again, Austinj, your generous heart and understanding nature shines through.

For the jeweler's sake, I would think they would want to find a way to add the markup without having it be so obvious to the potential customer. I would wager that most customers are not as understanding as Austinj is.

 

[chrono]

I don't mind paying extra for a jeweller's service but the original quote of nearly 2x greater than the actual price is mind boggling!

 

[tourma-guy]

Probably the best defence against getting taken for a ride financially is to be well informed before going to the jeweler. Know what the prices are online and what you are willing to pay. If they can find something that you need, but that you couldn't find on your own, then its probably worth it to spend some extra money.

 

[deskjockey]

I don't mind paying extra for a jeweller's service but the original quote of nearly 2x greater than the actual price is mind boggling!

I don't know, I see this all the time. Every time you get those sales circulars, same thing. Actual value of item (with profit figured in for the store): $700. They'll say the original price is $1500, but it's on sale now for $800! For a limited time only! They're still making out like bandits, and you think you're getting a deal. It's the way of all retail, and it sucks a lot of people into buying things they think are "good deals," LOL

 

[T L]

Probably the best defence against getting taken for a ride financially is to be well informed before going to the jeweler. Know what the prices are online and what you are willing to pay. If they can find something that you need, but that you couldn't find on your own, then its probably worth it to spend some extra money.

Good advice, but it is extremely important to be educated on colored gems, or the particular species you're looking at. The sticky thread on "new to colored gems" at the top of this subforum is a great help in that regard.

 

[upcyclist]

To paraphrase a guide from a cutter colleague, "If you're going to cut for profit, decide if you're cutting for the public or for the trade. Many jewelers will drop you if they find out you're selling to the public." And your situation describes exactly why.

Now, does that mean it can't be done? No. From a trade perspective, if I'm going to list a stone at $2k to the public, and I want to offer the same stone to a jeweler, I could work out a deal with him. Heck, if he found it on my site and is selling it to one of his clients, I kinda owe him for the referral anyway.

TL;DR: Yes, it happens. Jewelers generally mark up all of their materials so they can earn a living, too. Would I recommend a jeweler double a publicly-available price? No.

 

[austinj]

Thank you for the kind words Minou! Yes I would have been happier in my blissful stupor thinking I was getting around 1200$ off the stone! But you are right TL I should have done more homework. It is a 2.2 (approx) carat greenish blue Montana sapphire with probably lower saturation. Lots of montanas have quite a bit of grey I find. And it is heated! And also I haven't even seen the stone in person! Yes I know rookie mistake. I guess I'm trusting that my jewelers artists eye picked out a good one that would fit the ring nicely. And I'm not terribly picky with colors. I tend to like all sorts of different ones and I don't mine grey and a bit of brown. Brown I like less but grey is ok! So I guess it would have to be pretty ugly for me not to like it! We shall see in three weeks!!! Eeee!

So I am reading right that the jeweler probably bought the stone for the listed price and then marked it up that much? Not that the stone vendor sold it for more to the jeweler?

 

[Lovinggems]

Jewellers usually receive a wholesale price from the cutter right? Not sure if this is in the case for this particular situation. Maybe the trades people could clarify.

 

[Green with Envy]

i am not an expert, but I would bet all my money that the stone vendor did NOT sell the stone to the jeweler for more... your guy just made a nice bit of profit selling the stone to you.

I was shown a sapphire for a certain price by my local jeweler... and then found the EXACT same stone online for half the price and I could have had it sent to me for inspection with free shipping/ free returns. My greedy jeweler even wanted me to pay for shipping just to inspect it.

I understand everyone needs to be paid... but in my case he was trying to add on over 20k to the original price of the stone found online and I know I will NEVER EVER walk into that store again.

 

[ElleK]

Jewellers usually receive a wholesale price from the cutter right? Not sure if this is in the case for this particular situation. Maybe the trades people could clarify.

Depends on a lot of things. Your relationship with the cutter likely has a lot to do with it. If you buy a ton of stones from a cutter, they will probably give you a bigger break in price than they would to Joe Schmo Jeweler who has bought one gem from them.

There are people who will not deal with the public. Period. So a true wholesaler. They don't want to deal with customers, so they deal exclusively with businesses who then have to deal with the customers.

Then there are the dealers who will sell wholesale and retail. Cutter has a website with posted retail pricing, but has a note that says, "For wholesale pricing, please contact me directly." or whatever. Typically if a cutter is building a relationship with a jeweler, they will give them a break on the price because it's a likely repeat customer. It's better to take a slight hit on multiple sales with a jeweler than a "one and done" consumer. The relationship built with the jeweler will make more money and move more product over time. Then the jeweler marks it up in their shop so they can get a bit of profit.

So it really just depends on the cutter/dealer, and what kind of relationship is going on there.

Most customers are uneducated and lots of jewelers take advantage of it. As far as colored stones go, a lot of jewelers out there are uneducated too!

As far as the original situation, the jeweler might have bought the stone for the advertised price and sold it to the customer for the elevated price, or they might have negotiated the advertised price down and made even more profit than originally thought.

 

[Lovinggems]

Great explanation ElleW, thank you.

 

[T L]

Most customers are uneducated and lots of jewelers take advantage of it. As far as colored stones go, a lot of jewelers out there are uneducated too!

Very true words!

 

[T L]

Thank you for the kind words Minou! Yes I would have been happier in my blissful stupor thinking I was getting around 1200$ off the stone! But you are right TL I should have done more homework. It is a 2.2 (approx) carat greenish blue Montana sapphire with probably lower saturation. Lots of montanas have quite a bit of grey I find. And it is heated! And also I haven't even seen the stone in person! Yes I know rookie mistake. I guess I'm trusting that my jewelers artists eye picked out a good one that would fit the ring nicely. And I'm not terribly picky with colors. I tend to like all sorts of different ones and I don't mine grey and a bit of brown. Brown I like less but grey is ok! So I guess it would have to be pretty ugly for me not to like it! We shall see in three weeks!!! Eeee!

So I am reading right that the jeweler probably bought the stone for the listed price and then marked it up that much? Not that the stone vendor sold it for more to the jeweler?

It may do yourself some good to go to a large gem show in your area, not to buy, but to view all kinds of gemstones. It helps in that regard to see all kinds of hues, saturations and tones in person, rather than photos on a flat monitor. While liking grey is perfectly acceptable, one should not accept it until they understand how saturation affects a gem. You may find out later that you dislike grey. I personally don't mind grey in my gems as long as the price reflects it, it's not too dark in tone, and it has fine luster. Everyone is different though, and too much grey can be a negative thing in terms of what you want in the future. This is why after more than two decades of collecting, I have wasted a lot of money on dark, unattractive, unsaturated gems. Don't confuse tone with saturation either, as I had to learn that the hard way.

 

[austinj]

Hey! Yes TL thanks for the advice. I am worried that once I get a little more into collecting that I might not like my stone anymore. Right now I'm still at a point where almost everything looks good to me! But in hoping that the jeweler, who seems to work with quite a bit of colored stones, has a good eye and actually picked a good one. I did try and go to a gem and rock show here about a month ago.. But it was almost all mineral specimens and fossils. There was one booth that has some trays of gems but they were incredibly small and poor quality so it didn't really do me much good. One day I hope to go to the Tuscan show!! And I do definitely agree with the comment about many jewelers not knowing too much about colored stones it seems! I guess we are still a pretty niche market.

 

[minousbijoux]

Hey! Yes TL thanks for the advice. I am worried that once I get a little more into collecting that I might not like my stone anymore. Right now I'm still at a point where almost everything looks good to me! But in hoping that the jeweler, who seems to work with quite a bit of colored stones, has a good eye and actually picked a good one. I did try and go to a gem and rock show here about a month ago.. But it was almost all mineral specimens and fossils. There was one booth that has some trays of gems but they were incredibly small and poor quality so it didn't really do me much good. One day I hope to go to the Tuscan show!! And I do definitely agree with the comment about many jewelers not knowing too much about colored stones it seems! I guess we are still a pretty niche market.

You know what? This happens and its okay. You can always sell any stones that you stop enjoying. You can chalk any money lost along the way as the price of your stone education.

 

[austinj]

Thanks Minou! Well it is my engagement ring so I don't think I will ever get rid of the stone as it will have sentimental value. The way I see it, it's sparkly and supposed to be cut well and it is grey green blue which are beautiful colors in nature! So I think it will be ok. Definitely should be more interesting than my last engagement ring heehee If I find I don't like grey stones so much as time goes on I will just have to make some crazy RH rings! And I guess for now there's nothing I can do about the price so I will assume my jeweler had his reasons for raising the price that much and just let it go. I am very comforted to know that it is mostly a normal thing that jewelers do so that was the main thing