Question about Purchsing off Ebay. Need help/advice

[namsupak]

Hello I am thinking about buying a Diamond Ring off of Ebay. I am curious if first of all anyone has done this before? If the Diamond I am considering is a good deal? And the certificate authenticity? I guess to start off here are the diamond specs:

Weight: 1.31 Carats
Shape and Cut: Round Brilliant Cut
Measurements: 6.90 – 7.08 X 4.34 mm

Proportions
Total Depth: 62.1%
Table Width: 59.0%
Crown Height: 13.5%
Pavillion Depth: 44.0%
Girdle Thickness: Thin to Thick, Faceted

Finish
Polish: Good
Symmetry: Good
Culet: Very Small

Clarity Grade: IF
Graining: Nil
Color Grade: L
Fluorescence: Faint Blue

Comments: Minor details of polish not shown

About the certificate:
It has a circular seal on it that says (in a circle around the picture in the middle) “European Gemological Laboratory” Then underneath the seal it says: “LOS ANGELES” The top says “Diamond Certificate of Quality analysis issued by European Gemological Laboratory, Inc.” There is also a certificate # is there anyway to look it up to see if it is authentic?

The seller is asking for approx $3000 (three thousand dollars). I am wondering is this a good deal and the certificate that I described does that sound like a real certificate. Any help/advice

would be greatly appreciated. If you want to email me if you need more info please use [email protected] Thanks for taking the time to help out someone in need.

 

[Arlington]

That is a low price, but the diamond is fairly out of round and scores somewhat poorly (3.9) on the Holloway Cut Advisor. This is not an ideal cut diamond.

Not to mention that with an "L" color this diamond will appear noticeably yellow.

I personally would not buy it.

 

[namsupak]

Ya I looked at that too the "L" grade it got. I don't really know much about gems except that usually you shouldn't go below H, correct?. But looking at it, it seems a lot better than what I would think of as an "L" color, is that maybe because of the "IF" clarity?

 

[canadiangrrl]

Ditto Arlington. It's not a great diamond. But if you like it, and the price is right...nah, I still wouldn't do it.

Sorry, but it's just not a very nice diamond. If you have $3K USD to spend, you can do a heckuva lot better. You won't get anywhere near a 1.31 carat weight in a well-cut stone, but you can purchase a really decent diamond and simple tiffany-style setting from one of the Pricescope vendors (Dirt Cheap Diamonds, Whiteflash, Good Old Gold, etc.) and it will look much nicer than this stone.

Keep looking and post your potential choices here, you'll find lots of people who are far more informed than I who will be willing to give you guidance & advice.

 

[finchuck]

It looks yellow in the pic and it'll probably look ever more yellow in real life.

 

[canadiangrrl]

An L is going to face up yellowish. The IF clarity of this diamond has no impact on how much colour it will or will not exhibit. Stay below J if you are looking for a reasonably colourless, round diamond. And this one might look better than it is because of lighting in the photograph...or it might not even be the actual ring you're purchasing. It does look faintly yellow to my eyes.

 

[spicolicpa]

0.75 Super Ideal SI2 F $2,929.00

This diamond at Superbcerts is a Hearts and Arrows beauty. All the light returns are Excellent and this is what will make people turn their heads and say wow.

My advice is to go smaller in size and raise your cut and color expectations 300% and realize that an internally flawless diamond faces up the same as an eyeclean SI1 or the exceptional SI2.


A lot of online stores do not charge shipping and you can match this stone up with a ~$400 platinum band and get out at the same price after all the E-Bay stress, shipping charges, payment charges, appraisal costs (Cause your going to appraise this thing when you get it to make sure it really is not frozen spit.)

 

[pqcollectibles]

STEP AWAY FROM EBAY!

My diamond shopping experience on eBay was less than stellar. I couldn't get Sarin info from jewelers/diamond sellers.

The diamond is quite out of round and the color.....

I would much rather have a smaller carat weight, knockout diamond for the same money. One that will grab the eye, not repulse people!

 

[valeria101]

Get it before I DO! Just kidding, but I do like those cape colors. This looks like a good buy, unless you expect the stone to look like a D, H&A in which case you are likely to be disapointed. An L would show a slight yellow tint but this should not be the end of the world in a small, sparking object. The yellow gold in the ring should help mask the yellowish tint (this should be still way lighter than, say, the tint of yellow wine or such). So? It is a flawless diamond and EGL is a reputable lab (main one in Europe, with some US branches, including the above mentioned). The color makes this stone a relatively cheap one, but I would love to go around showing it and mentoning that IF status! About price: L is still a more popular and expensive grade than those I would prefer (P-W) for their wormer tones, but there seems to be a premium (and rightly so) for the clarity. If you have a couple of minutes check some prices, just in case. Also, if either L or IF are not unmovable for you, a L-VS1 would look the same and should cost even less. Again, an L, VS, H&A may cost about the same and look better. I know that fewer people ask on Pricescope about these colors, but it does not mean that they are less available! The cut looks ok to me and the smaller table should produce a pleasing profile.
Congratulations for the choice!

 

[Giangi]

GREAT NEWS: The cert seems to be an oldish EGL LA, when Tom Tashey still was the director. He's now PGS director. They were very strict and comparable to GIA.
K-L color is what you usually get when you buy an uncerted J color diamond.
Cut looks nice... Not exceptional, but well above average... When compared with an ideal cut H&A stone, you'll see some difference, but you're not paying $5K or more either! It's a bit out of round, though.
IF clarity... You don't need to say anything about that. Just perfect.

And all her friends will be green with envy!

To sum up: if you want a 1.30ct diamond at $3K and you want great clarity, then why not? I suspect you wouldn't even get a 1ct K-L/VS quality H&A stone for less than $3.5-4K.
But, you have to know that L isn't white. It is slightly tinted. But the setting given with the diamond seems to compliment with the stone's color. If you like the idea of getting an IF diamond, but you don't want to pay $9K for a G-H stone, then this one might be the righ one for you. Cut is not incredible, but I suspect this stone will be pretty in real life. IF clarity is cool too!

 

[glitterata]

Whether that stone is a good one for you really depends on what you're looking for.

Color: You will definitely notice a bit of yellow when you look at it in most types of light. As you can see from reading the responses, this would bother many of the people on this board, but not everyone. I have a K/L diamond that I love--I wear it more often than my F. As Valeria said, it's nowhere near as yellow as a glass of white wine, say. More like the difference between milk and cream. But if you want a colorless stone, this is not for you.

Clarity: This stone will have no flaws inside it that are visible when it's magnified to ten times its normal size. However, without a magnifier, its clarity will look no different from that of many stones five or six steps lower on the charts. If you just want a stone that looks completely clean to the naked eye, you could go as low as SI1 or SI2. An IF grade may be overkill if all you want is a stone that doesn't show its flaws. And the combination of top clarity and rather undesireable color is an odd one.

Cut: Everyone says this is a lousy cut. Not the worst you could possibly get, but not good. That means it won't sparkle as much as a better-cut stone, it won't have the rainbows & delightful flashes of color coming off it, and it may appear dark and dull.

Carat: However, because this is ebay and because the cut and color aren't so great, you get a large stone for the price.

Safety of the transaction: I have no idea what your chance is of getting ripped off buying from this seller on ebay, but you should try to find out. How is their feedback? How is their return policy? etc. I would hesitate to spend that much money on ebay, but that's just me.

Good luck!

 

[valeria101]

Ok... if you don't get it and the auction ends up without a buyer, I would appreciate if you could post the Ebay avatar (name) of the seller so I can track down this beauty!

Just a suggestion... thanks!

 

[Mara]

In the end its all about your priorities. Do you have a small budget, is that why you are looking at eBay? Do you like the warmer color stones? You WILL see yellow when you look at this stone. The IF clarity has nothing to do with color.




If you don't mind a yellow cast to the stone or the fact that it's not a good cut (and is out of round), and would rather just say...look at this big rock I got for cheap on eBay...then go for it! I'm not sure what your priorities here are here and you really don't say. However..I will say that if its an engagement ring and a surprise...I don't know that I'd be jazzed that my fiance got me a 'deal' on eBay with an L colored stone with a crappy cut for cheap. Even if that was all the money he had. It's a perception thing maybe? Like..'what the hell is this?!'

My two cents. I would not get it and keep looking. You may end up with something smaller but better cut. Don't care as much about the color? Then get a J stone and SI clarity and get slightly over a carat--but with a better cut. The cut is what makes the stone.




In the end you are making the decision and yes people purchase on eBay all the time. Are they smart about it? Not necessarily--most don't even do any research and just get caught up 'in the moment'. So at least you are not one of them.

Get it appraised when the stone arrives...that way you cover your bases. Make sure its really what it says it is. Make sure the seller has a return policy. Make sure you can send it back if it turns up and you hate it. Cover your bases.




Good luck!

 

[diamondsbylauren]

Hi all,
I'm with AnA and Giangi when it comes to L color in diamonds- it can be quite beautiful.

I agree that the cut looks questionable- primarily because it is so far out of round.

I would say that if your budget is $3000, a carat and a quarter in a round diamond is going to be too poor a quality, in general.

With all due respect to those who frown upon eBay: There's never a need to be embarrassed if you found something on eBay. If one chooses to talk about what it cost, or where they got it, that's up to them.
If you find something great on eBay, it may be a very good deal. BUT- be very careful because you are not doing business with eBay- you're doing it with the seller. Make sure you check out the seller's feedback, and other auctions. Make sure that you verify the sellers address and that you can reach them on the phone.

I would NEVER bid on an auction for an expensive item if I did not speak to the seller first and make sure I was comfortable. But I have bought quite a few expensive items that I found on eBay. I really don't think there's anything wrong with it, and apparently 50 million other people feel the same way.

 

[Mara]

----------------
On 10/29/2003 1:57:08 AM diamondsbylauren wrote:










With all due respect to those who frown upon eBay: There's never a need to be embarrassed if you found something on eBay. If one chooses to talk about what it cost, or where they got it, that's up to them.
If you find something great on eBay, it may be a very good deal.

----------------

Who is talking about embarassment?! eBay is great..I use it all the time. For diamonds? No....not yet anyway.

When it comes to something like a diamond, I would never use eBay without grilling the seller and most likely driving them away from even wanting me as a customer because I would be too demanding and ask for things they wouldn't even want to produce. They could easily get someone else who wouldn't even ask a question...and sell the stone to them.

eBay is an excellent direct sale forum, however as with ANY eBay purchase, shop smart. When you are spending thousands of dollars on eBay, shop even smarter. Unfortunately in some cases seller feedback does not mean anything...you can have great feedback and sometimes that just means that your customers are ignorant. Treat them nicely and half the time they don't even ask questions. Don't give the general public too much credit.

Also...I'd like to wager that '50 million' other people are not purchasing diamonds on eBay. This transaction would not be your random old clothes sale. I'm definitely not adverse to eBay...however lumping this transaction in with others is not going to make the sale more secure. Question the seller...sure...but be demanding. Ask the questions you seek and GET THE ANSWERS. Or go elsewhere. This is not something that no one else has. It's something that a vendor has for a suspiciously cheap price. Especially be wary of a vendor with a physical store who is selling diamonds for ridiculously low prices...as I noted in my other posts. Why would they sell online for 1/2 of what they could make in their store? What's wrong with that stone?!

Buyer beware...you have no other recourse for protecting your money other than your own research.

Good luck!

 

[diamondsbylauren]

Hi Mara,


I never meant th "throw down a gauntlet"- it kinda sounded like you'd get mad even if your fiance got an awesome deal, just because he found it on eBay.




Your points are all EXCELLENT though.


Definately BE DEMANDING. I get clients that really need to have their hands held from start to finish- and I do not blame them one bit- I'd be the same way.


Also BE CAREFUL- there's so much junk on eBay that extreme caution is warranted.


As far as Sarin reports- I don't see that many stones coming from cutters carrying Sarin reports.


The details on the Sarin are generally most useful for H&A stones.


If you're seeking a H&A and the price that goes along with it, you have every right to expect a Sarin report.


But by and large, cutter do not have a Sarin run as a matter of course on most diamonds.