Reeds Jewelers and "good" deal?

[Jenga019]

My brother says he knows someone that works at Reeds Jewelers and can get us a good deal on a ring. We have been looking at diamonds on the internet and we found some in our price range that we like. I see that Reeds sells Tacori settings at a huge markup. What I was wondering is if anyone has worked at a place like Reeds, how "good" of a deal can you give to your family members? If the setting is 1600, how far can they possibly go down? The only reason why I am asking this is because we found a Scott Kay somewhere else that we both really like for 1500 and then we were just going to buy the diamond online and I didn''t want to have to go through the effort of how much of a "deal" she can get us only to refuse because we have our heart set on a Scott Kay. Just wondering if anyone has worked at a mall store like this and knows how far they can go down in price! Thanks!!!

 

[denverappraiser]

Chain stores can vary quite a bit in their policies. The manager has a certain amount of leeway, the district managers have a little more and the corporate managers have a whole lot. The precise division between these lines will differ from chain to chain and even from store to store.

Buying from family can sometimes be a problem because of emotional baggage that comes along with it but this can be the primary benefit as well. Most of the reasons to buy (or not buy) from a relative have nothing to do with the price. If your brother won’t be offended at the idea of you not buying from his ‘connection’, I wouldn’t worry much about it. Politely listen to their offer and give it whatever consideration it deserves. They may not like it if you find a better deal elsewhere but they have no reason to be offended either. If they do indeed have the right ring for right deal, buy it.

Neil Beaty, GG ISA
Independent Appraisals in Denver