Hello all,
I am completely green when it comes to buying a loose diamond - this is my 1st experience. And this is going to be a long one, so please bear with me.
Hindsight is so 20/20 and I fear I may be too late in seeking everyone's opinion.. My boyfriend has already sent a wire transfer from his bank account to an online dealer.. Here's how it went:
I have been looking online for a loose diamond for over a month. I got caught up in learning diamond knowledge and visited multiple sites, using the search engine that seems to be common on several sites and is very similar to the one on here.
Intitally I was on a site called 1 800 Loose Diamonds. I used the search on their site and FINALLY, I found what I was looking for. I called their number, spoke to a lady who took my info and promised me a call back. I waited a day and when I didn't hear from them, I googled "loose diamonds" and found another site called loosediamondexchange.com. The site looks like many others, however I couldn't get the search engine to work properly; it was not bringing up thousands of results like I had experienced on others. I called and talked to a man who asked me what I was looking for. I explained that I had found exactly what I wanted on another site and told him the cut/color/clarity of the diamond as well as the dimensions. He took my info and shortly after our call, I recieved an email from him saying he had found the exact diamond I wanted, provided a link to the GIA Certificate and also said the price listed was "wire transfer" price. (I thought nothing of this, as I have seen "cash" or "wire" price on many other sites, so thinking this is common) He said he did not have the diamond, but could get it for me within 2 weeks, give or take a few days. He also sent an instruction document (Word doc) with all of the info we needed to take to the bank and send the money. We spoke on the phone again and he explained that the diamond was outside of the U.S., which was the reason it would take longer to ship and why he requires wire payments.
My boyfriend sent the money from his bank on Monday - I called the dealer a few hours later and he logged on to his bank account and said "yep, I see the funds are pending." He said to give him a day or two and he would let me know when I should expect it to be delivered, explaining that he would have it shipped to him, then he would Fed Ex it to me. I called him again Wednesday and he said he had ordered it.. I asked if he had any tracking info and he said "not yet" that he wouldn't provide shipping info until he sends it to me.
After mulling this over for a few days with the boyfriend (who is now very concerned), I called again yesterday and told him that the bf is freaking out and that I needed a receipt. Again, he was very friendly and said he understood the worry; he would send a receipt via email.
What I received from him was typed up on a Word doc, showing all the basic transaction information. It has a banner across the top that says "loosediamondexchange.com" - and that's it. No address, no name. Also, none of the email correspondence is personalized (no names/signature).
He is accredited with the BBB (A rating) which shows them being in business since 2005, has a GeoTrust certification and is an Authorize.net merchant. I realize those are about protecting online transactions through the site.
I've been up all night researching the owner - he's had a jewelry store in the past, had starfacets.com that now loops back to loosediamondexchange.com and even has a few Youtube video advertisements from 2008. So, he's out there. If only I had been so diligent BEFORE the money got wired.
So at this point, I am scared out of my mind - this diamond cost $4248.00 !! It's a radiant cut, 1.50/J/SI1 and is GIA certified. Am I being irrational here, or do I have reason to be afraid? Sorry for the novel.
I am completely green when it comes to buying a loose diamond - this is my 1st experience. And this is going to be a long one, so please bear with me.
Hindsight is so 20/20 and I fear I may be too late in seeking everyone's opinion.. My boyfriend has already sent a wire transfer from his bank account to an online dealer.. Here's how it went:
I have been looking online for a loose diamond for over a month. I got caught up in learning diamond knowledge and visited multiple sites, using the search engine that seems to be common on several sites and is very similar to the one on here.
Intitally I was on a site called 1 800 Loose Diamonds. I used the search on their site and FINALLY, I found what I was looking for. I called their number, spoke to a lady who took my info and promised me a call back. I waited a day and when I didn't hear from them, I googled "loose diamonds" and found another site called loosediamondexchange.com. The site looks like many others, however I couldn't get the search engine to work properly; it was not bringing up thousands of results like I had experienced on others. I called and talked to a man who asked me what I was looking for. I explained that I had found exactly what I wanted on another site and told him the cut/color/clarity of the diamond as well as the dimensions. He took my info and shortly after our call, I recieved an email from him saying he had found the exact diamond I wanted, provided a link to the GIA Certificate and also said the price listed was "wire transfer" price. (I thought nothing of this, as I have seen "cash" or "wire" price on many other sites, so thinking this is common) He said he did not have the diamond, but could get it for me within 2 weeks, give or take a few days. He also sent an instruction document (Word doc) with all of the info we needed to take to the bank and send the money. We spoke on the phone again and he explained that the diamond was outside of the U.S., which was the reason it would take longer to ship and why he requires wire payments.
My boyfriend sent the money from his bank on Monday - I called the dealer a few hours later and he logged on to his bank account and said "yep, I see the funds are pending." He said to give him a day or two and he would let me know when I should expect it to be delivered, explaining that he would have it shipped to him, then he would Fed Ex it to me. I called him again Wednesday and he said he had ordered it.. I asked if he had any tracking info and he said "not yet" that he wouldn't provide shipping info until he sends it to me.
After mulling this over for a few days with the boyfriend (who is now very concerned), I called again yesterday and told him that the bf is freaking out and that I needed a receipt. Again, he was very friendly and said he understood the worry; he would send a receipt via email.
What I received from him was typed up on a Word doc, showing all the basic transaction information. It has a banner across the top that says "loosediamondexchange.com" - and that's it. No address, no name. Also, none of the email correspondence is personalized (no names/signature).
He is accredited with the BBB (A rating) which shows them being in business since 2005, has a GeoTrust certification and is an Authorize.net merchant. I realize those are about protecting online transactions through the site.
I've been up all night researching the owner - he's had a jewelry store in the past, had starfacets.com that now loops back to loosediamondexchange.com and even has a few Youtube video advertisements from 2008. So, he's out there. If only I had been so diligent BEFORE the money got wired.
So at this point, I am scared out of my mind - this diamond cost $4248.00 !! It's a radiant cut, 1.50/J/SI1 and is GIA certified. Am I being irrational here, or do I have reason to be afraid? Sorry for the novel.
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