Shane Co. vs. Online Vendors

[BlueJeans]

Just thought I give my 2 cents-

I had a girlfriend whose mother worked at Shane Co. She never spoke very highly of them as an employer. I won''t go near them for many reasons.

If you have had a good experience with them, then by all means go with them. Maybe they are different in your area.

Report back with your review.

 

[bdarwin]

After careful consideration, I''ve decided to not go with Shane Co. The only worry I have is the benefits of a local jeweler vs. an online vendor.....

 

[BlueJeans]

bdarwin,

Research privately owned jewelers in your area. I too dread sending my ring anywhere for work. The turn around time plus the cost of shipping, well just sucks.

If you could find a good benchman for the little stuff like resizing and check ups. That would be ideal. Buying a stone and setting from an online vender is the way to go. No one likes paying more than they have to especially with a large purchase. Just find one with a good return and upgrade policy.

-Blue

 

[bdarwin]

Date: 3/3/2008 4:17:48 PM
Author: BlueJeans
bdarwin,

Research privately owned jewelers in your area. I too dread sending my ring anywhere for work. The turn around time plus the cost of shipping, well just sucks.

If you could find a good benchman for the little stuff like resizing and check ups. That would be ideal. Buying a stone and setting from an online vender is the way to go. No one likes paying more than they have to especially with a large purchase. Just find one with a good return and upgrade policy.

-Blue

So you''re saying have the ring setting made and diamond set by one of the online vendors that was mentioned before and then find a 3rd party to do repairs locally if possible?

 

[mrssalvo]

Date: 3/3/2008 4:42:52 PM
Author: bdarwin

if you are buying a designer setting, many times the warrantly is voided if anyone else touches it. you can however find a nice mom and pop jeweler to clean the ring and check the prongs every 6 months or so but personally i would always send my ring back to the maker for any type of repairs.

 

[Kaleigh]

Date: 3/3/2008 5:41:00 PM
Author: mrssalvo

Date: 3/3/2008 4:42:52 PM
Author: bdarwin

if you are buying a designer setting, many times the warrantly is voided if anyone else touches it. you can however find a nice mom and pop jeweler to clean the ring and check the prongs every 6 months or so but personally i would always send my ring back to the maker for any type of repairs.

Ditto.

 

[marvel]

Date: 3/3/2008 10:44:42 AM
Author: jewelerman
I enjoy my time on this forum ,but i get tired of the negative responces about buying at non-on line sources and the general blacket statement statement that they all will rip you off. Just because the source is on line doesnt mean a great experaince is going to follow.I have worked at several jewelry stores in my career and i have delt with both people that dont care about quality and people who are as educated and demanding as those here on the forum.I have worked at stores with one location as well as a store with 460 stores.A chain store can carry poor quality as well as exceptional quality.I have had to tell people that they were taken online as well as that the quailty and price they recieved from some online sources was exceptional.In researching and speaking to people at the the Shane Co.You will find that they carry everything from I2-J quailty diamonds to their Shane Classic which is a diamond that is certified from AGS AND GIA as Ideal cut and impresasive color and clarities.They will replace any chipped or lost diamond in their jewelry for free for life,as well as all maintainance including re-rhodium,re-sizing,tips and crowns for life on their jewelry free...they will trade up their loose diamonds for one dollar more than original purchase price...no doubling or tripling required to trade up on a diamond...What on line jeweler offers these services free for life?So you cannot lump all jewelers as rip offs or honest...I spend a great deal of my time at the jewelry store i work at educating the customer in all aspects of the purchase and i resent the talk that because i work for a store with more than 20 locations that my goal is to rip off the typical customer.The employees at my company are not paid on commission.Each consumer needs to take responsibility for educating themselves and each source regardless of their location are responsible for being honest and representing their jewelry correctly so the customer can make an informed choice.

Do you work at Shane?

 

[Kaleigh]

Date: 3/3/2008 6:08:27 PM
Author: marvel

Date: 3/3/2008 10:44:42 AM
Author: jewelerman
I enjoy my time on this forum ,but i get tired of the negative responces about buying at non-on line sources and the general blacket statement statement that they all will rip you off. Just because the source is on line doesnt mean a great experaince is going to follow.I have worked at several jewelry stores in my career and i have delt with both people that dont care about quality and people who are as educated and demanding as those here on the forum.I have worked at stores with one location as well as a store with 460 stores.A chain store can carry poor quality as well as exceptional quality.I have had to tell people that they were taken online as well as that the quailty and price they recieved from some online sources was exceptional.In researching and speaking to people at the the Shane Co.You will find that they carry everything from I2-J quailty diamonds to their Shane Classic which is a diamond that is certified from AGS AND GIA as Ideal cut and impresasive color and clarities.They will replace any chipped or lost diamond in their jewelry for free for life,as well as all maintainance including re-rhodium,re-sizing,tips and crowns for life on their jewelry free...they will trade up their loose diamonds for one dollar more than original purchase price...no doubling or tripling required to trade up on a diamond...What on line jeweler offers these services free for life?So you cannot lump all jewelers as rip offs or honest...I spend a great deal of my time at the jewelry store i work at educating the customer in all aspects of the purchase and i resent the talk that because i work for a store with more than 20 locations that my goal is to rip off the typical customer.The employees at my company are not paid on commission.Each consumer needs to take responsibility for educating themselves and each source regardless of their location are responsible for being honest and representing their jewelry correctly so the customer can make an informed choice.

Do you work at Shane?

 

[goldenstar]

I understand that you don''t like the idea of shipping your ring out for repairs and such. I just wanted to point out that you probably won''t need to do this often, if at all. Rings are not like cars or computers with moving parts that wear down or break. A well made ring will last a lifetime. The only thing you might need on a regular basis is polishing, which you can do locally.

My point is-- I think you don''t have to worry so much about the shipping issue. It will be fine.

 

[arjunajane]

Date: 3/3/2008 6:23:13 PM
Author: Kaleigh

Date: 3/3/2008 6:08:27 PM
Author: marvel

Date: 3/3/2008 10:44:42 AM
Author: jewelerman
I enjoy my time on this forum ,but i get tired of the negative responces about buying at non-on line sources and the general blacket statement statement that they all will rip you off. Just because the source is on line doesnt mean a great experaince is going to follow.I have worked at several jewelry stores in my career and i have delt with both people that dont care about quality and people who are as educated and demanding as those here on the forum.I have worked at stores with one location as well as a store with 460 stores.A chain store can carry poor quality as well as exceptional quality.I have had to tell people that they were taken online as well as that the quailty and price they recieved from some online sources was exceptional.In researching and speaking to people at the the Shane Co.You will find that they carry everything from I2-J quailty diamonds to their Shane Classic which is a diamond that is certified from AGS AND GIA as Ideal cut and impresasive color and clarities.They will replace any chipped or lost diamond in their jewelry for free for life,as well as all maintainance including re-rhodium,re-sizing,tips and crowns for life on their jewelry free...they will trade up their loose diamonds for one dollar more than original purchase price...no doubling or tripling required to trade up on a diamond...What on line jeweler offers these services free for life?So you cannot lump all jewelers as rip offs or honest...I spend a great deal of my time at the jewelry store i work at educating the customer in all aspects of the purchase and i resent the talk that because i work for a store with more than 20 locations that my goal is to rip off the typical customer.The employees at my company are not paid on commission.Each consumer needs to take responsibility for educating themselves and each source regardless of their location are responsible for being honest and representing their jewelry correctly so the customer can make an informed choice.

Do you work at Shane?

???

 

[Missrocks]

- Not all B&M stores are rip-off's and not all online vendor's are honest. I agree stores can't be lumped into categories.

If you go off of feedback on the forums, you will see many more negative responses for Shane Co. and much less negativity towards online vendors. Someone once told me, for every one complaint you hear, there are probably another twenty unvoiced out there.

As a theory, could all the positive posts for a specific vendor deter a person from posting a negative experience with the same vendor? It almost becomes that some vendors on here have become such "superstars", that instead of posting a negative experience from that vendor, one might opt to keep quiet -for the sake of their thread sounding "not credible" or maybe drawing too much attention from the vendor themselves (several of the reputable vendors post on here) or the vendors happy customers. Whereas, it is so easy to jump on the bandwagon and bash those who have already gotten several negative reviews.
Just food for thought..

 

[swingirl]

I have read about negative experiences from people on PS. I don''t think anyone is holding back. There are complaints and mishaps. No one is perfect and things do happen, people do complain. But since PS is an internet experience people who are here are already showing their preference to communicating and researching on the internet. Of course they are going to be more comfortable with purchasing on the internet especially after seeing photos posted and experiences relayed about nice helpful folks to work withother people''s good experiences.

If someone has a favorite local jeweler that they trust they probably aren''t searching for diamonds on the internet.

 

[Imdanny]

bdarwin, to answer your question about WF and GOG, I read this very night a post in the archives about GOG and a customer who bought a ring from them. The ring came back with the prongs unsatisfactory and the maker of the setting had to redo the prongs (Storm remembers this thread).

I'm sorry to say but GOG said that the ring maker said the options were X and Y, and so the customer's options were X and Y. GOG changed this to "we'll make this right no matter what even if we have to send it somewhere else". When the ring came back (to GOG, before GOG shipped it to the customer), GOG said the ring maker said that they were not going to give a refund on the setting no matter what and that GOG would only give a refund on the stones. The customer had two options: 1 live with it or 2 eat it.

The customer was happy with the ring in the end, but I was very unimpressed that GOG would change its position.

I'm new to these forums, but sometimes they can be like a WF and GOG fan club, where never a criticism is heard.

Best of luck to you.

 

[monarch64]

I just feel like saying I''m listening in here, after having worked for a national department store a long time ago, and many years later working for an indie jeweler...I cannot condone nor condemn.