Shane Company BAD!!!

[leavesofgrass]

I hate leaving negative comments however that is what I am about to do towards "Your friend in the diamond industry", Shane Co. I have very few if any posts on this forum however I have logged many hours researching how to find a great diamond at a fair price. Being an educated consumer makes all the difference and I thank all that post ?''s and advise.

I strolled into the Shane company armed with enough knowledge to be dangerous and went about trying to get educated from the very friendly non-commissioned sales person at Shane co. I come to find that I knew much more about the qualities that make up a good diamond than the multiple sales people that helped me. My questions were dismissed when I asked how important cut was to the over all beauty of the diamond. They explained," every diamond at Shane co. is well cut and isn''t this a beautiful diamond, see how it sparkles" They tried to peg me on the size of the diamond and found every piece of garbage (I1,I2) that fell within my price range. After much research thanks to everyone here and some well known online jeweler''s I realized I want''d a RB 1c, G-H, SI1 close to ideal but not as important to stretch my budget which happened to be $5000-$6000 dollars for the diamond. Shane couldn''t even come close and offered non-certified diamonds to try and come anywhere close to my whishes. I was not very impressed and walked away very frustrated. I could go on but I can feel my BP rising. Please be careful if thinking about purchasing from the Shane co. Some like their service and their gaurantees. I just did not trust them. Walk in armed with knowledge and hold your ground.

-Walt

 

[dimonbob]

I do that for fun sometimes when I am on vacation in an expensive resort area. The nice expensive jewelry stores are waiting like spiders and I walk in and make them crazy asking questions that I know they cannot answer.
Don't be angry with them for not being ready for the exam.

 

[TooMuchInformation]

Yeah, I wouldn't so much direct your anger at "Shane Co.", as much as most of the high profile B&M stores. I'm from Canada, and our biggest retailer is probably "Spence Diamonds", where they suggest that you come in and they'll teach you everything you need to know about diamonds. You get the same "cut is the most important part of the diamond, and we cut all of ours the best" bit there as well.

Also, *EVERY* local B&M store that I went to was the same way. No one really had any idea what they were talking about.

Keep your faith, and buy online.

 

[niceice]

FYI: The Shane Company is certainly better than most of the better known B&M chain stores operating on a large scale... Keep in mind that a company is only as good as it's product and the experience of their sales staff, it sounds like your sales person missed the boat

 

[Mara]

I went into Shanes when we were shopping around and their diamonds were WAY overpriced compared to online and even compared to some other B&M's I'd visited (like Joe Escobar was cheaper I believe...and more educated on what they were selling!). The guy wanted to sell me something like a $10k 1.30 H VS or similar and didn't even have any info on cut (oh but it was GIA certified..big deal!)..I don't think so!




Shane has tons of settings though--if someone is in the market for a setting, I would recommend looking there--but they don't set OTHER stones, so you'd have to buy their setting and have your diamond vendor set it if they would.

Sorry to hear about your bad experience but alot of maul jewelers are the same way, uneducated. I cringe when I think of what they sell.

 

[ccuheartnurse]

The Shane Co. sounds like Spence Diamonds up here. They will only sell & set their own stones in their settings. My experience with B&M stores arent that great either. My fiance was dead set against ordering online, till I took him shopping with me & he was floored at attitude moreso than the lack of knowledge. Its one thing to not know, but its another thing to treat people like crap so that your ignorance will go unnoticed.

SO, back to the internet we go...and life is grand.

haha

About Spence, they are smooth! They sit you in a nice office, comfortable chairs, even offer you a beverage. haha Then they tell you about their "GIA type of machines that grade their diamonds that are cut in their mines". RIGHT! I said to him it may be GIA **type** of equipment but its still a Spence employee that analyzes the stone. He wasnt too impressed with that & proceeded to tell me how impartial they are & how much education they receive. Prior to us getting down to the nitty gritty of the stone, he had told me he had been there about 9mths & was into clothing retail before. LOL LOL YA, GREAT EDUCATION GUY! hahaha Ok, I'm gonna be nice from now on.

Judy

 

[Caratz]

I don't see how it could be any other way with these large chain stores. The name of the game is to keep expenses under control and profit margins up. You don't want to have to spend too much on inventory, so you buy inferior diamonds (because you can buy a lot more of them and have more "selection"), and then try to sell them as if they were the best.

If you are the manager of one of these stores, do you think it is a better investment to train your employees on effective sales tactics? Or the fundamentals of gemology? If you train them with the proper knowledge about diamonds, they will realize that the store is selling inferior goods, they won't believe in the product, and they will be less effective.

The only time you want your sales force to know their stuff is when you are selling the best product on the market, and you want to make sure you get your message out.

 

[niceice]

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On 11/6/2003 8:12:52 PM Mara wrote:


I went into Shanes when we were shopping around and their diamonds were WAY overpriced compared to online and even compared to some other B&M's I'd visited (like Joe Escobar was cheaper I believe...and more educated on what they were selling
----------------

Joe Escobar is an independent retailer, not a chain and an excellent one at that! As with many high line independent retailers, Escobar's staff is well educated and they carry a better diamond selection in terms of quality than the chain stores... For those of you not familiar with Joe Escobar's, they are a second generation jewelry store located in Campbell, California.

The thing to realize is that MOST chain stores are not marketing to educated consumers who are quality concious, they are preying upon lower to medium income "credit buyers" who's primary concern is How Much BANG they can get for $39.99 a month. We know of one Very Large chain store in the Bay Area who works on a 1900% mark-up and who's only pitch is "No Credit? Bad Credit? Bankruptcy? No Problem!" the fact is that the down payment usually covers the cost of the jewelry and all those $39.99 payments financed at the usary interest rate of 24% are keeping the owner of that store fat and happy. Personally, we think he's a disgrace upon the entire industry, but every industry has them

 

[KimW]

This is about the Shane Company. I went to school with the Shane Co. and later left to Manage in two other stores. Shane Co. does educate their customers and I am sorry you had such a bad experience. Bottom line, diamonds are the blindest item you will probably ever buy. The Shane Company can assist, educate, and give the best prices. The diamond quarantees and warranties and unmatchable. I have managed in two other stores where I get my Jewelry at cost and I still shop at Shane Co. Don't let a bad experience turn you away from the best diamond store out there.
Kim

 

[Mara]

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On 3/31/2004 12:55:03 AM KimW wrote:





This is about the Shane Company. I went to school with the Shane Co. and later left to Manage in two other stores. Shane Co. does educate their customers and I am sorry you had such a bad experience. Bottom line, diamonds are the blindest item you will probably ever buy. The Shane Company can assist, educate, and give the best prices. The diamond quarantees and warranties and unmatchable. I have managed in two other stores where I get my Jewelry at cost and I still shop at Shane Co. Don't let a bad experience turn you away from the best diamond store out there.
Kim
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Haha Kim, I know you must be serious, but I find your post ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS.

You will never convince anyone here on a diamond forum that the Shane Company is the best diamond store out there.

The guarantees and warranties may be impeccable, but their stones sure aren't. Marked up, overpriced....uncerted.

As for diamonds being a blind purchase, you obviously have not stuck around Pricescope very long. People come here MONTHS in advance to start doing research so that they don't get taken for a ride at a Shane Co, a Robbins Brothers, a Spence Diamonds, a Kay Jewelers, the list goes on. People who purchase after hanging around Pscope even for a week probably have more visibility on their purchase than 99% of anyone else out there. That's the beauty of it. My definition of buying blind is trusting a vendor who says they have your best interests at heart, but in reality they just want your sale.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

My college room mate got her eng. ring at the Shane co.

She wouldn't even let anyone look at it w/out first running and cleaning it because she said it had lotion all over it. . . but scrubbing helped very little because they sold her a marquise with a huge white inclusion down the middle. I feel bad for her!

Michelle

 

[limey]

Mara

Give KimW a chance to get educated, she's only been here for a day and has years worth of indoctrination to get over!

Andrew

 

[Nicrez]

Mara's right. People on PS find that those stores are just selling to those credit people looking for a rock with size and can be happy in their ignorance. To each his own.

Don't think that chain stores are the only people who scam. Just go to E-Bay...Scam Central! Also, shopping around NYC's diamond district makes me truly believe that anyone who touts themselves as the best, ISN'T, or else they wouldn't need to say it, their reputation would speak for itself. Actions speak louder than words.

Small jewelers on 47th even try ripping people off. My coworker and I were in a small little shop (amoung hundreds) that had a guy looking for a "largest he could affordf ro $12K" stone, and showed him a princess in 1.5 K, SI3 Florescent stone for...WHAT?! They said they could give him a discount for cash, and they would include a cleaning cloth and a certificate from the store of it's authenticity!

I honestly, spun around and just left.

How disgusting! I even had some people tell me my stone was not possible to find cut like it is, I was told that florecence makes the stone sparkle more...that SI3's are the BEST! ?????

 

[KittenKat]

I went to school with the Shane Co. and later left to Manage in two other stores.

Personally, I am curious as to what this 'schooling' with Shane Co. is... Do you learn from GIA text books? How long is the schooling itself? /www.pricescope.com/idealbb/images/smilies/3.gif[/img]>/www.pricescope.com/idealbb/images/smilies/3.gif[/img]>

/www.pricescope.com/idealbb/images/smilies/3.gif[/img]>/www.pricescope.com/idealbb/images/smilies/3.gif[/img]>

The one time I went to ‘play’ in Shane Co., I knew much more than the sales lady - and I do not work in that industry. I found the experience to be very frustrating and misleading./www.pricescope.com/idealbb/images/smilies/3.gif[/img]>/www.pricescope.com/idealbb/images/smilies/3.gif[/img]>

/www.pricescope.com/idealbb/images/smilies/3.gif[/img]> /www.pricescope.com/idealbb/images/smilies/3.gif[/img]>

You should have seen what they tried to pass off as ‘ideal’./www.pricescope.com/idealbb/images/smilies/3.gif[/img]>/www.pricescope.com/idealbb/images/smilies/3.gif[/img]>

 

[Volred]

With all the bad B&M stores out there, I would like to start up my own store and really educate customers on what makes a good diamond.

 

[juliwoo96]

Your experience at the Shane Co. is the exception, not the rule. Everyone knows that due to the overhead for a B&M store, it would be impossible for them to best price online shopping. If you considder 26 stores owned by a single owner a huge chain, I find that funny. As for Shane Co. setting a diamond purchased eleswhere, normally they are declined due to an inclusion breaking the surface,too thick or too thin girdle,lazer ehancement,naturals on the girdle or it just would not make good financial sense to take on liability for a $5000.00 diamond to sell a $200.00 doller setting. In fact Shane Co. will set quality outside stones to the descreation of the store manager. I have also seen posted on this site comments on why Shane would not warrenty a stone purchased eleswhere, that would be like asking the people you bought your tires from to warrenty your car! The sales person you delt with was just trying to work with in your price rage, in B&M terms. Shane Co. eduacates with an in house training program and also offers GIA training to its staff on Shane Co.s dime. As far as educating a customer...reading about it is not the same as seeing the difference between I1 and VVS1 or what the fine line between a F color v.s G color. I would be surprised if any one on this post might be able to tell me what couses the color in a diamond and they actually might truely believe that those little black specks seen under 10X is actually carbon. Mara's reply to Kim was rude and I expect one from her myself. Dimonbob, find a better vacation hobby. As far as the comments on cut that I have seen posted on this site, may I suggest sticking with AGS000. Other than that you can choose from over 18 ideas of what "Ideal" is,,,is it Scan perhapes or do you perfer Tolkowski? Do you even know the difference? Did you know GIA will not agree that there is one better way to cut a diamond over another? Shane Co. sells Gia Cert diamonds and will also send any none Gia certed stones from them to be certed by GIA. I have shopped with Shane for years and will for years, I asked the manager of my local Shane about your post...thats where this info comes from, I suggest you do the same befor you start slamming a B&M.

 

[jkcarbary]

I agree, shopped there for years! Maras comment was rude!

 

[moremoremore]

How is Mara's comment rude? Funny how most of the members with good things to say about Shane have 1 or two posts compared to her 7000+

 

[Superidealist]

How many posts are needed for one's opinion to count?

 

[moremoremore]

Whatever superidealist. You get my point, there is no need for me to expand on my post.

 

[jkcarbary]

Sorry to upset you Mrs. Van Nordtrand....I was refering to her comment to kim....and how does sitting around replying to posts make her an expert? I dont beleve they have a Shane out there in New York... do they? Its just an oppinion jk

 

[moremoremore]

LOL re: Mrs. Martin Van Nostrand...How can I be upset with you now?

 

[cflutist]

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On 7/26/2004 1:59:12 PM juliwoo96 wrote:

I would be surprised if any one on this post might be able to tell me what couses the color in a diamond

Yellow diamonds are caused by nitrogen impurities
Blue diamonds are caused by boron impurities
Green diamonds are caused by radiation (natural i.e. when diamonds lie near radioactive rocks or artificial)
Brown, Pink or Red thought to be caused by distortions in the crystal structure.

 

[jenwill]

Just as an FYI Mara is located in the San Francisco Bay area- I believe since a child if not born and raised.....

I have also been into the Shane Co to look, since as a 30+ year resident of the Bay Area it would be difficult not to hear that voice of Tom Shane in your head since he is on every commercial break on the radio, and it leads you to just 'go see' what it is all about.

BEFORE I knew anything about diamonds, I could tell that most of what I was shown was not very good quality- and that much of what the salesperson was talking about was not logical.

NOW, that I have spent some time on this site and realize that what little I know now represents about 1/1000 of the knowlege that the experts here have, I realize that I am lucky I didn't fall into the 'friendly' trap of the 'knowledgeable' staff.

As for juliwoo96's comments:

If you considder 26 stores owned by a single owner a huge chain, I find that funny.

I find 26 stores owned by anyone to be a huge chain. Whether it was a neighborhood grocery store to a video rental place. Once you get past 4-5, it is a chain to me.

As for Shane Co. setting a diamond purchased eleswhere, normally they are declined due to an inclusion breaking the surface,too thick or too thin girdle,lazer ehancement,naturals on the girdle or it just would not make good financial sense to take on liability for a $5000.00 diamond to sell a $200.00 doller setting. In fact Shane Co. will set quality outside stones to the descreation of the store manager.

After reading on this site- I realize that many setting sellers will not mount an outside diamond, but there are those that will. An experienced jeweler has the right to refuse to set a stone with obvious stability flaws that may make it more fragile. But, most who will set other diamonds will also state ahead of time that it is a risk taken with mounting that something may happen to the stone, and that they are not liable for it. One of the risks of owning a diamond.

I have also seen posted on this site comments on why Shane would not warrenty a stone purchased eleswhere, that would be like asking the people you bought your tires from to warrenty your car!

I have personally not seen anyone mention this fact.....if they have then they were not a very savvy consumer.

As far as educating a customer...reading about it is not the same as seeing the difference between I1 and VVS1 or what the fine line between a F color v.s G color. I would be surprised if any one on this post might be able to tell me what couses the color in a diamond and they actually might truely believe that those little black specks seen under 10X is actually carbon.

The first part of this is why, in almost every thread I have read here...and I have spent waaaaay to much time reading this site, the unanimous voice heard is that after reading about stones- you really have to SEE them to know what you like. No one here ever suggests you go strictly by 'the numbers' and that you should always get a stone sent to an impartial appraiser so that you may see it and get it evaluated. Also, there are more people on this site that promote going lower color/clarity to be able to get a better cut...so it seems odd to me that you are positioning this as pricesope only promotes f/vvs1- when most people suggests G-H/VS2 SI1 as long as its eyeclean. Perhaps you should read more of the threads before making generalizations.

Color in a diamond is caused by impurities (chemical impurities- NOT inclusions!)trapped in the carbon structure as the diamond is formed- some of the common ones are nitrogen causing a yellow or brown color, and boron causing a blue color- the more of the chemical impurity present the stronger the color...which is why strongly colored diamonds are acutally more rare and expensive.

The 'carbon' inclusions you are talking about can be graphite...which if you know anything about chemical elements is a carbon structure...you use graphite lead in the mechanical pencils.....lead is carbon...therefore it is not incorrect to say that the black spots can be carbon...just slightly more generic terminology than graphite. While it is possible that some inclusions may be of graphite (the commonest form of carbon, or amorphous carbon), such inclusions are quite rare. Dark inclusions in diamond can include other diamonds (which ARE carbon), olivine, garnet, diopside, pyrrhotite, pentlandite, pyrite, ilmenite, rutile, silica, bronzite, spinel, serpentine, biotite, phlogopite, chlorite, calcite, haematite, goethite, and iron oxides.

So, if you thought that no one on this ssite could tell you these things, you are wrong. I am a relative newbie, and I can tell you. Also, this site has many people that reccomend outside reference materials for new people, so you don't have to take 'their' word for anything.

 

[jenwill]

cflutist put it much more succintly than I did, but I just got my dander up, since I am feeling protective of all who have been so generous with their time and knowledge.

 

[fire&ice]

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On 7/26/2004 1:59:Mara's reply to Kim was rude and I expect one from her myself. Dimonbob, find a better vacation hobby. I have shopped with Shane for years and will for years, I asked the manager of my local Shane about your post...thats where this info comes from, I suggest you do the same befor you start slamming a B&M.

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Note to Benny, Shane Consumers presumes to know what we know or don't know. hummmm.

BTW, we all know the difference b/t I1 & a VVS whatever stone.

And, the number of posts does go to crediblility. Not necessarily the first post - but the second poster. A tad convenient at best.

 

[websailor]

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On 7/26/2004 1:59:12 PM juliwoo96 wrote:

I would be surprised if any one on this post might be able to tell me what couses the color in a diamond ----------------

I've been warned that I'm a trouble maker and should leave this thread alone... HA!

Those who know me online, know that I am NOT the diamond nut in the family... Nevertheless, one does tend to pick up some knowledge when hanging around someone who likes their diamond(s) and knows "stuff"...

So even before this I knew that the different chemical composition is what generally caused colors in diamonds....so when I saw this thread, I got more curious... Lesson 4 of the GIA Diamonds course is "Color" - the chapters are "The Causes of Color", "Color Ranges, Rarity, and Value", "The GIA Color Grading Scale", "Color Treatment", and "Selling Colored Diamonds"....

So now I could get even more educated and probably could answer your question about color decently also.

But here's the trouble I have with this whole thread - THERE ARE NO PICTURES!!! (Told you I was a troublemaker!)

So, to get all of us participating in this thread back into our happy zones, I'm tossing the colored diamonds page from the GIA Diamonds course into the thread....

 

[websailor]

And more pictures.....

 

[Mara]

Well since Julie wanted a response from me...I would hate to disappoint a new poster.

Considering that I have been to Shane myself and seen a few of their stones in person...I consider myself at least reasonably educated on what they sell. I was looking at a 1.25 H SI1 or similar (among some other stones) and it was something like $9k. If you knew anything about shopping online, you'd know that is a RIDICULOUS price. They also had no real information on this stone other than 'its a beauty'.




As for asking the store manager about the stones he sells? What is he going to say? Our stones are overpriced crap? Really.




I have seen VVS-I1 stones as well as D-J colored stones in person. We also own E, H, I stones and used to own a G. I've owned VS and SI stones. So I've done far more than read about stones, color and clarity and have seen a fair number in person for just being a consumer. I've also taken the first GIA course, though of course this does not make me an expert. It just makes me more well-educated than the average diamond consumer who walks into Shane and takes their advice as gospel. I did my own research and came up with my own *ideal* stone for less than in a B&M. Fancy that.

This is why I would never accept some random person telling me that the Shane Co is the best store out there...having visited it and seen in person what they carry. For settings, they have a HUGE selection. But stones? Not impressive in my opinion.

 

[msbennie]

LoL Michelle, that's how I felt about my Helzberg "Radiant Star" diamond...it seems like it was always cloudy except when it was under "mall lights"....Fortunately, we were able to return the ring and diamond and get a full refund....we eventually purchased a loose diamond that was within our budget, with the help of Pricescope, that is simply gorgeous!