Uppy, consider yourself lucky!

[Arkteia]

Thaigemstore has already refunded you the price of the sapphire.

Well, I bought a sapphire from an overseas dealer whose name I am trying not to mention (since I still hope that he will refund me). The stone which was described as "unheated, blue with violet overtones" was hopelessly, darkishly violet. I emailed the very day that I received it and said I was sending back the stone. The vendor was surprised but agreed.

Now you know how difficult it is to mail a stone back to another country. An expensive stone at that. All the more so that I never made returns to that place. I explained the procedure to the vendor, he said he'd be looking for the stone... silence.

1 month... silence. I found the FEDEX receipt and sent him an email virtually clutching the receipt in my hand...
Two days go by... finally, an email!

Apparently, I did not send the certificate with the stone. Without the certificate (which is not GIA, AIGS, just a trained gemologist from the office... it is a merchant's certificate!) the guy can not sell the stone to the next customer!

As if he does not understand that it is not the best of ideas to mail the certificate with the stone! Apparently, he got the stone a long time ago, never told me, never said he needed the certificate, and is just sitting there on the refund waiting for ... what?

Now I am looking for this certificate... You know, when I once lost the certificate from my appraiser, he immediately found it in his computer and provided me with a copy! What is the problem with the certificate? Well, it has a stamp that glitters... maybe the gold in the stamp is so expensive?

Just for my interest - what do you think will happen if I do not find this certificate? How much can one charge for a lost homebred certificate? When I once failed to return a certificate to Tan and wanted to send it via a separate mail, he emailed me saying that it was not a problem and that they could always get another copy from AIGS...

And what if the certificate gets lost in the mail?

I shall keep you posted. As of today, I am minus 1.1 K minus the stone...

 

[JewelFreak]

Oh Crasru, what a headache...no, nightmare. I hope the guy comes through for you, ridiculous. Did you buy it on eBay? Maybe through PayPal or somebody who'll give you some help on the refund? What about FedEx? Doesn't sound like they sent you a delivery confirmation -- can you get that from them at least? Every day I appreciate Tan more & more, what a gent compared to others out there!

--- Laurie

 

[T L]

Oh Crasru,
So sorry to hear about this. This kind of reminds me of the PS'er that had a difficult time getting a refund because he forgot to return the stone in the original box.

 

[Arkteia]

It went through Paypal. I think he should and probably, will reimburse me - eventually. He has a decent stock but his stones look nothing like the pictures and he should have reimbursed me and asked to mail the certificate. I am happy that he got the stone, though, but it is such a paltry attitude... he lost a customer on the first buy. Tan's stones may be good or bad, but I never had a problem with the return. TL - the story with the box is hilarious, I remember it...

 

[LD]

Oh Crasru I'm sorry but not surprised as some vendors can be very unbending.

Unfortunately if you look at it another way, the stone/report come together so in order to get a refund you should return both. If the stone is old, it may not be possible to get another without having it sent to a lab again. So I don't know how much the stone is worth but if it's a decent amount of money, I would suggest that you get the vendor to send it to a lab (agree a price beforehand of a basic report) and then have him/her deduct it from the money he owes you ON THE BASIS that he/she provides proof by giving you sight of the new report. OR you could offer to pay half as he/she has had your money for an inordinate amount of time.

In the meantime, do you think you could name and shame the company please? Many of us buy online and this serves as a warning to those vendors who are less amenable in the face of adversity.

Good luck and I hope it gets resolved quickly.

 

[Upgradable]

Crasru, I'm so sorry you're struggling with this vendor! It is a heartache to put your trust in someone and they just drop the ball. I agree that I was lucky with my transaction with Thaigemstore. I did make sure I sent everything back just as it was received, including in the original plastic wrap, bubble wrap, and envelope. It was pretty easy to do this since I packaged everything back up the same day I received it. I was incredibly surprised that he called me from Thailand to ask what the reason was I didn't want to keep the stone. He never pushed me to keep it. He did suggest several other options on his site. Mostly he suggested a tanzanite based on the fact that I said the sapphire wasn't saturated enough. But when he realized I was set on sending it back, he made sure to tell me exactly how he wanted it returned, including that he wanted it by USPS, not FedEx or any other courier service. He also said I could email at any time if I wanted any other pictures or description. I think we need to be more proactive about emailing and contacting the vendor directly before purchasing. If I had a problem with communication before purchasing, I think that would be a huge red flag! I'm surprised he refunded before receiving the stone back! But I wasn't going to argue with him about it! I really hope you get closure on this and you get your refund soon.

 

[Lovinggems]

You should start a dispute case with Paypal immediately, or give the vendor one day to respond to your pending action. You have prove that the stone is returned and accepted by the vendor. There's no reason not to refund you in a timely manner. It's very difficult for the vendor if Paypal decides to freeze their account.

 

[Indylady]

So sorry to hear about this Crasru. I would send a kind, but firm email--the stone is the item sold, correct? Not the accompanying paper, which was issued by the vendor himself? I would keep looking for the appraisal and considering a Paypal dispute (and keep an eye on their deadlines!! especially with overseas orders that take time shipping, that time can eat up the window you have to file a dispute) if things continue to look grim.

 

[Lovinggems]

I would file the Paypal dispute within the next couple of days. From you post it seems the 45 days time limit is nearly up.

 

[Justin_Cutter]

I am so sorry to hear about this!!!

Since the certificate isn't from one of the typical respected labs, I don't think he could justify it costing over $50. I mean even AGL does a gem brief for $50.

I agree with Loving Diamonds, please name the company. The internet is full of shady gem dealers, and it would be nice to cross another name off the list so no one else falls prey.

~Justin

 

[Aoife]

Yes, this does sound like a similar situation to the vendor who wanted the original (but it was special--very special!) box back. I hope this is cleared up quickly, and that you get your refund. I can't believe he never notified you that he had received the stone back.

 

[Arkteia]

OK I sent this guy an email to refund my Paypal money minus the certificate, and he is not returning my emails. I told him that if I do not get a confirmation that the money is going to be returned by tomorrow, I am going to post his name on the Pricescope. Conveniently, Chase Bank is very strong on fraud and customer abuse protection.

 

[centralsquare]

Oh, what a headache!

 

[GoldieATX]

Crasru, I hope this is resolved for you soon. What a pain to deal with, on top of the disappointment of receiving a stone you don't like.

I think we need to be more proactive about emailing and contacting the vendor directly before purchasing.

This is a great point. I've been shopping for a sapphire or fcd, and I exchanged a lot of emails with six different vendors. The responsiveness, helpfulness, and willingness to answer questions and provide additional photos were a big factor in my decision. Return policies and PS reputation all played a part as well.

Good luck getting your refund and then getting a stone you really want.