Vendors who ship to appraisers before the purchase

[stebbo]

Scenario: You''ve narrowed it down 2 or 3 diamonds from different vendors, or all from one distant vendor.

Credit Card Limit: enough for 1 stone only.

Problem: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Must see diamonds personally, and next to each other to choose one.

Question: Which vendors do you know of that ship to approved appraisers without first purchasing the stone, that maybe accept a 0%-50% deposit?

Alternative question: How else could this problem be solved?

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I am pretty sure that both Good Old Gold and WhiteFlash send stones to appraisers without a deposit (and others may as well), but you'd need to be prepared to pay shipping for returning any stones you don't keep and pay for the one you do keep.

The only other way I can think to solve it is to visit one of the above personally!

 

[stebbo]

Date: 2/12/2007 12:02:42 AM
Author: diamondseeker2006
I am pretty sure that both Good Old Gold and WhiteFlash send stones to appraisers without a deposit (and others may as well), but you''d need to be prepared to pay shipping for returning any stones you don''t keep and pay for the one you do keep.


The only other way I can think to solve it is to visit one of the above personally!

All shipping costs totally expected--that''s only fair.

Personally visiting would only work for diamonds held by the same vendor.

It''s a situation pretty unique to the world of diamonds, where online purchasing is the way to go, yet seeing which diamond ''speaks'' is invaluable. Ironically Whiteflash and GOG (if they do indeed ship without deposit), already provide the most info online to make buying sight unseen easier.

 

[sunshine14]

I know that James Allen also will ship a stone to an approved appraiser without paying first.

 

[hikerchick]

I was told by WF that will not ship to an appraiser without us paying full price for it, I tried to do just what you are asking about in Dec . . . no go.
Also, each diamond from WF will be assesed a separate shipping charge, even if they are shipped at once so keep that in mind . . . at least that is the info I got from them in Dec.

 

[avlis]

GoG shipped to my appraiser for a $500 deposit. however, i think this is at thier discression depending on the appraiser. if you choose joe blow local appraiser i doubt they will do this. if you choose an appraiser they know and work with alot, then you may be able to get more than one sent for a deposit(+ shipping). I used dave atlas/ AGA.

 

[rjdodd]

GOG also indicated to me they''d send to Dave Atlas before full payment. I really think it depends heavily on who the appraiser is and how credit worthy (with the JBT) GOG or any other vendor thinks they are.

With shipping I think loose stones may have to be shipped separately for insurance purposes - I''d certainly make it a requirement if I were the insurance company.

 

[Lady Lulu]

Go to http://www.consumersgemlab.com/ Look under the Advice tab - click on"Don''t pay for it yet" - There you will find a list of vendors willing to ship diamonds to approved appraisers. Good Luck!

 

[Modified Brilliant]

Date: 2/12/2007 9:24:39 AM
Author: avlis
GoG shipped to my appraiser for a $500 deposit. however, i think this is at thier discression depending on the appraiser. if you choose joe blow local appraiser i doubt they will do this. if you choose an appraiser they know and work with alot, then you may be able to get more than one sent for a deposit(+ shipping). I used dave atlas/ AGA.

I'm not familiar with this gentleman. Do we know him?
Some "local" appraisers are equally as competent as the "national" appraisers.

www.metrojewelryappraisers.com

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 2/12/2007 9:40:03 AM
Author: rjdodd
GOG also indicated to me they''d send to Dave Atlas before full payment. I really think it depends heavily on who the appraiser is and how credit worthy (with the JBT) GOG or any other vendor thinks they are.

With shipping I think loose stones may have to be shipped separately for insurance purposes - I''d certainly make it a requirement if I were the insurance company.

depends on the price of the stone - if they were $1000 stones I don''t see why the insurance value couldn''t be combined.

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 2/12/2007 9:52:43 AM
Author: Modified Brilliant

Date: 2/12/2007 9:24:39 AM
Author: avlis
GoG shipped to my appraiser for a $500 deposit. however, i think this is at thier discression depending on the appraiser. if you choose joe blow local appraiser i doubt they will do this. if you choose an appraiser they know and work with alot, then you may be able to get more than one sent for a deposit(+ shipping). I used dave atlas/ AGA.

I'm not familiar with this gentleman. Do we know him?
Some 'local' appraisers are equally as competent as the 'national' appraisers.

www.metrojewelryappraisers.com

competent - perhaps.... known and trusted - not yet.

 

[JohnQuixote]

Date: 2/11/2007 11:58:42 PM

Author:stebbo

Question: Which vendors do you know of that ship to approved appraisers without first purchasing the stone, that maybe accept a 0%-50% deposit?

We do this in many circumstances. In these cases the client is charged for shipping to and from the appraiser up-front.Should the client purchase the diamond we apply those shipping charges as a credit to the final price unless they’re sending it back to us for setting.In that case we set the diamond and ship it to the client afterwards as their one free shipping. Some clients elect to pay the full purchase price up-front so they can take the diamond from the appraiser when he/she is finished.

Appraisers’ schedules, holiday closings and other factors impact our ability to offer this option. Contact us to discuss a specific situation.

 

[hikerchick]

Date: 2/12/2007 10:36:25 AM
Author: JohnQuixote

Date: 2/11/2007 11:58:42 PM


Author:stebbo


Question: Which vendors do you know of that ship to approved appraisers without first purchasing the stone, that maybe accept a 0%-50% deposit?

We do this in many circumstances. In these cases the client is charged for shipping to and from the appraiser up-front.Should the client purchase the diamond we apply those shipping charges as a credit to the final price unless they’re sending it back to us for setting.In that case we set the diamond and ship it to the client afterwards as their one free shipping. Some clients elect to pay the full purchase price up-front so they can take the diamond from the appraiser when he/she is finished.


Appraisers’ schedules, holiday closings and other factors impact our ability to offer this option. Contact us to discuss a specific situation.

Wow, John. That is news to me because when I asked if we can do this, I was told no . . . that we couldn''t ship to the appraiser directly without paying for the diamond full price upfront. We couldn''t afford to pay for the 2 diamonds we wanted to compare upfront. How do you decide which customers to offer this to and which to deny? I am just curious?

 

[jaz464]

This is a list that I found on a local independent appraiser's website listing vendors who ship without a purchase first:

http://icestore.com/

http://www.niceice.com
http://www.abazias.com/

http://www.usacerteddiamonds.com/ (got mine here and had great service and got a super diamond)

http://www.whiteflash.com/

http://www.goodoldgold.com

I am sure there are others as well.

 

[JohnQuixote]

Date: 2/12/2007 12:58:59 PM
Author: hikerchick

Date: 2/12/2007 10:36:25 AM
Author: JohnQuixote







We do this in many circumstances. In these cases the client is charged for shipping to and from the appraiser up-front.Should the client purchase the diamond we apply those shipping charges as a credit to the final price unless they're sending it back to us for setting.In that case we set the diamond and ship it to the client afterwards as their one free shipping. Some clients elect to pay the full purchase price up-front so they can take the diamond from the appraiser when he/she is finished.

Appraisers' schedules, holiday closings and other factors impact our ability to offer this option. Contact us to discuss a specific situation.

Wow, John. That is news to me because when I asked if we can do this, I was told no . . . that we couldn't ship to the appraiser directly without paying for the diamond full price upfront. We couldn't afford to pay for the 2 diamonds we wanted to compare upfront. How do you decide which customers to offer this to and which to deny? I am just curious?

It's not a question of who, it's a question of when. You were considering your purchase several days prior to Christmas. The no-purchase option was not available since appraisers' schedules and holiday closings can keep an item off the market for an extended period of time.

 

[hikerchick]

Date: 2/12/2007 1:32:10 PM
Author: JohnQuixote

Date: 2/12/2007 12:58:59 PM

Author: hikerchick

Date: 2/12/2007 10:36:25 AM

Author: JohnQuixote










We do this in many circumstances. In these cases the client is charged for shipping to and from the appraiser up-front.Should the client purchase the diamond we apply those shipping charges as a credit to the final price unless they''re sending it back to us for setting.In that case we set the diamond and ship it to the client afterwards as their one free shipping. Some clients elect to pay the full purchase price up-front so they can take the diamond from the appraiser when he/she is finished.


Appraisers'' schedules, holiday closings and other factors impact our ability to offer this option. Contact us to discuss a specific situation.

Wow, John. That is news to me because when I asked if we can do this, I was told no . . . that we couldn''t ship to the appraiser directly without paying for the diamond full price upfront. We couldn''t afford to pay for the 2 diamonds we wanted to compare upfront. How do you decide which customers to offer this to and which to deny? I am just curious?

It''s not a question of who, it''s a question of when. You were considering your purchase several days prior to Christmas. The no-purchase option was not available since appraisers'' schedules and holiday closings can keep an item off the market for an extended period of time.

Cool. That makes sense. Thanks for the explaination

 

[WinkHPD]

I think that most online vendors will do it if the appraiser is someone they know and have confidence in.

Wink

 

[stebbo]

Date: 2/12/2007 9:42:27 AM
Author: Lady LuLu
Go to http://www.consumersgemlab.com/ Look under the Advice tab - click on''Don''t pay for it yet'' - There you will find a list of vendors willing to ship diamonds to approved appraisers. Good Luck!

Great link Lady Lulu.

Also thanks Jazmine for that list. Which appraiser was that?

Stebbo

 

[jaz464]

Actually, I got it off of the same web site that Lady Lulu posted.