Very negative JamesAllen.com experience

[babs23r]

After reading all of these posts, a B&M purchase seems like the best way to go for me. I have been looking up their prices, and I think that the prices are about the same.

 

[mdmc]

After reading all of these posts, a B&M purchase seems like the best way to go for me. I have been looking up their prices, and I think that the prices are about the same.

After watching this thread for a while I wanted to comment on this post. I recently upgraded my engagement ring. We looked at B&M stores because my husband was hesitant to buy on line. Since I had been on Pricescope for a while I was able to talk him into letting me buy on line. The one ring we liked at my local jeweler was priced at $6500 for a 1 c. I decided to go with James Allen (with the help of every one here) I was able to get a beautiful 3x 1.21 c diamond ring for $300 less. I am beyond thrilled and my husband is a believer. You can certainly buy from any one you want. But you can have problems from any one you buy from whether it is in a store or on line. As most have stated here it is how it is resolved. I think JA is working toward a resolution for all involved

 

[babs23r]

OK everyone. I have a question:
Are the prices on line at ie: GOG better than if you went into their store?

 

[babs23r]

Or..
What about the prices on JA? You can meet with them in person in NYC. Are there any price differences there?

 

[diamondseeker2006]

No, you will not get a better price just because you go to a vendor. You can try to negotiate price just as well over the phone as you can in person. Most of these vendors have tight margins and won't negotiate much if any, except for special cases of a stone in inventory a long time or that kind of thing. That said, a visit to GOG would be wonderful just to get to see a variety of diamonds! They have a jewelry store whereas JA does not. So I personally would have no interest in going there. You can easily order a stone to look at and return if you don't want it.

The PS vendors are going to beat our local jewelers most of the time. No local jeweler I went to had any kind of selection of ideal/excellent cut stones. They'd have a few EGL, a few GIA very goods, and GIA triple Excellents were few and far between. When I search here, I can choose between MANY ideal cut stones. And they will cost far less than they would locally (you save sales tax for one thing). Someone the other day posted a stone from a jewelry store and someone here posted a comparable stone for $4000 less!!!

 

[ame]

OK everyone. I have a question:
Are the prices on line at ie: GOG better than if you went into their store?

No they're the same, (at least my experience was that the pricing was the same) and buying it locally actually you pay sales tax in person vs online I don't believe you pay the local sales tax. You're supposed to pay YOUR local sales tax IIRC.

 

[ame]

After reading all of these posts, a B&M purchase seems like the best way to go for me. I have been looking up their prices, and I think that the prices are about the same.

That's completely unnecessary! You will spend far more at a B&M and get garbage! We have plenty of other vendors and honestly, I think this whole thread was an over reaction and over dramatization and people are making way too HUGE of a deal for nothing. But then again, it's your money and your decision.

This is NOT true. You can still get a great stone at a B&M and not overpay. I bought my stone from GOG and did NOT overpay, they are both online AND B&M. I bought my original stone from a B&M and did not overpay there either, well not for the stone, our later dealings with them are a different novel. It's about what you know before you go in. PS is very pro-online vendor, especially chosen few, but there's no need to scream that everyone B&M is a con artist. Sure there are quite a few, but not all of them are.

 

[04diamond<3]

After reading all of these posts, a B&M purchase seems like the best way to go for me. I have been looking up their prices, and I think that the prices are about the same.

That's completely unnecessary! You will spend far more at a B&M and get garbage! We have plenty of other vendors and honestly, I think this whole thread was an over reaction and over dramatization and people are making way too HUGE of a deal for nothing. But then again, it's your money and your decision.

This is NOT true. You can still get a great stone at a B&M and not overpay. I bought my stone from GOG and did NOT overpay, they are both online AND B&M. I bought my original stone from a B&M and did not overpay there either, well not for the stone, our later dealings with them are a different novel. It's about what you know before you go in. PS is very pro-online vendor, especially chosen few, but there's no need to scream that everyone B&M is a con artist. Sure there are quite a few, but not all of them are.

I didn't mean GOG or any of the vendors on PS. And I wasn't screaming. I thought he was talking about the mall like Zales or Kays etc.

 

[ChrisES]

After reading all of these posts, a B&M purchase seems like the best way to go for me. I have been looking up their prices, and I think that the prices are about the same.

That's completely unnecessary! You will spend far more at a B&M and get garbage! We have plenty of other vendors and honestly, I think this whole thread was an over reaction and over dramatization and people are making way too HUGE of a deal for nothing. But then again, it's your money and your decision.

This is NOT true. You can still get a great stone at a B&M and not overpay. I bought my stone from GOG and did NOT overpay, they are both online AND B&M. I bought my original stone from a B&M and did not overpay there either, well not for the stone, our later dealings with them are a different novel. It's about what you know before you go in. PS is very pro-online vendor, especially chosen few, but there's no need to scream that everyone B&M is a con artist. Sure there are quite a few, but not all of them are.

I didn't mean GOG or any of the vendors on PS. And I wasn't screaming. I thought he was talking about the mall like Zales or Kays etc.

Yeah, that seemed pretty clear to me.

If you do buy from a B&M I strongly encourage you to find one that is independent (not a chain) and stocks GIA and/or AGS certified stones. The chains all have profit targets to meet and even if you go to most independent stores in malls you just have to ask to see certified stones and you'll immediately find an alphabet soup of "labs" no one has ever heard of. I even went to one very high-class stand-alone sole proprietorship and was told it wasn't "worth" certifying stones under 1 ct., which was a major red flag for me.

If you only look at GIA and AGS stones you'll know you can trust the specs on the stone, because the lab is standing behind them. Then you can come to PriceScope and comparison shop and see how much of a premium the B&M is charging you and you can decide if it's worth it to you.

If a store tells you they don't stock GIA or AGS stones, walk out immediately.

 

[04diamond<3]

After reading all of these posts, a B&M purchase seems like the best way to go for me. I have been looking up their prices, and I think that the prices are about the same.

That's completely unnecessary! You will spend far more at a B&M and get garbage! We have plenty of other vendors and honestly, I think this whole thread was an over reaction and over dramatization and people are making way too HUGE of a deal for nothing. But then again, it's your money and your decision.

This is NOT true. You can still get a great stone at a B&M and not overpay. I bought my stone from GOG and did NOT overpay, they are both online AND B&M. I bought my original stone from a B&M and did not overpay there either, well not for the stone, our later dealings with them are a different novel. It's about what you know before you go in. PS is very pro-online vendor, especially chosen few, but there's no need to scream that everyone B&M is a con artist. Sure there are quite a few, but not all of them are.

I didn't mean GOG or any of the vendors on PS. And I wasn't screaming. I thought he was talking about the mall like Zales or Kays etc.

Yeah, that seemed pretty clear to me.

If you do buy from a B&M I strongly encourage you to find one that is independent (not a chain) and stocks GIA and/or AGS certified stones. The chains all have profit targets to meet and even if you go to most independent stores in malls you just have to ask to see certified stones and you'll immediately find an alphabet soup of "labs" no one has ever heard of. I even went to one very high-class stand-alone sole proprietorship and was told it wasn't "worth" certifying stones under 1 ct., which was a major red flag for me.

If you only look at GIA and AGS stones you'll know you can trust the specs on the stone, because the lab is standing behind them. Then you can come to PriceScope and comparison shop and see how much of a premium the B&M is charging you and you can decide if it's worth it to you.

If a store tells you they don't stock GIA or AGS stones, walk out immediately.

Thank you, Chris

 

[rodrunner79]

Hello, this is a month and a half old thread that I'm reviving to give my .02 cents on my rather pleasant, recent buying experience with JA. By the way, I just saw this thread today while searching the forums for customer satisfaction with JA and to see what others are saying about their experiences of buying from the internet, particularly JA. Were they happy with the purchase, did they get the right product described in the certificate, etc...?

Anyway, I started looking into buying a loose diamond online after I got ripped off by Robbins Bros. My decision to buy from JA was largely influenced by the positive reviews I read about them in these forums and other sites-- as well as cheaper prices because of the no overhead fees, which B&M usually passed to their consumers. To cut to the chase, once I found my diamond (with the help of a member from this site, thanks JulieN and PS) from the JamesAllen site, I called them about it to get idealscope images and additional information about the stone. Their communication both via telephone and e-mail were prompt, detailed and very helpful. They were patient with me and always responded to my inquiries AND my needs/requests. They held 3 stones for me and provided idealscope images and gemologist review and all 3. Once I narrowed down the single stone from the other two they suggested, they held the stone for me for 24 hours and released the other two. In that 24 hours, I had to make a decision to purchase or walk away.
Sure enough, the next day, I decided to bite the bullet and make that purchase. They gave me ample time to finalize the purchase and also clear instructions on how to make the purchase. I even exceeded the holding time for the stone but with a quick phone call to them, they were very willing to extend that hold for me until I had all my ducks in a row. As I said, they are very reasonable to work with.

Last week (3/14), I did a bank wire transfer to seal the order and two business days later (Monday 3/1, I received a beautiful sparkly stone that is eye-clean and that is everything JA said it would be. To sum it up, the inquiring to ordering process was very smooth and timely. The reps, without giving any names, I worked and communicated with were very professional.

As for the stone, did I get the right stone that's described on the GIA report and is it worth what I paid for, we will find out when I get it appraised next week. That's why I bought from JA to begin with because of their 60-day return policy and free shipping both ways.

I will give an update on it in this thread to give a final take on my experience with JA altogether.

 

[mdmc]

Since this thread is over a month old you might want to start another one. Not sure people will see this.

 

[momhappy]

Personally, my one and only experience with JA left me with the impression that their customer service is lacking.

 

[AlexiaCARA]

I would like to know the outcome of the OP's post as a new buyer myself. Regardless if the OP post an update or not, this thread has been really helpful when it comes to making a final decision in terms of where to buy. JA overall sounds like a really good and attentive company to work with.