What do vendors think of customers who are members on Pricescope?

[nala]

Gosh, was I bashing Leon? I hope not, I've know nothing about him other than his website with his superb work and highly entertaining comments.
I still think nala's story is funny, and while there is the dark side of PS, it's kind of the reason it exists. This industry was "Accept what we offer and believe what we tell you" for centuries. Not any more.

My story was totally true! And it happened a good 10 years ago! And at the time, I was baffled. Now —not so much, given some posts I’ve read. But I’m not responsible for the reputation PSers have earned based on their reaction to Leon—I’m just sharing.

 

[SomethingNew]

B2C, who I always recommend. Their search takes some patience but those guys really know what they're talking about, and with fancy cuts, you need this. I returned the first diamond I bought from them because it just wasn't doin' anything and they could not have been more gracious.

I had great experience with B2C as well. They seem very honest. I once inquired about a stone and they pulled it from their source, inspected and advised me not to purchase because the optics were not ideal. They later found another one much better and cheaper.

 

[Ibrakeforpossums]

I had great experience with B2C as well. They seem very honest. I once inquired about a stone and they pulled it from their source, inspected and advised me not to purchase because the optics were not ideal. They later found another one much better and cheaper.

That's what they do! They've done that with me, I am so grateful for their candor and integrity. I will buy from them or not buy, esp. after dealing once with JA.
What amuses me is they all speak as though they were raised in India, probably were, but how they speak is as if they were Oxford grads. The level of manners and discretion is almost unknown in the US.

 

[jordyonbass]

A PS'ers who contacts me asking for vids is never an issue for me at all, I quite enjoy it and get to talk in my silly accent and a lot of people here seem to like it


I actually quite enjoy working with PS'ers to help find them the right stone as PS'ers will often come to me and know more about Opal and what they are after than a lot of my trade clients. This makes my life exponentially easier as the choices have usually been narrowed down already or the request is specific enough that I can find the best Opal to suit.
PS also was pivotal for me becoming trade, something I will always remember too.

 

[oncrutchesrightnow]

Interesting…

The more visibility a vendor gets, the more overly picky customers they will attract. I hope jewelers aim for excellence — the only way to avoid criticism is to never excel.

I can see some vendors reading this blog and being frightened of some of the consumers here. We can all help avoid malicious reviews by asking the posters whether they tried to resolve the issue with the vendor.

I agree that there are some diehard fans of certain brands. Hope my love of some of them does not sound fake. Let’s encourage people to credit the smaller vendors even in the non-piece-specific threads.

 

[Rockdiamond]

We have an easy policy.....say you're from PriceScope and we give the diamonds and jewelry away FREE!!!!
Saves a lot of time




Kidding obviously.
I will say that being a jewelry diamond salesperson takes a lot of patience- regardless of PS readership/membership....

 

[SomethingNew]

We have an easy policy.....say you're from PriceScope and we give the diamonds and jewelry away FREE!!!!
Saves a lot of time




Kidding obviously.
I will say that being a jewelry diamond salesperson takes a lot of patience- regardless of PS readership/membership....

hmmm.... it sounds to me very serious and sincere offer, no joke. We'll take that!

 

[Rockdiamond]

Always remember to read the small print.


* offer excludes any piece with a price of $3.99 or greater

 

[RockOnReen]

I recently had a vendor who is well loved and respected on PS tell me that the problem with PS members is that they seem to expect special treatment...when in fact, he gives special treatment to ALL his customers. I've successfully worked with him on multiple pieces over the years but that made me like him even more!

 

[molecule]

There are threads and responses I read that make me understand vendors' reluctance to deal with PSers.

 

[marymm]

There are threads and responses I read that make me understand PSers' reluctance to deal with vendors.

 

[DutchJackie]

Here in the Netherlands where I have mentioned it, it’s seen as an American thing I only mention it after asked…

 

[Wink]

It’s come up with one IG vendor (for loose stones) and they were excited about it!

As many of you know, I am consulting with Continental Diamond to get their website updated for e-commerce rather than strictly as a tool to drive local traffic to their doors.

I am exited that they are taking the time to dot all of their I's and cross all of their T's and I can tell you for sure, once it is turned on for the public to see, they will be VERY excited to deal with any Pricescopers. You see, they know that if your are a Pricescoper, you already know so much more than their average client. Pricescopers already know that cutting its the most important factor in the beauty of a diamond. They will be looking for well cut diamonds, no matter what shape they are looking for.

They also know that if they do the job correctly, there will be posts about them. They know that if they make a mistake, they must instantly offer to fix it or refund it, as that is the expected standard on Pricescope. It also happens to be the standard in their bricks and mortar store.

Personally, I think the great vendors will always prefer clients who care enough about their diamond purchase to do some learning prior to looking. It just makes life so much easier for both the vendor and the client.

Yes, I agree that Pricescopers tend to ask more of their vendors. I think the vendors that want the business from better educated clients are willing to provide the "more" being asked.

 

[Mreader]

I love this forum for its honesty. I wish I had actually trusted some of the negative reviews here and didn't pursue some vendors with questionable reputations. But I tend to only learn on my own mistakes... and unfortunately, some of my experiences ended up being very similar to the negative reviews.

I used to think that beautiful designs/excellent workmanship trump everything else. But after some of my most recent interactions, I think I value professionalism the most... Professionalism is the foundation that guides customer service and communication with customers. If you provide service start with your customer service, everything else comes after.
I can forgive bad workmanship if I'm treated with respect... but I cannot forgive feeling like I'm an annoyance while I'm trying to do business with you, while I'm buying your product.

You have made me insanely curious (read nosy) about this bc I recall you saying you weren’t happy with the CS of the vendor (I forget which thread this was on).

 

[Mreader]

Actually Leon is a fantastic example of PS Gone Wrong.

PS zeitgeist paints him as some sort of unreasonable and churlish ogre. I can’t count the number of times I’ve seen people here say things like “I would never work with Leon, just do a PS search on him”, or “I’ve read so many scary things on PS that I don’t even want to reach out”.

This is how highschool children behave. They form cliques and they adopt each others’ opinions as their own. We’re all adults here and we should expect more from ourselves and from each other. Like a vendor’s work? For goodness sake, just reach out and find out what he or she is about for yourself; you’ll most likely be pleasantly surprised. Helping someone who likes someone’s work? Encourage them to reach out. Be a grown-up, don’t just parrot someone else’s probably-also-parroted opinion.

I have nothing but positive things to say about Leon, as a human being, as an artist, and as a professional. Yes, his aesthetic and his sense of humour aren’t for everyone. That’s fine, and it’s no reason to encourage others to blindly (and inappropriately!) condemn him.

And with that I will bow out of this thread because I’m going to tear something rolling my eyes too hard. Let’s please not kid ourselves about the answer to the thread title: PS absolutely has a reputation for creating customers who are entitled j*erks and it’s not exactly hard to see why. Maybe instead of using topics like this to collectively pat ourselves on the back and revel in how “special” we are, we could try acknowledging reality and doing something about it.

I don’t think that is totally fair. I’ve read about PSers experience about LM both good and bad and yes if you love his work by all means reach out. But if you are deterred by some of the negative experiences and decide on a different vendor, that isn’t being “high school”.

 

[Dee*Jay]

I'm pretty sure vendors think I'm a big PITA, and possibly (probably!) and little crazy, no matter what forum I'm a member!

 

[missy]

I’m me all the time. Let that sit for a minute lol. So yeah love me or hate me or be indifferent it doesn’t matter. I’m pretty sure most vendors I have communicated with don’t think I’m difficult. Cause I’m not. I know what I like and that makes me an easier customer IMO. I don’t waste their time. I am discerning but that just narrows down the search. I have learned much from PS but I still am who I am for better or worse. PS didn’t change my personality nor change how easy or not easy I am to deal with as a customer.


What is that quote?
An educated consumer is our best customer.
Amen

 

[Mreader]

I deleted that post. Because it's a beloved PS vendor I didn't want to be attacked.
I wasn't being difficult, I didn't ask for any modifications, didn't ask for anything extra, but I felt like I'm being treated like a nuisance every step of the way.
A lot of PS'er say address it with the vendor first don't bring it here. What should I have told the vendor? Why are you being borderline rude with me?
Again, that wasn't my first time making/ordering jewelry, and all experiences are different and I am not a delicate flower at all... I can take it, I just didn't expect it even after reading about it here.

I spent a lot of money on something I wanted... and It's happening, but the icky aftertaste is still there.

I am so sorry that happened - it is upsetting when something that is supposed to be joyful turns into the opposite.

 

[Gone_]

I am so sorry that happened - it is upsetting when something that is supposed to be joyful turns into the opposite.

I think some vendors need to try to remember that they are in luxury jewelry business and they are not changing tires or selling hotdogs... be just a little nicer to your customers.

 

[Gussie]

I think some vendors need to try to remember that they are in luxury jewelry business and they are not changing tires or selling hotdogs... be just a little nicer to your customers.

I have had a few interactions with vendors that left me feeling a bit slighted. Nothing major, just that they showed very little enthusiasm for my project.
I generally just excuse it by telling myself "well they're just not from the south!" We tend to be very warm and polite here (genuineness aside lol). I know that personalities differ tremendously but anyone working in CS needs to show some interest when dealing with their customers. After all, you can have a stunning product but if no one buys it, it's not worth much. MOO

 

[oncrutchesrightnow]

We have an easy policy.....say you're from PriceScope and we give the diamonds and jewelry away FREE!!!!
Saves a lot of time




Kidding obviously.
I will say that being a jewelry diamond salesperson takes a lot of patience- regardless of PS readership/membership....

Funny stories?

 

[Alybetter]

I’ve reached out to several vendors that are popular here, both for stones and settings. I’ve purchased from several of those vendors. Great experiences all around, apart from a single vendor. But our particular issues had nothing to do with PS.