Wiring $$$ to Online Vendors

[brandonman22]

Do most online vendors send you agreements before you wire them money for any ring or diamond? What's the normal procedure?

 

[Sparkalicious]

Hi Brandonman22,

I''m not sure about most online vendors but I do know that WF sent me some correspondence re: the bankwire prior to me wiring them the funds. I don''t recall if it was an agreement or not but I do know that they sent me an order confirmation that I first had to acknowledge in order to proceed.

I hope that helps.

 

[brandonman22]

I''m just wondering what steps (if any) you can take in order to protect yourself with vendors like ERD or GOG. That way you don''t just go wiring the money and then possibly being out the cash. Just a little nervous is all.

 

[mrssalvo]

i''ve only wired to Whiteflash but they sent me a confirmation email of my order and their bank routing # to wire the money to. the back would have the receipt and then WF emailed me once they received the funds. I would not worry about ERD or GOG at all.

 

[kcoursolle]

Date: 3/5/2008 4:52:58 PM
Author: Sparkalicious
Hi Brandonman22,

I''m not sure about most online vendors but I do know that WF sent me some correspondence re: the bankwire prior to me wiring them the funds. I don''t recall if it was an agreement or not but I do know that they sent me an order confirmation that I first had to acknowledge in order to proceed.

I hope that helps.

Jamesallen went through a similar process with me. If you are wiring to any of the major pricescope vendors (i.e. WF, JA, GOG, ERD, etc.) you have nothing to worry about by doing a wire. They all have excellent reputations.

 

[BlueJeans]

Date: 3/5/2008 5:03:30 PM
Author: brandonman22

I''m just wondering what steps (if any) you can take in order to protect yourself with vendors like ERD or GOG. That way you don''t just go wiring the money and then possibly being out the cash. Just a little nervous is all.

They are not going to take your money! Thats what these forums are all about-

As long as you know and understand their policys you will be fine.

There is always a paper trail if thats what your worried about unless you want to hand over a suitcase full of cash.

 

[lovewhitediamonds]

I don''t know about other online vendors, but the ones listed on PS are here because they are trusted vendors.
We used Union Diamond and the transfer was super easy -- I never worried they were going to take my $$ and run. As someone posted -- there''s a paper trail from your bank to their bank, proof of transfer. I know it''s a big purchase, but rest assured it''s probably being done a million times a day.

They will email you wire instructions with a confirmation of your order then off you go... when they receive the funds, they will probably email you to let you know and then your loose diamond or ring will be on it''s way! Just please note that the vendors insure until it''s delivered to you -- then you must insure it asap. Good Luck ! Very exciting!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I wired money for two diamonds to GOG so I could choose between two. They refunded the money as soon as I returned the stone I didn''t keep. I have ZERO concerns about sending them my money, and I feel that way about most of the PS vendors.

 

[talen316]

I can only speak to my one experience and that was with GOG. Other than bank wire instructions, there was no agreement to sign.

After deliberating for some time over a particular stone that Jon had, I decided to pull the trigger and wire the cash. However, virtually immediately after I wired the cash and walked out of the bank, Jon called me back to give me some additional information on that stone that made me decide I preferred to pass on the stone that I just sent the money for and have him hunt me down another. At that time, Jon offered to refund the money immediately while he looked for another stone for me. I had enough confidence and trust in Jon that I told him to just hold onto the money until he found what I was looking for as I didn''t see the sense in playing bank wire ping pong. I''m not advocating what I did to anyone, but that was my decision and it speaks to the level of trust that I had in dealing with Jon. Jon continued to search diligently for me over the next few weeks calling in stones on a few more occasions until he found one that I loved. I wouldn''t have any hesitation making a wire transaction with GOG.

 

[Kaleigh]

Date: 3/5/2008 8:49:07 PM
Author: talen316
I can only speak to my one experience and that was with GOG. Other than bank wire instructions, there was no agreement to sign.

After deliberating for some time over a particular stone that Jon had, I decided to pull the trigger and wire the cash. However, virtually immediately after I wired the cash and walked out of the bank, Jon called me back to give me some additional information on that stone that made me decide I preferred to pass on the stone that I just sent the money for and have him hunt me down another. At that time, Jon offered to refund the money immediately while he looked for another stone for me. I had enough confidence and trust in Jon that I told him to just hold onto the money until he found what I was looking for as I didn''t see the sense in playing bank wire ping pong. I''m not advocating what I did to anyone, but that was my decision and it speaks to the level of trust that I had in dealing with Jon. Jon continued to search diligently for me over the next few weeks calling in stones on a few more occasions until he found one that I loved. I wouldn''t have any hesitation making a wire transaction with GOG.

Great post talen, I am sure it will be helpful to many.

 

[pamplemousse]

I definitely had the same fears when we wired money to Wildfish. Here we are, sitting in the bank, wiring money to a stranger in Japan. Good times.

Anyway, I had kind of limited correspondence about the wire transfer and I felt reasonably ok about it, but it was also the biggest chunk of change my boyfriend and I have ever given to anyone that wasn''t for a house or a car.

So... all that to say: your feelings of trepidation are totally normal but try not to fret. Especially if you found the vendor via PS and they have good reviews here, you should be all set.

 

[brandonman22]

Has anyone on this board ever heard of anyone wiring money and then having the vendor walk away or not honoring their verbal agreement?

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 3/6/2008 12:28:38 PM
Author: brandonman22
Has anyone on this board ever heard of anyone wiring money and then having the vendor walk away or not honoring their verbal agreement?

not any of the PS vendors.
It is wire fraud which will be investigated by the FBI and the banking officials they take a very very dim view of messing with the banking system.
There is a group of FBI agents that do nothing but investigate this kind of thing, the banking industry itself hires people too work with them to put people in jail who try and scam the system.
Someone can get by with scamming the credit card system a very long time but start messing with the banking system and they are in deep trouble.

A local crook was taking people left and right with online scams(not diamond related) using credit cards for over a year and a half and nothing was done, he accepted one postal money order and 2 wire transfers and within 1 month was arrested on 15 different felonies.
He served 8 years on a 10 year sentence in club FEDPEN.

btw get an email confirming the terms of sale and banking info even if everything else was done by phone.
No vendor would have a problem doing that.

 

[pixley]

Date: 3/6/2008 12:28:38 PM
Author: brandonman22
Has anyone on this board ever heard of anyone wiring money and then having the vendor walk away or not honoring their verbal agreement?

Brandonman22,
I had the same suspicions as you when I first discovered PS, but after dealing with some of the PS vendors first hand and reading their thoughtful contributions to this board, not to mention the positive feedback, I would feel totally comfortable dealing with the top 5 ones that people regularly post about. If you have any concerns, do a search on the vendor and you'll be able to read what other members' experiences have been. If you have a question about a particular company, just post it and you will likely get lots of responses.

 

[brandonman22]

Date: 3/6/2008 12:46:42 PM
Author: strmrdr


btw get an email confirming the terms of sale and banking info even if everything else was done by phone.
No vendor would have a problem doing that.

What is that going to do for me?

Date: 3/6/2008 12:49:59 PM
Author: pixley

Date: 3/6/2008 12:28:38 PM
Author: brandonman22
Has anyone on this board ever heard of anyone wiring money and then having the vendor walk away or not honoring their verbal agreement?

Brandonman22,
I had the same suspicions as you when I first discovered PS, but after dealing with some of the PS vendors first hand and reading their thoughtful contributions to this board, not to mention the positive feedback, I would feel totally comfortable dealing with the top 5 ones that people regularly post about. If you have any concerns, do a search on the vendor and you''ll be able to read what other members'' experiences have been. If you have a question about a particular company, just post it and you will likely get lots of responses.

Who would you say is the top 5 PS vendors?

 

[pixley]

Date: 3/6/2008 12:49:59 PM
Author: pixley

Date: 3/6/2008 12:28:38 PM
Author: brandonman22
Has anyone on this board ever heard of anyone wiring money and then having the vendor walk away or not honoring their verbal agreement?

Brandonman22,
I had the same suspicions as you when I first discovered PS, but after dealing with some of the PS vendors first hand and reading their thoughtful contributions to this board, not to mention the positive feedback, I would feel totally comfortable dealing with the top 5 ones that people regularly post about. If you have any concerns, do a search on the vendor and you'll be able to read what other members' experiences have been. If you have a question about a particular company, just post it and you will likely get lots of responses.

Who would you say is the top 5 PS vendors?

I would say (in alphabetical order) Engagement Rings Direct, GOG, James Allen, Pearlman's and Whiteflash are the places that have the most feedback on this site.

ETA: Over the course of my search, I worked with all but Pearlman's in that list and, although I didn't find my stone through them, I would have felt comfortable purchasing through any of them.

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 3/6/2008 12:55:49 PM
Author: brandonman22

Date: 3/6/2008 12:46:42 PM
Author: strmrdr


btw get an email confirming the terms of sale and banking info even if everything else was done by phone.
No vendor would have a problem doing that.

What is that going to do for me?

help prevent miscommunication and provide a record of the terms of sale.

 

[niceice]

I can''t speak for other vendors, but our wire transfer instructions including a description of the item(s) purchased and a breakdown for the cost of each item so that our customers are initiating a wire transfer for a defined specific purchase, it is for the protection of everybody. It''s pretty simple to verify the integrity of the vendors here on PS, we all pretty much live in a glass fish bowl. If any of us failed to meet the expectations of our customers, it wouldn''t take long for the issue to hit the boards here on PS.

Strmrdr is absolutely correct about interstate wire fraud. Of course, you can always have your bank call their bank to verify that no complaints have been filed against the company for failing to ship product upon receipt of a wire transfer. The banks really can''t give out much information, but they kind of have a way of speaking with each other.