Yet another reason to despise eBay

[Rockdiamond]

As of May 25, 2022, here's the way eBay is forcing sellers to describe LAB GROWN DIAMONDS...I mean that's what GIA, IGI and countless other knowledgeable organizations call Lab Grown Diamonds........but eBay...nooooooooooooo
I HATE EBAY ...still need them though......below is a bullet point from today's eBay email......

• Lab-created gemstones. If you list a lab-created stone, you must clearly state that the stone is “lab-created” in your listing title, and not “man-made,” “lab-grown,” or other similar terms. “Lab-created” must immediately precede the stone name in your title (e.g., “lab-created diamond”).

 

[Ionysis]

This is a problem why?

 

[AprilBaby]

I never shop eBay. Too many unknowns.

 

[ItsMainelyYou]

I don't see this as a bad thing. Younger people especially are cluing in to the value of lab diamonds. They will look for those key words. I've talked to several and they are going lab for modern cut stones, including engagement stones. It's going to take a little time- but it's on the radar and getting louder. Just add CVT or HPHT into the title.

 

[Rockdiamond]

This is a problem why?

Say you have 700 listings…. Each is written by hand. Now you have to manually go in and edit.
Of course eBay might change their mind next week. Again.
The term “Lab Grown Diamond” has been accepted by GIA…. Hence the industry. Who is eBay to change industry standards which are put in place to clarify the product.
“Lab Grown” does seem to be an incredibly non ambiguous phrase.
It’s the hubris that so many large tech companies are exhibiting that’s really issue.

Or maybe I’m just a grouch

 

[Karl_K]

Or maybe I’m just a grouch

Yes
lol, sorry could not resist.

 

[Rockdiamond]

Just add CVT or HPHT into the title.

CVD....and I'm all for transparent representation and clarity of terminology.
I was using the term "Earth Mined" to describe that sort of diamond and that pissed off other people.......

Even removing my own personal and professional impediments this will cause to us and other sellers...it really does seem that "Lab Grown" is industry accepted, transparent and clear.

 

[ItsMainelyYou]

CVD....and I'm all for transparent representation and clarity of terminology.
I was using the term "Earth Mined" to describe that sort of diamond and that pissed off other people.......

Even removing my own personal and professional impediments this will cause to us and other sellers...it really does seem that "Lab Grown" is industry accepted, transparent and clear.

It really is taking off, people are asking me seriously about it as I'm their real life gateway jewelry hobbyist and it will become common with it's own stable market within the next several years. I happen to be a big proponent of them personally.

 

[Rockdiamond]

And...by the way...getting someone from eBay on the phone? It's so simple!!
As simple as learning Mandarin?
Nuclear Fission?
I mean they're only taking in a few billion a year, so expecting them to actually hire humans is....unrealistic, right?
And then, even though they do hire a meager amount of folks..... eBay makes sure they're in a country where the labor rates are a fraction of what you'd have to pay people working in the USA, ( The good Ol' US of A where the majority of eBay's market is)


Grouch, yes.....over 30 minutes on hold will get most people grouchy...especially after searching through pages and pages till you can actually find the option to speak with someone.....

 

[Rockdiamond]

I hung up after an hour and 20 minutes on hold...I'm still free to post a question on eBay's forum~!
Yipee!!

 

[AnastasiaBeaverhausen]

I'd kinda be annoyed if I have to take up valuable space on the title for that. Doesn't ebay already have a way to indicate whether the primary stone in a piece is natural, enhanced, unknown, etc.? Can't they just make that a required detail you need to include instead?

 

[MMtwo]

Lab created diamond is used on Etsy as a term for cz. Way to go ebay!

 

[Buttercookies]

Lab created diamond is used on Etsy as a term for cz. Way to go ebay!

Why would CZ be called diamond? I’m confuse , Etsy….

 

[MMtwo]

Why would CZ be called diamond? I’m confuse , Etsy….

Not sure but I assume that they want to come up in searches. I doubt "cheap CZ ring" is a hot search term

 

[monipod]

Not sure but I assume that they want to come up in searches. I doubt "cheap CZ ring" is a hot search term

If I search for "lab diamonds" on Etsy all I get first are CZ and Moissy listings

 

[oncrutchesrightnow]

Ugh! So frustrating. Already you have to read descriptions really really closely to avoid buying CZ or moissy if what you really want is LGD. I wonder why they are conflicting with everyone else.

 

[StarshineSweet]

Say you have 700 listings…. Each is written by hand. Now you have to manually go in and edit.
Of course eBay might change their mind next week. Again.
The term “Lab Grown Diamond” has been accepted by GIA…. Hence the industry. Who is eBay to change industry standards which are put in place to clarify the product.
“Lab Grown” does seem to be an incredibly non ambiguous phrase.
It’s the hubris that so many large tech companies are exhibiting that’s really issue.

Or maybe I’m just a grouch

From a technical standpoint, wouldn't lab-created be incorrect when talking about a laboratory grown diamond? Lab-created gives a connotation that it's a CZ or some other imitation that looks like diamond, where as a lab-grown diamond is just that...a diamond GROWN in a laboratory.

 

[DiaLuv]

David,

I can’t image you being a “Grouch”.

 

[Rockdiamond]

David,

I can’t image you being a “Grouch”.

Awww….
That’s really nice!
But all you have to do is ask me to call eBay customer abuse… I mean customer service, and horns start growing out my head

 

[DejaWiz]

Awww….
That’s really nice!
But all you have to do is ask me to call eBay customer abuse… I mean customer service, and horns start growing out my head

David, would you be a dear and call eBay customer service again on behalf of the entire PS member base about their stupid lab grown/lab created conflation?

 

[Rockdiamond]

I am ( honestly) so grateful for this community....
We can't do $hit about eBay ducking up the market= but we can commiserate together and that makes it better

 

[Rockdiamond]

From a technical standpoint, wouldn't lab-created be incorrect when talking about a laboratory grown diamond?

Mel!!!!
I think a big part of the issue is the terminology and how it's used.
From a purely semantic standpoint, the term "created" is fine. Grown, created....they both imply the same thing...at least semantically.
But the terminology of gemology - rapidly evolving to adapt to Lab-Grown Diamonds- will hopefully mirror the sort of language used with Earth Mined - or Natural diamonds.
There are going to be shifts...maybe inevitably. For example...grading D-E-or F lab diamonds...can we just call them "Colorless"?
It is a moving target, to be sure. Still, Ebay missed that moving target by a mile.

 

[Rockdiamond]

To frame this better....
or,
"why not get the hell off eBay if it's so bad...."

Consider this- the largest diamond sites spend upwards of $100,000 a month on google placements.
Say a small business wanted to get noticed and invested $10,000 a month on google placements......might as well flush $10k down the toilet.
This makes platforms like eBay and Etsy much harder to ditch......from a business standpoint....

But there is this..from the eBay email.....a lab grown DIAMOND is a DIAMOND, as opposed to "gemstone" no?

• Diamonds. If you list a stone that is not an actual diamond, the term “diamond” cannot be included in the listing. You should instead describe your item using the actual material, such as moissanite, cubic zirconia, glass, etc.
• Treated gemstones. If you list a natural stone that has been treated (e.g., dyed to enhance the color), you must state that the gemstone is “treated” in your listing title. You may not describe the stone as “enhanced.”
• Lab-created gemstones. If you list a lab-created stone, y....{sic}

 

[DiaLuv]

 

[Rockdiamond]

My solution- here’s how we will describe Lab Grown diamonds in our eBay listings

Description: You may wonder why there are no descriptions on our Lab created diamonds.. The reason is that eBay has imposed an arbitrary restriction on the way we can refer to diamonds created in a laboratory. This new rule forces sellers to use inaccurate terminology.
If this diamond is accompanied by an IGI or GIA report, it will not be called a "Created Diamond " report.
Believe it or not, I can't even write the name of the gemological report GIA or IGI issues for a diamond produced this way due to these strict, draconian new eBay regulations.
Please contact us if you'd like more details on this item……

 

[DejaWiz]

To frame this better....
or,
"why not get the hell off eBay if it's so bad...."

Consider this- the largest diamond sites spend upwards of $100,000 a month on google placements.
Say a small business wanted to get noticed and invested $10,000 a month on google placements......might as well flush $10k down the toilet.
This makes platforms like eBay and Etsy much harder to ditch......from a business standpoint....

But there is this..from the eBay email.....a lab grown DIAMOND is a DIAMOND, as opposed to "gemstone" no?

• Diamonds. If you list a stone that is not an actual diamond, the term “diamond” cannot be included in the listing. You should instead describe your item using the actual material, such as moissanite, cubic zirconia, glass, etc.
• Treated gemstones. If you list a natural stone that has been treated (e.g., dyed to enhance the color), you must state that the gemstone is “treated” in your listing title. You may not describe the stone as “enhanced.”
• Lab-created gemstones. If you list a lab-created stone, y....{sic}

The first bullet point is what irks me a bit...
"Diamond", whether natural or lab grown, is "diamond". You know it, I know it, we all know it.
Wish eBay would have worded that bullet point as "you must list if the diamond is Natural or Lab Grown.", which leaves the third bullet point applicable to all non-diamond gemstones.

 

[Ibrakeforpossums]

To frame this better....
or,
"why not get the hell off eBay if it's so bad...."

Consider this- the largest diamond sites spend upwards of $100,000 a month on google placements.
Say a small business wanted to get noticed and invested $10,000 a month on google placements......might as well flush $10k down the toilet.
This makes platforms like eBay and Etsy much harder to ditch......from a business standpoint....

But there is this..from the eBay email.....a lab grown DIAMOND is a DIAMOND, as opposed to "gemstone" no?

• Diamonds. If you list a stone that is not an actual diamond, the term “diamond” cannot be included in the listing. You should instead describe your item using the actual material, such as moissanite, cubic zirconia, glass, etc.
• Treated gemstones. If you list a natural stone that has been treated (e.g., dyed to enhance the color), you must state that the gemstone is “treated” in your listing title. You may not describe the stone as “enhanced.”
• Lab-created gemstones. If you list a lab-created stone, y....{sic}

This is being ignored on a massive scale. I see ebay ads for 3 ct. diamond rings for $125 all the time. You have to scroll way down in the fine print to read "simulated."
At least moissanite is usually labeled as moissanite.

 

[StarshineSweet]

Mel!!!!
I think a big part of the issue is the terminology and how it's used.
From a purely semantic standpoint, the term "created" is fine. Grown, created....they both imply the same thing...at least semantically.
But the terminology of gemology - rapidly evolving to adapt to Lab-Grown Diamonds- will hopefully mirror the sort of language used with Earth Mined - or Natural diamonds.
There are going to be shifts...maybe inevitably. For example...grading D-E-or F lab diamonds...can we just call them "Colorless"?
It is a moving target, to be sure. Still, Ebay missed that moving target by a mile.

I just realized why the term "created diamond" irks me so much...it's because of all the crappy overseas sellers calling CZs and coated sapphires "created diamonds!"

 

[DejaWiz]

I just realized why the term "created diamond" irks me so much...it's because of all the crappy overseas sellers calling CZs and coated sapphires "created diamonds!"

Yes!
I've brought it up before in a past thread, but before this recent crackdown happened, I'd search for green lab grown diamonds on eBay and became amused...almost all of them looked like chunks of green bottle glass that were used for cut and polish practice by newbies. Hundreds and hundreds of listings...and many of them were getting bid on and sold for hundreds to thousands of dollars to unsuspecting poor souls.
At least some good is coming out of it (until the sellers find yet another way to cleverly circumvent the rules and algorithms and flood their garbage all over the place again).

 

[Ibrakeforpossums]

If I search for "lab diamonds" on Etsy all I get first are CZ and Moissy listings

I did a search for Asscher cut moissanite and I got a ton of CZs. Also known as "lab-created" on Etsy. Already purchased by many people who thought they were getting something more valuable than a cubic zirconia. At least Etsy has the sense to label lab- grown diamonds as lab-grown diamonds. How can ebay be so dense and arrogant?