your opinion?

[iraweissman]

I''m on this board to hopefully help consumers not spend any more money than is absolutely necessary to make his bride-to-be happy.

It''s exactly this level of PS discernment that I''m trying to advise against. The "common wisdom" on this board is to be so picky regarding make that all you end up doing is paying too much for a level of perfection that isn''t any more beautiful to a naked human eye. Which one of your wife-to-be''s friends is going to be carrying around an idealscope to make sure the arrows are perfectly in order?

I also find it odd that many of the "pros" on this board who offer this exact advice that I''m against are proprietors of businesses that have a heavy financial interest in perpetuating these ideas.

I''m just offering my opinion. If the consumer who reads it doesn''t want to follow it, by all means, go buy the perfect diamond. I have the experience and the objectivity to back up my opinions.

 

[stone-cold11]

Date: 4/19/2009 12:32:48 PM
Author: iraweissman
I also find it odd that many of the ''pros'' on this board who offer this exact advice that I''m against are proprietors of businesses that have a heavy financial interest in perpetuating these ideas.

And who are the pros??? Name a few names?

 

[stone-cold11]

Date: 4/19/2009 12:32:48 PM
Author: iraweissman
I'm on this board to hopefully help consumers not spend any more money than is absolutely necessary to make his bride-to-be happy.

It's exactly this level of PS discernment that I'm trying to advise against. The 'common wisdom' on this board is to be so picky regarding make that all you end up doing is paying too much for a level of perfection that isn't any more beautiful to a naked human eye. Which one of your wife-to-be's friends is going to be carrying around an idealscope to make sure the arrows are perfectly in order?


I also find it odd that many of the 'pros' on this board who offer this exact advice that I'm against are proprietors of businesses that have a heavy financial interest in perpetuating these ideas.


I'm just offering my opinion. If the consumer who reads it doesn't want to follow it, by all means, go buy the perfect diamond. I have the experience and the objectivity to back up my opinions.

And who is the one giving false information about a centre inclusion always being visible and not eye-clean? Being able to judge if a stone has visible inclusions just from a virtual loupe? Is that is what amounts to of your experiences?

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 4/19/2009 12:32:48 PM
Author: iraweissman
I''m on this board to hopefully help consumers not spend any more money than is absolutely necessary to make his bride-to-be happy.

A lot of guys want to get their Lady the best diamond they can.
You do realize that 99.999999%+ of the long term PS posters are women? A lot of whom buy their own diamonds.

 

[iraweissman]

Date: 4/19/2009 12:01:43 PM
Author: strmrdr

Date: 4/19/2009 11:28:50 AM

Author: iraweissman


Yes, I do have some affiliate links on my website that link to James Allen. Blue Nile and other online vendors offer affiliate commissions as well. I chose JA over the others because I felt they had a superior offering. Other than those affiliate links, I have no financial interest (unlike all of the other opinions in the peanut gallery on this forum) in the diamond business whatsoever.

Paul's question was 100% spot on.

You are in the trade and linking stones from a seller you have a business relationship with as well as being rude to consumers.

Both are very much against the rules.


Anyone linking a diamond is not in the trade as that is not allowed.

Almost all of the people giving advice here are consumers and have no financial interest in any sales.

I have never used an affiliate link on this forum. If I post a diamond from JA, it is a clean regular link and I get no commission if the user of PS buys that diamond I recommend. It would be unethical to do otherwise.

Whenever someone contacts me on my site with help, I always disclose ahead of time that I earn a commission if they decide to purchase the stone.

Can we just move on and agree to disagree without flaming each others opinions? As I tried to tell Paul (he never answered my question if he received my email or not), I fully admit that there are things that he knows better from his perspective interfacing with the consumer (ie, durability as regards side gletzes). I'm happy to defer to him in such circumstances. Likewise, it seems nobody flamed me for offering my opinion on another forum regarding stars and melees. I appreciate that. On the things in the middle, though, it would be nice if we could just offer two separate opinions to the consumer without trying to blast each other. I'll never win because obviously I'm a lone voice. I just ask that I be heard respectfully.

 

[stone-cold11]

Date: 4/19/2009 1:23:13 PM
Author: iraweissman
I''m happy to defer to him in such circumstances. Likewise, it seems nobody flamed me for offering my opinion on another forum regarding stars and melees. I appreciate that.

Maybe it is because with regards to melees you make sense and that you don''t make sense in the case with clarity, the generalization you have made on this thread and the accusations you leveled to other people that is gaining you this much flame in this thread?

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 4/19/2009 1:23:13 PM
Author: iraweissman

Can we just move on and agree to disagree without flaming each others opinions? Likewise, it seems nobody flamed me for offering my opinion on another forum regarding stars and melees. I appreciate that. On the things in the middle, though, it would be nice if we could just offer two separate opinions to the consumer without trying to blast each other. I'll never win because obviously I'm a lone voice. I just ask that I be heard respectfully.

Ira, please know I post this with the best of intentions and I hope that comes across as such although it can be difficult with the written word - maybe you might like to take a look at this article? You might find it useful, so you can see how things work here.

http://journal.pricescope.com/Articles/55/1/A-jeweler’s-guide-for-how-to-get-along-with-Pricescope.aspx

 

[elle_chris]

Ira- I agree with you, but only to a point.

I'm also in that camp that doesn't believe you need a super tight h&a to get a beautiful stone. I came to this opinion after owning a few true H&A AGS0 stones and then deciding to get a regular GIA EX non H&A.

With that said, there are still correlations between the table, crown, depth and pavilion angle that do indeed make or break a diamonds appearance.

So when a person comes here looking for a stone, and that person knows nothing about diamonds or how cut affects the look, the good folks here will link various tutorials as well as give their honest opinion on the stones linked.
It's also simply easier to link a true ideal H&A cut because you know it's going to be a gorgeous stone, rather then go through many pages of virtual lists hoping one of them is a winner. And there's NOTHING wrong with that.

Also, some people simply appreciate the perfect symmetry of an H&A, some people place more importance on color or clarity. There is no right or wrong.

As far as VS2 with a black inclusion in the center, I agree that some may be eye clean, others are not. Too many variables involved. Such as eye site, and lighting. What someone else may see, others may not.

Lorelei- You're one of the most helpful PS members ever! I appreciate the fact that you don't try to change a posters mind regarding what they want too. You're also neutral and never push a "favorite" vendor on anyone looking for a stone. Great asset to the PS community.

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 4/19/2009 1:23:13 PM
Author: iraweissman


I have never used an affiliate link on this forum. If I post a diamond from JA, it is a clean regular link and I get no commission if the user of PS buys that diamond I recommend. It would be unethical to do otherwise.

It is against the rules for you to post any links to diamonds at all.

 

[iraweissman]

Date: 4/19/2009 1:59:03 PM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 4/19/2009 1:23:13 PM

Author: iraweissman



Can we just move on and agree to disagree without flaming each others opinions? Likewise, it seems nobody flamed me for offering my opinion on another forum regarding stars and melees. I appreciate that. On the things in the middle, though, it would be nice if we could just offer two separate opinions to the consumer without trying to blast each other. I''ll never win because obviously I''m a lone voice. I just ask that I be heard respectfully.

Ira, please know I post this with the best of intentions and I hope that comes across as such although it can be difficult with the written word - maybe you might like to take a look at this article? You might find it useful, so you can see how things work here.

http://journal.pricescope.com/Articles/55/1/A-jeweler’s-guide-for-how-to-get-along-with-Pricescope.aspx

Thank you. I appreciate that. I found that quite useful.

In my case, however, it''s a bit complicated since I''m not really in the industry anymore and have nothing to sell. I''m not here to promote my business by being a "good guy" on the forum. To me, this board is just another forum for me to educate the consumer based on my experience as a diamond trader. I''m still in the "in the trade" category because of my history and because of my website that I run now which has a few affiliate links.

 

[iraweissman]

Date: 4/19/2009 3:14:41 PM
Author: strmrdr

Date: 4/19/2009 1:23:13 PM

Author: iraweissman



I have never used an affiliate link on this forum. If I post a diamond from JA, it is a clean regular link and I get no commission if the user of PS buys that diamond I recommend. It would be unethical to do otherwise.

It is against the rules for you to post any links to diamonds at all.

You are right. I was just made aware of that and will not be doing it anymore.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 4/19/2009 2:36:48 PM
Author: elle_chris
Ira- I agree with you, but only to a point.

I''m also in that camp that doesn''t believe you need a super tight h&a to get a beautiful stone. I came to this opinion after owning a few true H&A AGS0 stones and then deciding to get a regular GIA EX non H&A.

With that said, there are still correlations between the table, crown, depth and pavilion angle that do indeed make or break a diamonds appearance.

So when a person comes here looking for a stone, and that person knows nothing about diamonds or how cut affects the look, the good folks here will link various tutorials as well as give their honest opinion on the stones linked.
It''s also simply easier to link a true ideal H&A cut because you know it''s going to be a gorgeous stone, rather then go through many pages of virtual lists hoping one of them is a winner. And there''s NOTHING wrong with that.

Also, some people simply appreciate the perfect symmetry of an H&A, some people place more importance on color or clarity. There is no right or wrong.

As far as VS2 with a black inclusion in the center, I agree that some may be eye clean, others are not. Too many variables involved. Such as eye site, and lighting. What someone else may see, others may not.

Lorelei- You''re one of the most helpful PS members ever! I appreciate the fact that you don''t try to change a posters mind regarding what they want too. You''re also neutral and never push a ''favorite'' vendor on anyone looking for a stone. Great asset to the PS community.

Elle, thank you so much for that very high praise - it means a lot to me! I very much appreciate your kind words!

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 4/19/2009 3:14:44 PM
Author: iraweissman

Date: 4/19/2009 1:59:03 PM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 4/19/2009 1:23:13 PM

Author: iraweissman



Can we just move on and agree to disagree without flaming each others opinions? Likewise, it seems nobody flamed me for offering my opinion on another forum regarding stars and melees. I appreciate that. On the things in the middle, though, it would be nice if we could just offer two separate opinions to the consumer without trying to blast each other. I'll never win because obviously I'm a lone voice. I just ask that I be heard respectfully.

Ira, please know I post this with the best of intentions and I hope that comes across as such although it can be difficult with the written word - maybe you might like to take a look at this article? You might find it useful, so you can see how things work here.

http://journal.pricescope.com/Articles/55/1/A-jeweler’s-guide-for-how-to-get-along-with-Pricescope.aspx

Thank you. I appreciate that. I found that quite useful.

In my case, however, it's a bit complicated since I'm not really in the industry anymore and have nothing to sell. I'm not here to promote my business by being a 'good guy' on the forum. To me, this board is just another forum for me to educate the consumer based on my experience as a diamond trader. I'm still in the 'in the trade' category because of my history and because of my website that I run now which has a few affiliate links.

I am so glad that link was helpful Ira, welcome to Pricescope! You will find many of the posters who come here seeking help are cut focused with buying online in mind, and that is a huge topic of many of the threads in Rocky Talk. However we do strive to be of help to those regardless of what they are looking for or where they prefer to buy it - brick and mortar or online seller, and tailor the advice accordingly. If you follow some of the threads to get an idea of the type of advice often given - concerning SI clarities for example you will notice that very often if a poster mentions a high clarity grade that it is suggested that one can drop to SI without visual sacrifice if the diamond is eyeclean. But some buyers prefer very high colour and clarity for cultural or purity reasons, or just plain " mindclean' reasons. But whatever the reason, we respect that and try to work with them to find a diamond they will love.

Some of us are just consumers like myself, many of the RT regulars have been doing this for years as I have, and have learned a lot and try to pass that info on to help others in our consumer capacities. Yes you will notice a lot of image analysis going on, and there can be a tendency to hairsplit at times which I try to bear in mind myself ( I am sure I am guilty of doing so in the past!), so we try to keep an open mind in order to best serve and assist a new poster. When working with online diamonds very often images are the best info we have. It would appear that many posters want the best cut diamond they can get, h&a AGS0- the works. Others just want a nicely cut diamond, so the trick is knowing your poster and trying to find out exactly what they want and help them to find it where possible.

 

[WinkHPD]

Date: 4/17/2009 1:05:55 AM
Author: iraweissman
It is really rare to have a diamond weighing 1.40-1.49. You''re basically getting a 1.50 size diamond for a (albeit expensive) 1.25 price. But it''s still probably at least $1000 cheaper than a comparable 1.50 diamond.

Go for it. You found yourself a great deal (as long as the VS2 isn''t a dead center black).

I know I am coming late to the party and there are many posts, but I have to answer this comment as I dissagree with it.

I believe it to be one of the big myths in my industry that dead center black inclusions are somehow more visible than the same inclusion on the edge of the diamond. Yes, you can often hide such an inclusion under a prong if it is near the edge, but after thirty some years of looking at diamonds I find that dead center blacks are harder to see with the unaided eye than the same size inclusion nearer to the girdle.

I will now go to pick up Peter at the airport, so I shall have to go look at the rest of this later...

Wink

 

[Paul-Antwerp]

Date: 4/19/2009 12:32:48 PM
Author: iraweissman
I''m on this board to hopefully help consumers not spend any more money than is absolutely necessary to make his bride-to-be happy.

It''s exactly this level of PS discernment that I''m trying to advise against. The ''common wisdom'' on this board is to be so picky regarding make that all you end up doing is paying too much for a level of perfection that isn''t any more beautiful to a naked human eye. Which one of your wife-to-be''s friends is going to be carrying around an idealscope to make sure the arrows are perfectly in order?

I also find it odd that many of the ''pros'' on this board who offer this exact advice that I''m against are proprietors of businesses that have a heavy financial interest in perpetuating these ideas.

I''m just offering my opinion. If the consumer who reads it doesn''t want to follow it, by all means, go buy the perfect diamond. I have the experience and the objectivity to back up my opinions.

Ira,

Again, you are touting your opinion as a fact, while it is only due to a lack of training, education and critical mind that you do not know what is obvious to many consumers. I have to admit, you are not the only so-called pro that is of the same opinion, but if the pros are stuck into medieval thinking, I cannot help that.

If you want to be of some value of this community here, I suggest that you start by using an idealscope and explain why you think that it does not offer good information. I am sure that some people would like to discuss this with you to see if you have any valid points;

I am all for anyone offering his opinion, but if you are offering yours touting that you are a professional, you better make sure that your opinion is correct. As it often is not, and since it is clearly not objective (since you admitted that you are taking commissions on part of your so-called objective opinions), you are bound to get regular heat from the regulars here.

To sum it up, you do NOT have the experience and certainly NOT the objectivity to back up your opinion.

Live long,

 

[iraweissman]

Paul, you sell ideal H&A diamonds for a living. I''d hardly call that objective.

I make no money if I convince someone here to buy a less than ideal make, or to avoid center black inclusions. I could just as well recommend the same things you recommend on my blog and get commissions doing that. But I don''t, because I disagree with your opinions. You have a clear financial interest in what you recommend, I don''t. I''m not saying that''s why you offer those opinions. I believe that you honestly believe what you advise. I also believe that''s why you sell ideal H&A diamonds, because you believe that''s what''s best for the consumer. My only point is that you are in no position whatsoever to call me biased.

While I can accept and appreciate that there are differences of opinions in this space -- in the end, it''s all a matter of aesthetics anyway -- it seems you cannot do the same. Whenever I offer an opinion that is different from yours, you immediately declare it wrong, based in inexperience, and biased. I try to respect your opinion even though I disagree with it. And while it might make me come off as less sure of myself than you are, I refuse to respond to your opinions in the same way. It''s disrespectful and rude.

Again, can you please just let my opinions be heard without declaring me wrong every time? I''ve wasted so much time in the last two days defending myself so far beyond anything called for. If you don''t like what I recommend, then offer other advice. Or say, "I disagree with Ira, because of X Y and Z." Please focus on the content of the arguments, and stop trying to attack the arguer.

Thank you,
Ira

Date: 4/20/2009 1:27:01 AM
Author: Paul-Antwerp

Date: 4/19/2009 12:32:48 PM

Author: iraweissman

I''m on this board to hopefully help consumers not spend any more money than is absolutely necessary to make his bride-to-be happy.


It''s exactly this level of PS discernment that I''m trying to advise against. The ''common wisdom'' on this board is to be so picky regarding make that all you end up doing is paying too much for a level of perfection that isn''t any more beautiful to a naked human eye. Which one of your wife-to-be''s friends is going to be carrying around an idealscope to make sure the arrows are perfectly in order?


I also find it odd that many of the ''pros'' on this board who offer this exact advice that I''m against are proprietors of businesses that have a heavy financial interest in perpetuating these ideas.


I''m just offering my opinion. If the consumer who reads it doesn''t want to follow it, by all means, go buy the perfect diamond. I have the experience and the objectivity to back up my opinions.

Ira,


Again, you are touting your opinion as a fact, while it is only due to a lack of training, education and critical mind that you do not know what is obvious to many consumers. I have to admit, you are not the only so-called pro that is of the same opinion, but if the pros are stuck into medieval thinking, I cannot help that.


If you want to be of some value of this community here, I suggest that you start by using an idealscope and explain why you think that it does not offer good information. I am sure that some people would like to discuss this with you to see if you have any valid points;


I am all for anyone offering his opinion, but if you are offering yours touting that you are a professional, you better make sure that your opinion is correct. As it often is not, and since it is clearly not objective (since you admitted that you are taking commissions on part of your so-called objective opinions), you are bound to get regular heat from the regulars here.


To sum it up, you do NOT have the experience and certainly NOT the objectivity to back up your opinion.


Live long,

 

[civictypesi]

oops. didn''t intend to start a war.

you''re all my superheroes

 

[civictypesi]

Ira, is there an email address where I may contact you?

 

[iraweissman]

Date: 4/20/2009 2:12:09 AM
Author: civictypesi
Ira, is there an email address where I may contact you?

I can''t private message you (no way to do it on PS) and I can''t post my email address publicly here, so all I can suggest is going to my website and on option #3 there''s a link to a "contact me" page.

 

[Stephan]

Date: 4/20/2009 2:10:33 AM
Author: civictypesi
oops. didn''t intend to start a war.

Yeah, the "Dies Irae" thread...

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 4/20/2009 2:08:22 AM
Author: iraweissman
Please focus on the content of the arguments, and stop trying to attack the arguer.


Thank you,

Ira

The content of your arguments are a bunch of hogwash and nothing we haven''t heard before.
You have no clue who is here and what we are about yet you want to throw around insults and nonsense and not get called on it.
Well fyi that is not going to happen.

We have 4+ World class diamond cutters who post here.
We have some of the top diamond researchers in the world that post here.
We have some of the top diamond tool designers in the world that post here.
We have some of the best vendors in the world that post here, they have to be good to survive here.
But most of all we have the largest, most dedicated and knowledgeable group of consumers helping other consumers in the world here.
The pro-sumers here know more about diamonds than 99.999999% of the diamond trade.

Now you want to come here and tell us you have all the answers...
Well don''t be shocked when the response is less than polite.

 

[Paul-Antwerp]

Date: 4/20/2009 2:08:22 AM
Author: iraweissman
Paul, you sell ideal H&A diamonds for a living. I''d hardly call that objective.

I make no money if I convince someone here to buy a less than ideal make, or to avoid center black inclusions. I could just as well recommend the same things you recommend on my blog and get commissions doing that. But I don''t, because I disagree with your opinions. You have a clear financial interest in what you recommend, I don''t. I''m not saying that''s why you offer those opinions. I believe that you honestly believe what you advise. I also believe that''s why you sell ideal H&A diamonds, because you believe that''s what''s best for the consumer. My only point is that you are in no position whatsoever to call me biased.

While I can accept and appreciate that there are differences of opinions in this space -- in the end, it''s all a matter of aesthetics anyway -- it seems you cannot do the same. Whenever I offer an opinion that is different from yours, you immediately declare it wrong, based in inexperience, and biased. I try to respect your opinion even though I disagree with it. And while it might make me come off as less sure of myself than you are, I refuse to respond to your opinions in the same way. It''s disrespectful and rude.

Again, can you please just let my opinions be heard without declaring me wrong every time? I''ve wasted so much time in the last two days defending myself so far beyond anything called for. If you don''t like what I recommend, then offer other advice. Or say, ''I disagree with Ira, because of X Y and Z.'' Please focus on the content of the arguments, and stop trying to attack the arguer.

Thank you,
Ira

Ira,

First of all, by simplifying what I produce into the rather general term ''H&A'', it proves again that you do not understand the details of what we are talking about here. No problem however, since this is a general attitude in the trade.

In the highlighted part however, you seem to imply that you could earn commission from me by promoting my product. This is totally incorrect, as I do not allow such practice and do not have such a scheme working. Your presence here has proven however that other vendors do have such a policy, and it is still unclear to me whether this is acceptable under forum policies.

In any case, just as me, it puts you in a position that you cannot recommend any stones, something that you do not seem to understand yet.

And like everybody here, if you continue to refuse to educate yourself and to at least read the tutorials on this website, you are likely to continually get called out as incorrect. I am sorry, it is not up to me to educate you, that is up to you. What you try to depict as a difference of opinion is however a lack of education. You cannot regularly state that you are allowed to say that 2 plus 2 is 5, and expect to be respected for that.

Live long,

 

[iraweissman]

What I meant was that my commissions are not connected at all to the advice I offer. I could just as well offer the same advice you do on my site and still earn commissions. JA has a very well stocked H&A section. I could suggest those stones on my site as well and still earn a commission.

Let me explain to you how the affiliate link system works, so you will stop suspecting me of wrongdoing.

A 3rd party company called Link Share has hundreds, if not thousands, of different types of online vendors they work with. People like me sign up with them and can browse their "inventory" of vendors and receive special "affiliate links" for each vendor. An affiliate link might look something like "http://click.linksynergy.com/{code code code}" That link gets processed by link share who now knows that I sent a click to whichever vendor I built a link for. The clicker is now routed to the vendor''s site and can shop or browse as normal. In this process, a cookie is placed on the clicker''s computer that lasts for 30 days. If the clicker buys anything from that site, then a commission is paid to the site which had the link (ie, me). Commissions differ by vendor. Obviously, in the online diamond world, they are quite low since anyway the vendors are working on such low margins. I can build a link for a vendors homepage, or for any individual product page.

BN has one such program as does JA. I''m pretty sure several others do as well, but I never really looked any further.

So if I recommend a diamond here (which has been made clear to me is not allowed and I will stop doing it), and the person goes and buys it, I get nothing because I have never and will never post an affiliate link on PS. I only posted plain old vanilla links which place no cookies. The vendor will never know the customer came from me, and I will earn nothing.

But I only posted one link to a diamond on JA (for which I was reprimanded) since I started posting on PS. All I have done aside from that is make recommendations that go against the common wisdom on this board. For that, I most certainly have no financial interest. There''s no way I can earn a penny doing that.

My point was that you, on the other hand, are on this board recommending to people to buy the very product category that you sell. That''s a direct and clear bias. As I stated before, I believe that you really believe that what you are suggesting really is the best product available, and that''s probably why you decided to sell it. But it doesn''t change the fact that you are, indeed, offering advice to people to buy the same type of product that you sell. The same cannot be said for me.

Date: 4/20/2009 8:19:48 AM
Author: Paul-Antwerp

Date: 4/20/2009 2:08:22 AM

Author: iraweissman

Paul, you sell ideal H&A diamonds for a living. I''d hardly call that objective.


I make no money if I convince someone here to buy a less than ideal make, or to avoid center black inclusions. I could just as well recommend the same things you recommend on my blog and get commissions doing that. But I don''t, because I disagree with your opinions. You have a clear financial interest in what you recommend, I don''t. I''m not saying that''s why you offer those opinions. I believe that you honestly believe what you advise. I also believe that''s why you sell ideal H&A diamonds, because you believe that''s what''s best for the consumer. My only point is that you are in no position whatsoever to call me biased.


While I can accept and appreciate that there are differences of opinions in this space -- in the end, it''s all a matter of aesthetics anyway -- it seems you cannot do the same. Whenever I offer an opinion that is different from yours, you immediately declare it wrong, based in inexperience, and biased. I try to respect your opinion even though I disagree with it. And while it might make me come off as less sure of myself than you are, I refuse to respond to your opinions in the same way. It''s disrespectful and rude.


Again, can you please just let my opinions be heard without declaring me wrong every time? I''ve wasted so much time in the last two days defending myself so far beyond anything called for. If you don''t like what I recommend, then offer other advice. Or say, ''I disagree with Ira, because of X Y and Z.'' Please focus on the content of the arguments, and stop trying to attack the arguer.


Thank you,

Ira

Ira,


First of all, by simplifying what I produce into the rather general term ''H&A'', it proves again that you do not understand the details of what we are talking about here. No problem however, since this is a general attitude in the trade.


In the highlighted part however, you seem to imply that you could earn commission from me by promoting my product. This is totally incorrect, as I do not allow such practice and do not have such a scheme working. Your presence here has proven however that other vendors do have such a policy, and it is still unclear to me whether this is acceptable under forum policies.


In any case, just as me, it puts you in a position that you cannot recommend any stones, something that you do not seem to understand yet.


And like everybody here, if you continue to refuse to educate yourself and to at least read the tutorials on this website, you are likely to continually get called out as incorrect. I am sorry, it is not up to me to educate you, that is up to you. What you try to depict as a difference of opinion is however a lack of education. You cannot regularly state that you are allowed to say that 2 plus 2 is 5, and expect to be respected for that.


Live long,

 

[Imdanny]

Date: 4/20/2009 8:39:20 AM
Author: iraweissman
BN has one such program as does JA. I''m pretty sure several others do as well, but I never really looked any further.

Let me see if I understand this. BN and JA have a program whereby if I click on a third party website (i.e. yours), a cookie will be placed on my computer, and BN or JA will thereby connect me to you. Is that right?

With all due respect, I do not want to have a cookie placed on my computer, to be tracked, by BN, by JA, by you, or by anyone else.

This thread has been informational. Thank you.

 

[iraweissman]

I''m not sure what you mean by "BN or JA will thereby connect [you] to [me]" But anyway, I don''t think that''s correct. I don''t think BN or JA, or any vendor participating in an affiliate program is privy to the information of who sent them the clicks. All of that data is kept private at the company in the middle (link share is one, Google runs one called ConnectCommerce). I don''t get checks from JA or BN, I get checks from ConnectCommerce (BN works with them) or Link Share. Link Share or CC just tells the vendor how much they owe, I''m sure LS and CC then take their cut for the service, and then LS or CC sends the check to the person sending the click to the vendor.

By the way, this is nothing new and most definitely nothing "unkosher". Ever browse "hot deals" type sites? They all work on affiliate linking. I''m a daily reader of hot-deals.org, for example. They list daily great deals on electronics. When you click on a link on their site and buy the product, so they earn a commission.

Date: 4/20/2009 8:46:28 AM
Author: Imdanny

Date: 4/20/2009 8:39:20 AM

Author: iraweissman

BN has one such program as does JA. I''m pretty sure several others do as well, but I never really looked any further.

Let me see if I understand this. BN and JA have a program whereby if I click on a third party website (i.e. yours), a cookie will be placed on my computer, and BN or JA will thereby connect me to you. Is that right?


With all due respect, I do not want to have a cookie placed on my computer, to be tracked, by BN, by JA, by you, or by anyone else.


This thread has been informational. Thank you.

 

[Imdanny]

Interesting. Thank you.

 

[Imdanny]

Date: 4/20/2009 2:10:33 AM
Author: civictypesi
oops. didn''t intend to start a war.


you''re all my superheroes

 

[stone-cold11]

Date: 4/20/2009 8:39:20 AM
Author: iraweissman
My point was that you, on the other hand, are on this board recommending to people to buy the very product category that you sell. That''s a direct and clear bias. As I stated before, I believe that you really believe that what you are suggesting really is the best product available, and that''s probably why you decided to sell it. But it doesn''t change the fact that you are, indeed, offering advice to people to buy the same type of product that you sell. The same cannot be said for me.

Paul never recommend his stones. He was only commenting on your mistaken beliefs in clarity.

 

[iraweissman]

I never said Paul recommends stones of his. I said he offers advice advising people to buy the same type of stone he sells.

Date: 4/20/2009 9:12:43 AM
Author: Stone-cold11

Date: 4/20/2009 8:39:20 AM

Author: iraweissman

My point was that you, on the other hand, are on this board recommending to people to buy the very product category that you sell. That''s a direct and clear bias. As I stated before, I believe that you really believe that what you are suggesting really is the best product available, and that''s probably why you decided to sell it. But it doesn''t change the fact that you are, indeed, offering advice to people to buy the same type of product that you sell. The same cannot be said for me.

Paul never recommend his stones. He was only commenting on your mistaken beliefs in clarity.

 

[Lorelei]

edit.