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JanetBG · Jul 2nd, 2009, 09:48 AM

Hi, have you gals bought from blue nile? are they offering the best deal on the web?

callire · Jul 2nd, 2009, 09:54 AM

I think Jasper was once posting about how they can generally give very competitive prices for diamond jewelry, but I've also heard that they're overpriced. I've been looking at 1.25 cttw studs, and they seem to have the best prices for what I'm looking for. I guess it depends on what you're buying from them (I WOULD NOT buy pearls from them).

NurseAnn · Jul 2nd, 2009, 11:10 AM

I'm not entirely sure about their pricing, however I have bought several items from there. All of them have been very well made and high quality. I've heard that from other websites you receive things that are either really light or flimsy and I have never experienced nor heard that from Blue Nile. They also have great customer service and really fast free shipping.

JanetBG · Jul 2nd, 2009, 12:00 PM

I am looking at their build your own diamond earrings. I figure that with GIA cert, it shld be ok. But still a bit worried about buying such as expensive item from the web. And the return process seems complicated and needs to pay for insurance...

Japster · Jul 2nd, 2009, 01:15 PM

Reposting my previous comments:

Speaking from the perspective of a Jeweler, their prices are great. They can afford to markup only 20% as they drop ship and do not stock much inventory in diamonds. Most of the diamonds sold are never even seen by bluenile. I think they are a great place to go when trying to see if your brick & morter jeweler is giving you a good price or just to comparison shop online.
I posted this on the other thread:

"I'm very familiar with BlueNile because several of my friends are exclusive dealers with them. They have a very interesting set up that runs very smoothly. Most diamonds are not even in house or ever seen by them! They have many diamond dealers across the country that they contract with to upload their inventory online. The dealers must guarantee all stones they list to be in stock or they can be kicked out of the Blue Nile program. The dealers are trained in how to package and ship items and given all necessary materials to drop ship the diamonds for Blue Nile to Blue Nile customers.

Their markup is very low which of course in turn irritates mall or inflated retail jewelers, but as a jeweler, I am glad that diamond prices are finally resembling some form of reality."

NurseAnn · Jul 2nd, 2009, 01:19 PM

I've returned there before. It's really not any more complicated than returning to any other online vendor. You call and get a return authorization code (which really is just a way of id'ing your stuff so they know it's yours when they get it) and then mail it via insured mail. I always insure my expensive mail items because I've had things lost in the mail.....and I had to take the hit. I think insurance is about $1.50 for something under $200 in value and about $4 for something over $200.....and so on.

callire · Jul 2nd, 2009, 01:33 PM

Yeah, I recently had to ship something to a buyer and it cost around $3 for $1000 insurance.

honeyspice · Jul 2nd, 2009, 11:10 PM

I was considering BN too but one thing that stops me is that they don't offer trade-back or upgrade. So I don't know what to do either now. But if you're buying something you don't think you'll need an upgrade then I find BN has the best selections and prices so far from my research.

HauteMama · Jul 2nd, 2009, 11:52 PM

Blue Nile had the best prices on gold when I was looking. They had the best quality pieces (highest weight) at much better prices than other sites. Other sites were commonly offering pieces of half the weight with flimsy construction for similar prices. There was only one other website who carried the same piece I wanted, and they were asking double Blue Nile's price.

I haven't shopped them for anything other than gold, though, so I cannot comment about diamonds or other gems.

Bosco · Jul 2nd, 2009, 11:58 PM

I love Bluenile. A few years ago I asked my parents for diamond studs for Christmas and did a good amount of research and found Bluenile has great bang for your buck. Comparable studs at Tiffany were five times more expensive! I know Tiffany diamonds are superior in cut, color, etc. (and I have several Tiffany diamond pieces for comparison) but I think the value (quality for price) and customer service offered by Bluenile is amazing. I recommended them to a friend for her wedding bands and she had a great experience. Not to mention, no sales tax to CA!!

Christiflora · Jul 3rd, 2009, 12:32 AM

My newlywed son-in-law bought my daughter's engagement ring and wedding band set from Bluenile, and they had a wonderful buying experience. We find Bluenile trustworthy and their products sound.

Personally, I think BN is good for diamond jewelry, but not for other products especially pearls. For diamond jewelry purchase, I always check BN's price and products for reference purpose. Before you search BlueNile for their diamond jewelries, make sure you learn all about diamonds from pricescope.com first. This way, you can intelligently decide for yourself how to maximize your purchase power by prioritizing the C's that are important to you.

Some important learning I picked up from visiting pricescope.com are as follows:
1. Cut is the most important of all C's, because ideal cut stones give off the most sparkles.
2. GIA grading on cuts is not very meaningful. It does not take into account the relationship of the crown and pavilion angles for maximum reflection/refraction. The GIA measurements are rounded off, so a diamond rated as having an excellent cut may not sparkle as much as an excellent/ideal cut diamond should. Thus, you may be paying a premium for an "excellent" cut diamond but actually getting an above average cut.
3. I need to first screen diamonds for excellent cut by calculating and confirming HCA < 4. Next, I need to check idealscope, ASET reports for best daimond performance (fire, and sparkles).

For additional details, check out the website of pricescope.com.

As for discounts, BN often gives 10% discount on diamond jewelry (except loose diamonds. For loose diamonds, the only discount one can get is 1.5% if paid by bank wire.

Christiflora · Jul 3rd, 2009, 12:38 AM

Typo correction - You want HCA < 2.
To calculate HCA, enter parameters %depth, %table, crown angle, and pavilion angle in this link:
http://www.pricescope.com/cutadviser.asp

Swanky Mama Of Three · Jul 3rd, 2009, 08:26 AM

have you tried your local jeweler? When we buy pieces I search online, find my best deal there and then take it to my local jeweler to see if or how she can beat it.
I'd prefer to keep my business local w/ luxury goods for repair/trade in values. . . . plus I like to keep my $ local to support my town and friends

ChiChi143 · Jul 3rd, 2009, 09:55 AM

My boyfriend and I have been shopping around for a diamond. So far, BN is the cheapest. We even went to the Diamond District in NYC, and they couldn't compete with BN's prices. I compared a diamond we found in the Diamond District to one on BN that had the same stats, and BN was $3000 cheaper!

callire · Jul 3rd, 2009, 10:17 AM

Originally Posted by Christiflora

Typo correction - You want HCA < 2.
To calculate HCA, enter parameters %depth, %table, crown angle, and pavilion angle in this link:
http://www.pricescope.com/cutadviser.asp

I was having a little bit of trouble with this earlier... could you help? I added in the specs given by bluenile (except crown and pavillion angles, these weren't given), and one of mine came out with .5 (so that's good?) How much do the crown and pavilion angles matter and how can I find them. Are they on the GIA report?

Jul 2nd, 2009, 09:48 AM	#1
JanetBG OP Member Joined: Jul 2008 Posts: 204	Blue Nile - best deal? Hi, have you gals bought from blue nile? are they offering the best deal on the web?
JanetBG OP Member Joined: Jul 2008 Posts: 204

Jul 2nd, 2009, 12:00 PM	#4
JanetBG OP Member Joined: Jul 2008 Posts: 204	I am looking at their build your own diamond earrings. I figure that with GIA cert, it shld be ok. But still a bit worried about buying such as expensive item from the web. And the return process seems complicated and needs to pay for insurance...
JanetBG OP Member Joined: Jul 2008 Posts: 204

Jul 2nd, 2009, 01:15 PM	#5
Japster Plays with Balls Joined: May 2006 Location: WI Posts: 7,328	Reposting my previous comments: Speaking from the perspective of a Jeweler, their prices are great. They can afford to markup only 20% as they drop ship and do not stock much inventory in diamonds. Most of the diamonds sold are never even seen by bluenile. I think they are a great place to go when trying to see if your brick & morter jeweler is giving you a good price or just to comparison shop online. I posted this on the other thread: "I'm very familiar with BlueNile because several of my friends are exclusive dealers with them. They have a very interesting set up that runs very smoothly. Most diamonds are not even in house or ever seen by them! They have many diamond dealers across the country that they contract with to upload their inventory online. The dealers must guarantee all stones they list to be in stock or they can be kicked out of the Blue Nile program. The dealers are trained in how to package and ship items and given all necessary materials to drop ship the diamonds for Blue Nile to Blue Nile customers. Their markup is very low which of course in turn irritates mall or inflated retail jewelers, but as a jeweler, I am glad that diamond prices are finally resembling some form of reality."
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Jul 2nd, 2009, 11:10 PM	#8
honeyspice unknown Joined: Feb 2009 Location: canada Posts: 282	I was considering BN too but one thing that stops me is that they don't offer trade-back or upgrade. So I don't know what to do either now. But if you're buying something you don't think you'll need an upgrade then I find BN has the best selections and prices so far from my research.
	__________________ :+:~ w i s h l i s t ~ :+: CL: Nude VP / Nude Glitter NP / Lavender Patent VP / Marine Glitter VP / Coral NP / Purple suede Declic HG: Purple suede VP sz.38.5 / Samira Strass / Pearl Poseidon

Jul 2nd, 2009, 11:52 PM	#9
HauteMama Member Joined: Sep 2006 Posts: 6,831	Blue Nile had the best prices on gold when I was looking. They had the best quality pieces (highest weight) at much better prices than other sites. Other sites were commonly offering pieces of half the weight with flimsy construction for similar prices. There was only one other website who carried the same piece I wanted, and they were asking double Blue Nile's price. I haven't shopped them for anything other than gold, though, so I cannot comment about diamonds or other gems.
HauteMama Member Joined: Sep 2006 Posts: 6,831

Jul 2nd, 2009, 09:54 AM	#2
callire Sofa King Banned Joined: Sep 2006 Location: New Burn, North Carolina Posts: 521	I think Jasper was once posting about how they can generally give very competitive prices for diamond jewelry, but I've also heard that they're overpriced. I've been looking at 1.25 cttw studs, and they seem to have the best prices for what I'm looking for. I guess it depends on what you're buying from them (I WOULD NOT buy pearls from them).

Jul 2nd, 2009, 11:10 AM	#3
NurseAnn Member Joined: Apr 2009 Location: Seattle Posts: 155	I'm not entirely sure about their pricing, however I have bought several items from there. All of them have been very well made and high quality. I've heard that from other websites you receive things that are either really light or flimsy and I have never experienced nor heard that from Blue Nile. They also have great customer service and really fast free shipping.

Jul 2nd, 2009, 01:19 PM	#6
NurseAnn Member Joined: Apr 2009 Location: Seattle Posts: 155	I've returned there before. It's really not any more complicated than returning to any other online vendor. You call and get a return authorization code (which really is just a way of id'ing your stuff so they know it's yours when they get it) and then mail it via insured mail. I always insure my expensive mail items because I've had things lost in the mail.....and I had to take the hit. I think insurance is about $1.50 for something under $200 in value and about $4 for something over $200.....and so on.

Jul 2nd, 2009, 01:33 PM	#7
callire Sofa King Banned Joined: Sep 2006 Location: New Burn, North Carolina Posts: 521	Yeah, I recently had to ship something to a buyer and it cost around $3 for $1000 insurance.

Jul 2nd, 2009, 11:58 PM	#10
Bosco Member Joined: Jan 2007 Posts: 41	I love Bluenile. A few years ago I asked my parents for diamond studs for Christmas and did a good amount of research and found Bluenile has great bang for your buck. Comparable studs at Tiffany were five times more expensive! I know Tiffany diamonds are superior in cut, color, etc. (and I have several Tiffany diamond pieces for comparison) but I think the value (quality for price) and customer service offered by Bluenile is amazing. I recommended them to a friend for her wedding bands and she had a great experience. Not to mention, no sales tax to CA!!
Bosco Member Joined: Jan 2007 Posts: 41

Jul 3rd, 2009, 12:32 AM	#11
Christiflora Member Joined: Oct 2006 Posts: 1,225	My newlywed son-in-law bought my daughter's engagement ring and wedding band set from Bluenile, and they had a wonderful buying experience. We find Bluenile trustworthy and their products sound. Personally, I think BN is good for diamond jewelry, but not for other products especially pearls. For diamond jewelry purchase, I always check BN's price and products for reference purpose. Before you search BlueNile for their diamond jewelries, make sure you learn all about diamonds from pricescope.com first. This way, you can intelligently decide for yourself how to maximize your purchase power by prioritizing the C's that are important to you. Some important learning I picked up from visiting pricescope.com are as follows: 1. Cut is the most important of all C's, because ideal cut stones give off the most sparkles. 2. GIA grading on cuts is not very meaningful. It does not take into account the relationship of the crown and pavilion angles for maximum reflection/refraction. The GIA measurements are rounded off, so a diamond rated as having an excellent cut may not sparkle as much as an excellent/ideal cut diamond should. Thus, you may be paying a premium for an "excellent" cut diamond but actually getting an above average cut. 3. I need to first screen diamonds for excellent cut by calculating and confirming HCA < 4. Next, I need to check idealscope, ASET reports for best daimond performance (fire, and sparkles). For additional details, check out the website of pricescope.com. As for discounts, BN often gives 10% discount on diamond jewelry (except loose diamonds. For loose diamonds, the only discount one can get is 1.5% if paid by bank wire.
Christiflora Member Joined: Oct 2006 Posts: 1,225

Jul 3rd, 2009, 12:38 AM	#12
Christiflora Member Joined: Oct 2006 Posts: 1,225	Typo correction - You want HCA < 2. To calculate HCA, enter parameters %depth, %table, crown angle, and pavilion angle in this link: http://www.pricescope.com/cutadviser.asp
Christiflora Member Joined: Oct 2006 Posts: 1,225

Jul 3rd, 2009, 08:26 AM	#13
Swanky Mama Of Three Joined: Jan 2006 Location: Dallas Area Posts: 42,694	have you tried your local jeweler? When we buy pieces I search online, find my best deal there and then take it to my local jeweler to see if or how she can beat it. I'd prefer to keep my business local w/ luxury goods for repair/trade in values. . . . plus I like to keep my $ local to support my town and friends
	__________________ Tweet http://twitter.com/PBSwanky

Jul 3rd, 2009, 09:55 AM	#14
ChiChi143 ♥ Happily Engaged ♥ Joined: Jun 2007 Location: New York Posts: 8,250	My boyfriend and I have been shopping around for a diamond. So far, BN is the cheapest. We even went to the Diamond District in NYC, and they couldn't compete with BN's prices. I compared a diamond we found in the Diamond District to one on BN that had the same stats, and BN was $3000 cheaper!
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