Jewelery experts .......Chag, japster. Please help

sjunky13

sjunky13

Dreaming............
O.G.
Dec 17, 2006
15,262
2,757
#1
I bought a ring at Bailey, banks, biddle. Well my fiance did and he paid the full retail for it. It is blue topaz and white and blue sapphires in white gold. Beautifull ring . He got about 100$ off the retail price. Our sa was really good. I got the ring appraised for about 700, we paid 1500. We also over heard the sa telling her manager she got us good and showed the manager the ring and then said the price we paid, and how we bought 2 protection plans. We got something else from her too. I feel really stupid after over hearing how her manager praised her for the sale and staring at us . Hey, I am in sales, I get it. Commision. I would like to know if the prices isted are they a joke? Could she of given us a discount more than 100 off, which was a store coupon anyway. I feel like returning it, I love it , but feel bad after knowing we got ripped off. :crybaby:
 
#2
I would return it and make the SA and the manager VERY aware of why I am returning it. We all know that brick & mortar stores have some pretty severe mark-ups but there is NO reason why they should be discussing such a thing within earshot of a customer, let alone gloating about how well they fleeced me. Shame on them!

Take a picture of it before you return it & see if you can have a jeweller custom make you something similar.
 
#4
Oh my, the audacity! Return the item since you are no longer enjoying it, and get another jeweller to make the design for you!
The SA & Mgr shouldn't be making any commission from you since they gave you such a bad experience!
 
#5
that's terrible i'd definitely return it! jewelry is something that should bring pleasant memories, not anger :tdown:. the manager and SA should be ashamed of themselves for behaving in such an unprofessional and classless manner.
 
#6
Wow that is awful! But doesn't surprise me from BB&B. The one time I went in that store, we were treated so awfully that we just walked out... and i'll never go in another one of their stores. They had no manners. They rolled their eyes at us when we told them what we were looking for and in what price range. So uncalled for.

I hope you find something you love even more and feel HAPPY about wearing soon!
 
#7
I bought a watch in there for my husband for father's day. It was the style that I liked (a Tag) but not the one he really wanted (Tag Golf). When I went to return it a week later at BB & B, they were so rude and mean and pushy that I must purchase a golf one right then. But they had a few different golf Tags and I wasn't sure. I explained that I preferred coming back with husband so I wouldn't have to return again if it was wrong. Two of them ganged up on me and pressured me so much in front of my little daughter. Needless to say, I stood firm, did not make a purchase and will never set foot in there again!
 
#8
yes, the retail price is VERY, VERY inflated:yes:
Take good photos of it and take it back, have it made by someone who desevres your business.
 
#9
I'm truly sorry to hear that you had such a horrible experience. I agree with everyone else, return it and go where they appreciate you and your business.

Just for future reference though, most if not all jewelry purchased in those chain stores is over-inflated. That's how they make their money. They sell sub-par merchandise for a lot of money. I think your experience is a perfect example.

Good luck finding something new. :biggrin:
 
#10
Sjunky, I hate downtalking mall stores, but yes their markup is outragious. I've seen a 600% markup on things at Zales, Bailey Banks, ect. They have huge overhead and need to make up for that through high prices.
To give you an idea of how they work.... I've tried to do wholesale partnerships with several different "chain" stores and they would try to convince me to cheapen my price point by making my pieces hollow, using unfinished jump rings or diamonds that were essentially "frozen spit." They go to a manufacturer and have them plop out hollowed out jewelry from a machine by the thousands. There is no "handsetting" or handcarving. No pride in design or craftsmanship.

If one IS going to go to a jewelry store, I ALWAYS recommend a non-chain store. The best prices are online, hands down. The mark up is often only 20%. But if you want to go brick and morter, try either a family owned local jeweler or a pawn shop. I realize that the pawn shop sounds cheesy but they often have incredible Estate pieces and because of their great buying skills, you can easily get a great deal.

I'm very sorry you had such a horrendous experience. That's incredibly ridiculous and you should absolutely take it back. Best of Luck to you!

PS. If you tell me the nearest city to you, I can probably suggest some very honest, wonderful jewelers in your area. I do a lot of selling to retail jewelers on both coasts, and in the South and Midwest.
 
#11
I took a watch to Bailey, Banks and Biddle for the battery to be replaced. They called to tell me that when they'd opened the watch they found the battery had burst in it, and that it would be $140 for them to clean the watch and put in a new battery. This was 20 years or so ago, so $140 would be like asking for $300+ today. I knew that the battery hadn't burst in the watch, they were just fleecing me, but I was stuck. If I had told them not to fix the watch, they would have been forced at that point to burst a battery in my watch. So I paid the $$ and would never EVER walk in their doors again.

I'm with the others - return the ring. It will always have negative associations attached to it now.
 
#12
My friend who used to work as an SA in a jewelry store told me that everything is marked up 500%. FIVE HUNDRED PERCENT!!!!! Therefore, you should negotiate until the cows come home. Never EVER accept the listed price, and $100 off wouldn't have been enough for me. Have you seen anything similar that you could play against them? (Not that you'll want to do biz with them ever again...)
 
#13
I just found out this is a La Vian (sp) knock off. I walked into the jewelry department there and they said we have a matching necklace for your ring and showed me the La vian peices. It looks exactly alike , to the best detail, but no stamping inside. My local bloomies jewelry store was so nice to me. They found out it is diamonds in my ring and not sapphires. They had a La vian ring almost like mine at 900. But it was a citrine and not a topaz. I might hunt down the La Vian peice , since it would be cheaper at Bloomies. Im so exausted , I probaly mispelled evcerything. Japster, pming you.
 
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