Solitare diamond price? Pricescope or your local jeweler?

[callire]

I'd throw Blue Nile into the ring for online vendors... I think a lot of PF gals have had good experiences with them

 

[catabie]

Thanks! Blue Nile is significantly more expensive than other reputable online dealers...

Interesting.

 

[catabie]

For Swanky and those who have dealt with online dealers:

How much can you expect to get off from them? What's usually the discount for online pieces? 10%? 20% Can I expect more discount for a larger stone than let's say a 0.5 ct stone?

THANKS!

 

[Swanky]

My experience w/ WF is that if it was THEIR stone, they had a little room to haggle. They 'share' inventory w/ other brokers, so it's like a community pot so to speak. If it's truly their in house stone, that can negotiate, if I remember correctly I got my SA down only about 10% BUT this is before the recession. They may be more willing to haggle now.

 

[catabie]

^ I am eying one on engagement rings direct right now. I am going to call and will just straightly ask for a 20% off and see what they will say.

Will report back

 

[pazt]

^ I am eying one on engagement rings direct right now. I am going to call and will just straightly ask for a 20% off and see what they will say.

Will report back

i say, try 30 % off first and if they wont budge, im sure they will meet halfway....exciting upgrade season for you. sadly, i dont have any milestone event to celebrate requiring an upgrade...so, im happy for you!

 

[Jenna51580]

i say, try 30 % off first and if they wont budge, im sure they will meet halfway....exciting upgrade season for you. sadly, i dont have any milestone event to celebrate requiring an upgrade...so, im happy for you!

I would try for 30% too.

 

[catabie]

Ok, no way Mark will do it-he said his markup is minimal and yada yada yada. I will be lucky to get 10%...still talking to him and we will see what I can come up with.

 

[Curlybaby]

That's a huge chunk to get off! However, if you are going to be paying with cash via Bank Wire or if you are a Pricescoper you can sometimes get a discount. Although, I must me frankly honest I have no idea if any vendor will haggle that much or that substantially but goodluck.

Also, if you are purchasing a monster rock like Swanky then you can probably get a few thousands off but on a common carat weight not so much.

 

[2manybags]

Try Martin Sheffield at www.usacerteddiamonds.com. USA Certed Diamonds is a Canadian company and what they do is, send the stone you're interested in to a local independent appraiser so you can view it in person and see if you like it. Martin is a Pricescope member and excellent at working with you to find the exact stone you're looking for. His prices beat all his competitors in my experience.

 

[catabie]

We are going to NYC on Saturday to meet with the owner of engagement rings direct. Most likely it will just be looking and no purchasing at this moment, but I will definitely report back.

THANKS EVERYONE FOR THE INPUT!!

:tpfrox:

 

[Swanky]

oooh, how exciting! Please report back, have fun!

 

[Curlybaby]

Good luck, I have had the opportunity to speak with Mark on the phone and he sounds like a really nice guy! All the best this weekend!

 

[catabie]

We found the diamond we want!

Next, anyone dealt with Mark at Engagement Rings Direct before? How did you negotiate with him? and how much did u get off?

Thanks!

 

[simplysplendid]

We were lurking on pricescope and were thinking maybe to go for it (or another online dealer) but honestly, for me it is very important to see the stone IRL in order to make a purchase. A diamond is no cheap thing, I want to be 100% with what I am buying and not have to deal with returning it or whatever KWIM?? However, I have heard of many success stories as well which is great. That type of shopping online for a diamond is just not my style though because pictures can be decieving. Seeing it IRL, there's nothing fooling ya there KWIM?? Good luck!!

After researching on pricescope and understanding how cut works and what the pictures of the diamond taken through the various tools (idealscope, aset scope etc), I prefer to look at these pictures and buying online then to view the diamond in the store. I am more confident I will always get a beautiful diamond when I purchase them with detailed technical information provided on its cut and performance. I personally find that viewing the diamond in the store can be more deceiving as the lighting in the store can affect how a diamond looks like and there is just no way to compare between a diamond that you see in one store vs one that you see in another as lighting between the stores can differ too. In addition, stores may not carry the wide range of diamonds that a webbased vendor can.

For myself, I still purchase both online and with my jeweler as my jeweler quotes me prices that are very close to online purchases and she carries many many diamonds in her store and doesn't mind me bring in my tools to view the diamonds. But if you have a regular jeweler that doesn't carry more than 2 or 3 loose diamonds in the range you want, then the webbased vendors are an excellent alternative, especially those with a stellar reputation and has a view and return period.