Why do people say not to buy a diamond from a mall store?

[Jumpem]

If you can get a diamond with a GIA certification and gradings that are comparable to someplace else why do people seem to recommend against it?

 

[xchangx]

Mall retail stores mark up a whole lot.

I looked at a ring, 1ct round, "SI1", but looking at the diamond, you can clearly see 3 black spots in it. That in my opinion would knock it down to an I2 or I3.

They wanted $7,000 for that ring.

Meanwhile, I got a SI1 3/4ct oval for an awesome price at a local store

 

[OutHouse]

Originally posted by: Jumpem
If you can get a diamond with a GIA certification and gradings that are comparable to someplace else why do people seem to recommend against it?

Because the quality sucks and you will pay $$$ for a stone that you can get cheaper with better quality from a real diamond store.

shane company

 

[new2AMD]

because its the thing to say.

The key to the ring is what you pay and what it will insure for. My wifes was from a store in the mall and it insured for more than what I paid. So where is the problem? If its worth what you pay then there shouldnt be one.

 

[BigSmooth]

Price is the main factor. Also, truly knowledgeable salespeople and good service are relatively rare at a mall store.

 

[dullard]

My reasons:

#1 by far) Price. Even after the nearly continuous 50% off sales on mall jewelry stores, the product is still often double what you pay from a large diamond wholeseller.
#2) Selection. Selection in malls is usually very small. A large diamond wholeseller gives you the option to buy ANY kind of diamond - with any shape, size, color you want. Plus the diamond settings selection is often far smaller in the mall.
#3) Quality range. Most mall stores (not all) limit you to fairly low quality diamonds. Thus if you are after a high quality diamond you usually cannot get one in a mall. Yes they have their "good", "better", and "best" diamonds - ratings which are true. But the mall "best" is not very good at all.
#4) Honesty. This will vary from store to store, but diamond dealers often flat out lie. I'll rather trust a used car salesman or an ambulance chasing lawyer before I'll trust a diamond seller. In my experience, I was lied to far more often in the mall stores. Luckilly with enough comparison shopping you can spot the liers within a few seconds.

Net result: The diamond I wanted to buy for my wife's engagement ring wasn't available in the mall, yet they charged more for their lower quality diamonds.

 

[Jumpem]

How can the mall store lie to you or deceive you if they have official GIA certifications for the diamond in question?

 

[PingSpike]

Well, all the price and selection points are valid. But also, it just doesn't seem very classy to buy an engagement ring from a mall.

 

[PingSpike]

Originally posted by: Jumpem
How can the mall store lie to you or deceive you if they have official GIA certifications for the diamond in question?

HAHAHAHA.

There's an important lesson I learned in life: assume you're being lied to at all times until proven otherwise.

 

[bozack]

Mall and other retail locations have alot of overhead to deal with, such as fees to keep the store in the mall and what not and thus these costs are passed onto the customer in the form of a higher price...if you go to a wholeseller, someone in a jewelers building who deals mainly with selling to other buisnesses and also sells to people then you will get a better deal as they don't have advertising costs, their leasing costs are less and what not thus you get virtually the same thing for a good deal less....the only thing is you might get better service at a jeweler in the mall, however I have found that I have gotten much better service from the professionals than anyone in the mall ever.

good luck.

 

[dullard]

Originally posted by: Jumpem
How can the mall store lie to you or deceive you if they have official GIA certifications for the diamond in question?

99% of mall stores don't have official certifications and appear to randomly choose colors and clarities. But if you do have an official certification that you TRUST, then price and selection are still huge reasons not to go to malls.

 

[StageLeft]

Just buy smoething for under $2k and forget about it. Shop to a few stores and buy it. It's not like diamond rings are worth a sh*t used anyway. it my have a legitimate value of $10k, but goodluck getting that if your fiance sleeps around and you have to sell the ring. And, if you marry her forever, who gives a damn if it's worth $1; you're never selling it anyway. Diamond rings are a cash hemorrhage anyway. Just get it over with

 

[new2AMD]

Originally posted by: Skoorb
Just buy smoething for under $2k and forget about it. Shop to a few stores and buy it. It's not like diamond rings are worth a sh*t used anyway. it my have a legitimate value of $10k, but goodluck getting that if your fiance sleeps around and you have to sell the ring. And, if you marry her forever, who gives a damn if it's worth $1; you're never selling it anyway. Diamond rings are a cash hemorrhage anyway. Just get it over with

Nominated for most useful post of the year!!!

 

[PingSpike]

Originally posted by: Skoorb
Just buy smoething for under $2k and forget about it. Shop to a few stores and buy it. It's not like diamond rings are worth a sh*t used anyway. it my have a legitimate value of $10k, but goodluck getting that if your fiance sleeps around and you have to sell the ring. And, if you marry her forever, who gives a damn if it's worth $1; you're never selling it anyway. Diamond rings are a cash hemorrhage anyway. Just get it over with

LOL. Good, brutally honest advice as always from Skoorb.

 

[Superself]

Originally posted by: Skoorb
Just buy smoething for under $2k and forget about it. Shop to a few stores and buy it. It's not like diamond rings are worth a sh*t used anyway. it my have a legitimate value of $10k, but goodluck getting that if your fiance sleeps around and you have to sell the ring. And, if you marry her forever, who gives a damn if it's worth $1; you're never selling it anyway. Diamond rings are a cash hemorrhage anyway. Just get it over with

Totally agree.

If you can, go to the diamond district in NYC....at least there you can find some really good bargains. The flip side is that you can get totally ripped off if you don't know what you are doing.

 

[Jumpem]

The only reason I asked is because some of the mall stores are cheaper by $500+ than local independent jewelers. Also, the diamonds in question have higher gradings on their GIA certs at the mall. The mall stores also give you the GIA cert, whereas the local stores want an extra $200 for a cert.

I don't know of any wholesalers around here (Rochester, NY).

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: new2AMD
because its the thing to say.

The key to the ring is what you pay and what it will insure for. My wifes was from a store in the mall and it insured for more than what I paid. So where is the problem? If its worth what you pay then there shouldnt be one.

I asked this question in another thread and didn't get an answer - how much does it cost to insure an engagement ring?

:thumbsup: for Skoorb

 

[Jumpem]

Originally posted by: mugs
I asked this question in another thread and didn't get an answer - how much does it cost to insure an engagement ring?

Another good question. I was assuming I'd get renter's insurance and put it on that since I don't have homeowner's or anything.

 

[MomAndSkoorbaby]

Originally posted by: Skoorb
Just buy smoething for under $2k and forget about it. Shop to a few stores and buy it. It's not like diamond rings are worth a sh*t used anyway. it my have a legitimate value of $10k, but goodluck getting that if your fiance sleeps around and you have to sell the ring. And, if you marry her forever, who gives a damn if it's worth $1; you're never selling it anyway. Diamond rings are a cash hemorrhage anyway. Just get it over with

Nicely put Skoorbie!

*Smiles at the beautiful diamond rings on her finger!*

 

[dullard]

Originally posted by: mugs
I asked this question in another thread and didn't get an answer - how much does it cost to insure an engagement ring?

It all depends on what value you put on the ring. A $500 ring can be insured for $100, $200, $5000, $50000, etc. Just like life insurance, the amount you get when you claim is user chosen. Note: thus new2AMD's quote is meaningless as the insured amount is arbitrary.

I personally have a policy that covers $2000 of any jewelry loss from State Farm (not just one specific item). That is exactly what I paid for my wife's engagement ring after tax. If I remember right it costs less than $2 a month and I get a discount on car insurance for having more than one thing insured. Thus I consider it a free thing.

 

[Jzero]

Originally posted by: Jumpem
The only reason I asked is because some of the mall stores are cheaper by $500+ than local independent jewelers. Also, the diamonds in question have higher gradings on their GIA certs at the mall. The mall stores also give you the GIA cert, whereas the local stores want an extra $200 for a cert.

I don't know of any wholesalers around here (Rochester, NY).

That's odd. I thought a diamond was either certified or not.

 

[psydancerqt]

i've checked out many of those GIA certs and they were lower quality than i would wear. so if the diamonds with GIA certs are too low for me... i can only imagine the quality of the ones without the certifcations.... we went to a jewlery store in the end

 

[new2AMD]

Originally posted by: dullard

Originally posted by: mugs
I asked this question in another thread and didn't get an answer - how much does it cost to insure an engagement ring?

It all depends on what value you put on the ring. A $500 ring can be insured for $100, $200, $5000, $50000, etc. Just like life insurance, the amount you get when you claim is user chosen. Note: thus new2AMD's quote is meaningless as the insured amount is arbitrary.

I personally have a policy that covers $2000 of any jewelry loss from State Farm (not just one specific item). That is exactly what I paid for my wife's engagement ring after tax. If I remember right it costs less than $2 a month and I get a discount on car insurance for having more than one thing insured. Thus I consider it a free thing.

I meant appraised......not insured. whoops

 

[Jumpem]

Originally posted by: Jzero
That's odd. I thought a diamond was either certified or not.

The local jewelers wanted the extra $200 to send the stone off to the GIA to be certified. The GIA would then grade it and send back the cert with it.

 

[DWW]

Don't buy a debeers diamond. You will support terrorism and artificial inflation of them (debeers has warehouses full of them...diamonds aren't rare). Please buy Canadian diamonds. Although they are not worth as much as the type you get which are imported from south america, africa etc, they are not blood diamonds at least.