Buying Jewelry on Ebay

Good feedback...

Maybe it's not as high quality, also jewlery has a huge markup, so maybe an online retailer can sell it cheap.

While you're at it, ship me over a Gucci watch.

http://www.diamondring.com/forums/diamondtutorial.php

In the first place, there is no such thing as an "AAA" diamond. That is not how a diamond is graded. I question as to whether the "champagne" diamond is simply one of a yellowish hue, which is not as valuable as those with less color in them.

Funny thing about diamonds. If the stone is VERY colored or as close to colorless, it is valuable, Those in the middle, aren't.

It will probably sell for what it is worth. I would take a pass on it.

Good feedback doesn't mean valuable/genuine jewelry though.

I mean, if the piece looks great and you love it, who cares if it's not real if you only paid $25 for it.

I'll get that Gucci over to you asap.

I am not looking at that one in particular, it was just an example.

There are other stores who send the certificate of authenticity with the jewelry.

I learned from watching a documentary on the diamond business that every time the stone changes hands, it doubles in price.

I forget how many go-betweens there are between the mine and the final customer, but it's a bunch.

Doesn't take long for the price to skyrocket.

Here is another example.

Ruby/Diamond Earrings

This one has a buy it now price of $179.95 and a retail price of $1180.

Says tag is included.

sounds like it fell off the back of the truck

Chai- Have you ever seen the tags on some of the stuff sold in flea markets? Seems that the guys who write that stuff have a vivid imagination!!!

I bought a tanzanite necklace for $20....estimated value is $500. (i am slightly skeptical about that)

If it doesn't cost a lot I am going to take it in to have it appraised. Just to see.

I'll let you all know.

Bella- If you like the necklace, and it didn't cost a lot, what do you care? The appraisal could cost you more than the darn thing is worth!

The only time, IMO when you can get real bargains in jewelry is if you:

Know what you are doing
Get the piece at an estate sale where the seller doesn't know what he is doing.

My uncle was an auctioneer. He once sold a picture of George Washington that had a tear in it, for 50 bucks. Seems that it was worth $50,000. He didn't care. He was rich enough as it was, and he said that the publicity that he got was priceless!

Well, it doesn't really matter but I am curious....and curiousity might get the best of me.

I'll see how much it is for an appraisal.

Well, we're skipping the appraisal. It's 50 bucks. If it turns out the piece is only worth $20 and I pay $50 for the appraisal I'd be so pissed.

So we'll just enjoy it for what it is.

What do you mean?

I never look at jewelry, so don't know what the tags say.

I was reading a case where a jewlery store owner couldn't sell her turquoise jewlery. She told her employee to cut the prices in half, however the employee misread the note and doubled the price. The jewlery then quickly sold out. Perception.

HA!

good one.

Chai- Haven't you seen stuff that had these totally unrealistic price tags on them? You don't see it in legitimate stores, but often see it in flea markets. Something will be tagged at $100-, and the seller will have a big sign.........................95% off- Sale $5-!

Slappy- I once heard a similar story about the early days of BMW in the US, but cannot attest to the veracity of it. Apparently, the cars would not sell, until the price was raised, and the cars touted as a luxury item. Have you heard this?

No, but it's not uncommon practice. When I sold software, we would hike the price for no other reason than perception & profit, and it had no negative effect on sales. Subaru has tried doing this, marking their cars up, but it hasn't worked very well....

I know in general, BMW and other high-lines don't negotiate a ton off their prices, and they don't get into 0% financing or big rebates, like GM/Ford, ect. Saturn has universally gone with one-price shopping(or very close to), and they sell value & service.

Yes, I've purchased jewelry from a store via ebay. I used to do it regularly and I had two or three vendors that I trusted.

The minimum opening bids are usually a fraction of the reserve price (say 1/3 or 1/2, depending on the store). If the bidding doesn't meet the reserve then the store has the option of reposting the item with a lower reserve or saving it for awhile. Watch a few pieces through closure and you'll see whether or not the store ends up with a lot of incomplete sales due to the reserve price not being met.

cute story... a few years ago I was tracking a Ceylon sapphire ring. It was gorgeous and had cycled a few times so I knew it would come back with a decent reserve price. I was right and I was watching it daily, waiting to put in a late bid just above the reserve (by then I knew the seller had a 1:3 open bid to reserve price ratio). About 7 days into the 10 day auction the ring disappeared from ebay. The link stated 'item removed by seller'. Huh? What the....? I was shocked and a little miffed at my favorite dealer. On Christmas day I opened a gift from Mr B. I recognized the blue box and was confused because Mr B never shops on ebay and he had no concept of this jeweler. It seems he heard me talking to someone about the ring I was following, figured out which one it was, contacted the seller privately and arranged a personal sale because he didn't want to bid against his own wife for the same item. I still love that ring - more for the effort he put into getting it than the ring itself.

That's so sweet!!