? about some cs vendors

[SouthernSunset]

I've read so much here in the past two months I can't even recall where I read what! So instead of scouring for old threads I'd thought I'd go ahead and ask the experts here. Pardon if my questions seem ignorant or brisk.

I have a stone that I've so greatly fallen in love. I don't want to link it(in case of lurkers, even though its not a popular color or cheapy cheap price I'd rather be paranoid than lose it!). I'd like to talk with the vendor on it but I am still very new to this buying cs online thing and had some Q's I was hoping y'all could help me with.

1) What can I ask for in terms of extra pictures? I read in a few comments here and there some vendors don't take additional pictures. Why is that? Is it too much time/offensive?

2) How does reserving/holding a stone work? I've seen this mentioned quite a bit but don't entirely understand the transaction part. Do they hold stones only till a PayPal payment goes through, a down payment, just serious request? I ask because I can't yet pay in full for the stone till next month, but am VERY interested in purchasing.

3) I have buying anxiety. I'm afraid if I do spend the money for the stone, even if I like it a month later a better one will come along

4) I don't buy loose stones normally so I'm worried that if its not flying off the shelf maybe its a tad overpriced? This may very well be ignorance on my part since I don't know how pricing works especially for these non standard colored gems. The vendor is finewater by the way, for specifics.

 

[FrekeChild]

1) What can I ask for in terms of extra pictures? I read in a few comments here and there some vendors don't take additional pictures. Why is that? Is it too much time/offensive?
You can ask, some vendors just won't take more. Typically because it's really expensive to take that time to take pictures instead of taking that time to cut a stone. I think I was told once that it takes roughly 2 hours to cut a typical 1ct RB. Sometimes I will spend 2 hours taking photos of gems, then another hour editing them. And I just do it for the fun of it. For a cutter, that's a lot of time out of their day.

2) How does reserving/holding a stone work? I've seen this mentioned quite a bit but don't entirely understand the transaction part. Do they hold stones only till a PayPal payment goes through, a down payment, just serious request? I ask because I can't yet pay in full for the stone till next month, but am VERY interested in purchasing.
Depends on the vendor. Typically they will hold it for you if you tell them that you are interested, some of them require a deposit. They vary quite a bit. You'll just need to ask the individual vendor.

3) I have buying anxiety. I'm afraid if I do spend the money for the stone, even if I like it a month later a better one will come along
It probably will. But, like wedding dresses and spouses, if you stop looking when you find *the one*, you'll never know! Sometimes you luck out, and a better one doesn't ever come along.

4) I don't buy loose stones normally so I'm worried that if its not flying off the shelf maybe its a tad overpriced? This may very well be ignorance on my part since I don't know how pricing works especially for these non standard colored gems. The vendor is finewater by the way, for specifics.
Not necessarily the case. Another potential buyer may not have the funds available, they may have another project on the horizon, they might be a window shopper, they might get distracted by other pretties along the way, they might have not seen it yet, they might not have a setting idea, they might be waiting for a raise or a bonus, they might just be lazy, etc. I assure you that with finewater, there are likely many other potential buyers out there, they just haven't been able to snap it up yet. Don't assume it's an overpricing thing! It's probably not!

 

[SouthernSunset]

Thank you so much Freke! I went ahead and emailed Gary this morning.

I can't tell you again how much I appreciate it. It's overwhelming sometimes trying to figure out how to go about this when you've never done it. Especially since I've read so many horror stories of some vendors being snarly or sensitive. I definitely want good customer service(which I'm super picky about since it's my career field) but don't want to offend anyone either.

 

[indigoblue]

I recently bought two amethysts from Finewater, and Gary was wonderful! The stones are gorgeous too. I need to take some pictures and start a thread about them.

 

[chrono]

1. You can ask for pictures of the gem on the back of the hand. Some vendors are more accommodating, others don't have the time or want to. This is to help "see" the stone better. Such pictures are often more colour accurate but not always so. Additional pictures also help spot any potential cut or clarity issues.

2. You can request that the vendor reserve the stone whilst you are asking questions / waiting for additional pictures. This holds the stone so that others cannot purchase it while you are seriously considering it. Note that this hold is typically only for a day or 2 only.

3. There is no guarantee. Take your time and make sure it is exactly want you want at the price you are willing to pay. There will always be a better stone out there somewhere.

4. Not everyone is looking for the same thing, which is a good thing.

 

[FrekeChild]

Gary is especially great, so I think you'll be fine. Now I'm curious what it is you have your eye on!

 

[Indylady]

Typically, I only ask for additional pictures or to hold the gem if I am a) very serious in buying it and also b) the gem costs more than a few hundred dollars. I do think it's best to request more pictures only if you actually are very serious about the gem--though, usually I think it's never a problem to ask, and you might as well buy from a vendor that can understand where you're coming from.

 

[SouthernSunset]

Thanks so much for the help everyone!

I've been back and forth with Gary, he is wonderful to deal with! And I was quite lucky to find out he's somewhat local to me, which will be very bad for my pocketbook. I love to support local economy and this will be a terrible excuse now.

He did send some extra hand shots, which cemented my love for the stone. I'm antsy to get my hands on it!

@Freke, at this moment I believe its the only stone on his site on Reserve, if you want to know which one. I will be sending the payment tomorrow. I will have to delay another large purchase but I totally think this one was worth it. The color is on the dot to what I want, from pictures anyways. I'm so excited!