Am I crazy? Solomon Brothers, Atlanta

[ptb872ee]

Newbie here - I need a sanity check to make sure I'm not overreacting here. I purchased a $23K e-ring with Solomon Brothers in Atlanta a few months back and fully intended to get the matching wedding band and my own band there as well. I got a quote of $4,100 for the matching ladies band which shocked me given it has less diamonds on it than the e-ring setting, which was $2,950. I suppose I got a discount on the e-ring setting because of the stone I bought, but anyway...I did a price check with some online stores for the exact band and received 6 quotes back, none of which were more than $3,550 and one of which was $2,950.

I informed SB of the competing offers and they promptly came back and quote $3,100. Not to say anything about why they're marking up a matching band 32%+ to begin with for an existing customer, am I rightfully offended that they didn't match the price (they supposedly have a price match policy, by the way) and instead want to squeeze an extra $150 out of me? The fact that they're willing to lose a "good"(?) customer over $150 is a little shocking and offensive to me. Certainly I place some value on having a local jeweler that can take care of me if anything goes wrong, and if up front I had seen a $150 price difference I would've gone with SB without questioning it for that reason. But the fact that they're playing games with an existing customer personally offends me. I understand this is business but in my opinion this is a poor business decision and I don't want to do business anymore with them. Am I overreacting?

 

[SimoneDi]

Hi OP, I don't think that you are overreacting. There was another poster her not too long ago who also did not have a great experience with SB. They sold her a not-so-great diamond and she ended up having it recut in order for it to perform better. They are not one of the preferred PS vendors and I personally have never dealt with them, but it seems that overpricing is a thing with them.

Could you please post a pic of the wedding band style that you are interested in? We can probably beat that $3100 price as well.

Also, if you want you can post some information about the engagement ring stats + setting, so we can guide you better.

 

[ptb872ee]

It's a Peter Storm band/setting. The band is on the website here http://peterstormjewelry.com/catalog/wb169wd/ and the matching e-ring is http://peterstormjewelry.com/catalog/ws169wd2/. The center stone was a 2.2ct/G/VS1...please don't tell me how much I overpaid for it because that ship has already sailed! I guess my main point is that there doesn't seem to be any desire to build a relationship with a customer at this particular store, and perhaps that's just how things are these days. I clearly have the desire to build a relationship with the business but if they're going to play games, especially over such a small amount for an existing customer, I'm going elsewhere. Just frustrating I guess.

 

[SimoneDi]

OP, you have a good attitude, so that is great
I completely understand your point, I would be very disappointed if a jeweler of choice that you have spent so much money with is willing to risk the relationship over $150 Btw, you picked a gorgeous ring!
I would speak with the manager and let them know your frustrations. If they are not willing to work with you, then this simply becomes a lesson learned and you can take the business elsewhere. I would expect that they provide a price less than $2950 for that band, if they want your business back. This is just not a good business practice. It seems that they were more interested in the one time sale of the engagement ring than acquiring lifelong customers. It is a shame.

 

[tyty333]

I do not think you are overreacting either...I would have been quite disappointed that they quoted such a high price. I also agree that if they had quoted
the $150 over in the first place it would have been appropriate and worth paying that price.

I would certainly take your business elsewhere for a men's wedding band and might just order the $2950 wedding band on-line. I would let the manager
know how disappointed you were after spending a lot of money with them.

 

[ac117]

Yeaaaa....out of principle I wouldn't give them the $150 if you could get the EXACT band elsewhere for less. You could speak to a manager and give them the opportunity to match the lower price and if they don't, I'd definitely walk away and get her band and yours elsewhere.

 

[yennyfire]

Yeaaaa....out of principle I wouldn't give them the $150 if you could get the EXACT band elsewhere for less. You could speak to a manager and give them the opportunity to match the lower price and if they don't, I'd definitely walk away and get her band and yours elsewhere.

THIS.

 

[ptb872ee]

Thanks for the responses, everyone! Yeah I already gave them the opportunity to match the lower price and they didn't, so I don't think they deserve my business anymore.