Bad taste in my mouth...

[AnonAgain]

I recently emailed an online retailer about the possibility of finding a diamond with the specifications I have in mind. I looked through their website''s inventory and found a stone with almost the exact specs I want, but in a different cut. I was definitely considering the stone, but since I am in no hurry, I wanted to see what else they could find. The price wasn''t immediately listed, but if you click on reserve, you can see it (If i hadn''t recently learned of this, I wouldn''t have known the price.). It''s a small stone (I want it as an accent in a piece of jewelry), less than 1K in price.

I received a response today saying that they can not find what I am looking for, but I was told that the above stone would be a ''perfect choice''.

So, I went on to the site again to view the stone. And for some reason, clicked on ''reserve'' to see the price even though I remembered what it was. I saw that the price had went up 35%. At first I didn''t think too much of it, since this is a very highly reputed Pricescope retailer. But after a while, I felt unsettled... I decided against going with this company, at least at this time.

Is there something I am missing?

 

[strmrdr]

who knows which was the right price.
If the price isn't displayed then there is no way of knowing if the trick the website price is right.

 

[strmrdr]

one thing to keep in mind is almost all vendors have a pricing error clause and even more so with an unpublished price.
What could have happened is the vendor saw the wrong price and fixed it.
Or the new price could be wrong.
Ask....

 

[NeverEndingUpgrade]

I saw a stone once that was listed as one color, then it showed up a day later as a higher color. I asked and was told the orginal color was a typo. It happens.

Different vendor--I was looking at a diamond on Abazias.com and the next day, the diamond was priced higher than the day before. I then cleared my cache and amazingly when I went to the site again, the diamond was listed at the lower price. I wondered if the company didn''t place some type of cookie on my computer so that the price went up on repeat visits. I emailed the company about it, but of course, they played dumb. I decided not to buy from them.

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 12/19/2008 9:18:40 PM
Author: NeverEndingUpgrade
I saw a stone once that was listed as one color, then it showed up a day later as a higher color. I asked and was told the orginal color was a typo. It happens.


Different vendor--I was looking at a diamond on Abazias.com and the next day, the diamond was priced higher than the day before. I then cleared my cache and amazingly when I went to the site again, the diamond was listed at the lower price. I wondered if the company didn''t place some type of cookie on my computer so that the price went up on repeat visits. I emailed the company about it, but of course, they played dumb. I decided not to buy from them.

There are a couple vendors that if you go there from PS it gives you different pricing.
Save the link and go direct and it gives you a higher price.
Worse is the one that lies and says they can get any diamond listed on PS and will beat any price if you go there from PS.
bleh drop shippers....

 

[honey22]

Date: 12/19/2008 3:10:37 PM
Author: strmrdr
one thing to keep in mind is almost all vendors have a pricing error clause and even more so with an unpublished price.
What could have happened is the vendor saw the wrong price and fixed it.
Or the new price could be wrong.
Ask....

Ditto. They may have noticed the error in pricing when looking at the details for you. I seriously doubt any PS vendor is going to deliberately jack up the price on a small stone just because someone showed interest in it. These vendors are well aware of the power of bad publicity, and the money they would make on a stunt like that would just not be worth it. One thread like this can leave a bad taste in potential clients'' minds, and they know it.

Ask them, I am sure they would be happy to clarify the point for you.

 

[AnonAgain]

Thank you for your replies. I suppose the price just went up. I wasn''t offered an explanation, so I don''t know why. However, upon asking, they said they would honor the previously listed price if I purchased it today. I appreciate this, but after this (and the below), I decided to just wait until I need it. I''m not in a hurry.

This morning I was told that the closest they could find to the stone I am looking for is a D VVS2 for more money than I''d like to spend for this little stone. But, an hour or so later I saw on their site that they now have a G VS2 (what I requested) in the same size as the D VVS2 for 600 less.

Maybe they found this stone just after they emailed me, but it makes me think that what I''m looking for must be more common than I was lead to believe. I''ll just get it when I need it.

 

[NeverEndingUpgrade]

Date: 12/19/2008 10:10:08 PM
Author: strmrdr

Date: 12/19/2008 9:18:40 PM
Author: NeverEndingUpgrade
I saw a stone once that was listed as one color, then it showed up a day later as a higher color. I asked and was told the orginal color was a typo. It happens.


Different vendor--I was looking at a diamond on Abazias.com and the next day, the diamond was priced higher than the day before. I then cleared my cache and amazingly when I went to the site again, the diamond was listed at the lower price. I wondered if the company didn''t place some type of cookie on my computer so that the price went up on repeat visits. I emailed the company about it, but of course, they played dumb. I decided not to buy from them.

There are a couple vendors that if you go there from PS it gives you different pricing.
Save the link and go direct and it gives you a higher price.
Worse is the one that lies and says they can get any diamond listed on PS and will beat any price if you go there from PS.
bleh drop shippers....

I know about clicking on Pricescope links to get better pricing. This happened before I knew anything about Pricescope. There was a definite difference between the two prices before and after I cleared my cookies. It was just too weird. I have never had anything like that happen with any other vendor, either before or after learning about PS.

 

[AnonAgain]

I''m not too worried about it, but to clarify, this vendor does not offer a PS discount - so that''s not what happened.

 

[Sizzle]

If something gives you a bad feeling, then I would avoid that retailer and find one you''re comfortable with period.... like one that offers a pricescope discount!

 

[Rhino]

Date: 12/21/2008 8:28:47 PM
Author: Sizzle
If something gives you a bad feeling, then I would avoid that retailer and find one you're comfortable with period.... like one that offers a pricescope discount!

Just a question Sizzle. What if you sent a friend to a vendor you purchased a diamond from but your friend failed to mention a certain name/forum/person etc. and because of that paid an additional $500, $1000, etc.? On a personal level if that happened to a friend of mine whom I referred I think that would really stink.

The reason I ask is because I am a PriceScope vendor and I do give a discount for a bankwire transfer (not necessarily whehter they came from PS or not) but I treat all people the same whether they are referred via PriceScope or if an individual referred them to us. I believe in treating all people as equals regardless of the referral. Since I am the one who makes the policies for GOG I am open to suggestion and wondering which do you think is a more fair policy? Do you think I should discriminate/alter my prices based on where the person is referred from? How would you feel if I charged a friend more than I did you becuause they failed to mention PS? Do you honestly think this is the type of vendor be avoided?

Also ... for clarification I am the vendor Anon is talking about. I had posted a notice on the forum yesterday or the day before notifying the fact that we are making some changes in our database and there may be some minor deviations on a few diamonds which we are working out as we are preparing for a new site. I had stated that if a client saw a diamond listed for a lower price and it was not an honest typo and we could honor it we are happy to do so, which we happily did in your case Anon. My thread was pulled because a person saw it as sounding too self promotional but I had posted just in case anyone saw any fluctuations, as in this very case so perhaps it is best for me to respond here. Please understand we make every effort to operate as transparently as possible and with the database work being done a few stones were affected, but in the end it will be, we know for the better good of the consumer. If this puts a bad taste in your mouth I apologize. I thought we were doing the right thing for you Anon by honoring the lower price. If you think I am somehow trying to take advantage of you, please call competing stores for the same exact kind of diamond and investigate to see if I am indeed taking advantage of people or doing the right thing by them. If you find the former I would be personally interested to hear about it.

Sorry for any confusion and I hope that clears some things up. If anyone ever has any gripe or concern about GOG, our customer service, our policies, our products, etc. you can call me directly and we'll do everything in our power to rectify/correct the situation.

Kindest regards,
Jonathan

 

[wishinpink]

If it makes you feel better, I saw the thread Rhino posted explaining just that!! They are updating their site and so the prices are being changed! I''m sure it has nothing to do with one individual price. It would take them a lot of effort and time to just change the price of each diamond someone calls to inquire about to make more money.. and people would start noticing and their reputation wouldn''t have lasted!! I haven''t bought from them before, but I''m sure their good reputation for a long time, should say something about that!