pricescope
Ideal_Rock
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Considering A Fifth C: Cheap
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pqcollectibles
Ideal_Rock
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aljdewey
Ideal_Rock
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Great article, and HOORAY for Jim. Excellent exposure.
One thing I'd like to expound on, Jim. You say the reason people come to you is price.....that the local jeweler has all the other advantages.
I'd suggest that the reason isn't price (lowest), but VALUE. There's always someplace to go for a lower price, but sometimes a lower price means inferior product. If all you carried was cheap department store stones at lower prices, I don't think you'd get the traffic you do. It's because you carry a comparable product to fine jewelers at a better price - that offers better *value* for the money spent.
Again, great job!
One thing I'd like to expound on, Jim. You say the reason people come to you is price.....that the local jeweler has all the other advantages.
I'd suggest that the reason isn't price (lowest), but VALUE. There's always someplace to go for a lower price, but sometimes a lower price means inferior product. If all you carried was cheap department store stones at lower prices, I don't think you'd get the traffic you do. It's because you carry a comparable product to fine jewelers at a better price - that offers better *value* for the money spent.
Again, great job!
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Hm... and "value" is one common argument for overpricing. The very word rises my hair stiff by now! Not that you are not right: the truth is the truth. And I strongly suspect that online diamonds can be obtains at lower prices in no matter what quality range. Some prices for brand-name cuts are nothing to compare with online H&A. Since I am not shopping for diamonds all day, I wander whether these cuts designed for light return are not MAINLY sold online. Any thoughts?
aljdewey
Ideal_Rock
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Valeria.....my comment on value comes from my experiences in shopping for a diamond in the last month.
I went to my local jeweler who has done some work on my colored stone ring. He brought in an AGS 0 stone (crown angle of 41.1 - not optimal, but still ideal)....it was .93 H, SI1.....he wanted $4500 for it. It was a reasonable price for a B&M.
But for a few hundred more, I got a 1.244 H, SI2 stone with cut proportions that would make grown men weep! To get almost 30 points more AND not only get over the carat mark but right up against the 1.25 mark without paying for 1.25......that was a much better VALUE.
Another example.....one jeweler I went into showed me a 1.02 G, VS2 stone....it was an EGL cert (which shouldn't carry the premium of a GIA/AGS cert).....it was 59.8/59 (which falls outside AGS ideal range, by the way)......and she told me that the retail price was $16,400 but that they would discount it to $6400 for me. $6400?????? Please.......I had prices on two G, SI1 stones from two online vendors on stones of 1.01 and 1.03 that were nearly $1000 less than this, and both stones from the online vendors had better proportions.
You're right that VALUE can be used as a justification for overpricing, and that is definitely true in the walk-in world.......
My point was this: If Jim at DCD sold crappy stones with 64% tables, and those stones were lower priced than walk-up stores, I don't think he'd be doing as well. Lower price alone isn't enough to motivate most folks, I think. Lower price for the SAME OR BETTER quality????? That is the definition of value....at least to me it is.
That's not to say that I don't believe service is worth the money.....I certainly do. If I went to two restaurants and the quality of the food was the same at both.....but one restaurant had much better services at higher prices, I'd go to the one with better service because the better service is worth the extra money to me.
But if both restaurants had the same quality food AND service and one was higher priced, I'd go to the one with the better prices.
I went to my local jeweler who has done some work on my colored stone ring. He brought in an AGS 0 stone (crown angle of 41.1 - not optimal, but still ideal)....it was .93 H, SI1.....he wanted $4500 for it. It was a reasonable price for a B&M.
But for a few hundred more, I got a 1.244 H, SI2 stone with cut proportions that would make grown men weep! To get almost 30 points more AND not only get over the carat mark but right up against the 1.25 mark without paying for 1.25......that was a much better VALUE.
Another example.....one jeweler I went into showed me a 1.02 G, VS2 stone....it was an EGL cert (which shouldn't carry the premium of a GIA/AGS cert).....it was 59.8/59 (which falls outside AGS ideal range, by the way)......and she told me that the retail price was $16,400 but that they would discount it to $6400 for me. $6400?????? Please.......I had prices on two G, SI1 stones from two online vendors on stones of 1.01 and 1.03 that were nearly $1000 less than this, and both stones from the online vendors had better proportions.
You're right that VALUE can be used as a justification for overpricing, and that is definitely true in the walk-in world.......
My point was this: If Jim at DCD sold crappy stones with 64% tables, and those stones were lower priced than walk-up stores, I don't think he'd be doing as well. Lower price alone isn't enough to motivate most folks, I think. Lower price for the SAME OR BETTER quality????? That is the definition of value....at least to me it is.
That's not to say that I don't believe service is worth the money.....I certainly do. If I went to two restaurants and the quality of the food was the same at both.....but one restaurant had much better services at higher prices, I'd go to the one with better service because the better service is worth the extra money to me.
But if both restaurants had the same quality food AND service and one was higher priced, I'd go to the one with the better prices.
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