How many stones have you had called in?

[clop]

Hi!

I am interested to know how many stones you have had called in, and how many did you call in before the vendor requested that you pay for shipping?

Two stones were called in for me, possibly not specifically for me alone because at the time there were several people interested in the same specs as I, but no more than two. There were also several stones available, that I did not consider good candidates, nor did the experts here. (I posted some, so did others, and none were given a kicken rating).

Thanks for your help!

 

[neatfreak]

It depends greatly on the vendor and what you mean by "called in". If it''s someone in the DD, they have much easier access to tons of stones than say a vendor located in a rural place. But many places will start charging you shipping sooner or later, so it''s best to try to be as specific as possible right upfront with what you are looking for.

Since we worked with Mark at Engagement Rings Direct he narrowed it down to 2 stones he thought were good candidates for us, then I checked out the one he recommended in person after we put a deposit down on it just to make sure.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

I went a little overboard, though at the time I was just trying to learn as much as I could. I went to three jewellers and had 4 stones called in (each)...so a dozen stones. I really just wanted to see different sizes, colors and specs of the same cut. Because it''s not a cut that is often in-house (asscher), calling them in was the only option. I didn''t have to pay for shipping for any of them, but would have been happy to.

Two sounds very reasonable to me, is the jeweller asking you to pay for shipping if you want to have any others brought in?

 

[strmrdr]

2 and I payed for shipping on both.
Well actually Wink called in 4 I think but he had a use for the other 3 and sold them in his store.
I didn't ask him to do so.
So the total is sorta 6.

I think 2 for free is very fair.

 

[Miss Fortune]

none so far but finding a kicken asscher is kicken my a$$. It''s taking a lot of time and research that''s for sure.

 

[clop]

Thanks neatfreak!

I had decent specifics, ~1.5, d-g, vvs1-vs2, and a firm budget. I started out working with a local vendor, but what they were calling in was not what we were looking for - tables over 70%, low crown heights, and most with ratios over 1.10. We then decided to go with the recommendations here. I was working with only one vendor, later called one who carried royals (not to call anything in, but to see what they had available after the search wasn't turning up anything), and called another to see if they had any royals after reading someone's success story here.

My search was suspended several months ago - we had hoped to have a ring for our wedding, but nothing came up and it's passed. Our home plans have now taken priority, and we will start again after we are settled.

I was curious what the protocol was, and will keep it in mind when our search resumes.

 

[clop]

Hi NewEnglandLady, thanks for sharing. Yep, the jeweler asked me to pay for shipping for any other stones to be brought in. I replied that I would happily, but thought it odd after two.

Hiya storm, thanks for chiming in. One day (hopefully sooner rather than later) I hope to get your stamp of approval. Or better yet purchase a branded cut by you! how is that coming along?

Hi Miss Fortune, good luck on your search! I read your threads with anticipation, hoping you''ve found your kicken 2 ct asscher. Can''t wait to see pics - it''s going to be a stunner for sure.

 

[CharmyPoo]

We didn't have to pay for shipping at all. In fact, Mark at ERD even includes free shipping or delivery to your appraisers and custom designers.

My boyfriend called Mark and gave him some general specs. When he went in, he was presented with 5 candidates and was shown other diamonds (not options for us) as examples to of different colors, clarity, cut etc. My boyfriend put a depsoit on one of the diamonds but wanted to keep looking for higher clarity and color (he wanted E, VVS1). Three months later, I went to see Mark with my boyfriend where Mark presented 2 more options. I wasn't in love with any of the options. Mark showed us another diamond (which I believe belongs to goobear) and I said I wanted something like that. He found one and called it in .. and we bought it.

All in all ... I think Mark showed us about 15 diamonds of which 9 were available for purchase. He didn't charge us for calling anything in but we didn't request a diamond to be called in.

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 12/10/2008 3:09:46 PM
Author: CharmyPoo
We didn''t have to pay for shipping at all. In fact, Mark at ERD even includes free shipping or delivery to your appraisers and custom designers.


My boyfriend called Mark and gave him some general specs. When he went in, he was presented with 5 candidates and was shown other diamonds (not options for us) as examples to of different colors, clarity, cut etc. My boyfriend put a depsoit on one of the diamonds but wanted to keep looking for higher clarity and color (he wanted E, VVS1). Three months later, I went to see Mark with my boyfriend where Mark presented 2 more options. I wasn''t in love with any of the options. Mark showed us another diamond (which I believe belongs to goobear) and I said I wanted something like that. He found one and called it in .. and we bought it.


All in all ... I think Mark showed us about 15 diamonds of which 9 were available for purchase. He didn''t charge us for calling anything in but we didn''t request a diamond to be called in.

As I mentioned though, Mark has local access to most of these stones, so he doesn''t have to have them shipped to him. But I agree that he is fab to work with!

 

[elmo]

This is an interesting topic I think. Let's say your 1.5ct D-G VVS-VS stone costs the dealer $12000. Each time that stone is shipped back and forth from/to the supplier it costs about $50. If you have 10 stones evaluated, that's $500. If it's a full-service internet retailer making 10-20% on the sale, that ends up being about 20-40% of his net. That's tough to just eat. That margin is also going towards the two stones they'll bring in for just about anyone that asks. So I do think at some point you're on the hook for part of this expense. It's a very good reason to pick a dealer that has experience with what you want, picks nice stones, and has good relationships with suppliers so the number of rejects is minimized. You'd think the guys there in the district would have a real advantage. But the really fine examples of many fancy shapes like high-crown chunky cushions and Asschers can be scarce, and there's always pressure to just do the deal even if it's not what you want, then increasingly less willingness to look at that fourth or fifth stone. Not naming any names.

Good luck.

 

[clop]

Wow, that''s great CharmyPoo! Thanks for sharing. We''ll definitely call ERD again when the time comes. Gary @ ERD was the third vendor we called - after another''s (jplouis?) success at a royal asscher. I asked if he had any other RAs available. He offered to call in a few generics, but didn''t have the crown heights etc. Fearing a low likelihood of success, I declined. I figured they weren''t really known for asschers, and I''d wait for the main vendor to come through.

 

[clop]

Date: 12/10/2008 3:15:05 PM
Author: elmo
So I do think at some point you''re on the hook for part of this expense.

Thanks for breaking it down elmo. I do agree with you. Initially I just felt surprised it was after 2 stones. But''s that''s still $100 they had to pay, so they were perfectly justified in expecting shipping on future stones. Guess I need to find a vendor that''s more accommodating - thanks to neatfreak and charmypoo, I''ve good a great rec. It was also surprising to later read and also find myself the difference in cost of the same stone between different vendors. I''m glad I will be carrying more knowledge the second time around.