Kay Jewelers--UGH!!! Do NOT go in there!

[Sparkles22]

It all started about 3 years ago, long before I found pricescope and didn't know much about diamonds or e-rings, other than I wanted a pretty one. I wound up purchasing a 0.63 princess cut ($1799, marked down to $1299, along with a lifetime warranty $89), set in a white gold 0.5ctw channel set band ($1905, along with a lifetime warranty $119), with a skinny matching wedding band from Kay Jewelers. I was fairly happy (except for the fact the wedding band and e-ring had a large gap and didn't line up

) and all was good.
Fast-forward 3 years. I've had to have the white gold replated numerous times (which I read to be normal--although mine would yellow in less than a month). I found out that the channel set diamonds are of I2 clarity and I color, and are very noticibly black under a loupe (I much overpaid for this setting). Recently I have been looking into resetting my diamond, so I went back to Kay Jewelers as they have a good upgrade policy (since I purchased the lifetime warranty), you can trade in your old ring for full value if you spend double. I ordered in some settings to look at while they did their 6 month inspection on my ring. I went in 4 weeks later to look at the settings, and bring up the fact that I noticed my center stone looked scratched or chipped, I could see it with the naked eye, since I didn't have anything at home to look at it with. Well, the lady who was helping me said oh yes you're right it is chipped, but it looks like your warranty isn't valid because the last time you brought your ring in was 1/27/04. (Um, NO, I just brought it in when I ordered in some settings to look at

). She said she'd give me a "great" deal on the same stone for 10% off, so $1619. I was so mad

because although I hadn't been right on the 6 month mark, I've brought it in twice a year. I left, turned around a minute later and went back in to ask why there was no record of it and she had been talking about me!!! She's like oh wait here she is! How RUDE!

She said anytime we do a check on it it's run through the system and we have a record of it. I said yes and when I was in here a month ago I asked for them to be inspected and brought in my paperwork. She's like, well we don't know when it's time for your 6 month check up. So I left very mad, got home dug up all the paperwork on the ring. Sure enough there was many more inspections on it, the last being 3/25/06. I called her up and she said she must have read the computer wrong (yeah right). So I brought my ring back in to get the center stone replaced. Well, they might just polish it down was what I was told. I asked what kind of quality and everything it is and what they will be replacing it with. She said she would guess from the price it was certified (didn't give me any color/clarity info) and said they will replace it with a similar one. And they'll have to send it off for 8 weeks! It also needs to be re-plated again, so if I want that done also it will have to go out to another place for that once it comes back from the 1st place and that's an additional 2 weeks. I am going to be purchasing a setting from Shane Co, and they will set my diamond in it, however I have to go through Kay's first because once the diamond is out of the setting it is no longer covered, even though there was an additional charge for the warranty on the diamond alone. That will be the last time I use Kay Jewelers for anything. I honestly think they were trying to take advantage of me. So even though the settings they brought in were pretty nice looking--(although overpriced). I will never use them again for lack of trust. I can't wait to be done dealing with them.
I am looking forward to the great customer service I have so far experienced with Shane Co instead! Not only did they take the time to show me everything under the jeweler loupe without me having to ask, but they do all their work on site, so there is no 10 week waiting period for anything. Their lifetime warranty is free and once my old diamond is set in their setting they treat it like their own, so they guarrantee it.
Just wanted to share my very poor experience with Kay Jewelers, so I can help to educate people on the things they do. Also--my husband's band is from Helzberg Diamonds, and although we haven't had any problems with them, we just found out their lifetime warranty that we paid extra for is only for 3 years on the gold work (prongs etc) the "lifetime" thing refers to trading up and the actual diamonds in his band.

Thanks for letting me vent

Has anyone else had a similar experience? Is this something that's common--to take advantage of someone? Also--is price haggling something that's frequently done at jewelry stores?

Thanks again!!

This was posted in the wrong forum earlier--I appologize!

 

[Siamese Kitty]

Hi Sparkles 22,

Sorry to hear about your story-I hope everything works out well.

Since you''re asking, I thought I''d add my rant about Kay''s. My now ex-boyfriend paid around $1000 for a pair of .75 ctw tanzanite and diamond earrings (a lot of $ if you ask me) and he purchased the lifetime guarantee thing. I think it was supposed to cover cleanings, repairs, and LOSS of stones. Okay, well I lost one of the earrings a month after owning them (the backs were not secure and I should have known better!) I called customer service and they told me that they only covered loss of stones if I still had the actual earring. Well, I accepted that-I misunderstood what was told to us and I can see their point on that. BUT, the kicker! I asked the rep, "What could I do if I wanted to pay to replace the earring?" She told me, "Well, you could but another pair." !!!!

Or, I could go into a Kay''s and see if they would be willing to trade in one earring and take the value they felt fit. Aren''t these pieces created in mass quantity? Why couldn''t I buy only one? I was really disappointed with these being presented as my only options, especially after such a ridiculous price for these earrings. Oh, and I was told that the lifetime guarantee only covered diamonds (I don''t think this is true-why else would they have sold us it?-the diamonds in the setting were only about .04 each) I put the tanzanite into a little promise ring, which is cute, but I sure miss those earrings!

 

[brneyedgrl]

Wow, what crappy customer service. I have learned a lot about avoiding those large chain, mall stores here on Pricescope. I actually avoid the mall for most things, including clothes (I''m a big eBayer and independent boutique shopper). I''m sorry that you have to go through this, but I''m glad that you are posting about your experience so we can learn and avoid those big bad corporate stores with crappy customer service.

 

[divergrrl]

All I can say, is buy your insurance policy separately. Mine is through Country Companies, who holds our homeowners. I had to get appraisals to insure my E-ring & my 1ctw diamond studs.

It costs us an extra $70 per year on our homeowner''s policy, and covers me for a total of $15k between the two items for theft, loss, chips, damage, etc for full retail replacement.



I researched the policy before I had my agent add it. I think Mara insured her stone thru Chubb.....there are many insurers out there, I''d start with your homeowners/renters/car provider, as often you get multiple policy discounts. (we have our home/auto/life thru CC)

HTH

 

[Small]

Sorry you had such a poor experience at Kays. That''s where my original e-ring is from. Acutally I have alot of jewelry from them. Nothing high end or anything just nice things my husband has bought last minute for anniversaries, birthdays, christmas, etc. They are definitely way over priced. You should see what he paid for my e-ring LOL...it''s pathetic. But 7 years ago we didn''t know much and he had a trade in since he was engaged before. I haven''t experienced any problems with them. I actually go to a store with a jeweler on site so I never have to send anything away and they know me so they give me pretty good service. I would never buy a diamond from the again and as a matter of fact my e-ring warranty is now voided because I had the stone reset. I''ll have them check the diamond and setting when I''m in for my other stuff but I know they won''t be able to do anything else for me. My husband likes the store for convenience...he''s not much of an online shopper but I personally don''t like the store that much. The sales staff has less knowledge than I do (because of pricescope lol) and all they truly care about is the sale. They don''t carry much in the way of quality diamonds IMO...my e-ring actually was made at one of their remount shows. So it''s a certed diamond (EGL

) but still way overpriced. Anyway...I can totally feel your pain and wish you the best of luck at Shane and Co. Hopefully you will receive much better service and satisfaction from them.

 

[portoar]

Oh, gosh, I''m so sorry you had such a bad experience! I''ve heard some people on this forum very unhappy with Shane Co. as well -- although others have been perfectly happy. I hope when you move on to your next jeweler you will have a much better experience!

 

[Sparkles22]

Thanks! I will let you know how it goes at Shane Co, I am keeping my fingers crossed history won''t repeat itself. Kay''s is supposed to get back to me next week to figure out what they are going to do, polish the stone down or replace it, either way it is still going to take 8 weeks

.
Sorry to hear that others have been frustrated as well, although it makes me feel as though I am not alone. A diamond is a big investment, I agree with Small, I wouldn''t get a diamond from them again. Did you get it reset in one of their settings? If its their setting I don''t see why they won''t still cover it. That would frustrate me. Diamonds aren''t cheap and I wish more jewelers would stand behind their products. I haven''t found a Kay''s with a jeweler on site, I live in the Colorado Springs area and as far as I know there are only two, and I''ve been to both. Not too helpful at either store I''m afraid.

Thanks again!

 

[Small]

Date: 5/1/2006 3:36:00 PM
Author: Sparkles22
Thanks! I will let you know how it goes at Shane Co, I am keeping my fingers crossed history won''t repeat itself. Kay''s is supposed to get back to me next week to figure out what they are going to do, polish the stone down or replace it, either way it is still going to take 8 weeks

.
Sorry to hear that others have been frustrated as well, although it makes me feel as though I am not alone. A diamond is a big investment, I agree with Small, I wouldn''t get a diamond from them again. Did you get it reset in one of their settings? If its their setting I don''t see why they won''t still cover it. That would frustrate me. Diamonds aren''t cheap and I wish more jewelers would stand behind their products. I haven''t found a Kay''s with a jeweler on site, I live in the Colorado Springs area and as far as I know there are only two, and I''ve been to both. Not too helpful at either store I''m afraid.

Thanks again!

No I went to another jeweler and got the setting. They would cover it if I were to buy from them but they are so ungodly expensive that I wouldn''t have even tried. They sold hubby my setting for over 3k

and I got one the same ct wt and also platinum same as what I had for 1100 and this place didn''t even charge me a setting fee

The Kays I go to is Indiana...I live on the Illinois/Indiana border on the Illinois side and Kays is all over this area. The next closest one with a jeweler on site would be about an hour and half from me. I still have to leave my jewelry (I had a ring rhodium plated and it still took a few weeks) but at least it''s all getting done right there.
One good experience I had with them was this...2 days before my wedding I went in to have my ring looked at and cleaned. They noticed the baguettes were loose. They told me not to wear the ring and wanted me to leave it with them to fix it LOL. I was like "um I''m getting married on Saturday and it''s Thursday night I can''t do that." The manager went back to the jeweler and showed him the problem. He then came back and told me that they''d have it ready for me the next day. I was so happy that everything was ok and they fixed my ring in such a hurry with no problems.
They now sell IGI diamonds...I had to laugh because the now manager was talking to me and we were talking about EGL. She said to me, "well when you trade up we''ll get you an ideal IGI...they are so much better." I just looked at her and said," when I trade up it''s going to be for a GIA or AGS ideal cut diamond and you don''t sell those here." She didn''t really have a response for that LOL.

 

[moon river]

Sparkles, I had a similar incident at another mall jeweler because my diamond check up wasn''t exactly 6 mos. apart. I think that''s their way of getting out of their trade up deal. The bad part of my story was I did take it in and the women didn''t sign off on it. I never noticed. I had given her the paperwork and the ring and she gave them back. It wasn''t til recently when I had a problem that they looked over the paperwork and noticed I had ''missed'' a checkup. I''d even had another one since that one.

 

[AndyRosse]

Sorry to hear about your bad experience, but can we try to keep this to just one thread in one forum?

 

[Sparkles22]

It''s so frustrating isn''t it. When you bring your paperwork in, they should know to stamp it, why should your warranty not be valid if it''s their fault, that''s ridiculous! I''m sorry, moon river I know the feeling!

Small--where did you go the second time? It''s hard to know where to shop without knowing a lot of people going through the same thing. That''s one of the reasons why I find this forum so helpful. I figure hopefully if I''m knowledgable they will have a much harder time taking advantage of me

!

I am getting a similar deal with the Shane Co. I am upgrading to platinum with slightly less carat weight for about the same price--I think $300 more, but the diamonds are MUCH better quality G-H SV1-SI1 (0.4ctw) platinum, verses I-J I1-I3 (0.5ctw) 14kt white gold same number of channel set princess diamonds. But I can also find a matching diamond band that lines up, LOL! They wanted to charge me the same amount I will be paying for a 0.3ctw princess cut channel set platinum band (again G-H, VS1-SI1) for just the platinum band alone at Kay''s, no diamonds. Give me a break

!

Thanks for the stories!!

 

[Small]

Sparkles
I went to a place called Diamond Mart. There are only two stores in the US both in Illinois and then one in Belgium. I had my original wedding band made by them. Had hubby not had a trade in diamond that is where I would have directed him to buy my diamond. They have good inventory for relatively low prices. They compete with internet pricing fairly well and their jeweler does outstanding work! They are about 1.5 hours from me...that''s the only downside. They have a very small staff (just one sales and one manager) and a jeweler. What I like about them is that they actually care about what you want and will take as much time as you need to help make a decision on your purchase.
I don''t know alot about Shane & Co. We don''t have any of those stores in the malls by me. I have had good experiences with Jareds so I would go back there...they are also affliated with Kays though as they are owned by the same company. The two Jared stores by me are new and pretty upscale considering the stories I''ve read about on here. They sell ideal cut AGS diamonds and also GIA along with IGI. They have decently priced settings and what I really like is they have a jeweler on site that you can sit and watch while they do the work. I had already picked my setting by that point and put money down so I wasn''t going to change but I would go back there again if I wanted to look for something in the future.

 

[Sparkles22]

Small-
We have a Jareds here too, and I would say Shane Co is about as upscale as well. They are also stand alone. That's too bad that Diamond Mart is only in Illinois. I live in Colorado. Have you heard of any good places around here by any chance? I liked Jarad's but their selections as far as settings go wasn't nearly as large as Shane Co. Of course I was looking for a particular type, so that might have been why. Also the salesman at Jared's was saying that since the prices on platinum were really high right now they weren't getting much in.

Thanks, so much!

 

[Modified Brilliant]

From what I''ve seen and heard..the consistency of inspections, the paperwork and who signs off are erratic. There appears to be no "smooth" system in place for inspections. Read the fine print and the requirements carefully.

www.metrojewelryappraisers.com

 

[ilovesparkles]

Wow, that all sucks! I would just be careful going to another chain. I have heard some pretty bad things about Shane Co. as well. Good luck!

 

[codex57]

Sparkles, isn''t one of the top posters on here a jeweler/appraiser in Colorado? Might wanna ask him or search for recommendations.

Mall stores like Kay (known as "maul" stores cuz they maul customers to death) are almost universally shunned by the more longtime members of this board. Basically, cuz experiences like yours is not uncommon. That''s just how maul stores operate. Basically scam operations preying on people who don''t know much about diamonds.

 

[upgrading mama]

what an awful experience!!

I wonder if you can do anything through their headquarters??

 

[Modified Brilliant]

Date: 5/2/2006 2:29:37 AM
Author: codex57
Sparkles, isn''t one of the top posters on here a jeweler/appraiser in Colorado? Might wanna ask him or search for recommendations.

Mall stores like Kay (known as ''maul'' stores cuz they maul customers to death) are almost universally shunned by the more longtime members of this board. Basically, cuz experiences like yours is not uncommon. That''s just how maul stores operate. Basically scam operations preying on people who don''t know much about diamonds.

Your generalizations regarding all mall stores is a bit harsh. There are some fine independent family owned jewelers that just happen to be in a mall. They compete with the majors but usually offer better merchandise with better salespeople. Lack of training and constant turnover is a huge problem with national chains. And their tactics to get you to open a store charge account are annoying and overly aggressive.

www.metrojewelryappraisers.com

 

[Roland]

I''m a little confused. Are you saying you don''t know the color/clarity of your original e ring or are you saying that you don''t know the color/clarity of the replacement. Did your original come with a cert or at least an appraisal? Good luck on finding what you want!

 

[Sparkles22]

Date: 5/2/2006 5:39:28 PM
Author: Roland
I''m a little confused. Are you saying you don''t know the color/clarity of your original e ring or are you saying that you don''t know the color/clarity of the replacement. Did your original come with a cert or at least an appraisal? Good luck on finding what you want!

I don''t know either. The orginal diamond was a "certified" diamond but didn''t come with any specs when I bought it. It also didn''t come with an apprasial. They only told me they will be replacing it with the same quality if they replace it, they may just polish it down (by the way is that okay for the stone??). I think certified in their store means between certain values for clarity and color, but I don''t know any specifics of my stone. I hope to have it appraised after I get it back and it is reset in the new setting.

Thanks for the luck!

 

[Sparkles22]

Date: 5/2/2006 2:29:37 AM
Author: codex57
Sparkles, isn''t one of the top posters on here a jeweler/appraiser in Colorado? Might wanna ask him or search for recommendations.

Mall stores like Kay (known as ''maul'' stores cuz they maul customers to death) are almost universally shunned by the more longtime members of this board. Basically, cuz experiences like yours is not uncommon. That''s just how maul stores operate. Basically scam operations preying on people who don''t know much about diamonds.

How do I do about asking him? I''m still fairly new and getting the hang of all this.

Thanks!

 

[Sparkles22]

Thanks for your support. I''m sorry others have had the same bad experience. My husband also bought me a pair of earrings, I don''t know how much they were, but he added the lifetime guarentee, which I also think is a waste, because with earrings, chances are you''ll lose one before a stone comes loose. That''s a good idea insuring it under the homeowners, I am going to look into that! I''ve heard some places don''t cover chips, or loss only theft, so I''ll be sure to ask my agent. What are some other good questions to ask?

Sorry about the multiple forums, I realized this was posted in the wrong one and tried to re-post in the correct one, but then I wasn''t sure how to take it out of this forum

--Sorry I am new to the whole posting thing.

Well I appreciate the responses! Thanks!--Keep them coming

 

[codex57]

Date: 5/2/2006 5:03:00 PM
Author: Modified Brilliant

Your generalizations regarding all mall stores is a bit harsh. There are some fine independent family owned jewelers that just happen to be in a mall. They compete with the majors but usually offer better merchandise with better salespeople. Lack of training and constant turnover is a huge problem with national chains. And their tactics to get you to open a store charge account are annoying and overly aggressive.

Yeah, I shoulda been more specific. I was talking about those giant national chains that have a location in pretty much every mall. I much prefer the independents. Almost bought my e-ring in a mall store, but it was an independent. Guy was totally awesome. Just didn''t have the right stone.

Sparkles: I think his name''s DenverAppraiser. Just PM or e-mail him. Can you do that on here? Search for his profile. Otherwise, just make a post asking for Colorado store recommendations (with Colorado in the title). He''ll likely post.

 

[denverappraiser]

Sparkles,

Sorry to hear of your troubles. I’m not a big fan of these ‘extended warranty’ type deals for exactly the reasons you describe. They generally don’t offer anything like the quality of coverage that customers are led to expect. If you’ve got a real insurance policy, meaning a rider on you homeowners or a specialty jewelry policy, this is probably a covered loss and you can let them take it up with the jeweler. If not, you’re in a tough position. Read the fine print on your warranty carefully. It’s the real key to your answers.

You have several issues here:
#1 Dealing with the damaged stone. Offering a recut for a customer is an unusual offer unless you requested it. A more typical offer would be to give you a different stone with similar specs and for them to take back the damaged one which they would then recut and resell to someone else. If they are agreeing that the warranty is in force, I would press for this. If they’re denying warranty coverage entirely, I don’t understand why they are offering anything at all.

#2. Future warranty coverage. The extended warranty was a bad deal and it’ll still be a bad deal when you’re done with this. Write off the $89 as education and buy a real insurance policy. They usually cost about 1-2% of the appraised value per year and you get much better coverage, including things like theft and loss. You can get one from your homeowners insurance company, Jewelersmutual.com or Chubb. This will be true for your new ring as well, no matter where you get it. It’s a good sign to have a jeweler who stands behind their products but I think it’s a mistake to rely on these warranty programs.

#3. Where to get it set. Mall stores don’t usually have a jeweler on site. It’s not that they can’t or don’t want to, the problem is that mall rents are so high that they need to use as much of their space as possible for the sales floor. Shane and Jared are both large chains that maintain both a central shop for production and custom type work and smaller shops in each store. You can use the search function at the top of the page to look up discussion on both of those chains. I don’t recommend individual stores because I think it would be a conflict of interest for me to do so but Colorado Springs is a big market and I know of several good craftspeople there. Keep hunting if you don’t get the right feel from the stores you’re visiting. It can take a bit of legwork, which I understand is frustrating but there are good jewelers there. In general, the best craftspeople are not the ones with the biggest advertising budgets.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ISA NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver

 

[Sparkles22]

Thank you denverappraiser. So basically I can get my ring for the lowest price online, etc. I was hesitant about buying online because a lot of places don''t offer a warranty on their products. So...even if it doesn''t have a warranty, then pay the insurance company to cover it? Do they typically cover damage as well? What are some good questions to ask the insurance agent? Thank you for the advice, I appreciate it.

Has anyone had a good experience with a jeweler in Colorado Springs? Looking for a fair price and good service. THANKS!!!!!!!!!!

 

[denverappraiser]

Dealers, both online and on the street, add value to the deal and I’m certainly not suggesting that the best deal means the one with the lowest price. For many people, just the security of a local shop and the convenience of the inspections makes it worth shopping there. Some stores offer trade up programs, financing, access to specific designers or brands, an enjoyable or prestigious shopping experience, customer education or just a fast and easy way to make a deal. Not everyone is looking for the same things. The key is to get a feel in your own mind what you consider to be valuable and what isn’t so that you can choose your dealer accordingly. There are lots of choices and choosing the right dealer will go a long way to making jewelry shopping a pleasant experience.

All dealers should warrant their products to be as described and free from manufacturing defects. Reputable dealers will happily do this and I would suggest you avoid all who won’t. Beyond that, an insurance policy can cover breakage, loss, theft, fire and many other risks that aren’t included in these warranties anyway (note: Read your policy, they aren’t all the same and they don’t all cover all risks).

I’ve got a good list of questions to ask an insurance agent about your coverage somewhere and I’ll try to dig it up.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ISA NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver

 

[Sparkles22]

Thank you so much for all your help, denverappraiser. I was just deciding between online and instore because I've seen the same setting I like in both. The store says they will pricematch, do you have any idea as far as what specific information they'll need for that?

Both settings are the same metal, very close (0.36 vs 0.39) carat weight, same number of diamonds, the online one doesn't list the color/clarity of the diamonds, but it's from James Allen, so I would assume good??

The one at the store, the salesman guessed that it was G, VS2-SI1. Here is a link to both, however the Shane Co doesn't have the setting in platinum on their site, only white gold, but in the store it's the exact same setting as pictured only in platinum:

http://www.shaneco.com/catalog/detail/ProductID/20071/PageLevelID/135/fromPage/bridal/

http://www.jamesallen.com/designer-jewelry/leon-popov-collection.asp?module=setting&act=pd&item=165&cid=58#poss


The James Allen one is A LOT less money (by about $800)!! In your opinion do you consider these the same? Do you think they would pricematch the James Allen one? Also do you feel if I set it with a 0.63 princess that I could eventually do a 1.10 or so princess with the same setting?

I can't say thank you enough for all of your help!!

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[denverappraiser]

Most dealers base their price matching programs on showing them a copy of the competitors’ advertisement.

I’m confident that the folks at James Allen will be happy to discuss the quality of the diamonds used in the ring if you ask them.
Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ISA NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver

 

[Sparkles22]

Date: 5/3/2006 1:57:18 PM
Author: denverappraiser

Most dealers base their price matching programs on showing them a copy of the competitors’ advertisement.

I’m confident that the folks at James Allen will be happy to discuss the quality of the diamonds used in the ring if you ask them.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ISA NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver

So do you think if I just print off the James Allen link, that would be enough?

Thanks!

 

[denverappraiser]

I don''t know the ShaneCo policy but that''s how I would start. With most dealers this will be sufficient. If they need something more than that I''m sure they''ll discuss it with you. Don''t forget to ask about the setting charge on the center stone and any modifications that may be required to accomodate it (like changing the head or ring sizing).

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ISA NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver