Same stone... different vendors???

[Newbie333]

Maybe some of you guys can shed some light on this for me... Did a search, and I noticed the same stone (same cert#''s) coming up for sale from 3 or 4 different vendors at different prices...


Is this common?


Do you they use the same data base or have access to the same inventory?


Who ''actually'' has possession of the stones? Does it matter to us? How can we find out?


what''s the scoop???


NB333

 

[Colored Gemstone Nut]

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On 12/25/2003 3:24:56 AM Newbie333 wrote:






Maybe some of you guys can shed some light on this for me... Did a search, and I noticed the same stone (same cert#'s) coming up for sale from 3 or 4 different vendors at different prices...


Is this common?


Do you they use the same data base or have access to the same inventory?


Who 'actually' has possession of the stones? Does it matter to us? How can we find out?


what's the scoop???


NB333
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Hi Newbie,

Many vendors have access to the same stones because they are allowed to list these stones published by the cutting houses overseas...Different vendors might deal with the same cutting houses which publish the same list....

I imagine there is a set price which the cutting house wants to secure from the vendor and any mark-up might be profit for a particular vendor....

This is one of the main contentions of certain vendors on the forums who stock their stones in house and have all the pertinent data available such as sarin/megascope, b-scope,idealscope, magnified photo's of inclusions and scanned images of the certs....The dealers that have these stones either own them or can call a particular stone in for evaluation before any purchase is made. ...

In my opinion these are the dealers who put their best foot forward in trying to provide the best service for consumers and can give concrete objective advice rather than requesting a cert. image from a cutting house and then emailing you the cert...I think there is a lot more time and money invested on their end from the capital it takes to purchase the stones to all the lab equipment and money spent on the high tech gadgets to provide critical info to the discriminating consumer...

As far as those vendors who just publish a list from the same cutting houses..I think they are just out to make a quick buck brokering..I'm not saying it's wrong but I would go with the guy who has much more invested in stocking their own stones.

Quality and selling in large volume with a lower overhead provides vendors with the ability to provide some of the finest cut stones at a low profit margin and a substantially better deal than maul cut stones and dept store retail mark-ups. I don't kid myself and know everyones in the game to make a buck...but when I make a purchase I ask myself who is providing the most info at a competetive price???

Just my 2 cents....

 

[valeria101]

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On 12/25/2003 3:24:56 AM Newbie333 wrote:


Maybe some of you guys can shed some light on this for me... Did a search, and I noticed the same stone (same cert#'s) coming up for sale from 3 or 4 different vendors at different prices...


Is this common?
Yes. Most sellers do not stock the stones (or not all). There is some added reasurance if they do (for ex. they can provide extra data about the stone asap), but this is not very relevant.


Do you they use the same data base or have access to the same inventory?
Yes.


Who 'actually' has possession of the stones? Does it matter to us? How can we find out?

Dealers, cutting factories... who really cares? probably asking the seller is a way to find out (if they tell), but this is no concern. Diamonds typically exchange many hands before settling on one (in ring), and less intermediation is not likely to affect price.


What's the scoop???
Well, diamonds are a veeery expensive type of stock. No catch here: this is how the business goes...

 

[Colored Gemstone Nut]

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On 12/25/2003 4:41:10 AM valeria101 wrote:

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On 12/25/2003 3:24:56 AM Newbie333 wrote:













Is this common?
Yes. Most sellers do not stock the stones (or not all). There is some added reasurance if they do (for ex. they can provide extra data about the stone asap), but this is not very relevant.

Hi Val,

I respect your post and opinion, but am puzzled at why you think the extra data is not very relevant

If you were presented with 2 stones..

One with all the data such as the data from GOG or Super-B-cert or Nice-Ice,Whiteflash..etc....

or

One from a vendor who will scan you a cert from the cutting house I think there is much more to gain from the photos and description a vendor who stocks in house can give you...

What do you think???

Just finished wrapping my 9 year old's Christmas gifts..Whew glad that's over..I hope your having a Good Christmas...

 

[valeria101]

Oups, not clear here: I guess one can obtain whatever info possible for either kind of stone (in stock or on list) but it would take longer to get it for listed stones. Also, I guess it becomes rather challenging to compare such extra reports for, say, five "not-in-stock" stones.


As for "exta info" about where and by whom the stone was cut and where is somelisted stone in person, well, I am not all that curious. I would guess that high quality, specialized cuts come from certain cutters, but, after all, a diamond is a diamond: the finished piece counts.

 

[Chrisk327]

I respect everyone's opinion here... but I have to disagree with Val on a few points...

I am a shopper at heart and am willing to do lots of legwork for a pricecut... However...

I'm not a big fan of the idea of brokered stones. Maybe its my nerviousness when I purchased (such a large purchase, for me) but I want someone to be able to look at the stone and provide me with all the info b'scopes, idealscopes etc etc
I personally went with GOG b/c they had all the info, they had the stones in house and I could go down and look at them. There are a number of venders here that do this, not all. I think the effort put into testing is worth something and I was willing to pay what may be a slightly higher price to have it.
Not to discount brokered stones, there are lots that are very nice, I'm sure. But I have a higher respect for someone who owns a stone and does more work on it. They have more info on it and put more effort into the process before even contact is made(in my mind.) Also, a lot of places that have a large inhouse inventory also allow the option of brokered stones.

Which venders to pick is up to you, from what I understand 1 vender will probably try to match the price another has on the same stone.

 

[pqcollectibles]

Some of the price variance you see in the brokered diamonds has to do with the level of service the Vendor provides with that diamond. While all of the Vendors will get you any reports and Cert copies the Owner/Broker may have, some Vendors go the extra mile and do not simply "Drop/Ship" from the Broker direct to you.

For example, Nice Ice or White Flash will have the diamond sent to them for evaluation. They will give the diamond a thorough examination and report to you on their findings. They can even email you pics to further explain their findings. Nice Ice recently evaluated a Brokered diamond for a customer. The Cert showed feathers near the girdle in the crown and pavillion plots. A magnified pic revealed the crown and pavillion feathers lined up and broke the surface of the girdle. Needless to say, Nice Ice strongly recommended the customer not buy the diamond. If you decide that diamond is not for you, they ship it back to the Broker. If you agree to purchase the diamond, they ship it on to you.

 

[valeria101]

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On 12/25/2003 11:56:56 AM strmrdr wrote:

Amoung the PS vendors,...
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This is a nice exercise, of course, each customer may end-up with such clasifications after some search. Most of these are legitimate and useful options (ok, I hope destroying settings is not called "business plan"). Surely, getting stones already in seller's posession does save some leg-work, as you say. Pricescope does offer all these option.... taugh choice!

I found Jonathan's (aca Rhino)post the nicest description of this matter.