Find your diamond
Find your jewelry
shape
carat
color
clarity

Tiffany & Co valuation report. Any way around this?

BloomsburyHouse

BloomsburyHouse

Rough_Rock
Trade
Joined
Jan 6, 2013
Messages
62
Hi

Total newbie here :wavey:

I'm wondering if anyone knows any way around Tiffany's policy of only offering valuation reports to the original owner of an item? I ask, in frustration, as a seller of pre-owned Tiffany jewellery.

I recently tried to get a valuation report for a beautiful 0.6 ct fancy yellow Peretti "Diamonds by the Yard" pendant at my local store in London but they abjectly refused unless I had the name of the original owner. They plugged in the id number and verified the piece but couldn't give me anything in print. This leaves me in difficulties as, understandably, potential buyers are looking for certainty when purchasing products of high value. Any advice?

PS. I sell on Ebay and am dismayed to see on PS people seem to hold ebay sellers in contempt. Would be really keen to hear advice on how to raise myself head and shoulders above the rest. I'm just a small seller. I do it because it fits well with being a full time mother and because I love looking at shiny things!!!
 
I think we are wary because there are dishonest sellers on ebay who sell fake merchandise or misrepresented merchandise. I certainly have bought some great pieces on ebay, but I am careful about who I buy from. We are probably more negative about buying diamonds on ebay over anything, because you really have to know what you are doing t be successful at it. Good feedback will be your friend! It is advantageous when you have the original receipts or a valuation report in the case of Tiffany pieces. It is also good when there is a return policy for when a person wants to have a piece authenticated. Otherwise, feedback is about all you can rely on for people to trust that you only sell authentic pieces.
 
Thanks - my feedback is great. But I don't have a refund policy because it would completely screw up my cash flow! Though perhaps I'd get greater sales volumes if I had one?! It's tricky being small!
 
No, there's no direct way around it. It's wierd that Tiffany would deliberately undermine the secondary market for their own goods but I'm guessing that they simply haven't thought it through. It COULD be a fairly signficant profit center for them. :confused: The closest you can come is a report from someone that the buyer recognizes as an expert saying that it's authentic. In the end, the buyer can do their own testing and hire their own experts. Bear in mind that your competition has exactly the same problem so it' not really that you're being saddled with a disadvantage.

The way to deal with a return policy is to simply not spend the money until it expires. You're right that it's a bite for cash flow but it's not really as bad as you think. 10 days for the ad, ship fast so 2 days for shipping and, say 10 days for the return. That means you're waiting 22 days instead of 10 days. Annoying but not disasterous. As you point out, it will increase your sales both in terms of product flow and the prices you get, possibly substantially on both counts.
 
Thanks - I'm sitting here thinking about it and it does seem to make sense - I guess I just get worried about exactly the same things as buyers get worried about - people sending me stuff back with replaced diamonds!!!!
 
Yep, that's a worry. Ebay/paypal does have a SELLER protection plan as well, but it's got a lot more holes in it than the buyer equivalent. You are taking some risks. You can mitigate those by carefully documenting what you have and by being extremely careful with both your shipping and your returns procedures. There's nothing that you're facing that your competitors don't have to deal with as well.

You asked how to be head and shoulders above the rest. This is a piece of it. The real trick is paying attention. Watch what other sellers do. Imitate the ones who do it well and avoid doing what the bad ones are up to. It's hard to be better than everyone, but it's pretty easy to be in the top few percent. Ebay sets a pretty low bar but there ARE a few really first rate companies that sell there.
 
This is great advice. I wondering why I didn't copy bigger sellers sooner?! I guess I thought they were big and so could deal with returns much better. Here goes - I'm plunging into offering a returns policy!
 
There have been many PSers that have been interested in a piece that they saw on ebay but have decided not to purchase despite a good seller rating specifically because there was no return policy. I think that DA has given you great advice and that you will see many more sales with a return policy in place. What the policy means to me is that the seller is confident in their product and their claims and is willing to back that up. Good luck!
 
Get a microscope with a camera(if you don't already have one) and take detailed pictures of the diamonds inclusions before shipping.
Even an IF stone will have details that can id it if you use enough magnification.
That will let you id switched stones and have evidence to prosecute and or fight a refund.
 
BloomsburyHouse|1357502968|3348950 said:
Thanks - my feedback is great. But I don't have a refund policy because it would completely screw up my cash flow! Though perhaps I'd get greater sales volumes if I had one?! It's tricky being small!
Click to expand...

I'd never buy jewelry on Ebay (or anywhere for that matter) without a refund policy, preferably of at least 10 days. The best way to handle that is to not do anything with the money from a sale until the return period has expired. I only periodically sell things I don't use anymore and that's what I do. I do purchase some things without return policies, but I personally have a $100 limit on that.

re: how else to be a head and shoulders above the rest - offer as much information on the piece as possible, especially stone mm size. Stay away from flowery adjectives - keep the description simple and factual. Have incredibly clear, close-up pictures, and from all the angles. Nothing makes me shy away from a product faster than if one essential angle is missing - like a ring without any face-on shots - because it makes me wonder if there's something about that particular angle that the seller is trying to hide. With signed pieces, have a good close-up of the stamp (it can obviously easily be faked but a lot of people won't buy without it).
 
It sounds like we're all screwed!
 
To me, the best sellers on ebay have very very good photos (close up macro photos with good lighting), offer returns, have good feedback, and respond quicky to messages.

ETA: I don't buy a tonne on ebay. Maybe one thing a month, but I almost never buy without a return policy on ebay. On other private seller sites, like Diamond Bistro, I am ok buying without returns if I "know" the seller. But ebay is a different story for me.
 
Things that IMO would make for a "good" ebay vendor - probably repeats of other posters' suggestions. I'm probably not a good candidate to answer this actually, as I've pretty much given up on ebay entirely at this point..

-Good pics (clear macros from a variety of angles)
-Clear, concise descriptions. Flowery imagery is such a waste of everyone's time.
-Relatively quick responses - I expect to hear *something* within 2-3 business days.
-Clear descriptions of any obvious issues - scratches, chips, giant bogeys, etc. Pics are a plus.
-Measurements. A jewellery vendor has NO excuse not to invest in a decent pair of calipers, IMO. Something like this (this is the US site) http://www.amazon.com/Mitutoyo-ABSOLUTE-500-196-20-Stainless-Resolution/dp/B001C0ZPNO/ref=sr_1_1?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1357594667&sr=1-1&keywords=mitutoyo+caliper+digital
-Return policy. If there's something I'm interested in and there's no stated return policy I'll ask about negotiating one, but I won't ultimately buy without.


Of course, if all these conditions are met the price is usually outrageous, and if I'm on ebay I'm looking for a deal, so in reality I tend to focus on listings with terrible pics, haphazard measurements, and verbose descriptions filled with drivel, and I don't hold my breath. The only thing I won't budge on is the return policy. I don't buy signed pieces so I assume that market is probably pretty different ::)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
GET 3 FREE HCA RESULTS JOIN THE FORUM. ASK FOR HELP
Jewelry Blog
PriceScope-Concierge-Ad
Find prime cuts.
Top