I recently ordered a custom made ring from a non-Pricescope jeweler. I found a gold ring that I liked on the jeweler´s website, and I sent a message explaining how I wanted them to make some changes for a custom made piece.
They sent me an estimate of $1500-1800 for the ring, and I thought that was reasonable. I interpreted that estiumate as meaning that the ring would probably cost $1500, but that the price might increase to as much as $1800 if there was an unexpected amount of labor or is the cost of materials increased rapidly.
I told the jeweler to go ahead with the piece. They charged my credit card a deposit of $900 (half of te amount of the estimate) and started work. In the interim, the price of gold dropped.
When the ring was finsihed they told me that the balance due was $900 plus shipping, with no explanation for why the price came out at the high end of the estimate. There were a couple of errors in the pattern on the ring. When I pressed the question about price, I got different explanations from different people at the company. The owner who made the piece sent me an explanation saying that custom made pieces always take more time and labor. Other employees sent messages explainaing that the estimate is a range and the final price may come out anywhere in the range.
This all smells wrong to me. Is this a regular practice in the business? Do jewelers regularly quote a range and then always bill at the high end of the range? How should a customer interpret an estimate, and when should a customer press the jeweler for a specific price?
I suppose I would have ordered the ring anyway if they quoted a price of $1800, but I don´t like that they quoted me a range, the owner´s explanation makes it seem like it would have been impossible to make the ring at the low end of the range, and theyn they autimatically charge the high end with no explanation until I pressed them. Am I wrong?
They sent me an estimate of $1500-1800 for the ring, and I thought that was reasonable. I interpreted that estiumate as meaning that the ring would probably cost $1500, but that the price might increase to as much as $1800 if there was an unexpected amount of labor or is the cost of materials increased rapidly.
I told the jeweler to go ahead with the piece. They charged my credit card a deposit of $900 (half of te amount of the estimate) and started work. In the interim, the price of gold dropped.
When the ring was finsihed they told me that the balance due was $900 plus shipping, with no explanation for why the price came out at the high end of the estimate. There were a couple of errors in the pattern on the ring. When I pressed the question about price, I got different explanations from different people at the company. The owner who made the piece sent me an explanation saying that custom made pieces always take more time and labor. Other employees sent messages explainaing that the estimate is a range and the final price may come out anywhere in the range.
This all smells wrong to me. Is this a regular practice in the business? Do jewelers regularly quote a range and then always bill at the high end of the range? How should a customer interpret an estimate, and when should a customer press the jeweler for a specific price?
I suppose I would have ordered the ring anyway if they quoted a price of $1800, but I don´t like that they quoted me a range, the owner´s explanation makes it seem like it would have been impossible to make the ring at the low end of the range, and theyn they autimatically charge the high end with no explanation until I pressed them. Am I wrong?
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