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The smart consumer's diamond buying guide.... |
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Diamond Buying Made Easier > Where To Buy Diamonds > Buying Diamonds OnlineBuying Diamonds OnlineBuying Diamonds Online - A new wrinkle in retail? Today it is amazing that a person can sit down at their computer and actually go shopping with companies that are located anywhere in the world. This is especially true when you think about something complicated like buying diamonds online. The idea of going to a central marketplace, along with stores that specialize in certain items goes back thousands of years. However, the idea of a company offering their products to customers who live far from their showroom, having that customer order the item (sight unseen), and then having that item shipped to the customer is not really a new idea. Shopping on the Internet is just a slight variation on a form of shopping that goes back hundreds of years! Probably the best example of this type of retailing is the Sears catalog. 
It is really an amazing story of how R.W.Sears took the idea of the mail order catalog and built an empire! A lot of Sears success is because of his exciting marketing concepts but it also had a lot to do with many new technologies coming together at the same time. The completion of the transcontinental railroad, the explosion of American farms, the growth and improvement of telegraph system, improvements in the mail delivery systems, and the inefficiency of the traditional retail distribution systems. This is a prime example of how a company and consumers can benefit by "cutting out the middle man" and making the system of bringing goods and services to a higher level of efficiency. What's so special about buying diamonds online? In the 40 years since I first started at a wholesale jewelry distributor there have been many changes in the jewelry business. That wholesale company along with many others like it are no longer in business. So what made buying diamonds online really take off? There are a few things that came together at the same time....  cable TV shopping went a long way to introduce alternate ways to buy jewelry, gems, etc. the Internet became faster more accessible at home and at work friends and co-workers started buying diamonds online and it worked out well more and more people became used to purchasing items online as Internet shopping became more trusted diamond grading reports became more commonplace because of the increased number of Gemological Labs and Gemologists in the marketplace
You will need to do some homework if you want to save some money!  Even though the Internet has matured and has become a more mainstream element of everyone's lives it still can be a pretty wild place.... this is especially true when it comes to buying diamonds online.
You can find a ton of information about many different things along with a ton of misinformation. It has allowed companies to sell products to customers around the world but it has also allowed some people to some bad things to other people. Buying diamonds online does require a basic understanding of the diamond grading systems in order to make an informed decision. Each diamond is slightly different so it is not like buying a Canon camera online. Shopping for things like cameras, computer equipment, etc. is really pretty easy shop for because every model is exactly the same. - 5 Tips for buying diamonds online - Tip #1 - Get a working knowledge about diamonds- Guess where you can find a GREAT website to learn about diamonds! It's all laid out in the links to your left. Tip #2 - Diamond grading reports are a must- This will be your "lifeline" when you are trying to compare diamonds. There are only a few different diamond grading reports that will help you when buying diamonds online. GIA, AGS, and GCAL would be the only reports that I would feel comfortable recommending for buying diamonds online. I say this because these diamond grading reports do have a "Cut Grade" which is extremely valuable when buying diamonds online because this is a blind purchase. There is a slight difference how they go about doing this but I would tend to prefer the AGS and GCAL reports because they directly measure the optical efficiency of the diamond. Tip #3 - Judge an online diamond retailer like you would a local diamond retailer- For a number of years I was a traveling Sales Rep for a Manhattan based jewelry manufacturer. Because I needed to visit many jewelry stores on a daily basis I ended up being able to quickly "size up" a jewelry store after visiting many hundreds of diamond jewelry stores. Some of the key indicators were the decals on their front doors indicating membership in different industry associations, the information listed in their yellow page ads, the diplomas / awards that were hanging on the walls, or the quality and quantity of the diamond jewelry that were in their showcases. When buying diamonds online you will need to do a similar judgment about any online diamond retailer that you are considering. Don't be fooled by a lot of pretty pictures and graphics because in a matter of 45 minutes anyone could put up a website that could look exactly like the best of the online diamond retailers. Pay careful attention to the "About Us" page, it can tell you a lot and read all of the fine print on the "Policies" page. Try to stick with the big, well known online diamond retailers. Tip #4 - Decide on your budget- If you have a clear idea of what is a comfortable amount to spend when buying diamonds online then it will help you make decisions on what will be the most important qualities you need to have in your diamond. Your money will always be well spent when you try to keep the Diamond Cut as high as possible within your budget. If you keep one of the Cs really high then maybe some of the other Cs need to be lowered in order to be in your price range. Tip #5 - Use a credit card- By using a credit card when you are buying diamonds online it will give you some protection in the transaction. The credit card companies do give you some additional clout if you need to solve any problems if they are encountered. Some of the big online diamond retailers are now started to offer a bit of a discount if you use a wire transfer because it saves them the price of a credit card processing fee. If you feel comfortable with the company, then you could save a few additional dollars. |
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