3 replies to this topic

[licao]

Costco claims that all the diamonds they sell will be praised at twice as the price, otherwise they will refund all the costs plus $100 compensation for the inconvenience. I got a quote of the following diamond: 1.27 carat, I, VS2, round, table 63%, depth 60%. the price is around $6300. On the appraisal statement coming with the diamond, it is praised at $14400. I checked the price database in DR.com, it's way overpriced. I also checked through bluenile, the similar stones costs much less than $6300. Is it common that the appraisal prices are generally sustantially higher than the market price? Or there are some other facts not reflected by the 4Cs but very important to decide the value?

Li

[adodge]

Li,

A lot of people have asked questions about this policy on other diamond boards as well. I ended up e-mailing Costco one day to get the scoop. After a week and a half of trading e-mails and phone calls, here is my opinion and my opinion only. Costco's diamonds usually come with a lab grading report (usually from GIA) and an appraisal report from IGI. From all the boards I follow and information I've read, IGI is not nearly as well respected a lab as GIA and AGS. If you go to IGI's website you will see that their appraisals are based on a selection of retail prices across the country. I can only assume these are places such as malls and high-end retail shops. The "appraisal value" is probably going to be substantially more than what you could replace this diamond for. In my opinion, I think Costco can offer this service as they are probably only taken up on the offer less than 1% of the time. If a customer is already receiving an appraisal from another lab (ie. from IGI) with the diamond, chances are they will not have it appraised somewhere else themselves. I would anticipate that if you did have it appraised by an independent appraiser that is qualified, the stone would appraise for much closer to your purchase price. Just my 2 cents.

[thatguy]

I realize Im coming in about five months late on this topic of Costco's appraise price.. But this is a new game for me, and Im getting educated slowly..How does Costco's prices (wholesale, as listed on the report and my actual cost) compare to what you can find on the net (obviously like kind products comparably)? How does the retail they list on the appraisal compare to real world retail prices?

[jan]

First of all I would say that if you as an individual are buying from them the price you are paying is retail.
Wholesale is when the product goes to a store for resale.
Over inflated appraisals aren't really good for the consumers, because it causes you to overpay for insurance on the piece.
The prices on the internet are very competitive and it is an excellent time to get a quality diamond at a really good price. Shop around alot and make sure that you are comparing apples to apples by using the 4 C's.
It is a good idea to also make sure you are getting a lab report on the diamond from a reputable and stringent laboratory such as GIA or AGS.
If you go with a diamond that is graded by GIA, make sure to get a sarin analysis as well to get all the information such as crown height and angle and pavilion depth and angle.
It is a good idea to also get a light perfomance on the diamond to see how much it will sparkle.
We use a brilliancescope for that, and it measures white light, or brilliance, colored light which is dispersion and scintillation which is movement of light.


Jan