3 replies to this topic

[Marc the helper]

I myself had the same misfortune of being lost and confused during the diamond shopping experience. Every store I went to had different prices for the same diamond, and or their education was only related to the type of diamond they carried or have access to. After shopping around at the retail stores, I went online and saw better prices, but no advise on the differences in the quality of diamonds offered.
I was extremely discouraged in this very important buying decision until I met this wonderful guy who not only helped me in understanding how to make the right decision but also saved a lot of money in the process.
This guy is like having a personal shopper for the diamond you want. No price gauging, no strings attached, he will educate you if anything but also makes frequent trips to Isreal to find the diamond you want.
He is a certified gemologist, his family has been in the diamond industry for over 60 years and I could not have had a better experience.

If you're interested in talking to him, you can e-mail me at marcmialon95@gmail.com

Marc

[denverappraiser]

Hi Marc,

Hmm. Someone who identifies himself as an expert, who chooses diamonds and jewelry that he thinks are suitable for his clients and collects a fee and/or commission for it if someone decides that something he finds is the best offer. Not that there’s anything wrong with this, but this is pretty much what ALL jewelers do.

It’s wonderful that you’ve found a jeweler that you’re happy with, but why not just post an endorsement for him rather than asking people to email YOU to make the connection? Is this sort of some affiliate marketing program designed to get you a commission as well? This would be possibly helpful to the store/broker/personal shopper but actually detrimental to shoppers.

Neil

Edited by denverappraiser, 26 April 2008 - 07:32 AM.

[Marc the helper]

denverappraiser, on Saturday, Apr 26 2008, 08:55 AM, said:

Hi Marc,

Hmm. Someone who identifies himself as an expert, who chooses diamonds and jewelry that he thinks are suitable for his clients and collects a fee and/or commission for it if someone decides that something he finds is the best offer. Not that there’s anything wrong with this, but this is pretty much what ALL jewelers do.

It’s wonderful that you’ve found a jeweler that you’re happy with, but why not just post an endorsement for him rather than asking people to email YOU to make the connection? Is this sort of some affiliate marketing program designed to get you a commission as well? This would be possibly helpful to the store/broker/personal shopper but actually detrimental to shoppers.

Neil

Neil,

First of all, I'm sorry you saw that what was merely a testimonial and a resource for help in the buying decision that goes along with purchasing a diamond as a marketing ploy to make money.

I am a consumer that had a great experience and I want to share it with others, that's it.

I shopped around for months and met a lot of "experts" that not only were dishonest, but also tried to take advantage of an uneducated consumer.

The reason I'd prefer to be contacted first, is because:

- I want to share my experience personaly, answer any questions anyone may have.
- I will also inform the shopper on what to expect.

This is not my job. I don't do it for money. Helping the consumer by giving them a great source would be positive, not detrimental.
At the end of the process, the most important question:

Is the average diamond shopper really happy with their experience?

Thank you for your inquiry.

Marc

[denverappraiser]

Marc,

I’m all for happy shoppers and successful merchants, whatever approach they both take. The ‘personal shopper’ style is reasonably efficient because it keeps down inventory, rents, payroll and certain other expenses and they can often offer fairly attractive prices and service if they want, but my general observation is that the category is even more full of sharks than the storefronts because there is so little investment and commitment required for people to get into and out of the business and because they can easily operate below the radar. 'Real' stores have certain advantages too after all. That’s why I’m so insistent on specific endorsements of specific merchants and the same holds for attacks against broad categories. YOUR shopper may be awesome and the stores you visited may be dreadful but it is not correct to say that all personal shoppers are better than all stores any more than it’s correct to say that all websites are better than all stores or visa versa. Each merchant deserves to be judged on their own merits or demerits. A vague endorsement of the general style may be helpful for people who didn’t know that this was one of the approaches that jewelers can take but it does nothing either for your friend or for potential shoppers. He is far from the only jeweler who operates this way. Not to denigrate your experience and I’m thrilled that it worked out well for you but an anonymous helper recommending an unspecified consultant and soliciting personal contact about it is a huge red flag. I again encourage you to make a specific endorsement of a fellow who has served you well.

In general yes, most diamond shoppers seem to end up happy with their experience and their purchases even though there is a wild variety of differences when you get down to the details of how it went. Again, that's where specific endorsements can be helpful to shoppers. Not everyone is looking for the same thing after all.

For shoppers looking for information, of course, the idea of how the 'average' customer does is at best an academic question. They want to maximize their own chances and doing better than average isn't usually the standard.

Neil