17 replies to this topic

[jay]

low budget/low credit: iv'e been offeren a stone by Kay Jewelers that is IGI certified, .45 TW, F color. SI1. with the setting including the price is $3590. Should i make this purchase or try to find something else that is GIA certified or upgrade later?

[jay]

• the stone is princess cut: low budget/low credit: iv'e been offeren a stone by Kay Jewelers that is IGI certified, .45 TW, F color. SI1. with the setting including the price is $3590. Should i make this purchase or try to find something else that is GIA certified or upgrade later?

[davidelevi]

It depends on what your situation is. You can get engaged with a CZ in a sterling silver ring, or for that matter with no ring at all.

With $3500, I would not call this a "low budget" situation. You can easily get a high quality diamond in a high quality setting - think a GIA-graded round 0.4x G-H/VS in a nice platinum setting with a halo or plain solitaire, and save some money on your budget. If you want a princess, you can spend less (or get a heavier, but not larger-looking, stone)

Very achievable without having to go to Kay's or get a non-GIA/AGS graded diamond.

Take a look at the Diamond Finder utility on this site.

Edited by davidelevi, 18 January 2012 - 09:31 AM.

[jay]

well kay has provided a finance option as well. i will need to finance. i only have 1,000 saved. princess cut is whats desired. i tried the "findmyjewler" option and the recommended i do it online. Im not buying an engament ring online w/out seeing it 1st. I would get killed if i did..lol...

[davidelevi]

What I recommended you look at is not the "Find My Jeweler" - it's the diamond finder. This way you can find that the fair price for a 0.40 princess with an EGL report is $600 (and a decent quality solitaire setting is $500). If you want to be ripped off because someone offers finance, your choice entirely. Incidentally, I would not recommend to anyone that they run into debt to purchase an engagement ring.

Online purchasing: look at it this way: you are not "buying" the ring online. You are getting an option to buy it for 20, 30 or more days. If you don't like it, send it back, and all you are out for is your return shipping.

[jay]

your right. the price is more cost efficient on the diamond finder option. my parents say this can be a good way to establish credit. Because of my job i can have it paid off w/in a 6 months to a yr max. i wont be ordering online for this purchase but will most likey consider it in future for other purchases. I really like this site

[jay]

is this a decent purchase? i know i can find better. i just dont want it to be a bad purchase. If its a bad purchase then i will explore other options

[denverappraiser]

Not to go against your parents but I think this is a dreadful way to establish credit. Any credible dealer, including Kays, will take Visa and there is a whole industry of banks that will give you a visa for half the rate that Kays is charging. Look at www.bankrate.com to shop for lenders who aggressively competing with one another to do just this. There is no benefit whatever to bundling the loan and the sale together. Even if you go with Kays as the jeweler for whatever reason, don't use them as the lender.

Shop around at the brick and mortar stores in your town. Perhaps even consider driving to the next town over. In general, Kays is a pretty pricey place to be buying things because of their corporate overhead and mall locations. You might be pleasantly surprised what a 'mom and pop' jeweler might be able to do for you, in person and with things you can touch and see. Remember, negotiation is not a 4 letter word.

Edited by denverappraiser, 18 January 2012 - 03:11 PM.

[davidelevi]

Is this a decent purchase? NO.

Tiffany - and we are talking Tiffany - charges less. http://www.tiffany.c...1002/0/0/0/1002

And they seem to offer interest-free financing too...

[AN0NYM0US]

I find it strange that you are concerned about getting a good deal, but are eliminating your best option to do so. The internet.

And since you asked, no, you shouldn't buy that ring from Kays. It is too expensive for what it is. As Neil said Mom and Pop stores can hold great finds as well as pawn shops. Just make sure you have the ability to take the ring to an independent appraiser and return it if you want.

If I were in your situation I would purchase the pieces as I could, first starting with the diamond, then the setting. Just to show you what your $1000(ish) that you have saved could buy from an online retailer.

http://www.bluenile....rity_LD02398623

http://www.bluenile....rity_LD02408085

These are not going to be in the Ideal range, but I bet they will be of like or better quality to the ones at Kays...for much less.

Can I ask why you are completely against the idea of purchasing from an online vendor? You know some vendors (not bluenile) will supply multiple photos with comparison pics and some will supply video. And if you choose one and don't love it in person you can always return it.

[denverappraiser]

Here’s some numbers to chew on:

If you shop reasonably aggressively, a 'solitaire' style setting like what Davide linked to for a half carat princess is about $150 these days. Add another $50 to size and set it. The rest is for the stone.

A 0.4x/SI1/H princess is an easy buy at $1000. That’s retail on GIA graded goods.

Add tax and we’re talking about $1400 or so. Even add gas to drive half way across the state if you need to. That’s another $100 and it’ll blow a Saturday.

Get a credit card with a $1500 limit and keep your money in the bank (which may be required in order to get the card if you’re credit is really all that bad). Instead of paying Kays your whole nest egg and an additional $500/month for 6 months, pay the bank $500 for 3 months to pay off the card and pay your bank account $500/month for the next 3 months just because. You’ll pay about $40 in interest. At the end you’ll have the same ring and you’ll have paid the same amount out of pocket, You’ll have the credit history and, more importantly, you’ll have $2500 in the bank.

Edited by denverappraiser, 19 January 2012 - 06:01 AM.

[jay]

wow.. thank you all so much....this has been a great learning process. Honestly, i still may go with kay then upgrade with one of the options you all have suggested where i will get more bang for my buck. i honestly looked at the bluenile site before anywhere else b/c they came up online and i could sort for GIA stones. I was told by parents not to make this particular purchase online. I dont buy too much of anything online and neither do they just for personal and experience reasons. However you all have provided greatly needed information and i greatly appreciate it.I will be making future purchases w/ bluenile. i like the site and seems legit to me. The thought of returning an engagment ring really bothers me.I have shopped at some other stores and even though i have 1k saved i cant get approved for financing. Any place that uses GE Money will not approve me. I dont own any credit cards. I did while i was a student and fell into some credit traps which is a big reason why my credit is poor but rising now.Thanks again for the information. Excluding price is the ring Kay is offering a quality ring?

[davidelevi]

No it isn't. I don't know how else we should tell you. You are paying nearly 3x the price of what you could get from an honest (never mind online) jeweller, and it's not likely to be great quality, considering you are getting an IGI graded stone, and a princess cut to boot (meaning a lot less information on cut). You could be getting the same size diamond from Tiffany's for less. All of this screams "poor deal, don't do it".

You seem to be obsessed by the issue of creditworthiness rather than whether you are being ripped off - which is not a good way to go about shopping. For diamonds or anything else.

I don't see what is the problem in returning the ring, BTW. You would not be returning it after it has become your engagement ring; you would have it seen, checked and vetted before you propose. Once you are certain that it's OK, you go ahead and don't change it again

My last post on the subject. Can take a horse to water, but not make it drink. My sincere best wishes for your forthcoming engagement, wedding and life together.

Edited by davidelevi, 19 January 2012 - 08:08 AM.

[satbeachbill]

Jay,
You have been given the best information you could expect, FORGET THIS DEAL. The folks at Jays are going to take you to the cleaners. They prey on customers in exactly your situation, little knowledge of what you are buying, with no money to pay for it..........except their "financing" which basically amounts to highway robbery.
....................maybe one day you wil figure it out. Good luck.

[AN0NYM0US]

Well if you could pay off the $3600 Kays ring in 6 months, just save up your cash now and buy that Tiffany's ring (Davide linked to) in 6 months. It'll be a much nicer ring for less money.

Edited by AN0NYM0US, 19 January 2012 - 09:26 AM.

[denverappraiser]

Wanna know the secret to getting the bad marks off of your credit report and how to make the GE people happy? Pay 'em. If you've truly got a $500/month+ disposable budget you should be able to make them disapear rather quickly unless you are WAY upside down. Count yourself ahead of about 90% of the other people who don't have that opportunity. Use it. When you have everyone current, target the high interest folks to pay off and/or refinance them through a bank or one of those 'credit repair' kind of outfits to a lower interest rate. Then pay them down to zero as quickly as possible (Beware, there are sharks in that business. Use professional advice). The LAST thing you need is to blow your accumulated savings and add on another $2600 in high interest debt.

[denverappraiser]

Incidentally, Blue Nile is a good enough outfit but I dont' think anyone here is particularly endorsing them. There are literally hundreds of thousands of 'online' jewelers and the vast majority of them are no more or less than a jeweler in someone else's neighborhood. Some are good and some are bad but it's not their Internet advertising that makes them such any more than problems with a store that you find in the yellow pages can be blamed on the phone company.

[davidelevi]

Actually, I'll renege on my word to make one last comment about Kay's item. There's another little trap for the unwary there: notice that 0.45 Tw? The "T" stands for "total". That means the main stone is definitely less than 0.45. Unfortunately, 0.50 carats in 0.01 ct melée is worth rather less than one single 0.50 ct stone.