Question about engagement rings--appraisals... did we get royally taken advantage of?
Original post by Danielle
OK, here's the story. We are not officially engaged, although we have set a date of July 11, 2004 (we are teachers, so we need to be married in the summer, so we are booking stuff before the offical proposal, because he is the King of Procrastinators!)
Anyway, we went ring shopping yesterday in Manhattan (yay!) and I think we got taken advantage of. The store showed us a very nice diamond and setting and was pushing hard for the sale, but I thought it was very expensive. So, the store owner tells us to get it appraised and see what a good deal we are getting. So we head over to an appraiser... who charged 1.5% of the diamond's value... several hundred dollars for exactly 5 minutes of work!!!
Ladies, is this right? How can they be paid a percentage of the value of the diamond? Of course they are going to say it is worth more than it is, so they get more money!! We were so stunned that we paid it and left, speechless! So, did we get taken advantage or is this industry practice?
Thanks!!
lesleyw
Posted:
Member since
Re: Question about engagement rings--appraisals... did we get royally taken advantage of?
I did some reading before we bought our diamond and this sounds like something that happens a lot in the diamond district. I would take the diamond to an independent appraiser, not the one the dealer sent you to -- just to make sure you're getting the correct appriasal and I would be wary of any appraiser that charges a % of the appraised value. Make sure you get a GIA certificate for your diamond, because it certifies that the standards of your diamond. We bought our diamond from a jewler in the city who my FI's family has known forever, FM me if you would like his info.
jennbaby
Posted:
Member since
Re: Question about engagement rings--appraisals... did we get royally taken advantage of?
I got my appraisal done at Macy's. It took 30 minutes.
almostmarried
Posted:
Member since
Re: Question about engagement rings--appraisals... did we get royally taken advantage of?
I think they took you for a ride. My Fi paid $100.
Ladies - please do not allow the jeweler who sold you the ring to do the appraisal!!!! So many friends of mine have told me their jeweler was so nice to throw that in for them!!!
No ring is that rare - don't allow anyone to presure you into buying a ring!
Danielle
Posted:
Member since
Re: Question about engagement rings--appraisals... did we get royally taken advantage of?
I second that... even if you LOVE the ring (which I did ) it's not worth it to buy from a dishonest person!
MindyL28
Posted:
Member since
Re: Question about engagement rings--appraisals... did we get royally taken advantage of?
Did you sign anything accepting their fees or their process? If you didn't and you really think that they were dishonest, this is what I would do:
1) call them and pretend that you have never been there but are interested in getting a diamond appraised by them. Ask them for their fee structure and something in writing that explains their fee structure.
2) If this is not in accoradance with what you experienced and you think that they took advantage of you, call them back and confront them about it. See if they will give you a refund (you should pay what they nomally charge but that's it and they should refund you the difference).
3) If they don't do anything and you still feel that they took advantage of you and they have dishonest business practices, tell them that you are going to file a complaint with the BBB and that you will tell everyone you know not to use them for anything.
4) DO file the complaint with the BBB.
Even if you LOVE the ring, you know what it looks like now and you can get any reputable jewler to make it for you without having to go through this again!!! You SHOULD NOT buy something from someone dishonest just because you love it- you can get what you want and have a good experience!
