Good Idea? Diamond liquidators?

[22katie12345]

My soon to be fiancee and I have been diamond shopping. In town we have been referred to a diamond dealer that deals in diamonds that he buys from stores in bankruptcy. The diamond prices are 1/2 of wholesale prices that most jewelry stores pay. My friend that bought a diamond there is very pleased.
Right now I am looking at at 2.15 carat diamond SI2 clarity and I color. I do not have other specifics with me. The price is 1/2 of wholesale, I would pay $6500.
These prices are much more reasonable. Is it safe to buy from these type of dealers that sell diamonds that have been liquidated?

Also, is buying diamonds from Ebay safe?

[Yosef]

My soon to be fiancee and I have been diamond shopping. In town we have been referred to a diamond dealer that deals in diamonds that he buys from stores in bankruptcy. The diamond prices are 1/2 of wholesale prices that most jewelry stores pay. My friend that bought a diamond there is very pleased.
Right now I am looking at at 2.15 carat diamond SI2 clarity and I color. I do not have other specifics with me. The price is 1/2 of wholesale, I would pay $6500.
These prices are much more reasonable. Is it safe to buy from these type of dealers that sell diamonds that have been liquidated?

Also, is buying diamonds from Ebay safe?

Our diamond search at Adylon is not working right now so I just went to Blue Nile to give you an example. For SI2/I in 2-2.2ct size rounds (I'm assuming you want round?). Now they only have one stone for $9,417. All the others are $12,000++ That's very telling in itself.

$9417 is for a poorly cut stone graded by AGS. Now why is it graded by the AGS? AGS is really only good for ideal cuts in my opinion... and this is Fair (very bad) cut. So the grading report is only kept I'm assuming because it's not really SI2 or I or perhaps it's very borderline. All the other diamonds are $12-16,000. AGS and GIA are the 2 most trusted labs, followed by EGL-USA but the most trusted is the GIA. Even the GIA can be wrong from time to time. Also not all diamonds are EXACTLY SI2 or EXACTLY I color. There are borderline stones. Like between SI2 and I1. That's why some of these GIA stones are listed for $12,000 on BN and other others for $15,000. I can assure you that Blue Nile does not buy diamonds for $4,000 and sell them for $15,000. In fact it's no where near that, margins are VERY thin, it's like buying a car. The dealership will sell you a car for $25,000 they buy for say $21,000. The same thing more or less applies for diamonds. Margins can be even less for internet retailers.

Getting back to your diamond.....

If it was REALLY a SI2/I 2ct well cut stone, that stone would be worth a min. of $10,000 wholesale and that's cash on spot, like there would be dealers lining up to buy that diamond. There is no reason why any one would sell that stone retail for $6500. They would be losing money. It would be like me giving away $100 bills for $60. Why would I do that?

However if it's not SI2/I, and its really I1/J or something, the price plummets significantly. I can get you plenty of diamonds (at retail, not below wholesale) that are graded by say EGL Israel as SI2 clarity, I color for $6500 or less. The problem of course is that it would really be I1 clarity or possibly even I2 clarity and J/K color, and you would not be a happy customer.

So you have to be weary of these dealers that push fake paper around knowing the stone is inaccurately graded, and what's worse, is they lead you to believe that you're getting it 1/2 below wholesale, that's very deceptive and I wouldn't just walk away I would run. When buying a stone of this size especially on such a critical grade as SI2/I I would demand it have a GIA grading report ---- AND even then, I would still be scrutinize the diamond very well, because no 2 diamonds exist in nature that are identical. You want to make sure of course you get the best SI2/I for your money, not the worst one. That's why prices vary so much on Blue Nile from $12-15,000.

[Yosef]

Also, is buying diamonds from Ebay safe?

I forgot to reply to this part.

Buying diamonds on ebay? Wow where do I start. Well first of all if you're buying from a "dealer" on ebay I'd be very suspicious. Very few dealers can make any money there selling legit diamonds, but I do know of a few. Most sell diamonds with fraudulent or no paperwork and prey on those who do not know the difference until it's too late.

You have to be very careful of treated diamonds as well, a treated diamond will be worth significantly less. Sometimes they disclose this in a very sneaky way, sometimes they will sell it as a natural and it's really treated. An SI2/I treated diamond of 2 carat size is worth no more then $2,000 (and that's being generous). So buying at $6,500 would be a disaster.

The only deals I've really seen on ebay are from private individuals looking to sell because they got divorced or something. Of course not being able to see the diamond is a big disadvantage, and if you pay in a method where you're unable to recover your money, that can be very painful, so just be careful if that's the route you go.

Buying on Ebay is like buying in a some overseas flea market. It's a place full of shady dealers but there are honest people looking to make a living there as well. Navigating through all the junk and trying to get a good deal can be very challenging, even for a seasoned professional.

[Mervyn L. Cohn ASA]

My soon to be fiancee and I have been diamond shopping. In town we have been referred to a diamond dealer that deals in diamonds that he buys from stores in bankruptcy. The diamond prices are 1/2 of wholesale prices that most jewelry stores pay. My friend that bought a diamond there is very pleased.
Right now I am looking at at 2.15 carat diamond SI2 clarity and I color. I do not have other specifics with me. The price is 1/2 of wholesale, I would pay $6500.
These prices are much more reasonable. Is it safe to buy from these type of dealers that sell diamonds that have been liquidated?

Also, is buying diamonds from Ebay safe?


I mostly never agree with Yoseph's postings, but in this case I MUST. What you write begs the question, why would anyone (other than your mother) sell you anything that they could easily sell for considerably more? If you can give an intelligent answer to that then you need to buy the diamond in question.

[Kellie]

I absolutely adore Ebay, but even I wouldn't trust anyone to sell me legit diamonds on there at a decent price. It's just not worth it to them and I'd be the one out of money in the end.

[lkbkr103]

There's nothing wrong with ebay, but you get what you pay for in most cases.