When working with clients who are looking to part with unwanted diamond pieces, it is not uncommon for us to work with many who have tried other companies prior to finding us. Because of this occurrence, it gives us an insight into the ways in which other companies may try and take advantage of a client, and luckily many clients can sense this and pull their pieces.
What is troubling to me is the number of individuals who do not know there are other options out there, and in the end, take much less for their diamond pieces than they should. I wanted to share one of these stories with you now because I think it helps to illustrate some of these concerns.
This client came to us after attempting to work with another company. This is a company that spends a lot of money advertising and paying to be on different blogs for name exposure. They advertise a short auction environment for your diamond pieces that claim to get hundreds of interested in-trade buyers. They also remove most of the diamonds from their settings to have them GIA certified as part of their process.
This company gave her a range of what the diamond ring would bring in their multi-day auction and told her that the diamond needed to be removed and sent to GIA for grading. This is standard practice for them – all diamonds they work with are sent to GIA before being put in front of in-trade buyers in an auction format. The highest bid that was received on her ring as $200 less than what they had quoted and that did not account for the 20% commission that was also going to be taken. After all, was said and done, she would have walked away with $800 less than originally quoted.
She contacted us, and after reviewing the information we made an offer to purchase the piece for $1200 more than what she would have received from the other company. We are not just talking about a few hundred dollars here – which is why it makes me feel ill when I think about all the other people who take significantly less than they should for their pieces because another company spends a great deal of advertising money.
To add insult to injury to the situation they company re-mounted the diamond incorrectly back into the setting for her. While we were able to fix this, it just was an example of the low-quality standards they have, and lack of customer appreciation.
Here is my message to you – If you are considering working with a national company to sell your diamond jewelry pieces, do your research! Don’t just go with the one that has the most name recognition, or the one you see advertised everywhere. Just because a company shows hundreds of reviews on their website does not mean they are all legitimate – in fact, most of them are not! Interview multiple companies, and make sure you understand the fees/process involved. Here at MJ Gabel, we make everything as seamless and transparent as possible for our clients. We take great pride in each client or family we work with and encourage them to do as much research as they need. We are here to help, even if you just have questions!
Stories from the Heart – shared by Anne Gabel, managing partner of MJ Gabel
