Jan 08 2012
why are wedding bands (rings) so much cheaper online?
I went into kays this weekend with fiance and she wants to get a 1 carat pave style wedding band. The price kay has it for is 2000 but he said they could prob drop it down to about 1600 if we talk to the manager. I went online and i found these same style of rings with the same quality of diamonds for 800-950 bucks…Why is it so much cheaper…i understand that their is no overhead cost, but half price seems crazy…is kays ripping me off, or our the online places giving me a shotty (bad) ring
7 Responses to “why are wedding bands (rings) so much cheaper online?”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Could be both, sometimes they are knock-offs online but jewelry stores do mark up prices.
I would never trust buying a ring online. I don’t care what anyone says. If you don’t know anything about diamonds, you could be getting a Cubic Zarconia ring for all you know!
My ring is from Kay’s and I love it, I’ve had no problems with it. Try taking the online page in (print it off) and see what they say when you go in with it, maybe they will really give you a good deal when they see that. They also may be able to explain to you why it is cheaper online. Good Luck & congrats on the engagement!
Mostly it’s because online stores don’t have as much overhead to cover in the cost of the ring.
To run an online store you don’t need to pay rent on nicely decorated, lighted, heated stores, or pay loads of employees to sit with each customer as they look at rings, etc. That saves a lot of money which online stores can pass on to customers in savings.
Online stores have pretty much the same profit margin (which is still ridiculous on jewelry – like 50-100% mark-ups) but since they have lower costs of operations, they can have lower prices but charge less.
Hope that helps!
PS: And yes, Kay is ripping you off – check out a private jeweler instead!
Less overhead.
Also, some people cheat on their taxes, knowingly or unknowingly.
What I mean by that is people say that when you buy something online that is out of your home state, “You don’t have to pay taxes.”
That’s actually not true. You have to report to your state’s Board of Equalization what you bought out of state and mail a check to them for the taxes.
Many people don’t know about that so they buy the item online and out of state and save a bundle on taxes.
And those who do know to pay cheat and say, “How can they enforce that?”
Anyway, I got my wife’s ring at Diamond Brokers of Florida:
http://www.dbof.com/shipping.htm
Or you could check out these other online sources:
http://www.WhiteFlash.com
http://www.GoodOldGold.com
http://www.ExcelDiamonds.com
http://www.BlueNile.com
Blue Nile’s database is good, but they don’t provide you with photos or analysis reports of the diamond. I wouldn’t go with them for that reason.
Happy hunting.
P.S. – Yes, I did pay tax to my home state.
*
*
*
So many things are cheaper online because they cut out the middle man. Don’t worry because if the ring is of bad quality you can always send it back for a full refund (make sure you send it by recorded delivery).
From my years of retail experience, everything is cheaper online. Some has to do with taking the middle man out (comes directly form the warehouse) and sometimes after shipping, it turns out to be the same amount as the store (you’re paying for convenience). Most of the time with jewelry though it’s because you’re eliminating the middle man. Some jewelers are online only too which cuts costs because they don’t need the extra money to run stores. Kay is pricey because it’s one of the more commercial stores (not to say quality isn’t great) they just take advantage of their popularity.
When shopping online, you can find some really great and unique rings for great deals but you need to know how to shop so that you get good quality. You need to look at all the policies on returns, quality guarantees and the history on the company. Make sure everything checks out and you have coverage in case you need to return it or something is wrong with the ring when it arrives. We got my engagement ring online and it’s amazing! We got a really great deal on it as well. The company is very reputable. Try http://www.mysolitaire.com
So you can find good deals and great rings online, just do your research and if anything looks shakey- move on to another company.
Hi there,
As you said there is no overhead cost and there is no middleman when it comes to online shopping. Most of the online retail store directly works with manufacturer and almost all the rings custom made. No shipping cost and inventory cost is plus for online stores. You can shop from online store without having any doubt.
Another plus your purchase is protected under Fair Credit Billing Act.
Enjoy shopping from Online Jewelry Store,
–Appealing Wedding Bands