If you’re looking for a new place to buy jewelry, it’s important to make sure that you can trust the store.
Once you have caught a jewelry store in a lie or an attempted sleight of hand, the trust is irrevocably broken and it is time to move on.
Unfortunately, not all jewelry stores are honest and you will still have to vet a new store. Some will try to sell you imitation or low-quality jewelry, while others may overcharge you on diamonds and other gems.
But even worse than that, unless you already know if your chosen store has a reputation for being honest, then you will find out at your own expense and through your own experience if they are not.
In our 15+ years experience, we’ve had goldsmiths swap out diamonds because they accidentally blew up one of their other customers stones and thought we wouldn’t notice.
We’ve seen stores claim a diamond was CZ, purchase it, then sell it to a dealer for thousands.
And we’ve had competitors devalue our third party appraised pieces with their own in-house appraiser so they could discourage customers from doing business with us.
But we’ve also seen jewelers contact us weeks after doing business with them to right a wrong we didn’t even know had happened.
How can you tell if a store is honest?
In this article, we’ll discuss five ways to test the honesty of a jewelry store. By following these tips, you can make sure that you’re getting the best possible deal on your jewelry purchase.
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How To Tell If A Jewelry Store Is Honest
There are certain characteristics that the most honest jewelry stores will have. If you’re looking for an honest store, make sure to look for the following:
- An honest jewelry store will encourage you to shop around to see if you can get a better price for the gold or silver that you want to sell. They will also offer to consign your jewelry to sell it for you rather than offering you a price that is too low.
- An honest jewelry store will encourage you to speak to their bench jeweler regarding any of the work that you may want to have done. They are not afraid that they will be “cheated” out of a profit above what they deserve to have. They are not afraid to let the bench jeweler look at your item before starting any repair work to confirm the necessity of it.
- An honest jewelry store will offer to teach you how to use a loupe so that you can look into diamonds and gemstones to see what type of inclusions it has before you buy. They will also refuse to buy or sell diamonds and gemstones that are fractured-filled to enhance clarity.
- An honest jewelry store will send the engagement ring to a third party independent Graduate Gemologist for an appraisal rather than writing their own appraisal themselves. This will ensure that the value and quality is not being misrepresented.
- An honest jewelry store will not tell you that your items are not worth what they really are in order to get you to sell to them cheap or to trade out for other items. Nearly all jewelry stores deal with customers who inherit estate jewelry that they don’t like or want. If a jewelry store is honest, they will encourage a customer to get offers from several other stores and to do their own research before selling or consigning their items.
- An honest jewelry store will be known in the community for having a good reputation in their business dealings and satisfied customers. Ask around.
How Jewelry Stores Can Be Dishonest
When we first got into the business, we were taken advantage of by several dishonest jewelry stores. Some tried to sell us imitation jewelry and low-quality gems.
We were overcharged on diamonds and other gemstones.
And worst of all, they lied to us about the value of jewelry we had.
After several years in business, we often heard from our customers that other jewelry stores were slandering our name. They would tell their customers that our appraisals were fake or that we did things that simply didn’t happen.
These experiences taught us the importance of vetting a jewelry store before making a purchase.
Here are a few common ways we’ve seen jewelry stores be dishonest with their customers.
Dishonest Jewelry Stores Have Fake Sales Promotions
We’ve all seen the big flashy signs that say “70% off!” or “Buy one, get two free!” Most of the time, these sales are fake.
The jewelry store will inflate the prices of their jewelry so that they can offer these deep discounts.
Inflated prices on jewelry is a common way for dishonest stores to take advantage of their customers. They know that people are looking for a good deal, so they inflate their prices and offer these fake sales.
This is called Price Anchoring and is used so the deal they are showing seems significant.
Price Anchoring is also used by dishonest stores.
This is when a store will show you a piece of jewelry that is very expensive, and then try to sell you a cheaper piece of jewelry that looks similar.
The store is trying to get you to anchor your price at the higher amount, so that the cheaper piece of jewelry seems like a good deal in comparison.
Dishonest Jewelry Stores Take Advantage of Your Ignorance
Do you know when it’s time to get your prongs re-tipped?
Do you know how often you should get your ring cleaned?
Most people don’t, which is why dishonest stores will take advantage of your ignorance.
They will tell you that your prongs need to be fixed or that your ring needs to be cleaned more often than it actually does. They do this because they want to charge you for services that you don’t need.
Dishonest Jewelry Stores Write Their Own Appraisals
I don’t think we need to point out the obvious here, but a jewelry store that writes their own appraisals is a lot like a fox guarding the henhouse.
It’s a conflict of interest and a lot like the ability to write their own check with money that comes out of YOUR account.
Jewelry stores that write their own appraisals do it for a few reasons, but the most common one is so they can charge you more for their jewelry.
They will also appraise your jewelry for less than it’s worth, hoping that they can purchase it at a fat discount.
We’ve seen it many times where a store will hem and haw about a piece of jewelry, purchase it from a customer for next to nothing, then brag about cutting a fat hog – sometimes sticking it in their jewelry case that very same day at 10x the price.
This is why we always recommend getting an independent appraisal from a qualified gemologist.
That way, you know that the appraisal is unbiased and accurate.
Dishonest Jewelry Stores Will Try to Pressure You Into a Sale
We’ve all been in a situation where we feel pressured to buy something that we don’t want or need.
It’s an uncomfortable feeling, and one that dishonest jewelry stores will try to use to their advantage.
They will try to pressure you into buying a piece of jewelry that you’re not sure about. They will tell you that the deal is only good for today or that they only have one left in stock.
If they’re REALLY dishonest, they will tell you how great a piece looks on you even though we all know it doesn’t.
They might even try to pressure you into buying a more expensive piece of jewelry than you had originally planned on.
This is why it’s so important to know what you want before you walk into a store.
Dishonest Jewelry Stores Omit Important Information
Sometimes a lie can be told by what is NOT said.
Dishonest jewelry stores will often omit important information about a piece of jewelry in order to make the sale.
For example, they might not tell you that a diamond is clarity enhanced or that a sapphire has been treated with heat.
These are both things that can affect the value of the jewelry, but the store will try to keep it a secret so they can sell it to you for more.
If a gemstone is chipped, they might try to hide it under a prong or behind a setting. They might also try to sell you a piece of jewelry that is damaged or has been repaired without disclosing the damage or repairs, taking advantage of the fact that you might not know to look in these areas.
Dishonest Jewelry Stores Price Gouge
Whether you are trying to consign a piece for sale or you want to sell your jewelry as scrap, dishonest jewelry stores will price gouge you.
This is because they know that most people don’t know the true value of their jewelry.
They will low ball you on a consignment offer or they will pay you much less than what your scrap gold is actually worth.
We have seen stores price gouge customers by as much as 80% on the melt value of their gold! That’s a huge margin, and one that is completely unfair to the customer.
Ways To Test The Integrity Of A Jewelry Store
Now that we know a few ways that jewelry stores can be dishonest, let’s talk about how you can test the integrity of a jewelry store. Here are a few things you can do:
Monitor Their Sales
Jewelry stores will mark their prices up and then appear to mark them down for a “sale.”
For some reason, they are under the impression that if they do not have several sales per year, then no one will want to shop with them. So there is a tactic that they use:
They take an item, for example, that is normally sitting in their case for $1000 and then make a new tag and mark it up to $1500. Then they will put a big fat red X to cross out that $1500 price and drop it back down to $1000 giving the impression that you can bag that item for 33% off!
They will do this throughout their entire store or will just advertise certain sale items.
When you are considering testing out a store, first try on at least 15 pieces of jewelry in different areas of the store and write down the prices for each when there is no “sale” being advertised.
When you see a sale being advertised and splattered all over the windows, go in and find out what the sale price is on each item that you wrote down.
That should tell you if they are into blatant deception.
Get A Second Opinion
Dishonest jewelry stores will tell you that your ring needs new prongs or prong tips when it does not.
Of course, they know that you don’t want to lose your beautiful gemstone or diamond so they will say that the prong is showing a hairline crack and/or is becoming thin enough to suddenly break.
Cha Ching.
Most people don’t realize that prongs last for years before wearing down.
Get a second or third opinion before leaving anything with a store that you don’t know enough about.
Get Third Party Appraisals
A jewelry store who writes their own store Appraisal is usually doing so to hike up the value of an item that you overpaid for. When a jewelry store is overcharging for diamonds or gemstones, they will offer you a “Free Appraisal” with your purchase.
Find out who is doing the Appraisal!
If the store does their own, that is a sign that they are dishonest.
If they are willing to ship items out to an independent third party Gemologist of your choosing, then they are confident in their fairness.
Stores will inflate the true value of the item in their store appraisals so that you feel like you just cut a fat hog, when all you really did was buy a substandard item for a hefty price.
Men often fall victim to this tactic because they don’t generally know a good diamond or gemstone from a bad one.
If it sparkles, they will pay the price thinking that they are doing a good thing.
Ask To Talk To The Store’s Bench Jeweler
This is the person who does all the actual work on repairs or custom jobs.
If a store is honest, they will have no problem allowing their bench jeweler to speak with you about absolutely anything to do with repairs.
If a store hem’s and haw’s and tells you that he or she is not available, ask for an appointment.
Simply tell them that you want to get to know the person who is actually doing the work on jewelry. If they won’t give you an appointment, then this is not the store for you.
However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that the bench jeweler is honest even if you do get to speak to them.
Selling Gold/Silver? Get A Price Per Gram
Find out what the store is paying for a gram of 14k gold, a 1 ounce silver Eagle coin, and a gram of 22K gold.
You will have to go into the store, they will not usually tell what they pay over the phone.
If a store is offering you less than 80% of the spot price, they are unethical.
Making a profit is one thing, gouging an unsuspecting, desperate or uneducated person is another.
If they say they will offer a higher price if you bring a larger quantity, then this is just a fishing tactic to find out if you have more to sell.
The point here is that if they are willing to gouge you when buying your precious metals, then they are willing to overcharge you for any of the work they do, whether repair or custom.
An honest jewelry store will tell you exactly what they are paying per gram and give you a receipt. Weigh out your items on a gram scale before bringing in your items to verify.
The weight should be within 10% to account for cheap Chinese-made scales that you are probably using.
Final Thoughts
When you walk into a jewelry store and your Spidey senses suddenly go into high alert, just say “oops, forgot something” and turn around and leave.
Don’t allow the charming ornate antique décor to lure you into thinking that they are successful simply because they have done so much honest business that they can afford to make the store look like Hearst Castle.
Instead, it may just be that they have cheated so many people that they’ve got that down to a fine science.
Don’t become another victim.