Jewelers putting items on sale

[mcnallym83]

Should I be cautious when considering sale items from a jeweler?

I'm a university student who hasn't really made many big purchases when it comes to jewelery for a girlfriend. I'm wondering if there are frequent reasons, other than just general lack of sales, that I should consider when looking at a sale item.

I just happened to notice a few of these necklaces without even realizing they were on sale. Some of them are marked down from 429$ to 200$. The massive drop in price has me a bit concerned. Maybe the diamonds themselves are easy to knock out of the channel? Any advice would really be appreciated.

http://www.zales.com/product/index.j...Id=22557332314

http://www.zales.com/product/index.j...423154#reviews

http://www.zales.com/product/index.j...Id=22557442304

 

[FidelCashflow]

Don't worry, they are not defective merchandise, I'm sure the store will stand behind them as much as any regular priced items. Jewelry stores have incredible markups to begin with, at least 100%, sometimes as high at 300%. At the original prices those would be rip offs, at the sale prices they seem like reasonable values (I'm sure there is still a very healthy profit margin with those sales prices since they're slashing prices in the pre-christmas run up which is one of their biggest sales seasons.)

You can use ebay as a way to gauge a reasonable price. Try and find a similar 1/4 carat pendant on ebay and see what it goes for there... they tend to exaggerate carat weight, so if the store charges slightly more for a similar item, it is probably a fair deal (assuming you trust the store to be honest about the diamond specs.)

Be wary of some stores that seem to have perpetual sales, many of them use the old retail strategy "mark-up to mark-down" which makes people think they're getting an incredibly expensive piece of jewelry cheap, when they're really buying a cheap piece at an inflated price.

Don't let someone fool you into thinking that the more expensive piece is automatically better, it gives you more options, but sometimes the nicer one is cheaper. Lots of jewelry store staff think they can hustle guys and treat them like idiots that they lead around the store like dogs on a leash. I've seen bracelets at one store for $9,000 and an almost identical bracelet with the same cut, clarity, carat weight, colour, setting and style at another store across town for $3,000.

 

[mcnallym83]

Thanks. That actually helps a lot.

 

[SoCal2NYC]

They put it on sale to move the merchandise and I'm pretty sure that Zales carries their own merchandise and no others so they cannot RTV slow sellers, they must sell it off.

 

[HomerJ]

Sounds pretty typical. Seems like the mall jewelers are always having some sort of sale. There's one place that's 70% off everytime I walk by. If it's always on sale, is it on sale?

Just marketing to make you think you got a deal. I think those diamonds would look like little chunks of frozen spit or rock salt. 10k gold is fine for girls but I'd get a grown woman 18k. If you're looking for a pendant, check this out. It's only $120 more than the Zales. (click on white gold) http://www.whiteflash.com/golden-war...4110&CategID=7 Whiteflash.com introduces the Petite Dreams of Africa™ pendant, part of a designer line of jewelry to raise awareness for and bring financial relief to children in Africa, particularly those affected by the illicit trade of rough diamonds. 100% of the profit from sales of this conflict-free diamond pendant will be donated to the World Centers of Compassion for Children International to provide children the chance for a brighter tomorrow. Set with ‘A Cut Above’ diamond melee, in several variations. Much better quality diamonds, 18k, and the profits benefit little African kids. If she doesn't like THAT, kick her ass to the curb.