Some people are nervous about buying diamonds online, but here at Jewel Bear we make online ring shopping a safe choice.
Online vs Retailer
Overall, we’ve found that buying diamonds online is far better. Specifically, buying a diamond online is cheaper than buying in a store. Because of the way that wholesalers distribute and sell diamonds, the process is less expensive for online retailers. By shopping online at Jewel Bear you also have a larger selection of well-cut diamonds.
Jewel Bear have exceptional imagery that allows you to view every diamond up close before purchase. Our return policies are fantastic, so you’re never stuck with a diamond you don’t want.
Wondering how the shipping works? Shipping is secure and free to those based in the US. We include insurance on all of our packages and make sure the box won’t give away what’s inside. You can have your ring shipped to your home address, where a signature is required for drop-off, or have it sent to a FedEx location for safe pickup.
Is buying a diamond ring online is cheaper?
In most cases, engagement rings are 30-40% cheaper online than they are in physical stores. Because of the way diamonds are sold and distributed, diamonds are less expensive for online vendors such as Jewel Bear.
By shopping online, you’ll get a large selection of conflict-free diamonds and beautiful settings at competitive prices.
When shopping for diamonds online, you should evaluate each stone based on its beauty and the 4 C’s (Cut, Color, Clarity, and Carat).
Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you wade through the online options and end up with a truly stunning stone.
We often receive emails from our readers who are hesitant to buy online, despite the fact that they know it will be cheaper. For that reason, I think it’s important to explain why we understand those concerns, but why we think those concerns are misguided.
We’ve found that far more people get taken advantage of by going into a store than purchasing online. Diamond buying is confusing and, deep down, you may realize that you’ll never know as much as the professionals selling the diamonds.
Many of our readers spend hours pouring over our numerous diamond education articles. You can learn all the ins and outs of diamond buying. But when you walk into a store, you have to be 100% sure you aren’t forgetting any minor detail (a single quality may seriously impact the value of the diamond). After all, you’re facing off against someone who is more prepared and more incentivized to make sure you walk out of that store with a diamond on their terms.
When you purchase online, you have the advantage of going at your own pace, and checking off all the boxes. We’re also able to help with somewhat unbiased opinions.
The opposite is the case for a retailer. When you walk into a store, the less desirable the diamond, the more incentive the owner of the diamond has to sell it. Which item would a jeweler prefer to sell you? The highly desirable, well-valued one that he can sell to anyone? Or would they rather sell the less desirable diamond that is dead weight in their inventory box and on their cash flow sheet? Unfortunately, most stores make it very difficult to return a diamond ring.
Running a physical jewelry store is incredibly difficult. The typical apparel retailer runs a store on 40-50% gross margins. This gives them enough money to cover all the expenses a retailer incurs and, hopefully, leaves some leftover for profit. While this is a typical profit margin for the store, bear in mind that the wholesaler/manufacturer who sells them the product also has healthy profit margins.
The truth is that the raw materials for clothing are only a fraction of the total cost of the product. That is certainly not the case when it comes to diamonds and diamond jewelry. The actual cost of the goods makes up a much larger percentage of the price than in most industries.
Another issue is the cost of stocking a store. How much do you think it costs to fill up all the racks in a store? Tens of thousands of dollars? A couple hundred thousand dollars? A typical diamond jewelry store needs to have a couple of million dollars of inventory on-hand. The overwhelming majority of stores don’t have enough spare cash to pay for that inventory up front. They either borrow money from a bank, buy the diamonds on credit from the wholesaler or just take the product on consignment. In any of those cases, the price has to be higher to cover the additional cost.
In addition to these costs, they still have the regular overhead that any retailer faces. Rent and maintenance of a storefront (given that they are selling luxury items, this is pretty significant) and the cost of having a fully-staffed store. Diamonds are not a simple item where people can start selling them after a few hours of training. So the staff costs are pretty high.
Overall, buying a diamond online will garner you a better price and better selection. If you want help finding well-cut diamonds or evaluating diamonds, contact our experts.
