Tips to Help Combat Internet Shoppers
Posted by: Aleah Siegel
in MyBlog
on Aug 24, 2010 
Tagged in: Untagged
“But I can get it on the internet for cheaper”
Tips to help combat internet shoppers
#1 You are selling a feeling. Instead of debating symmetry or other technicalities with a customer, get them back to the basics! When are they getting married? How did they meet? Connect with the customer. Sell the feeling that the internet can’t!!
#2 A diamond is more than letters and numbers. It is a work of nature. If I gave you all the dimensions of a woman could you tell me if she is beautiful? NO ! You need to see her. Same as with a diamond.
#3 A store lets you examine the diamond BEFORE you buy it, and you can compare to other diamonds. A store provides a selection to choose from. No diamond dealer in the world buys a stone without seeing it! Why should you?
#4 Ask the internet site WHERE the inclusion is. How bright the stone is? What is the quality of rough? Is it hazy? All these things translate to value and are not easily discernable to the untrained eye. If you do not know them when you buy a diamond on-line then you do not know if you are getting value
#5 Retail prices on a 1ct round F SI1 can range from a few thousand to almost $10,000. If every F SI1 was the same then people would always buy the cheapest! Obviously there are MANY differences such as brightness, scintillation, position and relief of inclusions that determine beauty.
#6 If it seems too good to be true, it usually is. No one is giving anything away. There is usually a reason something is below market value. Tell the customer to try to get the stone on the internet and bring it in. Many stones are just listed and do not even really exist.
#7 When you buy for price that is all you get. This is a life long position. This is maybe the most precious item you will ever own. It means something. Make it special. Internet sites come and go but a diamond is forever.
#8 A diamond is forever. Who are you going to go to if there is a chip, or a problem. The internet site will not provide maintenance, experience, or service. When you buy from a jeweler you are purchasing their time and expertise. They give you an appraisal and guarantee. They give you a mounting and keep your jewelry clean and in good condition for as long as you own the piece.
#9 DeBeers sorts their rough diamonds into over a thousand different categories. If all that differentiated diamonds was D-Z color and FL to I3 clarity there would only a few categories. There is a LARGE range of colors and clarities WITHIN each category that the internet site will not disclose to you.
#10 Unfortunately, sellers of diamonds are not always looked upon as beacons of honesty. There have been stories of fake certificates and real certificates sold with diamonds that did not match them. Find a jeweler you trust and you will avoid the entire headache.
These are just idea’s.
I would love to hear your thoughts and comments
All the best! Aleah @ Olympian Aleahsiegel@hotmail.com
While that may be too direct, and worst case you might get a "Yes, in fact I did," you might respond to "But I saw it online for $xxx" with a complete change of subject. Instead of jumping into the online vs. brick-and-mortar debate, say, "Before we get into that, let me ask you a question: How did you two meet?"
In the day and age, maybe they actually met online, in which case, great, you just say, "You two met in person before you asked her to marry you, right? You didn't just propose to her based on her profile, did you?"
Or if he tells you some great love story about how they met, you can still bring it around to the same oblique argument: "That's a great story! See how important it was for you two to spend time together in real life and get to know each other face-to-face? It's like diamonds, you can't get to know them just through a picture."
Something along those lines, anyway.