Friday, July 8, 2016

DIAMOND AND GOLD THIEVES

DIAMOND AND GOLD THIEVES

The internet is really huge, humongous even colossal, so colossal that when you purchase something online and it doesn't arrive you often have no recourse. Sellers can so easily claim that the item got lost in the post. In fact many sellers have something to that effect on their websites, claiming no responsibility for undelivered goods. Great is the possibility that it was never sent in the first place. However to alleviate this problem, it is imperative to insist on  a tracking number. But somehow they find a loop hole around that too.  I once waited on a package for 3 months that was supposed to be delivered within 10 days. To add insult to injury when I queried the tracking number I was told that the package was already delivered yet I never received it. My saving grace was that the seller couldn't produce documentation with my signature where I signed for acceptance of delivery.

Fraud is being perpetrated online virtually every single day, but let me rephrase that.  Fraud is being perpetrated online virtually every second on the day. Somewhere on the word wide web some seller is defrauding some buyer. All to often, some seller is taking some buyer for a sucker because of his or her lack of knowledge of the item bought and I am not shy to say that it more often than not happens when buying a jewelry item. My wife has a 1ct 7 diamond halo ring  so I bought a pair of 1ct 7 diamond halo gold earrings  to match  online. The pair of earrings was advertised as 1ct but when it arrived is way way less than the advertised weight, in fact it was only 0.56ct. 


The image on the left is what was delivered and the image on the right is what was expected





To make matters worse the advertised gold weight of 3.032gms  turned out be about a third of the weight, a mere 1.050gms. The sellers justification was that it was a typo in the advert and insists that the 14 small diamonds in the pair of earrings is definitely 1ct.  My expert jeweler of 40 years just looked at it and said the diamonds are  .04ct each and when multiplied by 14 makes a mere 0.56ct. Have a look at the pics below and the certificate that represents it. 


The image of the diamond gold earrings in the advertisement

This dubious certificate accompanied the earrings which was totally  bogus.
The diamonds were the wrong colour, the clarity was way off and the
diamond weight was .44 carat less than advertised.
Anyway after 6 months of haggling with the seller, I threw in the towel knowing full well that he will never be successful in his business for cheating. By example he is like the butcher who sells you 1kg of sausage at the going rate, only to discover it is a half a kilo when you arrive at your camping site 100km away. The fuel cost just doesn't justify returning to the butcher to rectify the situation, you cut our losses and you move on, but you make certain his clients knows about his antics. After all this time my wife is finally wearing the earrings that match her ring even though they are tiny compared to what we should have received, let alone the financial implications.




On another occasion I bought I bought a tension set .415 ct solitaire diamond ring but when it arrived it wasn't tension set but rather just has  a tension-set-look. Its a really nice ring and has a decent  value but its not what I intended to buy. Here's a pic of the ring below. Beneath the diamond, there is a segment upon which the diamond sits and it is attached to the band on either side. The words "Tension-set" in their advert was the draw card  but it was also the catch. When I contacted the seller about my dissatisfaction, he unceremoniously told me that their refund policy still stands. I had to pay the import duty and the sales tax on the ring when it arrived in the country but the seller wasn't willing to reimburse me for that. So there,  just another scam sellers use to sucker the clients. 















Another scam that played it self out several times before, is any jewelry items bought on online auction that doesn't sell for the expected amount somehow is loaded with  postage / packaging / insurance and delivery costs and is purely a way for sellers to try to recoup some of their losses.

Don't be  taken in by these online diamond and gold thieves, rogues and cheats. My advice to you, is ask the seller as many questions as possible  about the jewelry item you are interested in and if it sounds to good to be true then it probably is. Be warned and don't get suckered. Read through the previous blogs, familiarize yourself with diamond lingo and ct and colour, perchance you will never get suckered by diamond dealers.

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