Amazon is a retail giant, overtaking many markets worldwide, from electronics to furniture to clothing, but how do they fare as a diamond and engagement ring retailer?
Shopping online with Amazon has become the norm for so many people worldwide, with quick delivery, reliable service, and fairly decent customer support. However, not many people are familiar with the diamond engagement ring market, which could cause uncertainty when looking at Amazon to buy such an expensive piece of jewelry.
Does Amazon stack up to the other online diamond and engagement ring retailers? Below is a review of everything you need to know before purchasing an engagement ring from Amazon.
Check out this quick diamond-buying cheat sheet.
Amazon was created by Jeff Bezos in 1994. Initially created as a book retailer, Amazon has grown to include almost every item you could need, all found in one online site. Amazon has grown from strength to strength to cement itself in the online retailing market.
Amazon increases its inventory constantly, allowing more products to be sold, either fulfilled by Amazon or an outside seller, to cater to every market.
Apart from selling almost any item, you can dream of, Amazon offers for individual sellers to list their own engagement rings and diamonds for sale. The issue comes with holding the site accountable for the quality of the products sold, with them being the middleman between seller and consumer.
There is a fairly large inventory of diamonds and engagement rings on Amazon, ranging in price and quality. There is not much to brag about when it comes to the online service offered, as the site was not created to be directed primarily towards engagement ring and diamond retailing.
Amazon also does not hold up well in pricing either. The quality of diamonds you will find on Amazon is often lower than those found on other reputable sites such as James Allen or Blue Nile, and even though the quality is lower, they often hold a higher price tag.
Wide inventory – In almost all cases, diamonds shown for sale on Amazon are not sold by Amazon but instead by individual sellers. This allows for a wide range of diamonds to be shown for sale from all over the world. It is important to note that this does not mean a wide variety of high-quality diamonds.
Reliable site – The plus side to buying a diamond or engagement ring from Amazon is that they are a trusted online retailer. There is no chance that the site could be fake, and there is extensive customer care to help should a problem arise.
Engagement rings – Amazon features a wide range of engagement rings on offer. Like with the diamonds, these engagement rings are sold by individual sellers, meaning there is a higher chance of a bigger range on offer, and not only limited to a certain jewelry retailer.
Ready-made rings – Many engagement rings sold on Amazon are ready-made and cannot be customized to fit with a chosen diamond. This is because there are so many individual sellers that communicating and offering custom designs between them would be nearly impossible.
Amazon might appear to offer competitive pricing for diamonds at first glance. Still, the reality is that the diamonds are often of a lower quality than what is stated on the site. Buying the same quality diamond from other retailers like James Allen will save you some money and assure you that the diamond is certified and true to the advertised qualities.
There is a very limited selection of custom-order engagement rings on Amazon. There appear to be many settings available on the site, but many of them feature diamond clusters which are not suited to have a center stone fitted. You will notice that very few options will be available to pair a diamond with an engagement ring setting.
When pairing the diamond with your chosen engagement ring setting, Amazon lacks what they have to offer. There is almost no choice in what diamond to choose, and you will not see the actual diamond. A very vague description is given, and there is no access to the certifications.
Custom designing an engagement ring is one of the best ways to create a piece of jewelry that is as personal as can be, and Amazon falls very short in this regard.
Amazon has sponsored ads and other pop-ups that might throw you off your search. Filtering out diamonds and engagement rings also becomes tricky, as many of the same products are repeated on the page, which individual sellers sell.
This makes viewing and finding an engagement ring or diamond difficult and can be quite off-putting when filtering your results.
The checkout process is fairly simple, like buying a new radio. This doesn’t quite make up for what Amazon does not offer when searching for your desired jewelry.
Amazon is fairly reliable regarding customer service with most products on its site. Still, they do not offer extensive customer care when purchasing diamonds and engagement rings.
Depending on the individual seller, you are often not guaranteed your money back or a return option on your engagement ring, which could leave you with a below-quality item and no way to get your money back.
Full-time Customer Support – Amazon offers full-time customer support, but these customer care agents are not clued up in diamonds and engagement rings. When purchasing such a large value, it does help to have someone knowledgeable in the industry help out.
Return Policy – There is no guaranteed return policy with Amazon diamonds and engagement rings, as there are many different individual sellers.
International Shipping – Amazon offers shipping worldwide, but this doesn’t apply to all the products on the site. Once again, this will depend on the individual seller.
Once again, Amazon is fairly limited with financing options because there are so many individual sellers offering up diamonds and engagement rings. The best option would be to finance the purchase through a loan or personal credit card.
Amazon might be the go-to choice for household items and other goods, but it is not the best option for diamonds and engagement rings. There is no way to be sure of the quality of the diamond or jewelry you will be receiving, and unlike sites like Blue Nile and James Allen, there is no guarantee of quality or after-sales.
For such a large purchase, it is better to leave the diamond and engagement ring industry to the bigger names in the market, those created to provide people with the best quality diamonds and engagement rings, with after-sales that make a difference.