Purchasing Jewellery Online
Because an item of jewellery tends to be an expensive purchase it is no wonder that some people feel nervous buying goods from the internet. If it is used correctly the internet opens up a new way of shopping for millions offering convenience, ease of use and a huge source of information to help you make an informed purchase.
Many people still do not have confidence in the system having heard negative reports of identity theft, money being handed over and goods never arriving. For this reason we haveput together some advice and guidance for purchasing jewellery on the internet.The two main pros for purchasing on line is that you can access jewellers from all over the world and therefore have an amazing range of products to choose from: and prices tend to be lower than the high street stores because internet jewellers have low overheads with no high street shop to maintain and they are often able to offer near break even prices. Also because the internet opens up the world as their marketplace, the competition is fierce and their volumes tend to be very high. Packaging and presentation tends to be superior quality.
Internet retailing does not permit the usual face to face sales techniques and deals can be harder to close. Online jewellers should therefore offer an excellent customer and after sales service to make their products the most attractive to prospective purchasers.But the cons are:
•How do you know they are a legitimate trader?
•You cannot see what you are buying.
•If you are purchasing a diamond ring you might want to customise it and select an elaborate setting which can be quite tricky on the internet.
•Although it may be a glitzy-looking website, a less reputable online vendor might be operating out of their bedroom and shut down at any given moment.
1.The vendor should have a RETAIL PREMISES ADDRESS. This should be a physical address with street name and postcode. Avoid those sites with just a PO Box number.
2.TELEPHONE NUMBER should always be a landline number, preferably an 0845 / 0800 number providing a dedicated customer service line. Always ring this to make sure it is authentic, manned during the specified hours and use it to have a chat with the customer service representatives to ascertain if they are helpful, professional and knowledgeable. If a mobile number is provided as the contact point treat this with caution.
3.EMAIL ADDRESS should be supplied to provide a direct link between the visitor and the customer service team. Always send an email using the facility asking them to contact you so that you can see how long they take to respond. If they take more than 24 hours to get back to you then the indication is that internet customers are not their priority. They should also offer an order tracking service via email.
4.COMPANY DETAILS. A UK company will have a VAT and company number on display and be registered at Companies House so that their details can easily be checked through that website.
5.CREDENTIALS. A reputable company will be a member of one of their industry trade associations having to abide by a Code of Ethics. You can check on the website of the trade association named that they are a full member. For example, an online jeweller should ideally be a member of the British Jeweller’s Association (BJA) Other reputable associations to keep a look out for are SAFEBUY www.safebuy.org.uk which is the internet industry self-regulatory body set up by the Consumers' Association and the Alliance for Electronic Business and is supported by the UK Government: and THE GOOD WEB GUIDE www.thegoodwebguide.co.ukwhich independently reviews the best websites online only giving an acceptable grade to the most informative, user-friendly and competitive ones.
6. PAYMENT An online payment facility is a good sign as it means that the company has been reviewed by one of the leading banks. But payment must made via a secure encrypted server which should be highlighted on the payments page along with the list of credit and debit cards that are accepted. The advantage of paying by credit card is that if anything does go wrong with a purchase in the UK the buyer is covered by the UK Consumer Credit Act 1974.
7. MONEY BACK GUARANTEE Distance selling regulations in the UK mean that a website is obliged to offer a minimum of a 7 day money back guarantee on the items it sells. The longer the refund period offered (14 or 30 days) the better it is for the customer. Make sure that you fully understand and agree the return and refund policy before placing your order.
8.TESTIMONIALS. There is no guarantee that any testimonials displayed on a website are genuine and vendors should have no objection if you request to be put in contact with one of reference sells.
9.PRODUCT WARRANTIES /GUARANTEES As it is not possible to physically touch and examine an item when purchasing online it needs to come with as much supporting documentation as possible. If you are buying diamond jewellery then it should have a Diamond Grading Certificates from one of the leading independent grading laboratories such as the IGI, GIA, AGS and EGLUSA. It is also worth checking that the vendor has some sort of proof that the stones are not conflict or blood diamonds.
The obvious products are the biggest sellers, diamond rings, diamond earrings and solitiare rings but gemstone rings are proving very very popular this year.
posted by The Diamond Chicks at 12:05 PM
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