Man Fine Jewelry
Q: I found this blurb while shopping around on the internet:
"The #3 trade secret that jewelry stores don't want you to know is
that a diamond goes through an average of 8 middlemen and precious
metal jewelry goes through an average of 4 middlemen before it is sold
to the consumer. Every time jewelry goes through a middleman, a
mark-up is added. For example, let's look at a 20 gram 14k figaro
chain. The manufacture sells it to wholesaler 1 for $120. Wholesaler 1
sells it to smaller wholesaler 2 for $144. Wholesaler 2 may sell it to
even smaller wholesaler 3 for $170. Wholesaler 3 sells it to a
retailer for $200. Finally, the retailer sells it to the consumer for
$400. By the time any jewelry reaches an end customer, the price is
marked up several times. Now what if you could buy the chain directly
from wholesaler 1? Even if the wholesaler marked up the chain 100% to
$240, you would still save $160 off the retail price!"
Source of the above is goldmine.com, a wholesale internet business.
Here are my questions:
1. Who are the top rated designers for rings, pendants, bracelets,
necklaces, and "art" jewelry?
2. Who sells the best jewelry, price no object?
3. Would you buy jewelry on ebay or any other online venue, without
being able to see it in person? I'm still wary about doing this,
although I keep trying out different sellers until I find one that is
consistent and inexpensive.
4. What do you think of department stores, i.e., Sears, Target,
Walmart, Macy's, etc. Are these any better or worse than ebay?
5. When a man buys jewelry for a woman, should he think of resale
value? Let's face it, sooner or later, everyone has to liquidate. I'd
like to pay near pawnshop prices in the first place.
A:1/ Who cares?
If you're buying at that level and you ask 'how much' then you can't afford
the stuff.
2/ The best in price? Starting with one dollar? Or is the best jewel this
one which makes the owner happy? Or is the best one independent of style
and quality this on which has the lowest calculation?
Your question has no answer.
3/ Never ever. I bought some things via ebay. I started to look what is the
person/company. Does they have a homepage? Does they have an address and
phone number? Are they friendly when I call them?
If that was all ok, then