Buying Engagement Rings Online or In Person?

Shopping online instead of local stores is something that has been steadily gaining popularity over the past decade. What was once looked upon with skepticism is becoming more and more commonplace among people of all age groups. There are some things, however, that some people are still hesitant to buy online, and one of those things is an engagement ring. Some folks feel that it wouldn't be "romantic" to make such an important purchase over the Internet. Others have fears of being ripped off, or not getting what they paid for. These concerns are, ultimately, silly. At the end of the day, it is just a purchase like any other--you are exchanging money for a product. And interestingly enough, in the case of diamond engagement rings, it is your local stores that are much more likely to rip you off than online retailers.

Lower Prices

If you're in a serious relationship, there's a pretty good chance that you have wandered into a local jewelry store and casually checked out engagement rings. Or, to be more specific: checked out the prices of engagement rings. Equally likely are the chances that you were horrified by the numbers you saw on those price tags. Diamonds are expensive, this is no secret, but that expensive? So now that you've got an idea of how expensive engagement rings are in your local store(s), why not take a moment and check out some online retailers. Take James Allen, for example. Browse their site and compare diamond rings of the same or similar quality as those in your local stores--my money is on James Allen being cheaper.

Your natural reaction would be to question why the prices are so much lower online. You probably guess that their diamonds are of a lower quality, or even worse, that they are Blood diamonds (at James Allen, they most assuredly are not). The fact is this: your local diamond store has a lot more overhead (expenses) than the typical online retailer. The local store has to rent or purchase the office space and pay all the associated costs of occupying a building, not to mention pay a full-time staff to work there. As such, they have no choice but to charge a higher price for their products so that they can make their money back. It's not underhanded or unfair--that's just the way it is. Online retailers don't face nearly the amount of expenses as their in-store competitors, and this means they can pass the savings onto the customer.

Brand Names Are Irrelevant

In today's society, much emphasis is placed upon status. People pay top dollar for brand names because of the way it makes them feel, or the way it makes them look. It is not a bad thing to buy quality goods--the brand name itself implies quality--and in life we tend to get what we pay for. In the case of diamonds, however, this is completely irrelevant. High quality diamonds are independently graded by companies like GIA or AGS. They do not work for any diamond vendor or company, and thus have no reason to misrepresent a diamonds quality. You'll sometimes hear someone brag about their ring being from Tiffany's or Jared, but the reality is this: their ring is no more valuable than any diamond with the same grading. All they paid for is the brand name, but in this instance, the brand name didn't represent a higher quality. A ring that costs $10, 000 at Tiffany's could literally cost thousands less at the major online retailers, and they would appraise for exactly the same amount.

Conclusion

In the end, you're going to do what you are comfortable with. If the difference in price is negligible, then buying at your local store makes perfect sense. However, for most of the population, that simply isn't the case. If you buy your engagement ring online, you will likely save anywhere between 20-40% compared to your local stores. I have a considerable amount of knowledge about buying engagement rings online recently bought an engagement ring online and saved thousands of dollars in doing so.

I'm just a normal, football-loving guy who recently went through the process of buying an engagement ring. I wanted to share my experience with everyone out there in the hopes that it will help others find the perfect diamond ring, at a price they can live with. For the full story of how I bought my future wife's engagement ring, check out HowIBoughtTheRing, the most thorough of all the James Allen reviews online.

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