DON’T TRADE IN THAT DIAMOND

Now this is the post that will make jewelers mad. But the truth is, most trade-ins are NOT worth their weight in gold. Here’s why…

Trade-in policies:

Most jewelers have trade-in policies that keep you from getting a really great deal.

For example, most policies state that you cannot use a trade-in towards a piece of jewelry that’s on sale. It’s usually either one discount, or the other, BUT NOT BOTH!

Say for instance you have a trade-in worth $1000. You want to trade it towards a piece of merchandise that’s retailed at $2000 (most policies force you to buy twice as much as the trade-in is worth)…

The Jeweler comes back to you after talking it over with their “BOSS“, and says “He’ll give your full trade-in price towards that ring.! You’ll only pay the difference which is $1000.” Sound good? Not really!

No sale price:

It’s not good because you notice that there’s a sale tag in the showcase that reads, “diamond engagement ring sale 30% off.” Hey wait a minute…

That means that without a trade-in you can actually buy that ring for $1400. And with your trade-in you can get it for $1000. So even though they are offering you FULL trade-in value towards your jewelry, it’s really only a difference of $400.

So are you really getting a FULL trade-in value? NO!

And that’s only one example of a sale featuring 30% off. Normally jewelers boast big huge savings of up to 50% off. So at 50% off that $2000 piece of merchandise, YOU GAIN NOTHING!

In fact, you LOSE!

Because you just gave them your $1000 trade-in towards a ring that you could have gotten for the same price anyway. That’s not cool!

Christmas time, holidays, bridal season; jewelers usually offer up to 50% off. Some jewelers even mark their pieces up, just so they CAN advertise huge savings and sales. So trade-in or not, you’re still getting about the same deal.

And here’s another eye opener…

Beware of the jewelers that actually do allow you to use BOTH your trade-in and a sale price at the same time… Proceed with caution on those deals. Because normally it means a couple things…

It means that you’re getting a sale price, plus a couple of extra bucks more.

Normally they’ll just give you ONE TOTAL PRICE, and never separate the actual two discounts. You won’t know how much of each you’re getting.

Or they’ve marked that piece of jewelry up so high, that they can afford to cut the price way down. Or the merchandise is old, they just want to DUMP it anyhow, anyway they can.

Is it worth it?

Being in the jewelry industry for over 20 years, I’ve learned that you really don’t come out ahead with trade-ins.

No matter how much the piece is, no matter how much they give you, no matter how great it sounds, 9 out of 10 times, the jeweler will still make their normal profit.

And if you shop around enough, I’m sure you’ll find a jeweler out there who is willing to give you that same deal, for the same price, without you having to give up your trade-in. So do your homework and don’t buy on impulse. No matter how good the deal sounds, shop around.

How much is your trade-in worth?

Too many times I’ve seen jewelers tell customers that their trade-in deal is a wonderful deal… Not knowing that they just gained a 1 carat diamond trade in for just $400.

Don’t worry, there are a couple of things you can do to keep this sad situation from happening… Always ask the Jeweler how much your trade-in is worth.

Make them separate the discounts so you know if you’re getting a good deal or not. They may be giving you a $1500 discount, but then you find out that only $150 of it is your trade-in. You might as well keep it for that price.

Chipped diamonds:

Also note, that if your diamond is chipped, trade-ins are a whole different story. Read: Can you trade in a chipped diamond?

To sum it up, you can trade in chipped stones, but you normally get very little or nothing for them. Usually I tell people to keep their trade-in, and remount it into a pendant or ring or some other kind of jewelry. Keep your ring if it’s not worth much and just see if the jeweler will bargain on the sale price of the new item more. Most independent jewelers will be willing to haggle on price, where bigger corporate jewelers normally have to follow company discount policies that prevent them from price cuts. Check around and compare similar items and prices with and without your trade.

What’s your trade in really worth?

Have a friend of yours take your ring in to the jeweler that you bought it from and ask them for a trade-in value (that way they don’t know it’s your ring, or that it’s bought from them).

Most of the time what they’ll hear is shocking! They’ll hear the trade-in is not a great ring, poor design, low quality and it’s only worth $200. Sometimes they’ll even say it’s worthless. It’s not worth anything? Little do they know, that the ring came from their own showcase… I’ve seen this happen before. It’s not pretty. But it is a good test to see if your jeweler is truly honest about your ring and the prices they give.

If they knew it was yours and you bought it from them, they would probably give you a little bit more. Just to make it sound good.

See, with trade-ins, you take your chances. Sure it knocks a chunk off the new piece. And if you don’t want it, at least you get some value out of it. But if you shop and compare bottom line, I’m sure, many times, you can still get that same great deal!

If the jewelers prices are already low, low… Then getting a trade towards it is a good thing. But check around and compare. The only thing that matters when it comes to trade-ins: the bottom line.

What are you actually paying for the new ring?

Now that’s the real concern.

Cheers! :)