Buying Diamonds Online vs. Locally: Pros & Cons

Sharif Khan
Sharif Khan
Last Updated    EST 
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Unlike the would-be bridegroom of yesteryear, you have much more flexibility in deciding exactly where and how you want to buy an engagement ring. Brick-and-mortar stores still exist and are doing very well in sales, but now you have a lot of stores to choose from online. You can sit in the comfort of your home, browse vast collections of jewelry, decide on one and buy it, all with the click of a mouse. While this is truly very liberating, as with a lot of other things in life, there is another side to it, and before taking a step as important as buying an engagement ring, you should be familiar with the pros and cons of either approach, just so you can make a better, more informed decision.

Check out this quick diamond-buying cheat sheet.

Buying Online

PROS

In diamond engagement rings, as in everything else, the selection and variety you must choose from when shopping online are simply unbeatable by any physical merchant. Unlike brick-and-mortar stores that are limited by many considerations, including space, security, and costs, online merchants do not have to worry about those things and can offer a virtually unlimited array of jewelry for you to choose from. Talking about costs, brick-and-mortar stores usually have quite a lot of overhead costs due to the many furnishings and facilities required in a jewelry store, think rent, special light fixtures, etc. Online stores must only operate and maintain their website and logistics base. That reduces their cost of doing business drastically, meaning they can pass on the savings to you by offering better diamonds for reduced prices. In a brick-and-mortar store, the overhead is passed on to you, the buyer, meaning increased costs of the goods.

Online stores also usually have solid return policies, effectively giving you a period within which you can decide not to continue with that ring. Go through the return policy carefully to ensure you will get your money back, not an exchange, and not after bogus amounts have been deducted as “restocking fees.”

CONS

The nature of the internet itself is the first, most obvious flaw in buying diamonds online. An unregulated market will have its share of unscrupulous merchants who are just out to swindle unsuspecting buyers.

Your inability, as a buyer, to physically assess the stone before you buy it is another flaw, as it robs you of the opportunity to make the in-depth evaluation that only handling the diamonds can enable. Conversely, most people, including you, cannot evaluate a diamond properly. The advantage conferred by physical assessment may not be so big, and pictures may suffice for most people.

Buying In-Store

PROS

Seeing a diamond in person is invaluable for someone who knows what they’re looking for in a stone. Inspecting it will be much easier and more thorough than can be done via a picture. Brick-and-mortar stores also sometimes have long-term policies that could be very beneficial, such as buy-back, upgrade, or maintenance policies. You may even find a store with a credit plan for long-term financing.

CONS

The most obvious and often pestering drawback to buying a diamond from a brick-and-mortar store is the salespeople themselves. Although they tout themselves as diamond experts when convincing you to buy a particular diamond, those self-certifications are mostly hot air. The purpose of the salespeople is to sell you diamonds, not necessarily to help you make a good decision, as they would have you believe, meaning that you can generally expect them to mislead you in one way or another.

Overhead is another very big problem with brick-and-mortar diamond stores. After spending a ton of money on staff, rent, and fixtures, they have no choice but to transfer the cost to you, the buyer, meaning that you can generally expect higher prices for the same diamonds than an online store.

For further details, check out our guide on the best places to buy diamonds or engagement rings.