Buying jewelry from an online platform can save you a lot of time (and money). Most online jewelry stores have high quality images so you can get a good idea of the look or style. You can easily search and find lots of online stores that will deliver the jewelry to your doorstep but there are also a handful of scammers who love watching the world suffer. Here’s a quick guide to survive the online predators and bag stunning pieces of jewelry at a fair price:
Do Extensive Research
Good reviews on websites are not enough to avoid scammers. You must believe word of mouth more than anything else. If you do not have any mutual friends then you can look for communities with mutual interests or people who have had past experiences of buying engagement rings from the online jewelry stores. Even after elaborate online market research, do not hesitate in asking the right questions from the online representative – chances are that your gut feeling might prevent you from getting scammed or making a wrong decision.
Buy A Low-Cost Item First
The safest hack for online shopping is to invest in a low-cost item. It not only saves you from losing a massive amount of money but also makes you a prime target for the company. Online stores invest a good amount of money in marketing and gaining customer loyalty. Thus, once you have purchased an item, the company will try to convince you into buying more of their products. This works in your favor and you can remain updated or even avail of special discounts through their new customers’ policies. Although every established online store may not continue this practice, most nascent ones do. Thus, buying smaller items from relatively new stores is always a win!
Ask About Concealed Information
Do not hesitate in being that annoying customer who shoots a new question every second. You must ask about elite shipping services such as instant delivery and complete package tracking. Ask about the delivery duty paid or unpaid status.
Moreover, ask about the jewelry specifications. For example, diamonds are sold with GIA certifications as well as specific grading to ensure that they are of top quality. An online store concealing this information is most certainly fraudulent.
Check to See if the Website is Authentic
A quick method of checking whether an online store is authentic or not is by looking at the physical address of their country of origin. Authentic dealers have nothing to hide, thus need not conceal their identity. Moreover, fault websites may have pop-up ads once you load the page and your system software shall also give you a warning. Look for authentic URL, domain names, and the privacy policy of a website before proceeding to buy anything.
Choose You Budget Based on the Total Shipping as Well as the Product Cost
Do not wait until you have confirmed your order to look for the shipping cost. Instead, while adding the item to the cart see that the shipping price fits your budget. Often time due to fluctuations of flights, fuel, and the global market the shipping cost may be sky-high. Hence, there is no point in buying an item with a shipping cost double its price – this should also raise concerns about the site’s authenticity.
Ask for Original Product Pictures and Videos
Customer dissatisfaction over the difference in actual product and product photographs used to be a big challenge for ecommerce businesses. However, most businesses are starting to realize the importance of giving good quality, realistic photos. Most jewelry stores do provide you with real pictures other than the one shown on the website. Especially if you would like to access the size of the ornaments since miniature gems or designs may not be appreciated in pictures. Moreover, photographs don’t do justice to the correct size and scale – thus ask for videos with daily use objects to compare the sizes with.
Finally, Make Sure the Packaging is Perfect for Fragile Items
An unfortunate outcome of ordering things online is that they get damaged in transit. That is why you must make sure that the order is being dispatched by a courier service with good reviews. Additionally, check whether the company promises to compensate damages acquired in transit – this can be either a full refund or product replacement. Some companies even give store credit. In any case, one must be careful about shopping online.
Online shopping is becoming a norm, especially in the post Covid world so you will find plenty of legit online stores. In fact, almost all known brands and jewelry shops are now launching their online stores. So, you can search from brand names as well. When you are searching from a well known brand, you can be sure that you will not get scammed. However, you still need to use your credit card and personal information carefully. Make sure you have SMS banking activated on your credit card so you will be notified every time you are charged. This will make sure that your card isn’t used for any unsolicited transaction. Also make sure that the store has a flexible return or change policy.
