A customer always needs to trust the business where they're making a purchase. The same holds true for businesses when purchasing from suppliers. There are questions you need answered before you can be comfortable working with wholesale diamond dealers. This is especially important in today's age of diamond dealers online. What are the questions that you need to ask to ensure your business can trust and rely on a diamond supplier?
How can they guarantee their reputation?
Wholesale diamond dealers without a reputation or with a negative reputation may as well not exist. That seems harsh, but you're putting your business on the line in order to rely on them. The best way to check reputations is through third party review sites. Use sites like Trustpilot and iVouch to see how their other customers have reviewed them. What experiences did they have? Were there problems, and how did the dealer work to resolve those problems?
No dealer (and no business in any industry, for that matter) is going to have only positive reviews, so it's important to read the negative ones and assess how valuable and informative they are. Negative reviews are warning signs but aren't deal breakers. A large ratio of negative reviews or complaints that recur across multiple reviews are red flags.
Do they offer reliably graded diamonds?
The only way to guarantee that you'll receive quality diamonds with reliable grading is to ensure that wholesale diamond dealers provide you an AGS or GIA certificate. Without this, you cannot put your trust in a dealer.
Unreliable grading points to dealers who are likely to con you and rip you off. They rely on smaller and independent businesses to make mistakes, and not be as well educated in diamond quality. This means they can charge you more for inferior stones, and provide inaccurate reports. It'll take you longer to notice the lack of quality, by which point they'll have made their money off you and be on to the next victim. Do not trust EGL graded diamonds. Do not trust in-house certifications. There is no accountability you can rely on with those.
Require an AGS or GIA certificate to protect your business.
Can they provide 4Cs information?
A dealer that can talk to you about carat, clarity, color, and cut will be able to more precisely fill your most important orders. Not only will they be able to fill you in on information, they'll also be able to understand your needs.
If it should occur that something isn't meeting your needs or that you need an adjustment, a dealer who's versed in the 4Cs and willing to discuss them with you will be able to more immediately address and correct a situation.
They should be willing to have a conversation about your precise needs and special instructions. This is basic customer service, and you need to know they can provide it to you from Day One.
Do they have a gemologist?
A trained gemologist is important to have on staff. This is someone who isn't just knowledgeable, but has the specific technical training and expertise to answer the most difficult questions you have.
When you have a technical question, you can't wait on it. That's why wholesale diamond dealers with a gemologist on staff are far preferable. It means they have someone immediately accessible to you who can address a technical concern, or educate you about missing knowledge. It also indicates the dealer is accountable, since a gemologist can often override the dealer to correct a situation when your technical concern turns out to be accurate.
Are your diamonds natural and conflict-free?
These should be easy questions for any reputable dealer to answer. You want to avoid any synthetic diamonds making it into your inventory in any way. That could spell doom to your business's reputation. This is why it's best to choose a dealer that only works with natural diamonds, and that tests all its diamonds to guarantee their natural origin.
The same goes for conflict-free diamond origins. Suppliers should adhere at least to the Kimberley Process, and should take steps beyond this to ensure all diamonds – including melee diamonds – are natural and conflict-free. A dealer can record and provide information from origin, mining, cutting, and distribution so that it's transparent to you every step a diamond has taken.
Are they organized?
You need to receive your order in a manner that's organized and easy to separate. A dealer who bags your order in a disorganized way or in a manner that doesn't make sense ends up wasting your time.
Can they turn a design around for you quickly? This may include turning a CAD drawing into a complete piece.
Some retailers only worry about whether wholesale diamond dealers have the ability to meet their needs. That is a very different question than whether they will meet their needs. If a dealer is disorganized, it will create delays. It will miss deadlines that you need to hit. It will supply diamonds in a disorganized or unreliable fashion.
Make sure your dealer has organized processes, will provide you your orders in an organized and predictable way, and is accountable to deadlines.
What are their prices like?
Look for diamonds with the same specifications and compare prices across diamond dealers online. Use this to spot check across the range of diamonds you'll most commonly buy. This can give you an idea of who's offering better prices on the diamonds you need. This helps you be aware of when someone is overcharging you.
You're looking for savings, not a miracle. Beware prices that are too good to be true. Those who severely undercut other wholesale diamond dealers are more likely to be lying that to have chanced upon a miracle deal.
What can they do in-house?
One thing you want to avoid is lag time. When you're bringing a product line to market or get a major customized order, you can't delay. This would upset your most important customers. This means you need your dealer to offer quick turnaround on a range of inventory.
For instance, can they handle diamond cutting in-house? This accelerates their turnaround substantially. If they can't, it means they're going to another business to have their diamonds cut. This can create delay.
Do they have a return policy?
Diamond dealers online should guarantee 100% refunds for returns made within their return period. This is a simple expectation. Don't let anyone talk you out of it. If you're unsatisfied for any reason, you should be able to return what you've purchased.
This is reasonable. Any dealer that doesn't offer it is failing to be accountable.
If you have questions on choosing a diamond dealer, please do not hesitate to get in touch with the K. Rosengart team.
