The eighth installment of my “Top Ten Tips to buying jewelry is a simple but often overlooked issue – Returns. It seems to me that it is generally assumed that when you purchase a product it can be returned, in a reasonable amount of time, for a refund. This is not always the case.
A number of years ago my wife Jody and I went to by a new TV from a local, highly regarded, electronics store. When we got the television home and turned it on the picture just did not seem to be as good as the display TV in the store, not really bad – just not as good. I figured no problem, I will just return it and get a different one. To my surprise we where told we could not return or even exchange it because we had opened the box! It never occurred to me to even ask what the return policy was when we bought the TV, I just assumed we could.
Just like I did when I purchased the TV set many consumers seem to assume that their jewelry purchase is returnable if they so decide. Return policies vary greatly so it is a very important question to ask. It is equally important that if you are not comfortable with the answer that you think about doing your business with another company.
Many independent jewelers have return policies that vary from ten to thirty days as long as the jewelry has not been altered (like sized or shortened) in any way and is in original (not worn) condition. Some of the large chain jewelry stores have return policies as long as ninety days. There are jewelry stores, however, that have a no cash refund policy but will accept exchanges and I even have one discounter in my market where every sale is finial – no refunds no exchanges.
When asking about a return policy you should keep in mind the following:
• Is the jewelry returnable for a full refund, and if so, for how long.
• Pay attention to the difference between a cash refund and exchange only policies.
• Be very wary of any return policy that makes you jump through a lot of hoops. An example is a policy that says you can return it if you find an independent appraisal that places the value at less than our (the stores) value. The catch to this kind of policy is that unless you live in a major metropolitan area, the chances of you finding an independent appraiser (one not associated with any store) without going to a great deal of trouble or expense, are slim and they know it.
• Always, I mean ALWAYS get it in writing. Many return polices are printed on the bottom or back of the stores receipt. Ours is printed on the bottom of the sales slip.
Till next time, that is how I see the world of jewelry from Rochester, NY
David West Nytch CGA www.westandcompany.com
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