Is Buying Engagement Rings on Amazon a Good Idea?

Last updated on April 24, 2023

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In this article we are going to look at whether or not it is a good idea to buy something like an engagement ring on Amazon. Are there things to consider and can it be trusted?

Can You Buy Engagement Rings on Amazon?

The simple answer is yes you can order engagement rings from Amazon but usually they will be coming from a third party seller who is using amazon to sell their products. This means thankfully there isn’t an Amazon Basics engagement ring because oh boy that would be grim.

A quick search using the term “engagement ring” produced 60,000 listings with a low priced engagement/wedding band set being available for under $9. The highest priced option was from Houston Diamond District featuring a lab-grown 5.75 carat diamond costing over $35,000.

As we say these are generally not Amazon products but will be coming from independent sellers which may be a big chain or a small mom and pop set up. There are also the merchants who are importing extremely cheap goods from overseas.

Amazon is not currently in the jewelry business themselves so if you buy items through them they will be third party. An easy way to identify the real seller is to look below the Buy Now button. It will tell you what company it ships from which may be Amazon but below that it will name which company it is sold by.

The company that actually manufactures and sells the product ultimately is something you need to be aware of. This is important to make sure you do not get ripped off with poor quality goods so make sure you know exactly who owns the product before you make your purchase.

What Kind of Quality Can You Expect from Amazon Jewelry?

With such a wide range of engagement rings available through Amazon and their various affiliated vendors you are going to be looking at an equally broad range of quality. When it comes to jewelry sales they often say you get what you pay for. This might not always be the case if ordering through Amazon.

A search on April 11^th 2023 showed some 40 main sellers offering engagement rings on Amazon with the most expensive rings coming from a company calling themselves the Houston Diamond District. Alarmingly these high priced options often do not offer graded reports to support the quality of the diamonds in the ring.

Links to their website appear to now all be inoperable so it is actually unclear if Houston Diamond District is still in operation. They carry themselves as being a professional outlet on Amazon but do not appear to have a real presence outside of that world.

The vast majority of rings available to their credit are open about being cubic zirconia or moissanite. These will be inexpensive options and obviously if this is what your budget can extend to there is nothing at all wrong with that.

I have never been a huge believer that extravagance proves a deeper love. If $10 is given to charity from someone who has millions it is nothing to them but the same amount from someone with $15 to their name means so much more in terms of sacrifice. Never be ashamed by having to work within a budget.

When it comes to buying what you believe is a diamond ring through Amazon I definitely urge caution. Do your homework on each piece you consider to make sure that the vendor is reputable and that they offer certain proofs of quality.

You do have some protections in place with Amazon working as the middleman but depending on the vendor Amazon may not be able to offer returns or replacements. Just make sure you know all the terms and conditions of the sale before you make such an expensive purchase.

What Are the Pros and Cons of Buying Diamonds on Amazon?

I have to admit I love Amazon shopping. I know some people hate it for various reasons and I am not saying those reasons are not valid but I love convenience in my life. Amazon shopping is just so very easy and they virtually have everything you could possibly need.

That being said, in this article we are talking about diamonds and as such we really need to weigh the pros and cons of using this method of purchase.

Pros

• If you need a ring quickly you can often get next day delivery or sometimes even same day if the item is stored near your location
• The platform is user friendly and easy to search

Cons

• An online Jeweler such as James Allen will have a much larger inventory of diamonds as compared to Amazon
• Most diamonds from a professional diamond vendor will have grading reports that prove that an independent lab has assessed their quality
• Pictures on Amazon do not always depict the diamond you will actually receive in your ring. Each diamond is unique so they can not possibly do this
• You will struggle to get a ring resized through Amazon whereas specialist jewelry sites will offer this option as standard
• You can not always be sure of the reputation of the seller
• You can more easily shop for and build a diamond engagement ring with a top online diamond retailer like Blue Nile

When you really look at the pros and cons the only thing buying a diamond engagement ring on Amazon has to offer is convenience. If the diamonds involved are legitimate then they are going to be priced accordingly.

You may see Amazon as a great place for deals but when it comes to diamonds the price of these gemstones is very stable so you will not likely find cheaper diamond rings on Amazon than you can find at James Allen, Blue Nile or Brilliant Earth. They are either quality diamonds or they are not so do not get drawn in by a cheap offer.

Are There Better Purchase Options Online?

I can honestly say beyond a shadow of a doubt with no question whatsoever there are plenty of better options for buying a diamond engagement ring than resorting to Amazon. Frankly companies like James Allen, Blue Nile, Brilliant Earth and WhiteFlash are far superior in all aspects to Amazon for the purchase of diamond engagement rings.

When you use a quality, well respected online jeweler you get the next best service and quality available from being at an actual high-end jewelry store. You can often view 3D images of the diamonds you are buying for your ring. And yes this will be of the actual diamond that gets set into the ring not a stock picture of a similar one like you would get on Amazon.

With a top online seller you will get the confidence that almost all of their diamonds will come with a grading certificate from one of the three independent testing labs. These are the American Gem Society (AGS), the International Gemological Institute (IGI) and the Gemological Science International (GSI).

With the official diamond report you can be sure of the quality of the diamond and therefore its actual value. There is no worse feeling than buying a diamond, getting it appraised and finding out it isn’t as it was advertised. The likelihood of this happening with Amazon is certainly on the high side.

Using one of the main online companies you can make use of their diamond search tools that can help you find something in your budget that is of as high a quality as possible. They often have hundreds of thousands of diamonds in their inventory and a wide range of settings that these diamonds can be set into.

You will also get better return policies and general customer service through an online jeweler than you are likely to get through Amazon. Ideally you would never need to return the item or complain about it but if you should need to it's better if James Allen sold you the product than a generic company through Amazon with potentially no presence beyond that sales site.

Finally with online jewelers there are often offers and benefits that Amazon just can’t match. These might include upgrades to engagement rings, free resizing and lifetime guarantees on the product. Frankly when it comes to engagement rings with diamonds Amazon should be the very last resort.

Why Should You Consider Amazon for Purchasing a Wedding Ring?

Okay so I haven’t lavished much love on Amazon when it comes to buying a diamond engagement ring and I do stand by the fact that they are likely not the best place to go for such a purchase. This does not mean however that they are not good in terms of other jewelry.

To me the risk of getting a poor quality diamond for a quality diamond price is a little too high with Amazon sellers. If you are looking at the lower end of the wedding or engagement ring market however Amazon can come into its own.

Reasons to Buy at Amazon

• The top reason without question has to be the convenience factor. You can find a reasonably priced wedding band without stones or an engagement ring with cubic zirconia or moissanite. When it comes to the more conservatively priced products there is far less risk
• You do not have to pay inflated in-store prices and tackle sales motivated staff who simply want you to buy something
• The prices on Amazon for the less extravagant items of jewelry tend to be cheaper and some of these items may be considered beneath the big online jewelers so are only available at Amazon
• The selection at Amazon although not a patch on the big online jewelers is still very impressive so you may find the perfect option for you

How Do Prices Matchup Between Amazon and Big Online Jewelers?

When we are looking at top quality diamonds going into making up a beautiful engagement ring we really need to try and run a comparison of price if we want to see how Amazon sold items stack up. For this we have found a GIA Certified 2.5 ct. L - VS1 Round Brilliant Cut Diamond Solitaire Engagement Ring in 14k Gold on Amazon.

Our next step was to visit James Allen and create an engagement ring using their search engine to see how much something comparable would cost at one of the big online jewelry dealers. The table below will compare the qualities of both pieces and finally their cost.

As you can see from the table all things are equal between the Amazon and the James Allen ring we built. The only exception is that the quality of the diamond is not listed for the Amazon ring. It of course can’t be better than excellent.

Now both sellers claim to have GIA tested diamonds but only James Allen has a copy of this report which is viewable from the website. You will also notice the big difference is that the Amazon version is over $3,000 more expensive.

This may not be the norm and you may in fact find engagement rings that are cheaper on Amazon when compared to one you can build with one of the big companies. You may however find that they are lower quality diamonds.

They may have a poorer color, the clarity may be below that which James Allen or Blue Nile deem acceptable for them to sell. As mentioned often the pictures depict just one diamond which may not be the actual diamond that will adorn the ring. This all again goes to reinforce the fact that buying quality diamond rings on Amazon is fraught with pitfalls and may not be a great choice.

Final Thoughts

We started this article with a simple question: “Can you buy engagement rings on Amazon?” The answer is a resounding yes. Now we are left with the question of "Should you buy an expensive engagement ring from Amazon?" Personally I believe the answer to be a thunderous no.

Amazon is great for the more budget end of the market of engagement rings but it is not the place to be looking to find a bargain on quality diamonds. Frankly to get the best quality diamonds you need to go through the tried and tested professionals not a never heard of seller affiliated with Amazon.

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