Shane Co, Kay Jewelers, Jared, etc... credit requirements?

[Anonymous]

It's getting closer and closer to the time for me to buy an engagement ring. I have been putting it off for a while saying things like "as soon as I've paid off my debt I'll do it" or "I don't want to go further into debt" etc. Now that I have everything paid off and we've looked at rings it has me thinking about financing. I'm looking at somewhere in the neighborhood of a $2500-$4000 purchase price and I have over $1500 to put down on it at the moment (should have another $1500 within a month or two).

It looks like Shane Co uses Wells Fargo but I'm not sure who some of the big name jewelers use. With 3 CO's on my credit report (which should all be reporting $0 balances any day now) and no other tradelines at the moment do I have a snowballs chance in you know where on getting an approval anywhere? Has anyone in the high 500's or low 600's had any luck recently? I can't find any recent threads with much information.

I mentioned in another thread that my CU has a credit builder loan of up to $1500 and you repay the money into a savings account which you have access to after 12 months so that is yet another option as I don't need that $1500 for anything at all, just the FICO building that comes along with it.

[Anonymous]

For what it's worth, Shane Co. has a free layaway service. It's a great alternative for your situation. There are no fees (no contract, no re-stocking fee, no interest charges) and they give you up to 6 months to pay for the item.  Hope that helps. Good luck with the proposal!

[Creditaddict]

Kays is pretty relaxed for approvals

[keith021]

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@Creditaddict wrote:
Kays is pretty relaxed for approvals

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   When I applied for Kay they asked if I had at least some established credit already and reviewed my report and approved my app. At the time, I had only one credit card reporting that was only opened for a few months. They pulled Equifax only and approved me for a Jared card as well. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

when i applied for kay i was below 620 fico...

they pulled eq for me...

i applied in store and did not get an instant approval... she had to call someone which spoke to me and i had to verify address and income...

hung up phone and was approved for 2k.... 

all and all was pretty easy...

side note...at the time i had to cc accounts that had been late 2.5 years before but were current but closed and 2 paid collections on cr...i also had no open cc accounts

[Anonymous]

Kay is pretty easy.  However, I would suggest you shop at Jared, they're usually cheaper.  Not sure if you can use the card at both places though (same company).

[Anonymous]

as far as im aware you cant...

would be a nice bonus if you could though...

[Watchmann]

The diamond business is a sucker's game.  All the "A diamond is forever" gibberish and guidelines about how much you should spend is all marketing.  Diamonds are nice, but unless you can whack down the full price I would be very careful about going into debt at a time when you are just starting out.  There are now serious alternatives to a real diamond that are  'impossible to detect' except by sophisticated lab testing, a jeweler can't tell the difference.  Truth be told most diamonds sold in the last 30-40 years are of pretty mediocre quality due to the great sales job done by the cartel, and are overpriced.  I bought my wife a cocktail ring for Christmas with Diamond  Nexus simulants with a 3 ct canary center diamond and two 1 ct trillion diamonds in a very solid 14kt white gold setting for $900.  Sourcing real diamonds of that size and quality on the largest online dealer's site would cost about $60,000.  Do the math.  I just checked and a 14kt Tiffany-set solitarie with a 2 ct diamond is $500.  That's value.  Start with something like that now and when you get established and your ship comes in you can buy the wifey a real diamond 5 or 10 years down the line, but most likely you'll decide to save your money.  Do some Google or Bing research and see if you really want to sink good money in a real diamond.  Just another option and is something you can discuss with your fiancee.  Caution ...... do not buy your wife a simulant and try to fool her, that's dishonest. 

[Anonymous]

Creditaddict: Do you have any personal experience there? If so, how long ago? 

Jordy: how long ago did you apply for with Kay?

WD: I had no idea they were the same company... l learn something every day...

Watchmann: I'll definitely google "Diamond Nexus Stimulants" and try to sway here that way. I have been telling her that since we first talked about marriage and even after watching Blood Diamond she still wants a real diamond. Maybe I can work out an agreement with her... the less I spend on the ring, the more money we'll have for the wedding or I can put the money aside to remodel the bathroom. As an interior designer, remodeling is nearly as important to her.

[Anonymous]

I have to disagree with WD about the quality of diamonds. There are plenty of high quality, affordable natural diamonds out there. You just have to shop around. If you can talk her into a lab created diamond, great, and good luck with that. But be careful about getting her a huge-ass simulant to start off, because if she wants to move up to real diamond in the future (and believe me, she will), you won't be able to afford one that's nearly as big as the simulant. And like I said, there are ways to buy her a real diamond without using credit and going into debt.