Buying jewelry retail is a mistake.
I wouldn't do it nor would I let my husband do it.. A reputable auction house, resale place or estate seller is the way to go.
When I got married a bajillion years ago, I told my husband I only wanted a plain, wide gold band.
He bought me a huge diamond on our 20th annv and I almost never wear it. (It was from an auction house).
I'm more of a jeans & hiking boots kinda gal..Designer jeans of course. lol
But to each their own. Some people value that stuff and are willing to pay for it.
Zales, Kay etc... Probably not the best place to shop. Jewelry has a 500-1000% and higher mark-up, it's awful.
But you can't blame the CC issuers for that- it's the stores themselves. And that pesky little term: Personal Responsibility..
If the widget is priced too high and the financing is atrocious, bounce outta there..
@Pikaboo-icu wrote:Buying jewelry retail is a mistake.
I wouldn't do it nor would I let my husband do it.. A reputable auction house, resale place or estate seller is the way to go.
When I got married a bajillion years ago, I told my husband I only wanted a plain, wide gold band.
He bought me a huge diamond on our 20th annv and I almost never wear it. (It was from an auction house).
I'm more of a jeans & hiking boots kinda gal..Designer jeans of course. lol
But to each their own. Some people value that stuff and are willing to pay for it.
Zales, Kay etc... Probably not the best place to shop. Jewelry has a 500-1000% and higher mark-up, it's awful.
But you can't blame the CC issuers for that- it's the stores themselves. And that pesky little term: Personal Responsibility..
If the widget is priced too high and the financing is atrocious, bounce outta there..
+1
@wasCB14 wrote:I don't understand how there isn't more suspicion and disdain for jewelry store cards.
1. A lot of the products are garbage. Signet Group (which owns Zale, Kay, Jared, and others) was once a family-controlled business called Ratners Group. The former CEO, Gerald Ratner, once said the products were "total crap" and "cheaper than a (seafood) sandwich, but probably wouldn't last as long". Yet this is stuff people want so badly, and are willing to pay so much for, that they will finance it?
2. A lot of the products are overpriced. 0% financing strikes me as the universe's way of saying you're overpaying for something. If you want to spend four to six figures on jewelry, why not just go to Costco for a better value?
3. Generally, it's not stuff people need. There's there's room for debate here. I know a few people who talked a lot about wanting to get their wives the best jewelry possible...they've mostly been in one kind of revolving debt or another for ages (more as a habit of spending than as a consequence of one particular purchase). A lot of people who are into diving watches don't seem to actually dive.
4. Personally, I'm not a fan of financing luxury stuff...not that I spend a lot on luxuries in the first place. But if I was going to splurge, I'd rather just pay for it and be done with it. Also, If the purchase is supposed to be exciting or impress someone, I would think plunking down a Platinum to buy it would be more enjoyable than applying for a loan.
Isn't getting a jewelry card basically saying "I can't afford this and don't need it, but I'll get it, anyway"?
I totally agree with you here, but I can see why many re-builders (such as myself) go for them---they have very lax UW standards. At the end of the day, nevertheless, I blame the consumer, not the issuer, for getting the card. 
@Anonymous wrote:I totally agree with you here, but I can see why many re-builders (such as myself) go for them---they have very lax UW standards.
When Signet Seafood Jewelers did in-house financing, it was rational to have lax UW. From the annual report, 62% of sales were on store credit (now down to the mid-50s).
With gross margins so high, they could withstand high default rates. It was worth making a risky loan when not making it meant losing a sale...and a low-cost receivable.
@Pikaboo-icu wrote:Buying jewelry retail is a mistake.
I wouldn't do it nor would I let my husband do it.. A reputable auction house, resale place or estate seller is the way to go.
When I got married a bajillion years ago, I told my husband I only wanted a plain, wide gold band.
He bought me a huge diamond on our 20th annv and I almost never wear it. (It was from an auction house).
I'm more of a jeans & hiking boots kinda gal..Designer jeans of course. lol
But to each their own. Some people value that stuff and are willing to pay for it.
Zales, Kay etc... Probably not the best place to shop. Jewelry has a 500-1000% and higher mark-up, it's awful.
But you can't blame the CC issuers for that- it's the stores themselves. And that pesky little term: Personal Responsibility..
If the widget is priced too high and the financing is atrocious, bounce outta there..
Many people don't realize it, but clothing has a better resale value than jewelry!
@wasCB14 wrote:
@Pikaboo-icu
..Many people don't realize it, but clothing has a better resale value than jewelry!
Yep and handbags have an even better resale value than clothing. Most designer labels anyway.. High end shoes too- 
I'm an online seller lol.