Jeweler Shopping in Port

[iancal]

The jewelry sale scam remind me very much of the duty free fifty percent off sales.

 

We travel frequently. I have yet to see a bargain in any duty free store. That includes liquer. Cannot comment on tobacco. DW tells me that chocolate at home is half the price that it is in most international duty free stores we have frequented.

 

Indeed, I have purchased Pringle sweaters and other UK clothing items in retail outlets in Canada, taxes include, well below the prices that I have seen them at in UK duty free stores.

 

Same for Citizen eco watches that we see everywhere. I don't think thank you could possibly purchase one at full retail. They all seem to be 50 percent.

[sail7seas]

I can't figure out why people who would do a lot of research buying jewelry in their home town rush out and buy stuff on a cruise from a jeweler who they know nothing about and from whom they have no recourse if things go badly. Someone who buys a lot of jewelry once told me - "if you don't know about jewelry, know your jeweler". Seems like this applies here. DON

We bough t some jewelry in various Caribbean pots and have not had second thoughts about it. We have enjoyed r great many wearings and i sitll truly love some of it. i wILL NOT shop in ship recommended stores. unless i would have anyway but the ship recommendation, iMO, only inflates the price.. I a m not a GIA tainedd vjeweler and do not preened to be, however, i only bought somethting i lov e for its beauty and not necessarily for its value. When I am purchasing most anything from stove to ring, I always ak myself if I love or like it the amount of money that is being charged ffor it. If I really like the piec,e and know it will bring me good memories of the trip during which we boughtiit, then i think about it. Don't buy jewelry as an investment thinking you can resell it and make money. The chance of that happening is small. I also bought items I was quite sure I'd not likely find at home. I dont' often visit large jewelry stores in my daily life and when we first started doing lots of vacationing and cruising in the Caribbean, the selection was tremendous. it is less so now but I never would have seen so many choices at home. It also was good to not pay sales tax. Just Do Not spend more money than you can comfortably afford.Some people buy jewelry on the Internet and if that works for then fine. I much prefer the emotional fun of buy jewelry in person with my late DH JEWELRY IS almost always an emotional purchase.

 

As to pricing, keep in mind somtimes a merchant will mark down an i item b ecause they want cash flow. the may sometimes take less money than they thought they could selll ift for if they have to pay their supplier for all the merchndise while waiting to sell it.

[donaldsc]

We bough t some jewelry in various Caribbean ports and have not had second thoughts about it. We have enjoyed r great many wearings and i sitll truly love some of it. i wILL NOT shop in ship recommeneded stores t the ship recommendation, iMO, only inflates the price.. I a m not a GIA traineddjeweler and do not pretend to be, however, i only buy somethting i lov e for its beauty and not necessarily for its value. When I am purchasing most anything from stove to ring, to dress, et , I always ask myself if I love or like it as much as the amount of money that is being charged for it. If I really like the piec,e and know it will bring me good memories of the trip during which we bought iit, then i think about it. Don't buy jewelry as an investment thinking you can resell it and make money. The chance of that happening is small. I also bought items I was quite sure I'd never find at home. I dont' often visit large jewelry sttores in my daily life and when we frist started doing lots of vaactioning and cruising in the Caribbean, the selection was tremendous. it is less so now but I never would have seen so many choices at home. It also was good to not pay sales tax. Just Do Not spend more money than you can

 

 

commfortably afford. It is good advice when people tell you to shop around at home before you travel to have an idea of prices There truly are VERY FEW if any bargains. if you love, it, decide how much money it is worth to you...... not how mucch someone else would or should pay for it.. However, an unttrrained person cannot distinguihs the three c's of a diamond, for the most part. .

 

Don't plan on sellling your jewelry for retrirement funds. :)

 

+1 on this response. You are buying it because you like it and you enjoy wearing it. .Can't argue with that logic. We do the same thing with art and crafts that we buy OFF the ship when we travel. If I get pleasure looking at the stuff, that is all that it important to me. Note that we almost never buy anything on the ship unless we have unused OBC that we need to spend as most of the ship stuff is overpriced.

 

DON

[iancal]

It was not that long ago when cruise lines published their so called 'fares' right on the brochure. Full retail.

 

Of course those were inflated prices. The real price at the TA was 50 percent of that number. But hurry up and book in case you miss that fabulous discount.

 

Shell games. It is not what you save, either in dollars or percentage, that counts. It is what you pay. The trick is to get the customer to focus on the savings, not the price. Does not matter if the saving or the suggested retail is completely artificial.

[sail7seas]

+1 on this response. You are buying it because you like it and you enjoy wearing it. .Can't argue with that logic. We do the same thing with art and crafts that we buy OFF the ship when we travel. If I get pleasure looking at the stuff, that is all that it important to me. Note that we almost never buy anything on the ship unless we have unused OBC that we need to spend as most of the ship stuff is overpriced.

 

DON

 

 

 

Thank you, don. You totally get my point. Buy if for its beauty, Because that ruby is shining brirght red and hou love the c olor.

[lenquixote66]

Since you asked, I would suggest that you consider avoiding all Caribbean islands for jewelry purchases. At the least, you should do serious window shopping in your home area so you will have a very good idea of what sort of prices apply to what sort of pieces.

 

I agree 100% . We have been cruising for 23 years in the Caribbean and have never bought jewelry there .

[Langley Cruisers]

Also have been to the Caribbean many times and never purchased jewelry there. It seems very romantic and special to buy something sparkly in port, but in all honesty I have read many horror stories here over the years of passengers who got taken...

 

 

We will buy trinkets and small items abroad, but we buy anything of real value at home.

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