DO NOT BUY FROM DIAMOND INTERNATIONAL

[ontheweb]

12 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

I go into DI for the a/c, place to sit, bathroom, and sometimes a free bottle of water.  EM

I do remember my DW going into one (in Alaska I think) for a free charm.

[ontheweb]

10 hours ago, CPT Trips said:

We took a cruise with our cousins . . . a jeweler. Based on the responses he got to a lot of technical questions he asked in several jewelery stores his conclusion was that not one of the sales people or mangers knew more than the basis, if that, about jewelery. They were really great at selling, knew all the tricks. 

Also a lot of what they were selling was misrepresented, and in some cases were knockoffs. Then the last sea day he went to the art auction and bought a painting his wife liked and was “the perfect replacement” for a painting in their house. None of the hype mattered . . . they liked it enough to pay the price. 

As long as they liked the artwork and did not see it as an investment, purchasing it is fine.

[Mum2Mercury]

13 hours ago, ldubs said:

In this case people are being made to believe they might miss getting in on a wonderful investment opportunity.

Salespeople are good at creating "Fear Of Missing Out".  It's a strong sales technique.  

13 hours ago, CPT Trips said:

they liked it enough to pay the price. 

And that, not the dollar value of the item, should be the deciding factor in buying.  

4 hours ago, Airbear232 said:

My wife and her got along quite well

Again, that's a salesperson doing her job well.  They're supposed to make the potential client feel that they've become friends /that they'll look out for the new friend and get them a good deal.  Doesn't mean it's genuine.  I'm not saying it's a con, but it is another strong sales technique.  

[Airbear232]

1 hour ago, Mum2Mercury said:

 

Again, that's a salesperson doing her job well.  They're supposed to make the potential client feel that they've become friends /that they'll look out for the new friend and get them a good deal.  Doesn't mean it's genuine.  I'm not saying it's a con, but it is another strong sales technique.  
 

She’s one of the owners of Kallati, she damaged her and the company’s reputation.  Not a great sales technique. 

[Hlitner]

5 hours ago, ontheweb said:

As long as they liked the artwork and did not see it as an investment, purchasing it is fine.

Never understood that point of view.  It is like saying, if I sell you a dollar candy bar for $15 it is fine as long as you like the candy.  or  You pay $1000 for a Days Inn room and that is also fine as long as you like the room?

 

Hank

[lenquixote66]

We never bought jewelry on a cruise.One year we went on a cruise to St. Thomas and met a couple from our cruise in town.They invited us to tour with them including jewelry shopping.We enjoyed the free beverages we were given .

[ontheweb]

3 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Never understood that point of view.  It is like saying, if I sell you a dollar candy bar for $15 it is fine as long as you like the candy.  or  You pay $1000 for a Days Inn room and that is also fine as long as you like the room?

 

Hank

All I can say is art is subjective. If someone thinks that a piece of art is worth what the asking price is as they will enjoy it, there is nothing wrong with buying it. 

 

(Personally, I would not buy any art from Park West on a cruise ship.)

[Shmoo here]

3 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Never understood that point of view.  It is like saying, if I sell you a dollar candy bar for $15 it is fine as long as you like the candy.  or  You pay $1000 for a Days Inn room and that is also fine as long as you like the room?

 

Hank

Not so much "as long as you like it", but whether you're willing to pay the cost, regardless of what it is or not.  

 

If a $1 candy bar is worth $15 dollars to you, then go for it.  Or, if a Days Inn is located where you want to be (and no other options are available or are not what you want), regardless of the cost, some people can live with the cost.

 

 

 

 

[donaldsc]

On 9/27/2024 at 10:46 AM, mMissMeowMeow said:

Our cruise hit bad weather so we weren’t able to call the port we were supposed to. Hence we were stuck on the ship for days with nothing but to walk around the ship and eat. Hence got suckered into making a purchase. 😞

 

Suckered?  Did anyone put a gun to your head?  There is a simple thing to do when someone tries to pressure you to buy something - "no" and walk out.

 

I also find it fascinating that given that most towns have many jewelry shops that a person could go into but never do  - people and not just the OP seem to have a need to go into jewelry shops on cruises and make large purchases.  This would make an interesting topic for a research project and a PhD thesis.

 

The only ways I would buy anything expensive on a cruise would be

 

a) if I could stand in the shop and go onto the internet and price compare or else

 

b) if I had nonrefundable OBC that had to be spent so regardless of the price or maybe I should say the overprice it was free to me.  I have 2 watches that I bought that way and they are also watches that I wear every day.

 

DON

Edited Saturday at 09:33 PM by donaldsc

[ldubs]

6 minutes ago, donaldsc said:

 

Suckered?  Did anyone put a gun to your head?  There is a simple thing to do when someone tries to pressure you to buy something - "no" and walk out.

 

In also find it fascinating that given that most towns have many jewelry shops that a person could go into but never do  - people and not just the OP seem to have a need to go into jewelry shops on cruises and make large purchases.  This would make an interesting topic for a research project and a PhD thesis.

 

DON

 

Because the vacation is a special time to do things that one might not normally do at home.   Things  like shop, eat, over imbibe, eat, shop, imbibe, eat, and be pampered.  

[Mum2Mercury]

4 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Never understood that point of view.  It is like saying, if I sell you a dollar candy bar for $15 it is fine as long as you like the candy.  or  You pay $1000 for a Days Inn room and that is also fine as long as you like the room?

I get it -- no deception is implied in these examples. 

 

- You and I both know that a candy bar isn't worth $15, but we might buy it under the right circumstances:  Maybe if your grandson's selling it for his band fund raiser.  Maybe if you're really starving and no other food is available.  In each of those cases, you know perfectly well you're getting ripped off -- but you go through with the deal knowingly. 

 

- We've just had a major hurricane.  Maybe if you're trying to evacuate and you want a roof over your head, you'd over-pay for a room.  Again, you'd know perfectly well you're being ripped off -- but you need to get your kids out of the car and out of the rain.  

 

The difference here is deception.  Jewelry stores onboard (and on the islands) are suggesting that their products are worth much more -- they're being deceptive.  Someone you don't know, someone who wants to make money off of you says, "This item is worth $$$$", and you just take them at their word.  That's deceptive.  Big difference.  

10 minutes ago, ldubs said:

Because the vacation is a special time to do things that one might not normally do at home.   Things  like shop, eat, over imbibe, eat, shop, imbibe, eat, and be pampered.  

Yes, I can see those things being part of a vacation, but I can't understand over-spending on a product that can be bought at home from a reputable vendor.  

 

 

Edited Saturday at 09:43 PM by Mum2Mercury

[ldubs]

3 minutes ago, Mum2Mercury said:

I get it -- no deception is implied in these examples. 

 

- You and I both know that a candy bar isn't worth $15, but we might buy it under the right circumstances:  Maybe if your grandson's selling it for his band fund raiser.  Maybe if you're really starving and no other food is available.  In each of those cases, you know perfectly well you're getting ripped off -- but you go through with the deal knowingly. 

 

- We've just had a major hurricane.  Maybe if you're trying to evacuate and you want a roof over your head, you'd over-pay for a room.  Again, you'd know perfectly well you're being ripped off -- but you need to get your kids out of the car and out of the rain.  

 

The difference here is deception.  Jewelry stores onboard (and on the islands) are suggesting that their products are worth much more -- they're being deceptive.  Someone you don't know, someone who wants to make money off of you says, "This item is worth $$$$", and you just take them at their word.  That's deceptive.  Big difference.  

Yes, I can see those things being part of a vacation, but I can't understand over-spending on a product that can be bought at home from a reputable vendor.  

 

 

 

Things are worth what people are willing to pay.  If I'm not willing, that doesn't make the price tag deceptive.  I agree with you it becomes deceptive when dishonest claims are made to support a higher price.  

 

[Mum2Mercury]

55 minutes ago, ldubs said:

 

Things are worth what people are willing to pay.  If I'm not willing, that doesn't make the price tag deceptive.  I agree with you it becomes deceptive when dishonest claims are made to support a higher price.  

 

My point exactly!  

[Dancing Shoes]

Thanks for the heads up.  Don't shop for jewelry on the cruise ship.  I have heard of Diamonds International having a bad reputation for years.  I believe their first store opened almost 30 years ago in St. Thomas.

[SelectSys]

Diamonds International is well known for it's business practices and continues to have issues with its sales tactics and pricing strategies.  Here is a recent lawsuit where someone paid $250k for substandard/overpriced merchandise.

https://www.kron4.com/business/press-releases/ein-presswire/712273676/hammervold-law-sues-diamonds-international-again/

 

My only complaint with the cruise lines is that they create business relationships with vendors like DI and promote these stores.  One would hope the lines wouldn't push their customers to vendors with somewhat dubious business practices.

[DandDM]

12 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Never understood that point of view.  It is like saying, if I sell you a dollar candy bar for $15 it is fine as long as you like the candy.  or  You pay $1000 for a Days Inn room and that is also fine as long as you like the room?

 

Hank

I bought an $8 snickers bar in a Las Vegas casino recently. I didn’t have much time and needed to eat something. While not happy about the cost, it was worth it to me at the time. 

[ontheweb]

14 hours ago, Shmoo here said:

Not so much "as long as you like it", but whether you're willing to pay the cost, regardless of what it is or not.  

 

If a $1 candy bar is worth $15 dollars to you, then go for it.  Or, if a Days Inn is located where you want to be (and no other options are available or are not what you want), regardless of the cost, some people can live with the cost.

 

 

 

 

And sometimes something is a necessity and there is no other choice. As an example, DW demanded I buy cough drops (post cruise) in the airport in Reykjavik. Kept looking and could not find them, but finally one last airport store had them. They were wildly overpriced. When I got the cc bill and saw the conversion to dollars, it was over $6 for a pack of cough drops that were not even individually wrapped and stuck together. But I really did not have a choice.

[donaldsc]

14 hours ago, DandDM said:

I bought an $8 snickers bar in a Las Vegas casino recently. I didn’t have much time and needed to eat something. While not happy about the cost, it was worth it to me at the time. 

 

I live in Vegas.  Considering how much casinos over price stuff consider yourself lucky.  You got a bargain.

 

DON