Buying jewelry aboard ship

[EastTex]

I've heard mixed reviews about buying jewelry on board carnival ships so I decided to share my experience. We were on the Dec 4th sailing of the Legend out of Tampa. Early on, an emerald and diamond necklace caught my wife's eye. After taking a closer look at the necklace, I thought it might make a nice Christmas present. The store listed the necklace as valued at $11,340 and discounted at 40% off for a sales price of $6800.

 

I asked the sales associate if the store manager would consider selling the necklace at 50% off. He asked and I was told that the price could not be reduced any further than it already was. On the sixth night of the cruise, I returned and spoke with the same sales associate and offered $6000 for the necklace. He returned with the store manager who offered to let me have it for $6075 which I accepted.

 

After Christmas, I took the necklace to a gemologist I've used in the past to get an appraisal. The necklace is what it purports itself to be with an appraised value of $7500.

 

So here's what I get out of all of this. Not surprisingly, the Carnival on board jewelry shop heavily inflated the value of the necklace, although it's still worth $1425 more than what I paid for it and had I paid the original asking price, I still would have paid about $700 less than the appraisal.

 

Also, I also learned there is some wiggle room with regards to final pricing if you're willing to push the issue. Never hurts to ask.

 

One more thing. We travel out of country fairly frequently and always declare everything I buy on my customs form. I was not assessed any duties at port for the necklace nor have I received an assessment for duties to date from the customs folks.

 

Hope this helps other cruisers in deciding whether or not to buy jewelry on board their ship.

[mrpayroll]

Doesn't come as a surprise. They are great for offering those watches valued at $80.00 and $90.00 for $10.00....People stampede to get these things....

[hockeyluver]

To celebrate our platinum cruise my husband bought me a blue topaz and diamond ring I had been eyeing all cruise, on the last sea day. He paid $245 they were asking $325 when we got it appraized it is worth $550. Not bad paid half price :D

[M&MGirl1]

You can get a decent deal if you really know what you are looking at. Years ago on the Glory I bought a Citizen watch at the watch sale. Took it into the jeweler a couple years later to have the band replaced and the jeweler asked what I had paid for it. I told him and he proceeded to pull the exact same watch out of his case with a tag on it $200 over what I'd paid and I didn't pay taxes on the boat on top of that. The jeweler said the price I got mine for was only a few dollars more than he could get it wholesale.

 

 

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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=39.006378,-94.591650

[bafinegan]

My DH has bought me a diamond tennis bracelet for 700(appraised for 1500 at home) A tanzenite and diamonnd necklace for 1450 (apppraised for 1900) and a tanzenite and diamond ring for 1800(apraised at 2500) on 3 different carnival ships over the last 10 years. While the deals were never "steals", all 3 were still good deals. At no time did we ever get less than what we paid for the jewerly.

 

baf

[CaribeDiver]

I think the biggest part of the OPs story was not that he paid almost $1500 less than the appraised value, it's that the appraised value was almost $4000 less than the original price they showed on the necklace. The fact that the jewelry store over inflated the value to then show it like you were getting a HUGE DEAL is just shady business. That would be like me selling a house to someone and telling them it was originally $250,000 but I've reduced the price 40% to $150,000. Then you get it appraised and it's only worth $175,000. You still got a deal but I false advertised the original price to justify in your eyes a huge savings.:confused:

[mikel24m]

Watches are different ,I buy a new watch each cruise and local stores would never be able to sell them so cheap and without tax

 

 

That being said you should always declare your purchases or NOT KEEP YOUR SIGN AND SAIL BILL or reciepts

 

A few cruises ago I bought at $650 watch and a ring about$2000 for my wife and didnt declare

 

We got caught by my sign and sail bill from the ship

[lahlah57]

My husband surprised me with an amethyst princess cut and diamonds circling the gem set in white gold. He had been watching it since the beginning on a princess cruise to the Mediterranean. He thought it was inflated at $1200 but watched it as the cruise was closing to an end!

He made sure they knew he was watching it and swooped in towards the typical sale that they have when the cruise is ending. They were getting ready to close the door to the shop and he made on offer all the way down to $400 but was willing to pay $500. They discussed it and decided to take it for $450. Well worth it because it was appraised for $800!:D

[kbmeow]

I will say all jewelry store. At least big market ones do that. they over inflate the original price then slash prices to a more reasonable price.

[EastTex]

I think the biggest part of the OPs story was not that he paid almost $1500 less than the appraised value, it's that the appraised value was almost $4000 less than the original price they showed on the necklace. The fact that the jewelry store over inflated the value to then show it like you were getting a HUGE DEAL is just shady business. That would be like me selling a house to someone and telling them it was originally $250,000 but I've reduced the price 40% to $150,000. Then you get it appraised and it's only worth $175,000. You still got a deal but I false advertised the original price to justify in your eyes a huge savings.:confused:

 

You are so right. Take from this that values are there but nowhere near what they imply. Live with the liklihood that you'll get a good deal but not a fantastic deal, that you save on sales taxes and that maybe your purchase will end up being duty free. And above all else, you're giving your wife/girlfriend something to show how much they mean to you.

[joeandaimeesmom]

You people are lucky..Hubby bought me a diamond ring on board a ship for $1800..Told us it was worth $3000 so when we got home I had it appraised as I had a year to send it back.. It was only worth $900!!:eek::eek: It got sent back pronto..

[EastTex]

You people are lucky..Hubby bought me a diamond ring on board a ship for $1800..Told us it was worth $3000 so when we got home I had it appraised as I had a year to send it back.. It was only worth $900!!:eek::eek: It got sent back pronto..

 

Oh wow...thanks for sharing that.

[kcdancerkc]

There is a seasoned Jewelry Crusier here somewhere that said

 

The one thing mainly to avoid in the ship shop - is the gold / silver by the inch

 

Inferior product and not worth the price she said

[Sargent_Schultz]

Appraised value, in my experience, is generally twice what an item is actually worth, but is of some value to an insurance company. The seller obviously expects to, and will, make some profit, unless external influences forced a sale (not likely on a cruise ship).

 

Always best to know what similar items might cost locally and/or what you might could obtain on the Internet, if possible. This is easier with watches, loose diamonds, etc., but not impossible.

[treasure4two]

You people are lucky..Hubby bought me a diamond ring on board a ship for $1800..Told us it was worth $3000 so when we got home I had it appraised as I had a year to send it back.. It was only worth $900!!:eek::eek: It got sent back pronto..

 

At least, you were able to send it back and get your money back because it was on the ship. Please, for your own sake, DO NOT purchase anything at Diamonds/Tanzanite International-they do not have a return policy that will ever get all your money back-ripoff city!! 2.1 carat tanzanite that appraiser said was less than 1.5-they actually told me that they measure their stones before putting them in rings and pendants and that is why my professional appraiser, with 40 years experience, could not measure it correctly. Are you kidding me? :p

[MsTabbyKats]

An appraisal is for insurance purposes only. If you pay more than 50% of the appraised value it is not a "good deal".

 

This doesn't mean that paying over 50% is a bad thing....it's just nothing to brag about as far as "getting a bargain."

 

The bottom line is....if you see something you love....and you can afford the cost....get it.

[pe4all]

I had been looking at a particular pair of diamond earrings for over a year at Macys, but never wanted to pay the price that was being asked. On our August Miracle cruise DH convinced me to look at their jewelry, and lo and behold, there was the pair of earrings I was looking for! Now, I knew the price, quality of diamonds, etc., from drooling over them for a year. They were 40% off what the store (Macy's) was asking. The price was still more than I wanted dh to pay. DH asked for a larger discount, and they went up to 50% - which they said was the sales associates 10% discount on top of the 40%. I am cheap, and couldn't rectify buying the earrings - even at this really good price. On the last sea day, dh went back again without me, and they took another $50 off the price. He bought them and surprised me with them at dinner! All in all, he spent $1200 for these beautiful earrings. When we got them appraised back in the states, they were appraised for $2800 - which was what Macy's was asking for them - even after their "big" sales. (I did not tell my appraiser what I spent for them until I had the written appraisel in my hand) I love the earrings, I love my dh! Also - we declared the earrings, and were not taxed on them, either.

[matj2000]

Appraised value doen't mean anything.

Try to sell it and see how much you can get...

[pe4all]

Appraised value doen't mean anything.

Try to sell it and see how much you can get...

That may be, but I don't buy jewelry to sell. I wear it! And I need the appraisal as part of my homeowner's jewelry floater we have. In the event it is lost/stolen (we had a break-in once when we were away on a cruise) we will be covered.:)

[Texaslandshark]

I too was very happy with the Citizen Ecodrive wristwatch purchase I made on the Ecstasy.

[EastTex]

Appraised value doen't mean anything.

 

Try to sell it and see how much you can get...

 

I have to admit, I don't have enough of an understanding of appraisals to offer any advice. What I'm getting from other cruisers is that insurance appraisals are not necessarily the same as retail value appraisals. If that's true, it's good information to know.

 

I went back to the appraisal I got for my necklace and it uses the term "current retail value" as its basis. I guess I'll have to go back to the jeweler and ask if an insurance appraisal would be any different.

[Herfnerd]

Jewelry is one of those items I shop for with a grain of salt. Everyone throws around "appraised" values, which is extremely subjective, and discounts off of MSRP - as in Manufacturer's SUGGESTED retail price.......

[ryanpatricksmom]

I recently had all of my jewelry re-appraised, and the only piece that the jeweler wasn't impressed with was the single onboard jewelry purchase that we ever made. He looked at my husband and said, "What happened here? You buy the most beautiful diamonds but these....what did she do to lose favor?"

 

Truth was, he had way too much to drink in the casino, LOL! He was trying to do something sweet....it just didn't turn out to be a good investment.

[KG1924]

Does anyone have any advice for purchasing watches on board? My husband has been interested in a few different Swiss brands and we're trying to do our research before we go to make sure we're getting a decent deal. IMO, even if we only save the sales tax (11% here at home) it's still quite a savings. I'm not completely comfortable buying from the islands, so I figure at least the ship would have some kind of backing on it.

[WindsorFred]

I have also purchased Citizen Ecodrive watch's, twice now on different cruises. I have been very happy with the savings onboard over purchasing them at a local jewelery store.