National Jeweler Article

[Gregory Diamond]

Check out the latest National Jeweler for a terrific article about buyingadiamond.com!!


Greg

[Brian Knox]

Hi Greg,

I have not recd. my copy yet.

Maybe post the article.


Brian

Ps. Hello everyone!

[Gregory Diamond]

BuyingADiamond.com aims to help retailers

National Jeweler Magazine
By Joseph Dobrian

Glen Ellyn, IL. ? Gregory Diamond Company, an importer and wholesaler of diamonds and diamond jewelry to independent retailers, has launched a Web site that it hopes will lure consumers away from Web-based diamond dealers and bring them back to traditional jewelry stores.

Greg Miller, president of the Glen Ellyn, IL based Gregory Diamond Company, says that the site buyingadiamond.com will provide a trade moderated information center that will help to renew the consumers trust in brick-and-mortar retailers, as well as the jewelry industry in general.

?Most diamond retail sites that are directed at the consumer consist of ?pajama retailers? selling their own products and bad-mouthing the traditional retail jeweler,? he says. ?Our trade has enough black eyes already and we need to fight the misinformation that infests the Internet. Our objective is to provide a site that?ll make the consumer say. ?Wow, those retail jewelers really do know what they are talking about.? As it stands now, too few retailers have a footprint in cyberspace. Our site will get their information out without having to build their own sites.

Miller began promoting buyingadiamond.com in early March, through a mailing to his customers that explained his website?s objectives. In the letter, he encouraged retailers to tell their customers about the site and to take part in the various conversations on the sites message boards.

Set up in the standard ?threads? message board format, the site allows discussion of any jewelry-related topic. Miller is also advertising the site on Google.com and Yahoo.com to generate consumer traffic.

We have had limited traffic so far, mostly from the trade which is good, because it gives us time to work out bugs and build our core membership. The consumers that have visited are asking good questions about everything from colored diamonds to identifying fake Rolex?s. Our goal is to generate a high amount of traffic and then support the site with ads. They offer not only a consumer forum but also a private trade forum where jewelers can discuss issues we face as a trade.

Miller believes that the information on this new site will help to combat the negative impression many have formed about the jewelry trade at these other sites. ?We can undo a lot of the damage done by these sites if we get out and combat bad information with good. We have already been criticized by many Internet vendors for our project and I view that as a very positive sign,? he says.

[Joselyn]

Awesome article :)

Joselyn

[oldminer]

I support the efforts all sellers make to contact and maintain good relationships with their customers. Truthfully, I don't care who sells to the public, but I do care if the public is well treated. If we damage the end-user of diamonds by misrepresenting our products, we will live to regret how badly they were treated. I try toi direct our appraisal efforts in building consumer confidence that their shopping experience should be pleasureable and secure.

By participating on this website, I hope AGA will assist consumers and sellers to get toegther in ways that have long term benefit to all concerned.

[Brian Knox]

..

If we damage the end-user of diamonds by misrepresenting our products, we will live to regret how badly they were treated. ...




Wow, Dave, where did that 'straw man' come from ?

IMO, this type of innuendo is part of the problem, not part of the solution.


Brian

[oldminer]

Brian: Didn't mean to tweak something in your mind. I am part of the solution, not a part of the problem.....or at least, that's how I view it.

I support ethical sales and ethical dealers and work to discredit bad apples among us. If you think that is a problem, then we may disagree about something important. Otherwise, I am sorry if my choice of words was unclear. I hope this website serves to help the industry and my hope is to particpate here with the same goal in mind. By serving the industry well, we also serve the consumer.

I read the National Jeweler article and hope this site will be beneficial to the diamond business and to consumers.

[Kelly]

Great article. A site like this is what the internet needs.

[Gregory Diamond]

Hi Brian,


I don't think that Dave meant to be negative in his post. The public's perception of our industry is not flattering currently. The sad part is it is because of a small percentage of bad apples and some of the folks that post on the "other" sites.


Greg

[Brian Knox]

Hi All,

My post was not meant as an attack on Dave.

We are all concerned with our customers satisfaction and our perception in the eyes of our customers.

But, how do you unring this bell of 'distrust' once it has been rung?

Yes, Greg, there is much anti B&M fostering being done on various forums, and most commonly on pricescope and it all centers around the distrust of B&M's.

I may be oversensitive on this anti B&M subject :) and could of misread some of the anti B&M culture of pricesope into Daves post.

edited,

Brian

[Gregory Diamond]

Hi Brian,

We are all very sensitive to it.


Greg