Etsy is an AMAZING place to buy not only unique wedding dresses, vintage clothes, fun t-shirts and homewares you probably can’t find anywhere else, but they are also becoming a go-to place for engagement rings. It’s one of the best online marketplace’s for talented artists who can’t (or don’t want to) set up a brick and mortar shop, which tends to translate into one-of-a-kind engagement ring designs for you at much lower prices. However, just like when buying a wedding dress online, you have to be sure to read the fine print and gather as much information as possible before you buy an Etsy engagement ring.
If you’re looking for an Etsy engagement ring, here are a few rules you should follow:
1. Read the reviews
While all buyer feedback should be taken with a grain of salt (just like Yelp reviews), you can look for common threads when reading a shop’s reviews. If you consistently read that a seller didn’t respond in a timely matter or that the quality of the item was sub-par, those should all be red flags. You want to see positive reviews be the norm, not the exception.
2. Know their refund/exchange policy
Each seller can determine their own refund/exchange policy, so be sure to read a shop’s ‘Shipping & Policies’ tab before starting the purchase process for your Etsy engagement ring.
3. Message the seller
I like to make contact with the seller before I buy anything on Etsy and not only ask them any questions I might have about the size, materials used, etc., but ask them about their design history and any questions I might have in terms of production/shipping timeline as well as product guarantee or what you can do if the ring needs to be resized. An engagement ring is a big purchase, and you want to at least get a sense of if the designer/seller is nice and agreeable in case you have any issues that might arise later down the line.
4. If buying a diamond check to see if it is certified AND/OR get an itemized receipt
As I wrote about in the Guy’s Guide to Buying an Engagement Ring, you’ll want to not only check and see if a diamond is certified by GIA or another diamond organization (and if so make sure you get those papers), but at the very least get an itemized receipt detailing the cut, carat, and any other details about the materials used as well as price for the setting and diamond so you can have the ring appraised (which you’ll need for insurance purposes). In fact, you’ll want to get an itemized receipt for any gemstone you go with.
5. Use your credit card
This is a BIG one. While Etsy does it’s best to deal with any fraudulent seller behavior (they also have a Buyer Case Resolution that you can file if something goes wrong) the protection you receive from most credit cards is going to be your best bet. I made the big mistake of buying something on Etsy with a check like a dum-dum several years back and never received the product and then the person shut down their Etsy shop. In other words: DON’T PAY WITH A CHECK OR ANYTHING OTHER THAN A CREDIT CARD. Trust me.
This article from Yahoo Finance has even more great tips for buying an engagement ring from Etsy.
Tell us: Would you buy an engagement ring online?
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