We often get asked the question “how can you provide diamond buying advice for free?”  This is a perfectly valid question, because we are in the business of referring people to diamond purchases, and people don’t work for free. Don’t worry, we’re not starving diamond bloggers, we do just fine. Let me explain how we earn money below…

    It’s not free, it’s just free for you…

    At Jewelers.NYC we maintain business relationships with a large-number of online diamond dealers who pay us a referral fee, often called Affiliate income, for sending buyers to their sites. Being an Affiliate does not mean we are owned by, or controlled by these firms, it simply means that when we send someone to them, they pay us a fee if the referee purchases a diamond. This is quite normal, even Amazon.com has an affiliate program – they call it Amazon Affiliates.

    How can we be independent if we are getting paid to refer?

    We maintain a business relationship with many great online diamond stores: James Allen, Blue Nile, Brain Gavin, Zoara, and Leibish & Co to name a few. These stores are all either A+ or A rated by the Better Business Bureau (FYI, at the time of this note, Amazon.com was rated B). They all pay roughly the same referral fee. By having such a large-number of high quality stores, we can pick the best, and not be directed by who is willing to provide commission and who is not, because they all do. Most importantly, they charge you the same price, whether you are referred by us or just arrive on their website separately. They look at this as a marketing cost.

    Our pledge to you

    We follow the GIA (Gemological Institute of America) diamond grading and assessment methodology. Just last week in fact, I was at GIA’s Headquarters in the NYC Diamond District on 47th Street completing another certification. I start another GIA training class next month. Our assessment is that less than 10% of the online experts have any formal training at all! It is a never-ending process if a diamond educator wants to stay current. We pledge to direct you (in our professional opinion) to the best diamond for your money, each time and every time. 

    So thank you for putting your trust in Jewelers.NYC. Remember we are here to help.

    Jonathan Winter, MBA, CPA

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