Bluenile.com are considered one of the largest diamond and jewelry dealers online. But what are they really like? Read this review before you venture forth and buy diamonds from Blue Nile.
Who are Blue NileBlue Nile has grown over the years to become a large online retailer of certified diamonds and jewelery.
The CEO of Blue Nile is Diane Irvine and the chairman is one Mark Vadon
Blue Nile has been reported as being larger than the next three largest online jewelers combined by Internet Retailer Magazine.
Blue Nile are listed on NASDAQ under the symbol NILE. The company has been awarded the Bizrate.com Circle of Excellence Platinum Award, which recognizes the best in online customer service as ranked by actual consumers. Blue Nile is the only jeweler to have ever received this award, and has done so every year since 2002.
Blue Nile is also one of only two recommended diamond dealers by Robert Hensley’s Diamond Helpers who gives it a 35 out of 35 rating.
How to Buy Diamonds from Blue NileBlue Nile pride themselves on making the buying if diamonds and diamond jewelry simple and easy to understand. The diamond price system is not difficult to use and only requires you enter what you want in the way of a diamond.
You do need to have some information about diamonds to use the system however. This is not the fault of the system but rather the complexity of diamond pricing generally. However at www.bluenile.com no effort has been spared to provide a very easy to use search engine to find the diamond you want.
A great deal of attention has been given to making the process of buying a diamond and the ring it will be set in. Including a very large selection of rings of white gold, yellow gold or platinum and a range of styles.
You simply go through selecting the diamond first of all, There is a wide range of diamonds to choose from and a wide range of diamond prices also.
Once you have picked your diamond you select it and then are taken to an area to pick the ring and setting. Again this is relatively simple but, again, depends on you knowing what you want.
Once you have picked the ring you add it to your shopping cart and then go to the shopping cart to purchase your item(s).
Blue Nile Customer ServiceThe customer service offered by bluenile.com is excellent. Very fast and efficient. The online facilities are easy to use ands the range of diamonds and rings available are very extensive. You can easily reach the staff who are helpful with knowledge and suggestions. The phone response time is excellent with a real person on the end of the line rather than a machine. An impressive quality these days. The customer service line is open from 8am to 7 pm seven days a week so it is not difficult to get a person to talk to.
Bluenile.com have been Forbes preferred online jeweler for around 4 years.
The amount of information on each diamond is very comprehensive and Blue Nile have evidently gone to a lot of trouble to ensure the customer gets the full story on each diamond.
All bluenile.com products come gift wrapped. Each product comes in a distinctive, matte blue packaging.
Blue Nile Costs and ShippingAlthough it is difficult to do a one for one comparison with diamond prices, the price of diamonds and rings offered by bluenile.com are favorably comparable to other diamond dealers. Blue Nile rely on the age old method of turn over so the prices are among the cheapest available.
Blue Nile will accept a range of payment methods including credit card, direct bank transfer and bank wire. You can pay online with the credit card or call and speak to someone to do a wire transfer. A bank wire will give you a 1.5 percent discount it is useful to know.
Shipping overseas is available but only loose diamonds are shipped overseas. There are some restrictions such as a minimum amount of purchase depending on the country.
The online security for credit card payments is excellent and the system is fully secured. Credit cards accepted are: Amex/diners/mc/visa/discover.
PayPal is also accepted.
Shipping is by FedEx priority overnight. And is delightfully free.
Financing is also available. Diamonds and diamond rings can be big ticket items and often finance is desired to help with the payments. Blue Nile has partnered with Bank of America to provide finance. A fast decision is available on most applications.
Terms are generally, 3 months same-as-cash or a line of credit with a repayment term of up to 60 months with an annual percentage rates as low as 8.99% on Credit lines up to $25,000. Of course, if you apply for a line of credit here, your financial situation may require different arrangements and interest rates.
Blue Nile SecurityBlue Nile have a privacy policy and standard terms and conditions available on site. Blue Nile state that no information about their customers is given to third parties without that customers permission.
The have a secured site for credit card transactions placing of orders. Blue Nile has partnered with Google Checkout also for those people who have a google account set up for shopping securely.
The site is generally clean and easy to use. It is fast loading and efficient and various sections are easy to find.
When you buy diamonds from Blue Nile, your purchase is covered by Blue Niles insurance from the time it leaves their jeweler’s workshop to the moment it arrives at your door.
Blue Nile 30 day ReturnsBlue Nile offer a generous 30-day return policy. This gives plenty of time to make sure you are happy with your purchase. If for any reason you are not satisfied, you can return any item without custom engraving in its original condition within 30 days.
The Last Word on Blue NileLastly Blue Nile state that, “Blue Nile, along with the global diamond industry, has a zero-tolerance policy toward conflict diamonds. Through measures such as the Kimberley Process, which tracks diamonds from mine to market, the industry in partnership with the United Nations, governments, and non-governmental organizations, polices diamond exports to prevent the trade of illegal diamonds.”
Blue Nile diamonds are purchased through dealers adhering to the Kimberley process and all Blue Nile diamonds are warranted to be conflict free.
Blue Nile supports the Kimberley process, which is an International process to track and certify diamonds. In April 2003, congress and President Bush passed a law adopting the Kimberley Process that requires all US diamond retailers to buy diamonds from manufacturers who have documentation warranting that the merchandise was obtained through legitimate channels.
Blue Nile is open Monday through Friday 8:00 AM to 2:00 AM ET and Saturday and Sunday 9:00 AM to 10:00 PM ET
More information is available at bluenile.com.
If you have bought any diamonds, diamond jewelry or other products from bluenile.com, please feel free to leave your feedback on the quality of service and products including any bluenile.com online complaints and special attention or service given by bluenile.com online.
