The practicality of buying engagement ring online is definitely in need of some clarification. There are advantages and disadvantages in this particular sector, which once made clear will boost the confidence of the customer and provide the encouragement needed to give it a try.

The first major advantage is that buying your engagement ring online will save you money. Probably lots of it, depending on the size of your purchase. This is easy to figure out effect since the retail price heavily depends on cost and the cost of running an online jewelry store is insignificant compare to the brick and mortar one. The advantage of heaving massive choice and unmatched opportunity to compare different merchant’s offers is also not to be underestimated. Simple search for engagement ring will result in thousands of offers. To be competitive in this environment the merchant must offer more than just a good price. Too much of a choice however could be confusing and tends to dilute the ability of the customer to objectively assess value and price. Often the overchoice results in the abandonment of the online idea and going back to a "physical" jeweler. In this case web sites offering links to preselected high quality and good value jewelers can be handy.

What makes the purchasing of jewelry and particularly engagement ring different than any other purchase online?

The engagement ring is a long term purchase, probably for life and buying it on the base of virtual information feels unsafe. The biggest worry of the first time online buyer is the presumed irreversibility of the purchase, which paired with the inability to see, touch and try on the ring results in questions like: What if it is not the same as on the picture? What if the size is incorrect or the craftsmanship bad? What if the ring gets lost on its way? What if she does not like it? These factors are major obstacles to the full utilization of the advantages of online jewelry shopping. Fortunately there are effective ways around them and prominent online merchants are gaining customer’s trust, understanding and business. It all boils down to three simple preconditions:

Uncomplicated and generous return policy - 30 or more days no questions asked money back guarantee sounds just right.

Door to door delivery with full insurance of the ring covered by the merchant until the customer sign for it.

Effective and up to date fund transfer safety and security system.

All of the above does not hold much water if the merchant is not legitimate. There are ways however to check this too. Here is what to look for:

Clear contact details with link from every page with physical address and telephone number where you can contact the merchant directly during office hours.

Check if the secure transaction sign (padlock) is displayed on the bottom right of your browser while on the merchant`s payment page.

Find out what others are saying about the quality of merchandise and service of this site and don`t be afraid to ask for reference.

The existence of third party credentials with authentication link is quite reassuring.

The statistics show that online fraud on jewelry related purchases is very low and accounts mostly of payments with fraudulent credit cards or reversed credit card transactions. Fraud online however does exist and one`s vigilance should not be found unreasonable by any prominent online jeweler. Just phone, speak to the merchant and ask questions. Sometime this is the best way to separate oranges from pears. If they are not sure what they are talking about or sound irritable, forget about them no matter how irresistible the offer. Professional and reliable jeweler knows his trade and takes his time to answer customer’s questions in detail.

Online engagement ring shopping is relatively new, but its advantages far exceed its disadvantages and its dominance over the conventional over the counter dealing is just a matter of time.