A Warning About Bidz.com

I recently bought a ring, containing fake diamonds, from Bidz.com and am writing this to warn other people not to trust the descriptions on the Bidz.com website.

I should point out, in the interests of balance, that I have used Bidz.com for years and haven't had a problem with them until recently. I have even recommended them to other people and did list them in my Great Websites list. I've now removed it.

I have picked up some good bargains from them in the past.  For example, the ring on the left cost me $80USD, with shipping, and was being sold on Amazon.co.uk for £150GPB at the time, and Amazon said that was half price. My best bargain was a ring that worked out at about £40 that I had valued and was worth £250.

However, past bargains aside, Bidz.com sold me a fake ring.

I bid on this 'Charming Brand New Ring With 0.80ctw Precious Stones - Genuine Aquamarine and Diamonds Made in White Gold' but the reserve price was not met.

Bidz.com emailed me after the auction had closed and offered it to me for the reserve price of $108USD.  With shipping, it came to $130USD, about £80GBP.  I'm no jewellery expert, but I was pretty sure it was worth a lot more than £80, although maybe not the $969 they claimed it was worth.  I tried to find the ring for sale elsewhere to compare prices. I did find an identical ring on Overstock.com for £260 plus shipping, so I decided it was definitely worth £80 and ordered it.

When it arrived, it looked great and I really liked it.  I took it to a local jewellers to get it valued, for insurance and the jeweller told me that the black diamonds were not actually diamonds. To prove it, he touched his electronic tester on the diamonds in other rings that I was getting valued at the same time and showed me the green diamond light coming on.  When he touched the black stones in this ring, the red moissanite light came on instead.

As soon as I got home, I contacted Bidz.com and said:

"I recently bought Charming Brand New Ring With 0.80ctw Precious Stones - Genuine Aquamarine and Diamonds Made in White Gold- Size 7 - Certificate Available.
Listing Number: 95064205
Item Number: 01322706

I just took it to a jewellers to have it valued for insurance purposes and he told me the black stones are not diamonds.  Also one of the prongs is broke so one of the fake stones that should be a diamond will fall out."

I got a email, that was clearly a standard automated/copy and pasted email, saying:

Dear Customer,

We are sorry to hear you are not completely happy with your item(s) and we have created a Return of Merchandise Authorization number for your return(s).

Your return number is RMA-83712.
Please write this number clearly on the outside of your parcel. Please also review and keep this email for future reference.

What you need to include in your return package:
All original packaging and materials (such as price tags, certificates, warranties and instructions) otherwise your return will be refused.
A copy of the sales order - Log into your account to print out a copy of the sales order.
A detailed reason for return for each item.

Please allow 3-5 business days for your refund to be processed once return has been accepted. A confirmation email will be sent when your return is ready for refund.

Parcels without a clearly marked, valid Return Authorization Number on the outside of the parcels may be refused and sent back to the shipper.

**We strongly recommend certifying your package with a tracking number which will allow you to track its delivery progress.

Please ship to:
Bidz.com
Attention: Returns Department
RMA#
3562 Eastham Dr.
Culver City, Ca 90232

Once our jewelry department has inspected the item(s), we will process your refund.
Important things to remember:

All returns will be refunded back to your original payment method unless store credit is specified.

Return shipping costs are subject to approval.

All returns should be made within 30 days.

Customers outside of the U.S. please note:
All customs fees are to be paid by the recipient of the merchandise. Bidz.com is not responsible for paying return custom fees. To avoid paying customs fees for damaged return items, we suggest you note that your item was originally purchased in the United States and that it is being sent back as damaged merchandise.

Sincerely,
Customer Service Team
***********************************************************************
Bidz.com/Buyz.com
3562 Eastham Dr.
Culver City, CA 90232
PH 310-280-7373
Toll 1-888-247-BIDZ
Email us 24 hours a day at customerservice@bidz.com
ACCESS OUR LIVE HELP LINK AT http://www.bidz.com/ AFTERHOURS
"Problem Solving Team where your problem is our problem"

Now I wasn't very happy with that response, but I didn't reply at that time. I expected a grovelling apology, not a standard email, but then I thought that it might not be their fault. They may have believed the diamonds were real. It may be their supplier that is at fault, and once they've inspected the ring and confirmed that the diamonds are fake, I'll get a more personal response. I decided to return the ring and see what they said.

The day after they received the ring (according to the tracking), I got another automated/copy and pasted email. This one said:

Dear Customer,


We would like to inform you that we have received your return for RMA-83712, the item has been inspected and processed. 


Refunds are issued back to the refund method selected; Please allow 2-3 business days for the refund to be completed.


For more information on our return policy please follow the link below:
http://www.bidz.com/content/return


If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact customer service.
 
Thank you,
Bidz.com Returns Department

Not being happy with the lack of apology or explanation, I replied, saying:

"Is that it?  All I get is an automated email telling me to send it back and another one telling me you've processed it?  Aren't you going to make any attempt to apologise or explain?  Aren't you going to offer some sort of reassurance that if I buy from you in future, the jewellery won't be fake!?!

At the very least, can you reimburse my return shipping please?"

This time I did get a response that sounded like it might have actually been written by a person, but still no explanation...

Dear Customer,


Thank you for contacting us regarding RMA-83712. We do apologize that you are not satisfied with the merchandise and our service. Please allow for 2-3 business days for the refund to completed on our end for this return.


If you are requesting to have your postage reimbursed, please provide us with the reciept by email or fax so that we can forward this to the department in charge.
Please let us know if you have any other questions or concerns.


Sincerely,
Xxxxxx
Customer Service Team

Of course I still have concerns! And I told them that: "I've attached a photo of the receipt, showing that it cost £9.87GBP to return the ring. Yes, I do have another question or concern: Why did you sell me a ring with fake diamonds in it and how can I be assured that any future purchases from you won't be fake?"

After a few days, I got this response:

Dear Customer,

Thank you for contacting us and for sending a copy of your reciept. I have forwarded this information to the lead in our Returns Department. Please allow between 24-28 hours before you receive an update.
Sincerely,
Xxxxxxx
Customer Service Team

Still no explanation or reassurance. I've given up and won't be ordering again.