Originally Posted by VC

I am happy to provide additional details regarding my experience with
Gary Weiss.



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Every promise and specification of the ring I purchased was made in
writing (via email) from Gary to me. I live in Chicago and Gary Weiss
is in New York – I never met him in person nor did I visit his store.
Because of this, I made sure that I had everything in writing and I
saved every email.

These are Gary's exact words from one email dated 6/23/04 – he
provided a list of the specs of the ring:

"shiny platinum"
"the diamonds will be G color
"VS clarity"
"the width will be 2mm"

There is no mistaking that I had all of the specs clearly documented
from him.

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I brought the ring to an independent appraiser in Chicago. Gary Weiss
is in New York. The appraiser was not a retailer or jewelry company
and isn't even in the same city market as Gary Weiss, so I believe he
really had no reason to steer me wrong. I do not have his web site
address on me now, but I recall that he had been in business for
something like 20 years and had some certifications (sorry for being
so un-technical), if that makes any difference. I can definitely get
his web site address and find out his qualifications.

The appraiser admitted to me that it is difficult to be exacting about
specs when stones are in a setting. Even accounting for this leeway,
he said that it was highly unlikely that the stones could be the size
that was in the specs from Gary Weiss. Regarding the color, the
setting was platinum (not yellow gold), so there shouldn't have been a
serious discrepancy in color grading.

He also let me look at the stones under the lens myself and it was
CLEAR to see that multiple stones were chipped. There was no
mistaking that.

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I want to make clear that Gary Weiss did NOT give me my refund
directly. I had to dispute the charge with my credit card company. I
had to answer several questions, fill out forms and provide
documentation to them. Luckily I had the documentation that showed I
shipped the ring back via FedEx on 7/9/04 and it was signed for by
someone at Gary Weiss's company. I also had every email from Gary
promising the ring specs and his 7-day return policy. I even had an
email from him promising that I would receive my refund by 7/20/04. I
had another email from him promising "another 4-7 days".

Once I gave all of this documentation to my credit card company in
August, they investigated and they provided me with a credit on my
account in September. The refund did not come directly from Gary
Weiss – it clearly shows that on my statement and in the documentation
they provided me. Had I not gone through the dispute process with my
credit card company, would Gary have ever given me a refund or would
he have kept my money and the ring? I don't know, but the facts are
that I waited over 6 weeks and received multiple promises of a refund
from him, with no actual refund.

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Sure I was disappointed that the ring wasn't what I had paid for, but
what really bothered me was that I could not get my money back from
Gary Weiss. I specifically made sure he had a return policy (and got
it in writing from him to prove it) before I purchased the ring. It
is frustrating to have been promised a refund and to not receive it,
even after multiple emails of promises. I was left without the
merchandise and without my money. To hang onto both my money and the
merchandise is just wrong.

It makes you ask WHY? Why wouldn't he just provide the refund on
7/20/04 like he said he would? Why did I have to seek recourse from
my credit card company? It was such a simple thing - he received the
ring back from me on 7/9/04, he promised a refund by 7/20/04 (and
subsequent promises thereafter) – so WHY wouldn't he just process the
refund? That just doesn't make sense to me.

Best wishes,
Victoria