4th August 2018

When I quote I like the customer to give me a budget to work with. It makes the process much quicker and is far more productive. Here is why.

Waste of your time and mine.

Most quotes start with a general design that the customer likes. There is no point in me quoting on a design verbatim from a picture when the result is out of their budget. Here is an example of a design the customer liked and how it turned out made to his budget.

The full article about this rings creation can be read here.

In some cases knowing a budget can allow me determine that I am not able to make something to my standards within it and stop the process there and then.  This saves both the customer and myself time.

You choose the quality

In the previous example the customer had a long discussion with me about the quality of the diamonds that he would accept.  As the properties of a diamond effect it`s value greatly, we could now work within the budget in a constructive way.

For example, if the qualities of the diamond he desired limited the size that would meet his budget he would be the one choosing to lower his standards on colour, clarity, cut, polish, symmetry etc.....  in order to achieve a bigger diamond.  He would be making an informed decision.

When you purchase on price and size alone without knowing or understanding these points you are headed for disappointment in my experience. 

Scale is everything.

As you can see from the previous example, size can change the look of a design greatly.  That being either a good or bad thing.

Even when you are sure you know both the diamond size and design, quoting based on a photo shown to a different finger size can be a waste of time. It may not look how you want so the price (quote) is irrelevant.  

I wrote an article about this in 2012 after running into this issue with one of my favourite long time customers.

When the customer does not want to provide a budget

This customer I am going to discuss next was wonderful to deal with but was reluctant to give me a budget.  I do understand why. 

We were replacing some rings that were stolen if I remember correctly. I scaled the design she provided to her hand, discussed diamond quality and then provided a quote that she rejected. It was under her budget....... so we needed to requote.

Scaling a design and laying it out properly so that what I promise is what I deliver can take hours. We started again and the rings we achieved are pictured below.

I expect these types of issues with a first time customer. I understand their reluctance to provide a budget but as all my regulars know I always encourage you to shop around before deciding to proceed on any quote I provide.

Next time this customer has assured me she will give me a budget right at the start :)