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Buying jewelry is something most people do at some point in their lives but that very few people actually know a lot about.

Maybe you are shopping for an engagement ring. Or perhaps you want to buy a special necklace or bracelet to commemorate an anniversary or birthday. Or you may want to purchase an expensive watch to celebrate your success or communicate your status to other people.

So how can you do these things without getting ripped off? Here are some helpful suggestions you can use to protect yourself when making big ticket jewelry purchases.

Shop Online

The problem with buying jewelry in a jewelry store is that the sales person almost always has the advantage over the customer. After all, they spend all their days talking about jewelry and steering customers to the items they want to move, while you may be stepping into a jewelry store for the first time in your life.

That tends to swing the balance to the side of the salesperson. They are more knowledgeable about the jewelry they are promoting, so they naturally tend to be more believable. This is not always the case, however. How can you be sure what they are trying to sell you is worth the high price tag that it carries? It’s not always easy.

When you shop online, however, you have the advantage of being able to compare the exact same piece of jewelry at several different places simultaneously. That way you can tell right away whether one place is charging substantially higher or lower than other places.

Shopping online also lets you search for the options and customizations that you want without having to take the word of a salesman about whether they are available, how much they will cost, or how long they may take before your finalized product is ready.

Know What You Want

Just about the worst thing you can do when shopping for jewelry is to not know exactly what it is you want to buy. When you walk into a jewelry store without a specific product in mind – or at least what type of jewelry you want, such as a watch, a bracelet, a ring, earrings, and so on – you are nearly completely at the mercy of the sales staff.

In most cases, jewelry salespeople work on commission. That means that higher the price of the product that they can sell you, the more money they earn. So it is in their economic interest to steer you away from the most affordable pieces and toward jewelry with the highest price tag.

Another disadvantage of not knowing precisely what you want to buy is budgetary. In most cases, you won’t have one when you aren’t sure what type of jewelry you want. So you may end up spending way more than you had planned.

Do Your Research First

When it comes to shopping for jewelry, it pays to do your homework. If you are planning to shop at jewelry stores, spend a little time looking online first so you can get a feel for the type and variety of products you want, as well as price range.

Plan on visiting more than one jewelry store, possibly as many as two or three, before settling on the item you want. This lets you get a better idea of the variety that is available, as well as what benefits one store may offer over another. For example, you may be able to get a discount or put your purchase on layaway at one store while another may offer a quality guarantee or a more convenient return policy.

Be Willing to Walk Away

In most cases, the price tags on jewelry are just the starting point for negotiations. Jewelry salesmen have a long tradition of being willing to haggle on the price. So just because they tell you that the item you want costs a certain amount, that doesn’t necessarily mean that’s what you have to pay.

Like all negotiations, the person who doesn’t have to buy the product has the advantage over the person who has to sell it. So it’s to your benefit to be able to walk away from a deal. If the price is not right – especially after you have done your research and know what a particular piece should sell for – show that you can be a hard negotiator by opting out of the purchase. Generally, the salesperson will then reduce the price.

It’s not always easy to get the best deal when you don’t shop for jewelry very often. In fact, much of the jewelry business is built on the assumption that most buyers don’t know anything about what they are purchasing. But if you follow these few simple tips, you can improve your chances of getting a genuine bargain and avoid getting ripped off every time.

Author Bio – This article is a work of Stephen David on behalf of Primestyle Reviews, a famous website for actual jewelry reviews and much more.