The Date: September 15, 2022
The Place: Blue Nile Showroom in Garden State Plaza
The Mission: Purchase a necklace for my girlfriend.
I am constantly on the road, secret shopping retailers in America and around the world. We make sure to visit the major retailers (especially the ones we recommend) often and in as many different locations as possible. We want to make sure our information is accurate and covers as many facets of a retailer as possible.
Blue Nile is primarily an online retailer, but they have opened showrooms across the United States over the last decade. I have secret shopped them online multiple times (they are our 1A at the top of the list of recommended jewelers) and I have visited their showrooms in Seattle, Portland, Austin and now New Jersey.
You can read our review of Blue Nile for a thorough break down of their website, diamonds, pricing and setting quality. They are at the head of the pack. This post will deal only with the retail experience at one of Blue Nile’s showrooms. I have had great experiences during my previous showroom secret shoppings, but this is the latest one.
This was a unique shopping experience for me as I was actually purchasing a gift for my girlfriend. If that isn’t testament enough to how much we believe in Blue Nile, I don’t know what is. You might think that since I’m ‘The Diamond Pro’ that my girlfriend is dripping in bling. That couldn’t be further from the truth. This is the first diamond jewelry I purchased for her.
Since she is more into casual/athletic dress, I didn’t want to go with anything too formal (like a tennis necklace or big drop earrings). I wasn’t sure exactly which necklace I was going to purchase, so I ordered the V-Bar diamond necklace as well as the Scatter V necklace to be picked up at the store.
I walked into the store and was immediately greeted by Tom, who happened to be the manager (just a coincidence as he was standing closest to me). I explained that I had ordered the two necklaces and was planning on picking the one I liked. I was led to a private area in the back and Tom brought out my package, along with a couple of other necklaces to consider.
It was an amazing experience. I settled on the Scatter V necklace and Tom took care of sending the other necklace back for me. The quality of the diamonds were amazing and the craftsmanship was superb.
And yes, my girlfriend loved the necklace. Besides, I was able to cheat a bit. Since I am secret shopping and borrowing jewelry for content so often, I was able to get her opinions on the different pieces without making her suspicious. I often show her pictures of jewelry and ask her which ones we think would be best for content.
Pro tip for you guys out there: surprises are nice, but when you are dropping thousands of dollars on a ring or piece of jewelry, find out for sure it’s what she likes.
She’ll have to wear that the rest of her life. Speaking of engagement rings, you can make the time, place and scenario of popping the question a surprise. Unless you get a close family member or friend of hers to help, don’t try to figure out the ring style on your own.
I then let him know who I was, as I planned on shooting a video the next day. I was joining forces with Lauren, an influencer who was buying some jewelry as well.
We spent a whole morning filming, and I had a chance to get to know everyone working in the store. The level of knowledge that all the salespeople had was quite impressive. I normally don’t expect that at a mall showroom. Everyone seemed to genuinely enjoy their jobs. I watched them deal with a few customers that came in and all of those customers left very happy with the experience.
The process seemed very smooth to get a ring from the showroom, and we already know how great their settings and diamonds are. You can read more in our Blue Nile review.
What we love about them:
- No questions asked returns within 30 days of shipment. James Allen will send you a paid shipping label to return the ring.
- Lifetime Warranty
- Free International Shipping
- Free prong tightening, repolishing, rhodium plating and cleaning every 6 months
- Provide insurance appraisals
- One free resizing within 60 days of purchase
- Free ring inscriptions
- Best-in-class high quality imagery of all diamonds in stock
- 24/7 Customer Service
- Best-in-class packaging
What we love about them:
- No questions asked returns within 30 days of shipment. Blue Nile will send you a paid shipping label to return the ring.
- Lifetime Warranty
- Free Shipping
- Free prong tightening, repolishing, rhodium plating and cleaning every 6 months
- Provide insurance appraisal
- One free resizing within the first year of purchase
- High quality images of about half of their diamonds
- 24/7 Customer Service
- 100% credit towards future upgrades (must be at least double in value)
- Best in class fulfillment
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