How to Buy an Engagement Ring

Budget Range:  Engagement rings are generally $250 and up - $5,000 on average

At one point in time, you'd commonly hear the expression that you should spend two months’ salary on an engagement ring.  However, why would you want to spend that much money if A: you can't afford to spend two months’ salary on a ring or B: your soon-to-be fiancée doesn't want an engagement ring that will cost that much.

Confidential secret revealed - you do not have to spend 2 months' salary to get a great engagement ring!

Unfortunately, many women (and some men) want an engagement ring that does cost two months’ salary and you – the person paying for the engagement ring- can't afford spending so much! If this is you then it's going to be very important to learn how to buy an engagement ring at a good price.

So, then what's the best way to set a budget? Unfortunately, you are setting a budget for buying diamonds and gold. Obviously this will not be cheap.  However, if you're planning to buy the engagement ring from a jewelry store, you should NEGOTIATE!   It's a good thing that you're going to learn how to negotiate when buying an engagement ring at a jewelry store to save BIG money $!

For your budget:  Diamond engagement ring with a gold band

$500 on the low end up to millions of dollars for diamonds exhibiting ideal traits in the Four C's.  Ideal diamonds are scarce and scarcity drives up prices, especially for diamonds.

If you don't want to spend around five hundred dollars or more then you can try opting for a wedding band without a diamond.   A gold wedding band budget of $250 - $1,000 now is more reasonable, depending on type. The diamond typically comprises between 80% and 99% of the overall cost of the engagement ring.

Knowing how much you are comfortable spending is an important part of setting your budget.  Do you now have a $ amount in mind that you want to spend?  If so, good.  Remember it.  If you still do not know how much to spend then that’s ok – the next step will help determine the quality, size and type of engagement ring and get you going in the right direction with the following secret in the next step.

Are you buying online or at a "brick and mortar" jewelry store?  Generally speaking, online jewelers give you "the most bang for your buck."   If you want to get the best quality engagement ring for the budget you have set then buy from a reputable online jeweler.    

Confidential secret revealed - jewelry stores cannot compete with online jewelers based on price alone.  

The fact is, the consumer can get a much better deal by buying an engagement ring online vs. in a brick and mortar jewelry store.   

The table below will help you compare the pros and cons of buying an engagement ring online or at a jewelry store.  The decision is ultimately up to you based on your personal preference.  The table will help you decide how you want to buy your engagement ring.

Buying an Engagement Ring - At the Jewelry Store or Online?

Congratulations!  You now know the basics on how to buy an engagement ring.  Do some comparison shopping to see what kind of ring your budget will get you.  Remember, the 4Cs will be the basis for the cost of the diamond engagement ring.  The rarer the diamond, the higher the price.

Confidential Secret Revealed - When making trade offs between the 4Cs - Cut, Color, Clarity and Carat - the CUT of the diamond is the most important of the 4Cs for sparkle!  Sacrifice on clarity, not cut.  A round shaped, ideal cut diamond will sparkle the most!

When you have found THE engagement ring then you next have to pay for it.  
There are many payment options, including:  

How do you SAFELY buy an engagement ring online?

Many people are hesitant to buy an engagement ring online for numerous reasons.  A recent survey showed that only "1 out of 10 grooms (9%) purchased from an online retailer."  However, as long as you know how to buy an engagement ring from a reputable online jeweler then you are very unlikely to have any problems.  The online jewelers discussed on this site all have very good or great reputations for customer service.  Additionally, most also offer a 30 day "no questions asked" return policy.  

Confidential Secret Revealed - Many online jewelry stores also have retail "bricks and mortar" stores as well.  However, the deals you can get online are much better than you can get in the store.  You buy the diamond from the same company but you pay more if you buy in the store instead of online.  

The first way that you could get into trouble if you buy an engagement ring online is if you try to get a deal that "sounds too good to be true."  If it sounds too good to be true then it usually is.  Don't buy from ebay because ebay is simply individual sellers.  Don't buy from an obscure or little-known websites.  

If you are the kind of person who HAS to get a good deal then a good place to safely shop is UltraDiamonds.com.  Ultra Diamonds has over 165 bricks and mortar jewelry stores nationwide. The company employs over 1,100 associates, certified diamontologists and gemologists.

Should I Buy an Engagement Ring on eBay?

NO!!!!

eBay is one of the worst places to buy an engagement ring!  Why?  Because eBay is not a single business selling items but rather many thousands of individuals selling their items via eBay.  As a result, you really don't know exactly who you are buying from.  It is far more likely that you will run into problems or even fraud when buying an engagement ring on eBay.  Someone may try and sell a fake diamond or a diamond of very low quality.  

It is much safer to buy from a reputable online jeweler than eBay!