Andres Fine Jewelers - Competitors' Pricing

Competitors Pricing

All pricing from competitors was derived from either telephone inquiries or secret shopper gold sales by our staff.

The Andre's price was the exact price we were paying for 14K gold at the same date and time.

* next to the price has additional information below the chart.

Store Name City / State Date Time Competitor / Gram 14K Andre / Gram 14K

Tapper's Gold Exchange Dearborn, MI 5/25/12
1:45pm
Secret Shopper Purchase
*$18.99 / Gram
Please see important information below regarding Tapper's 110% price match guarantee and how Andre's price is still better after their fine print is taken into account. $25.25 / Gram

Check N Gold Farmington Hills, MI 5/29/12 3:40pm
Secret Shopper Purchase $17.20 / Gram $25.25 / Gram

Lucido Jewelry Sterling Heights, MI 6/12/12 12:14pm $18.00 / Gram $25.50 / Gram

Astrein's Jewelry Birmingham, MI 6/12/12 11:59am $23.68 / Gram $25.50 / Gram

Rottermond Jewelers Brighton 6/12/12 11:57am $16.08 / Gram $25.50 / Gram

Edmund T. Ahee Gross Pointe Woods, MI 6/12/12 12:01pm $19.01 / Gram $25.50 / Gram

Medawar Jewelers Okemos, MI 6/12/12 12:11pm $21.42 / Gram $25.50 / Gram

Abbott's Birmingham, MI 6/12/12 12:23pm $24.00 / Gram $25.50 / Gram

Birmingham Coin Birmingham, MI 6/12/12 12:25pm $22.00 / Gram $25.50 / Gram

Lewis Jewelers Ann Arbor, MI 6/12/12 Would not quote on phone.
Look to past quotes below. $25.50 / Gram

*Why Andre’s price is still better than Tapper’s 110% price match guarantee.

Quick Synopsis:

Secret shopper from Andre’s was sent to 2 Tapper’s Gold locations on 5/25/12 and 5/29/12.
The initial price offered by Tappers for 14K gold on 5/25/12 was $18.99/gram which included their 30% special bonus (usually it’s 25%). Andre’s was paying $25.25/gram at the same time.
Our secret shopper asked if they matched prices and they told us they had a 110% price match guarantee. It turns out their price match guarantee is not what we or in our opinion anyone else would think it is.
Tapper’s doesn’t add 10% on to the higher competitor’s price that they are matching but takes 10% of the difference between the two prices and adds that to competitor’s price.
However, with a competitor like us that is so much higher than them, they have a maximum amount they will pay which is 90% of the spot gold price. This is what they told us they were offering us for the price match, but the price they said was 90% of the spot gold price was not, it was under 84% of the spot gold price.
We went to another location on 5/29/12 to make sure this was not an error, but we had the exact same experience.
In the end, Andre’s price offered for 14K gold was higher than Tapper’s even after their 30% special bonus and their 110% price match guarantee.

Detailed Analysis:

You would think that if Tapper’s is offering a 110% price match guarantee that they would match our price and then pay 10% more. Well, after 2 secret shopper experiences, we have confirmed that this is not true. On 5/25/12 at 1:45pm, our secret shopper went into the Tapper’s Gold Exchange in Fairlane Town Center. We gave them 7.0 grams of 14K gold where they offered us $18.99/gram after their special 30% bonus price (usually it’s 25%). Andre’s was paying $25.25/gram at that same time. In dollars Tapper’s initial offer was $132.93, Andre’s would have paid $176.75.

Different prices are not our issue with Tapper’s. We have always offered a higher price for gold. The problem is with the price match guarantee. After giving them the gold and getting the price, our secret shopper asked if they matched other gold buyers. They said they had a 110% price match guarantee. We gave them a computer printout of the Andre’s Fine Jewelers website where it showed the prices from that day. Initially, the representative said their policy worked like this: They take the difference between the competitor price and their price and take 10% of that which would then be added to the price. While we don’t believe that this is really in the spirit of their claim, it’s not that bad and would then make their price higher than ours by $0.62/gram. Their price of $18.99/gram and our price of $25.25/gram created a difference of $6.26/gram, 10% of that is $0.62/gram. If added to our price that would make their price $25.87/gram. The representative then said he needed to call his boss to verify exactly how to handle this. When he returned, he said their policy states that there is a maximum that they will pay which is 90% of the spot price of gold. They said that amount was $24.64/gram for a total of $172.48. The representative kept stating how good a deal this is to get 90% of the spot price of gold but in reality this was not 90% of the spot price of gold. The spot price of gold at that time had a high/low of $1,573.60/ounce and $1,570.07/ounce. 90% of the spot price of 14K gold in grams would actually be $26.50/gram, not the $24.64/gram we were paid. We believe their policy is written to state they will pay up to 90% so they didn’t go against their policy but represented it incorrectly. We had our secret shopper go to the Great Lakes Crossing location on 5/29/12 at 2:45pm. We wanted to make sure this wasn’t just a mistake by an employee. We had the exact same result regarding the 90% of spot price maximum. The only difference was we were paid $24.93/gram, a little higher price but still below ours.

In the end, Andre’s price offered for 14K gold was still higher than Tapper’s. We believe that anyone stating they pay 30% more for your gold or a 110% price match guarantee that really doesn’t mean what they say is not the way we choose to do business. We feel a straight forward approach of publishing our prices everyday and then proving to you when you’re here that we are giving you exactly that price for exactly the weight and karatage you have is the best way for anyone to sell their gold.

Past Price Comparisons

Store Name City / State Date Time Competitor / Gram 14K Andre / Gram 14K

Check N Gold Farmington Hills, MI 8/4/11 Secret Shopper Purchase $17.10 / Gram $27.25 / Gram

Tapper's West Bloomfield, MI 7/13/11 Secret Shopper Purchase
$17.81 / Gram
$25.75 / Gram

Lucido Jewelry Sterling Heights, MI 7/13/11 3:07pm $18.00 / Gram $25.75 / Gram

Astrein's Jewelry Birmingham, MI 7/13/11 2:51pm $23.00 / Gram $25.75 / Gram

Rottermond Jewelers Brighton 7/13/11 2:49pm $16.72 - $17.36 / Gram $25.75 / Gram

Edmund T. Ahee Gross Pointe Woods, MI 7/13/11 2:55pm $17.30 / Gram $25.75 / Gram

Medawar Jewelers Okemos, MI 7/13/11 3:05pm $16.00 / Gram $25.75 / Gram

Becky Beauchine East Lansing, MI 7/13/11 2:59pm $20.67 / Gram $25.75 / Gram

H & H Jewelry Design Lansing, MI 7/13/11 2:57pm Would not quote on phone.
Look to past quotes below. $25.75 / Gram

Lewis Jewelers Ann Arbor, MI 7/13/11 3:17pm $14 - $20 / Gram $25.75 / Gram

Store Name City / State Date Time Competitor / Gram 14K Andre / Gram 14K

Tapper's Gold Exchange Lakeside Mall, MI 1/26/11 Secret Shopper Purchase
$15.09 / Gram
$22.00 / Gram

Lucido Jewelry Sterling Heights, MI 1/27/11 2:40pm $17.00 / Gram $22.00 / Gram

Check N Gold Warren. MI 1/26/11 Secret Shopper Purchase $11.00 / Gram * $22.00 / Gram

Valley Gold Mine Troy, MI 1/26/11 Secret Shopper Purchase $13.77 / Gram $22.00 / Gram

Astrein's Jewelry Birmingham, MI 1/27/11 1:12pm $19.00 / Gram $22.00 / Gram

Rottermond Jewelers Brighton 1/27/11 1:09pm $14.15 - $14.79 / Gram * $22.00 / Gram

Edmund T. Ahee Gross Pointe Woods, MI 1/27/11 1:15pm $14.40 / Gram $22.00 / Gram

Medawar Jewelers Okemos, MI 1/27/11 2:40pm $15.00 / Gram $22.00 / Gram

Becky Beauchine East Lansing, MI 1/27/11 2:35pm $9.28 / Gram $22.00 / Gram

H & H Jewelry Design Lansing, MI 1/27/11 1:21pm $10.93 / Gram * $22.00 / Gram

Lewis Jewelers Ann Arbor, MI 1/27/11 1:25pm $15 - $20 / Gram * $22.00 / Gram

* Check N Gold - Warren, MI - We called them on 1/25/11 at 11:01am and they quoted us $21.50 / gram for 14K gold.
   Our secret shopper went there on 1/26/11 and sold them 5.0 grams of 14K gold. We received $55 or $11.00/gram.
   The spot price of gold was almost identical between when we called on 1/25 and when we went in on 1/26.
   This was the biggest difference between a quoted price and the actual price that we have ever experienced or
    even heard of.

* Rottermond Jewelers - Brighton, MI - When we called them on 1/27/11 at 1:09pm, they would only quote prices in
    Pennyweights. That amount quoted was $22 - $23 a pennyweight. They would not give us a quote in grams.
    $22 - $23 a pennyweight is equivalent to $14.15 - $14.79 / gram. Many people don't understand the difference and
    when trying to price shop would think the pennyweight figure is the same as grams. Andre's finds this practice to
    to be borderline deceptive. We quote our prices in both grams and pennyweights so you can really see what we pay.

* H & H Jewelry Design - Lansing, MI - This jeweler would also only quote in pennyweights as the one above. However
they paid even less at $17 pennyweight or $10.93 / gram.

* Lewis Jewelers - Ann Arbor, MI - When we called them on 1/27/11 at 1:25pm, they said they paid $15 - $20 / gram.
   While we don't know why there would be such a big spread in prices and we don't know what would warrant a higher
   or lower price, we feel a place that buys gold should quote a price and stand behind it. So, as far as the consumer is
   concerned, they should figure their quote at $15 / gram even though we put the spread in our chart.

Store Name City / State Date Time Competitor / Gram 14K Andre / Gram 14K

Tapper's Jewelry West Bloomfield, MI 7/9/10 11:40am $14.02 / Gram $18.75 / Gram

Lucido Jewelry Sterling Heights, MI 5/26/10 2:56pm $15.50 / Gram $18.75 / Gram

Astrein's Jewelry Birmingham, MI 5/26/10 2:18pm $16.94 / Gram $18.75 / Gram

Rottermond Jewelers Brighton 5/26/10 2:14pm $14.00 / Gram $18.75 / Gram

Jewelry Depot Brighton 5/26/10 2:11pm $13.62 / Gram $18.75 / Gram

Lavdas Gold Exchange Warren 5/26/10 2:58pm $15.00 / Gram $18.75 / Gram

Edmund T. Ahee Gross Pointe Woods, MI 5/26/10 2:18pm $15.01 / Gram $18.75 / Gram

Wachler Jewelers Birmingham, MI 5/26/10 2:17pm $14-$15 / Gram $18.75 / Gram

Medawar Jewelers Okemos, MI 5/26/10 2:56pm $10 - $13 / Gram $18.75 / Gram

Wheat Jewelers East Lansing, MI 5/26/10 2:53pm $14.50 / Gram $18.75 / Gram

Becky Beauchine East Lansing, MI 5/26/10 2:52pm $8.82 / Gram $18.75 / Gram

H & H Jewelry Design Lansing, MI 5/26/10 2:30pm $16.32 / Gram $18.75 / Gram

Tapper's Gold Exchange Troy, MI 7/9/10 11:40am $14.02 / Gram $18.75 / Gram

Lewis Jewelers Ann Arbor, MI 2/3/10 2:25pm $10 - $15 / Gram $16.75 / Gram

Mr. Z and Co. Jewelers Flint, MI 2/3/10 2:23pm $14.50 / Gram $16.75 / Gram