Andre's Fine Jewelers
Worth The Drive
Andre's Fine Jewelers has been the destination for truly unique jewelry for over three decades. Our customers have come to us to mark the most memorable moments of their lives, from their engagement to the birth of their children, birthdays, retirements and everything in between. We take your pictures and ideas and advise you on design composition. We rough sketch an idea, and upon your agreement, create a computer generated rendering. After your approval of the rendering we start the manufacturing process. At each stage you have the opportunity to see the progress, from the rendering, to the wax, to the rough casting all the way to the finished product. We take the time to build these relationships with our customers, because we understand that each moment of your life is unique to you and the people you share it with.
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.
Past and Recent Price Comparisons
| Store Name | City / State | Date | Time | Competitor / Gram 14K | Andre / Gram 14K |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solid Gold & Silver Jewelry | Hartland, MI | 9/10/14 |
5:15pm Secret Shopper Purchase |
**12.98 / Gram Please see important information regarding internet advertisements |
$19.00 / Gram |
| Genesee Valley Gold & Silver | Howell, MI | 9/12/14 |
11:40am |
$14 00- 15.00 / Gram |
$19.00 / Gram |
| Benson Diamond Jewelers | Westland, MI | 9/12/14 |
12:05pm |
$11.00 - !2.00 / Gram |
$19.00 / Gram |
| 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 | 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 |
** Andres proves once again that we pay the highest prices for gold
- Our secret shopper went to Solid Gold and Silver Jewelry on September 10th, 2014.
- On that date, Solid Gold and Silver Jewelry was advertising that they paid $19.50 per gram for 14k gold with a similar ad as the one we have been running for several years.
- We sold them over one ounce of 14k gold and our secret shopper got paid $12.98 per gram which is $6.52 per gram less than we were paying on that same day. It was also $6.52 less per gram than they advertised on that day
*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.
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