I emailed 10 jewelers about buying my ring and here's what happened.

Happy New Year.

New year, new grind. I'm still thinking about Caratdrop - a marketplace for secondhand diamonds and rings but took a substantial break after submitting a YC app.

My partner and I pushed pretty hard to finish our app in time for the deadline. Then, Hurricane Ida flooded my street and totaled my car. And my dog got sick (but shes better now) from the stress of it all. My full time job was also demanding this last quarter.

Glad I got to take some time off and re-examine where I want to go next with this.

So I spent a few hours yesterday and today emailing out the top 10 Jeweler on Yelp in my area.

4 contacted me back.
Out of the 4:
1 was very aggressive over the phone in his sales tactics and didn't want to be the first person to give an offer.
1 was very helpful and was willing to give a range before taking a look.
1 was willing to contact his diamond dealer to see if he was interested in purchasing.
1 replied back - but might be confused about my ask.

I don't like getting on phone calls so I'm proud to have stepped out of my comfort zone.

And some details: Originally a 10k diamond. The offer was 6-7k for the diamond and $500 for a $1200 band.

I've heard of 60% of retail so it's not surprising. Just not a great experience. Something I want to improve.

If you're in the market for a diamond ring, let me know!