Questions to ask a dealer before wiring money

The loose stone trade still runs on bank wires between people who have often never met. That is not a flaw; it is how the business has worked for generations, and it functions because good dealers answer hard questions before money moves. A wire, once sent, is gone. Everything that protects you happens before the transfer, in writing, and none of it requires more than persistence.

Establish who you are paying

• The registered business name and where it is registered. Casual trading names are fine for conversation and useless for recourse.
• Whether the bank account name matches the business name on the invoice. A mismatch is the oldest tell in payment fraud and deserves a direct explanation or the end of the conversation.
• How long they have traded, from what premises, and which trade bodies list them. Memberships you can check, not logos on a website.
• Who answers when something goes wrong, and in what timezone.

Pin down the stone

• A current report from a laboratory you can verify online, with the report number carried onto the invoice.
• The invoice itself stating weight, measurements, treatment and any origin opinion. The report is the lab's opinion; the invoice is the seller's contract with you. The two must agree.
• Recent video of the actual stone beside its report, in daylight and indoors. Photographs flatter; video under ordinary light tells you more.

Agree the exit before the entry

• Approval terms: how many days you have with the stone, who insures it while it is in your hands, and who pays shipping in each direction.
• The refund route and timeline, in writing, if the stone comes back.
• Whether any deduction applies on return. The correct number for a stone returned as sent is zero.
• If the sale is final with no approval window, that is a term to price, not necessarily to refuse.

The wire itself

• Invoice before payment, always, and payment only to the entity named on it.
• Treat any late change of bank details, whether by email, message or a fresh document, as fraud until proven otherwise. Confirm through a number you already hold, not one supplied by the message that asked.
• With a new dealer, consider a first transaction sized so that its loss would annoy rather than wound.
• Escrow and card rails cost more and exist precisely for first dealings. A dealer who refuses every such option on a first transaction is answering a question you did not ask.

Shipping, insurance and duties

• Who insures the stone in transit, door to door, and at what declared value.
• When risk passes to you: on despatch, at customs, or at signature.
• Who is responsible for import taxes and duty in your market, and roughly what they will amount to. Surprises at customs have soured clean purchases.

What verification changes

Admission to GemsVerified means a dealer's legitimacy, certification practice and disclosure record have been checked, and that failing them has consequences. It shortens the distance between strangers; it does not replace these questions, and it never underwrites an individual stone. Verification tells you the dealer keeps their paperwork straight. The questions above tell you they will keep it straight with you.

The short list

For the final call before wiring, five questions cover most of the ground.

• Does the bank account name match the invoiced business name?
• Is the report current, from a laboratory I can verify, and quoted on the invoice?
• Are weight and treatment stated in writing on the invoice?
• What are the return terms, and who insures the stone until it reaches me?
• What happens, precisely, if the stone arrives and is not as described?

A dealer who has good answers to all five has probably given them many times before. That is the dealer you want.