Zales

Full review
When it comes to buying gifts, some people are difficult to shop for. They never really state specifically what they want or they already have so many things that buying a present almost seems pointless. But there is one type of gift that is almost guaranteed to satisfy even the toughest recipient, especially if that recipient happens to be female. The gift I’m talking about is jewelry and one of the many web services that offers precious gems is Zales.com, the on- line store for the popular jeweler.

What Does This Service Offer?

At Zales.com, customers can shop for:

Jewelry- Rings, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and other like items form the majority of the products sold at Zales.com.

Watches- Shop among quality brand names like Festina, Bulova, Seiko, and others.

Gift Cards- Both traditional and e-mail gift cards are available at Zales.com and they make a good choice for those occasions when you cannot think of the right type of jewelry for a specific person.

Payment Methods/Shipping Charges:

Zales.com accepts Mastercard, Visa, American Express, Discover, and Zales Diamond Card (Zales own credit card) for payment as well as its own gift cards. Cash, personal checks, money orders, etc., are not accepted for payment. Charges made to credit cards and debit cards become effective as soon as the item ships.

Shipping charges at Zales.com are based on the shipping method selected. There are presently five methods: Fed Ex second day, Fed Ex overnight, Fed Ex Saturday, Fed Ex International, and USPS to both post offices and street addresses. Shipping is free on orders of $199 or greater (using Fed Ex second day). Otherwise, rates range from roughly $13 to $33 for domestic shipments. International shipments cost about $55 to ship. All U.S. orders will have sales tax computed at check out.

Customer Service:

Contacting customer service at Zales.com is easy because it is available twenty- four hours per day, seven days per week. The web site can be used to check order status, find answers to common questions, or to send a direct message to the Zales.com team. Calls can be made to 800-311-JEWEL (800-311-5393).

Final Thoughts:

Zales.com is a good place to shop for jewelry for all types of occasions and it marks the first time in my internet shopping career that I have used an on- line store for purchasing jewelry. I have used the internet for hundreds of purchases and/or researches of merchandise but jewelry is one of the few things I had not shopped for on- line until a couple of weeks ago.

I have made many jewelry purchases in actual stores but not on- line and my reluctance to purchase jewelry via the internet has always come down to two key reasons: 1. Not being able to see and examine the jewelry in person before purchasing and 2. Anxiety over having a small package containing an expensive item shipped to my home undamaged. I have shopped at Zales stores in local shopping malls so I was already familiar with the store and its products. What finally convinced me to overcome these fears were the fact that the item I was purchasing was pretty standardized (a sapphire necklace, ring, and earring set) and the fact that Zales.com was offering free Fed Ex second day shipping on ANY size order. The time seemed right, so I gave in and made a visit to Zales.com for the purchase of one of my Christmas presents.

Zales.com is a decent enough place to shop for jewelry on- line and it offers several ways to narrow your search. I came here with an idea in mind about what I wanted to buy so I didn’t need to browse for a gift. But as soon as I noticed the different ways to look for a gift my fingers started to wander and I found myself browsing through the gift section anyway. Gifts can be searched by his/her categories, by price level, by “Brilliant Buys” (special deals offered by Zales.com), by catalog number, and by checking the category titled “As seen on TV”. These different options are nice because they give potential customers several ways to search for the perfect gift.

Zales.com, like most other jewelers, is constantly offering special deals to encourage sales. When I shopped here, the special offer was free shipping on any order and this is what convinced me to make a purchase. Specials are constantly changing, however, so it is difficult to say what deal could be in place when you decide to shop. The last time I checked (just minutes ago), Zales.com was offering a $100 gift certificate free with every $300 purchase. Tomorrow, the offer might be different. But don’t worry if you shop at Zales.com- there is almost always some type of special offer to encourage sales.

My anxiety about not being able to see the jewelry and examine it before purchasing was laid to rest when I shopped at Zales.com. Like I said before, what I purchased was more standardized than other jewelry purchases so seeing the product wasn’t that important. But I’m not so sure I would have made a purchase on- line of a more expensive item, like a large diamond. With things like diamonds, examination is more important so I can understand why people would hesitate to make a purchase through the internet.

One other thing I was worried about was how Zales.com handled returns because I certainly did not want to mail back my purchase (if something was wrong with it) and wait for a refund or exchange. Fortunately, Zales.com offers a very good return policy. If you don’t like what you received, you can return it to an actual Zales location for a full refund. This is great to know and, once again, it helped to ease my fears about shopping for jewelry on- line. I won’t know if I will need to return anything until Christmas Day rolls around (The items looked fine to me, but you never know if the wife will find them acceptable or not when she opens the box) but it is nice to know that I can drive to a nearby shopping center to return an item.

Most items at Zales.com are described in good detail and come in a single size that fits all. But there is one word of caution about shopping for rings: If you select a set (like I did) that includes a ring and other jewelry items, Zales.com will default the ring size to a size 7. If an individual ring is selected, Zales.com will allow customers to select a specific size but sets default to a size 7 with no way to change this when you add the item to your shopping bag. A call to customer service with your order number in hand will be necessary to get the size changed.

Overall, I am satisfied with this, my first on- line jewelry purchase. I got my order in only three business days and paid no shipping so I have no complaints in this area. Only time will tell if the item will need to be returned but if it does, I’m not too worried because I know I can return the item(s) to a local Zales store.

Jewelry is one of the few gifts that is acceptable to most any woman and it makes a good choice for those times when you find yourself in a bind and cannot think of anything good to order. Zales.com is a large jewelry company with a strong on- line presence, good discount offers, and an easy return policy. The on- line store doesn’t have a huge inventory and it doesn’t have everything I would expect if I was browsing on- line for something to buy. But it does offer some good deals on jewelry at a total cost that is competitive with other jewelry retailers.