[mausketeer]

Hi there - I was wondering if anyone here had bought any pearls from Overstock.com? I recently talked my (wonderful!) boyfriend into buying me an 18" necklace (8.5 to 9mm) of Tahitian circled pearls from them for my birthday next month. The photo of them looks GREAT (I really prefer the "Christmas Tree Ornament" shape like these APPEAR to be to the "rain drop" shape in the baroque/circled pearls) If they are as good as they look in the photo, I think it's a pretty good deal (they were on sale for $340). Most of the reviews of people who had bought them raved about how close to the photo they are so..... I am very hopeful!

Just wondered if anyone else had purchased these and since Overstock buys well...... overstock from other stores, I also wondered it they knew where they originally came from?

I'll take pics of the actual item when they are received......

EDIT: forgot to mention that they are grade B.......

[The Pearl Outlet]

Word of caution... Overstock isn't known for quality. The price is reasonable.

[callire]

I've found overstock is either hit or miss. Just FYI- There are a few baroque strands at PearlParadise for $350-$400s...

[jshepherd]

I would agree with Terry.

The piece in the picture looks nice, but every piece of pearl jewelry I have seen from Overstock has been very poor quality. I have not seen any Tahitians, but I have seen their akoya and freshwater. The akoya pearls were peeling nacre and the freshwater were heavily spotted and coated with polymer (online they looked great, however). It was the first time I had seen polymer coatings. I sent the strand to Sharon Wakefield who confirmed it.

Just make certain you can send it back if the piece you receive is not the same one as pictured. It might be a stock photo, not the actual piece.

[jshepherd]

I just checked it out. It is a stock photo. from the feedback, however, it may be a good piece.

[Jazz]

I purchased some pearl pieces (akoya and Tahitian) from Overstock quite some years ago and was generally happy with them, but that was before they became big and got into everything... Back then the pieces I received seemed to have come from the inventory of actual jewelry stores -- some pieces came in boxes with the store's name on them -- rather than what they carry nowadays which seem mostly generically sourced. In any event, I remember that very stock photo from all those years ago and can't imagine it is true to the actual strands being sold. It is also impossible to get more detailed information from them (I've tried both calling and online chat), and for a while, they had a 15% restocking fee policy for jewelry returns (I don't think they still do), so to me it wasn't worth the trouble (or the potential savings) anymore. But I'm curious about how your purchase will turn out...

[mausketeer]

Yeah, I figured it would be a bit of a gamble - but they do have a good return policy so.... not too scared about that aspect of it.

I've been looking at the strands on Pearl Paradise (FOREVER!) and I just haven't seen anything that I like as far as the SHAPE goes for a price I can afford. Like I said, I prefer the more bulbous heavily grooved pearls (without the pointed ends - some of them almost look like gourds) and the lower priced strands seem to be mostly comprised of that "raindrop" shape which I just don't find attractive. Hopefully when everyone said "they look just like the photos" they actually MEANT it!

[callire]

You could always email/call PP and ask to see if they could possibly string you up a strand with your specifications within your budget.

[Hanaleimom]

Reviews are very subjective. Knowing myself being very picky, I was tempted but did not want to purchase jewelry from overstock. Besides a well-known faucet brand & a brand name cashmere coat that I've bought, most items that I've purchased were returned or just mediocre, despite the raves (high thread-count sheets, 2 leather jackets (damaged), dresses, generic leather purse). And if the items are not up to your standards and are returned, you have to pay shipping charge on the original shipment in addition to the $1/$2 that you paid.

[Nerida]

I don't know overstock at all - but you know I think you could get better pearls for the price. I know it seems reasonable, and not expensive, but there is a bit of a price drop in Tahitians of this shape and size recently.

Make sure you are happy with the strand before deciding to keep it - to my mind, it looks like it might be quite blemished. Sorry, I really don't mean to be negative, and if you love this shape (all the ones I have in stock are less ringed, but much much cleaner) then they might just be exactly what you want!

[waimeamomi]

And it depends on the grading. Is it Tahitian standard B which by our very own Pearl-Guide information says:
Flawless on at least 70% of pearl’s surface
Only 30% of pearl’s surface may exhibit slight, concentrated imperfections
Only one or two deep inclusions allowable
Pearl should drill or set nearly clean
Luster is high to very high

Or is it the AAA standard of grading which according to our very own Pearl-Guide for A quality is:
At least 60% of pearl’s surface will exhibit flaws
Deep inclusions and/or white spots within inclusions on up to 20% of pearl’s surface
Luster is poor to very high
Unless you can see them for yourself or don't mind returning them, I would say to buy pearls from pearl people. If you don't like them, or they are not as advertised, kiss your boyfriend, tell him what a beautiful thought, return them and repost with a description of what you want. I'll bet you get some PMs that might help you get what you want. If you love them, then I won't give you any instructions as to the boyfriend part!!

[mausketeer]

LOL - thanks for all the great advice everybody! Well, they've been shipped already so it's too late now..... we'll have to see what I get! I've been looking at Tahitians on Pearl Paradise for about a year and hadn't seen any I liked that were in my budget until AFTER I made this post and checked back there when Callire said they had some.... and there they are!!!! There are a couple of strands on there that I really like AND they are within my price range - darn it!!! I had given up finding anything I could afford and had just stopped looking when I stumbled across these ones at Overstock..... Oh well, if they're crap I'll send them back and get the ones from PP instead... no biggie...... lesson learned......

I'll be sure to post pictures though so everyone can see what they actually look like......

thanks again......

Jodie

[pearlkrazy]

I bought a sterling & freshwater pearl ring from them that I'm very happy with. It was very inexpensive ($35!), so I was willing to take a chance. It actually looks just as pictured on the website. The luster is slightly lower than I would like, but for the price I was more than satisfied. I also didn't want to get a really nice ring, because I'm a huge klutz & I knew I'd be knocking it into everything. Fits the bill

[mausketeer]

Well they came! I was expecting the worst but in general, I'm quite impressed (keep in mind I AM a newbie to all this so my opinion is obviously just my personal choice of what I like versus what may be considered "good quality").

The colours are well matched (they are all a uniform dark grey body colour with I guess peacock overtones - mostly green with some pink) The shapes are pretty much exactly what I had hoped for (mainly off-round with lots of circling/grooves which is what I wanted. I was really hoping that they would NOT be drop shaped or have many of those sharp points on the end - like dredels!) and (I think) the lustre is pretty good. They are B grade so I expected some blemishes but many of the pearls have VERY few blemishes on them (about half of them seem quite clean) so that was a nice surprise.

However, there are three issues that may make me return them: although they are mostly nice shapes, there are a few that I do NOT like at all (one is very "blobby" shaped - like a russet potato - lol; while another one has a large "blob" on the end of it which is not too attractive); also, one of the pearls appears to have some sort of chipping at the drill hole but I don't know enough about them to know if this is a natural occurance or not (it's on a pearl that is whitish on the side where it has been drilled so this could be because of that?); the biggest problem I have with them though is that in general, I don't see a lot of "orient" to them - they have a nice lustre, but I don't see a lot of colours flashing, at least not compared to some of the strands that I have been looking at on Pearl Paradise, Pure Pearls, and Pearl Oasis so...... I will post photos and ask the experts to weigh in.

In general, for $340 I think they are very nice, but I am thinking of perhaps saving up a bit more and buying ones of better quality......

[Jazz]

About the luster and overtones -- I remember reading a little while ago on this forum that pearls sometimes "wake up" after a long flight and look better in the next few days after they arrive in the mail. I have seen that myself. Maybe something to keep in mind? However, if ultimately you are not completely happy with the necklace and want a better stand, then definitely go for it. Pearls can be so personal I think it's hard to settle for something less.