Vickie Anton's Jewelry & Gifts ripoff dishonest fraudulent sale of an engagement ring screwed others too immature, two faced, sneeky, lying b Baton Rouge Louisiana

I would be shocked to find out that Vicki ripped anyone off. She wants to make the customer happy while making a living. I admit she can be a bit pushy but if don't have the savvy to say - not what I'm looking for - then shop at Wal Mart. She sells you what you ask for. If you want high quality, she'll find you high quality. If you want junk - she'll find that for you too. When my future son-in-law told her how much he could afford, she went to work finding the highest quality stone she could for the money he was able to spend. She will also educate you on what you are looking at. She worked with me for about 6-months before we closed the deal. I, just like a previous commenter have had many jewelers shocked at the price I got from Vicki. I

I wonder about Randell comments. Perhaps he did not specify he wanted a certified diamond. Also Vicki is a graduate gemologist from the G.I.A. so if he received an appraisal he has documentation. I find it odd that he mentioned Beth by name. It leads me to believe that he may be friends with this Beth. Who, according to memory, was taken to court for stealing from Ms. Anton. The use of foul language in this report would not be out of character for that situation. I am also quite sure that the price paid for the diamond was fair if not better than he would have received elsewhere. Randell has not mentioned anything that might be wrong with his purchase instead he has made a personal attack on Ms. Anton so I believe this is the work of a disgruntled employee and their associate.

Been in the jewelry business for 24+ years. The latest scam I've come across is customers buying "certified" diamonds with "certs" that DON'T match up to the diamond they are buying. MOST are bought off the internet. Talked to one of my diamond guys who told me the story about how he was in a store when some guy comes in and asks the owner if he has any "leftover" certificates, either EGL or GIA. The guy says he'll pay $35 for EGL or $50 for GIA "certs" and will buy as many as the owner can come up with. The owner threw him out. You know it's real hard to compete with con artist who do business that way. The cons find a diamond the weighs the same as the "cert" and sell it as is. ALL people know is it comes with a "cert". So people, be aware of what you are buying.

My husband purchased my engagment ring from Vicki Antons about 4 months ago.

I do not deny the original poster's claim, but I feel a need to express my opion of Vicki's business.

Over the past couple of months I have been to several jewelry stores and have received hundreds of compliments on my ring, both from professionals and ordinary people. I had a long conversation with a very well established jewler who was amazed when I told him how much my husband paid for the ring. He did not deny Vicki still made a profit from our purchase, but she gave us a VERY good deal for an absolutely gorgeous ring.

I could not be happier with my ring and I have recommended Vicki Anton's to several of my friends and family.

Vicki even had my ring ready for my husband's surprise proposal not even a week later. I found the employees, including Vicki's very sweet mother to be extremely friendly, helpfull and overall caring.

I suggest you give them a chance to rectify the situation as I am sure they would like to.

Sincerely,

This is a case of bad judgment on your part...not misfortune. A heads up or comparison shop to some reputable jewelers aside from this one should have had you running out the door.

Bad things do happen to good people, but dumb things happen to those who aren't paying attention or lack common sense.

Unfortunately, no school teaches that any more..we're all too focused on "technical education" of a task....not deductive reasoning.

This is a case of bad judgment on your part...not misfortune. A heads up or comparison shop to some reputable jewelers aside from this one should have had you running out the door.

Bad things do happen to good people, but dumb things happen to those who aren't paying attention or lack common sense.

Unfortunately, no school teaches that any more..we're all too focused on "technical education" of a task....not deductive reasoning.

This is a case of bad judgment on your part...not misfortune. A heads up or comparison shop to some reputable jewelers aside from this one should have had you running out the door.

Bad things do happen to good people, but dumb things happen to those who aren't paying attention or lack common sense.

Unfortunately, no school teaches that any more..we're all too focused on "technical education" of a task....not deductive reasoning.

I guess unfortunate things do not happen to folks in Wisconsin, is that right? I am happy to have finally found the one place in the world where everyone is honest and nobody ever tries to get over on anyone. Can I move in with you, Joe? I would love to live in your town...the town of naiveville.

Have you ever thought that maybe bad things happen to people even when they do the best they can to avoid them? You are not the only cautious person in the world my friend.

why the hel1 would you do business with them anyway....they obviously would be going bankrupt because they ran their business in a crappy way.

That and if they did, you'd have no recourse if you were sold a piece of glass instead. Why can't you people take responsibility for your own actions and research things a bit more completely before taking the word of someone who is "rushing" you to a decision and especially someone with financial trouble.

Those in financial trouble are going to do what they can to stay out of it...and that means to screw you if that's what it takes.

I can't assess the blame on anyone but the buyer for being dumb enough to do business with someone that acts like described. So you learned a lesson here....didn't you? Now pay attention next time and watch for those plain-as-day signs someone is pulling a fast one on you.

Man....I got a bridge to sell you too...want that?

She will take advantage of the slightest weakness that she can find and exploit it straight to her bank. She will pressure you into making a decision, exaggerate wildly about everything, and will complain about how she is "losing money" on your deal sooner or later. Everyone I have ever known that has dealt with her has mentioned that she told them she would "go bankrupt" if she always sold jewelry at those prices. She says this to nearly all of her customers to make them think she is their friend, when she is really making a killing anyway because of the incredible markup on diamonds and the like.

Stay out of this store. There is another jewelry store in Baton Rouge that bears the Anton name and I have found them to be light years better than Vicki. George Anton runs the other store and it is simply called "Anton's". I highly recommend (George) Anton's and I personally know George...he isn't a bit like Vicki. Go see him and not someone like Vicki who is using the family name and reputation to rip people off.

I read an entire book about diamonds before I started shopping. Anton tried every trick in the book to rip me off. She actually tried to tell me the "cut" was how proportional the Length and Width of the square princess cut was ?!?!? How lame is that ? She was running around the store very unprofessionally and her asking price was about 300% more than what the diamonds were worth. I would guess she probably paid around $1000 for the diamond I was looking at. It was probably only worth $1300, she was trying to get $3500 from me. The sad part is, it was extremely obvious (to me) that she was ripping people off left and right. It's sad that all those young, naive men come in there and she plays em like a fiddle.

Although I think that there is a definite need for your site and others like it to "out" business' that unfairly, unjustly, or unethically treat todays consumer, this particular report is unfounded, inaccurate, untrue, and paints a completely different picture of the actual events surrounding the particular transaction. The report I am referring to is in reference to Vicki Anton's Jewelery in Baton Rouge, LA and was posted on May 2, 2003. In the report, the consumer says that Ms. Anton rushed him to make a payment.

In actuality, Ms. Anton had been working with this particular consumer for well over a year. The consumer also references a statement that was made along the lines of "her employee was being rushed out of the door to the bank so she wouldn't go bankrupt."

First of all this particular jewelery store has been in business for many years and one transaction will definitely not bankrupt any store, this one in particular. Ms. Anton did make a joking remark that if she consistently sold diamonds for what she sold the consumer one for, she would go out of business. She didn't and nor do I see where this is out of line in anyway for a retailer to say something like that. The consumer left out a few very important facts. One, the thing that upset him so much was the fact the very day he purchased the ring, he took it to another jeweler and asked how much that jeweler would purchase the ring for.

As anyone who has any dealings with retail knows, items depreciate, especially jewelery. The consumer did not ask what it would appraise for or what the other jeweler would sell it for. He asked for a outright purchase price. Similar to pawn shops, when jewelers purchase items off the street, the purchase price is never equal to the "appraised" or "retail" value.

Secondly, Ms. Anton offered to give the consumer a full refund of his purchase price when he returned to the store that afternoon. The consumer declined and started to act belligerent. When he was asked to leave, he became even more irate and swore that he would do all he could to ruin Ms. Antons credibility.

The fact that there has never been anymore reports of "bad" behavior to your site on Ms. Anton and given the fact she did try to make the consumer happy, this report paints a malishous, vengeful point of view. I understand the consumers frustration.

Have you ever purchased an automobile and brought it in a week later and try to sell it back? If you have then you understand his frustration as I do. However that does not give him the right to distort the facts to paint a scenario that is much worse than the actual event. This is no more than a case of a vengeful person trying to destroy the reputation of a very good business person who has consistently shown a willingness to help rather than hurt the buying public.

If you do not believe this, I challenge you to shop here yourself or have a mystery shopper do it for you. You will see that Ms. Anton goes above and beyond the call of duty so to speak to make the consumer satisfied. A public watchdog serves a much needed duty to the public but I would also anticipate that you are also fair minded enough to see that this isn't a correct use of your site.

It is no more than a slanderous attempt to discredit someone that had only the best interest of the consumer at heart and is now being vilified for that.

One other thing, I am only a customer of Ms. Anton's. I only recently purchased my own engagment ring from her and have and will continue to recommend her whole heartedly to any that ask. She stayed 2 hours past closing to help me, waited on my fiance like she was a princess and gave me a very good price on a utterly amazing ring.

After having read the previous post, I had concerns that were more than laid to rest by Ms. Anton. She was courteous, upfront and honest. I have nothing but fine things to say about this example of the way retail should be operated.

It is not an accurate account of the actual sale. I would like to have the rest of the information you have forwarded to me. This way both sides of the story can be described accurately. This business has been open for over 8 years and have not had any complaints of this nature before. I would like to know how an accusation like this can be posted without notification of the business reported. I would like to have this removed from this site. Please email me with response or how to rectify this situation immediately.