What to look for when buying David Yurman jewelry on Ebay: plus GENERAL buying of designer jewelry. What to watch out for when surfing for designer jewelry on Ebay. Some general info as well on a successful Ebay transaction

 David Yurman jewelry authentication: Please note that David Yurman hallmarks all his/their jewelry.  I have not seen a piece of non-hallmarked Yurman. It would be fabulous if more American designers would follow the European manner of using serial numbers to identify specific pieces of jewelry so that it is registered with the designer and be tracked by the designer.

Tip: Some designers do not always hallmark their jewelry with their makers mark however their style is so distinctive that if you send it to the designer and they authenticate they will often hallmark it for you. This may make your piece more valuable later on (  or maybe the non-hallmarked items will be so rare that they will be more valuable, who knows)?

Remember when purchasing authentic David Yurman jewelry at any time  you can take your purchase to any David Yurman store and they can authenticate. Some of the new production of David Yurman bracelets have smaller hallmarks in lieu of the raised tags on the end caps probably due to the increase in silver and gold costs but they are still authentic. You can see this in the crossover collection and the silver ice collection bracelets now. The hallmark is stamped  on the side or end of the bracelet however the bracelets are still fully hallmarked DY or D Yurman and the metal is either listed as 925 (for sterling) 750 (for 18 kt ) and 585 ( for  14 kt). Sometimes David Yurman's older  pieces may say "ster:" or "sterling" or 14 kt or 18 kt. rather than  the 3 digit international designation, or they are hallmarked David Yurman instead of D Yurman or DY. The newer pieces are hallmarked DY or D Yurman (copyright symbol also) with international metal designations. ( Since i wrote this guide, the David Yurman website has been updated with the price increases and new pictures showing the crossover bracelet that retails for $500 now without the label/tag hallmarks on the side so these questions should be reduced substantially. Some jewelers still have the old production items with the tags on the end caps, these are still authentic just older production they will probably charge the new retails anyway and they are perfectly fine too).

The biggest problem you may encounter when shopping for authentic designer items on Ebay are the items that use the word style or quality and the designer name in the title even though they are not made by that designer.  For example, if the listing says David Yurman ring but then the description says david yurman style - it essentially means that it is not really David Yurman but it could be a David Yurman "type" of ring or it could be "mistaken" for an authentic David Yurman ring.

 The word"style" is the key. This is really against Ebay policy but they do not police this unless someone notifies them since there are so many items like this. Ebay relies on the community to report this to them.  These listings are considered what they call  "keyword spam"  by putting a famous name  in the title so that those looking for David Yurman or another designer will see their item and maybe those that are less detail oriented will not notice the word style or do not know the designer well and bid on it, thinking it is the designer item or like the designer item..  You can report these by search help for "misleading titles."

Another common example of misuse of a designer name is the term Mikimoto quality.  While the title will say Mikimoto Pearl Necklace or Mikimoto quality pearl necklace, if you read the description the item is not actually Mikimoto. That really clogs up the listing for the authentic items; Ebayers have to wade through tons of these before finding the authentic designer item. That is why it is called keyword spam or keyword abuse and is listed in the Ebay help section under misleading titles.

 Less annoying but another example is when sellers use another designer name in their listing that is not the designer that they are selling to direct others to their listings.   Ebay also considers that keyword spamming since it will show up in the search  when it is not that designers authentic item.  This shows up in the search when you check the box "titles and descriptions" under the search bar. There is a world reknown designer with a 100 million dollar annual jewelry  sales  that actually polices the misuse of his name for keyword spam on Ebay items and descriptions personally. He does not mind his items selling on Ebay apparently but he wants the searches directed appropriately using his names to his items. Makes sense to me. (No it's not David Yurman; his/their sales are in the billions!  Besides great designs, the supermodel marketing campaign has only helped sales).

There has been a lot of exaggerated talk about Chinese fakes lately and items that come with Certificates or Pouches saying that the authentic items do not come with certificates etc. Just because items do not have or have Certificates of Authenticity does not mean that they are authentic or not authentic. The David Yurman pouches are made in China and in El Salvador so  I suppose that counterfeiters in China have access to these as well as legitimate sellers. My daughter works at Nordstrom and she tells me that in her area they are still giving out Certificates of Authenticity with each purchase. They stamp or hand write Nordstrom and usually fill out the rest in pen.  My friend recently purchased an item at Neiman Marcus that is difficult to get as well and her item came with a David Yurman pouch and Certificate.of Authenticity. This may not be the same at every store or in every part of the country. Sometimes they run out of pouches or polishing cloths too!

The David Yurman online catalog and David Yurman store catalog do not carry every single item available. Some items are only available in certain markets and they highlight items and rotate them on the catalog. You will sometimes see an item on the online catalog and then it is not there and then it comes back in the year. Not every single item of this prolific design team can be listed everywhere. There are popular and new items that they highlight. Saks may show other online items or similar items.

The buyer that wrote the review regarding David Yurman online is correct. It is true that David Yurman online and Neiman Marcus online do not accept returns for online purchases; only in store purchases and phone orders are accepted for returns or exchanges due to the impulsive nature of some online shoppers, it's just not practical. On Ebay many sellers accept exchanges and of course, any item that is not authentic is returnable or disputable if you use paypal for payment.

Please note that all our items are authentic and as described. Do not let the few people selling counterfeit items spoil the great buys on Ebay,. Most of the reproduced  items have stones such as mother of pearl and blue topaz that have been reported as counterfeit. They have reproduced many lots of the same item I suppose. The stones are not the same quality and the rings weigh less than the authentic ones.

Tips for a Successful Transaction when buying  David Yurman and designer jewelry in general

There are some fake David Yurman items coming in from China. Many of the items are coming through Canada, Hong Kong and the UK although they could come from China from anywhere. The best method of avoiding buying fakes is by looking at the seller's feedback. Avoid sellers with private feedback (in general)  Most sellers are very honest and have worked very hard to build up their businesses and clients. Most of us have many repeat clients and do our best to accommodate you. We won't  jeopardize our business nor your trust by selling a fake item to boost profits.  It is not how we do business and stay in business. It is not our goal to rip people off since we do enjoy what we do and have pride in our ethical conduct.  Make sure you ask the seller if the item is fully hallmarked if they do not indicate as such or show a photo in the listing. Sometimes it is difficult to get a photo of a hallmark deep in the shank of a ring. When in doubt, purchase your item through paypal for buyer protection so you will be protected in the event of a dispute. If you use a credit card through paypal, remember that you can also dispute it on your credit card as a last resort. Try to work things out first since you may be mistaken. Also, Visa debit card offers charge back protection but my understanding from a consumer site is that Mastercard and other debit cards do not offer protection since they view it the same as a check  That makes a big difference when you are buying large ticket items. 

It is best if a seller does not only use a catalog photo of the item but sometimes sellers are busy and do that just to list the item and get it out in front of people or they are having technical problems, nevertheless if it is someone you have not purchased from in the past, ask some questions if it a stock photo. Many sellers are really busy with many other projects or with other lines of work at different times of the year and do not have the necessary time always to have a perfect listing. Most sellers that do this consistently or for a living will not risk being kicked off Ebay for a few hundred dollars. There are sellers that may come back with another identity but I can always tell by their style of listing or photo or maybe not always but most of the time. Just ask a lot of questions before bidding and no one can fault you for that. Remember to be professional but if a seller holds it against you, that is a sign that they have something to hide. Just respect their time since regardless of what they tell you, it is not easy but nothing worth doing ever is!