Swarovski Discounts vs Swarovski Warranty – Don’t Waste Your Money

In my television area, a local tv station has a segment called ‘Don’t Waste Your Money’ by John Matarese.  Daily, his segments feature money-saving tips, warnings, and other interesting articles.  Well, today, I feel like following in his shoes, discussing Discount Swarovski Crystal.

Times are tough: a lot of jobless families, the high cost of gas, and how gas prices trickle into all areas of our lives.  Since Swarovski is definitely not a necessity, many Swarovski crystal fanatics have lowered their annual spending on this luxury commodity.  Even the values of retired Swarovski has been on a downward trend for a number of years.  No one should ever purchase Swarovski crystal strictly for investment reasons, as those days are long behind us.

Since collectors are likely spending less on Swarovski, picking the most important figurines at the best possible prices has become more important than ever to maximize crystal satisfaction. Thank goodness for stores and websites that offer savings to Swarovski collectors!  There are lots of authorized Swarovski retailers that offer sales and coupons to help keep collectors happy and spending money on Swarovski.  And there are lots of sellers / dealers on eBay able to pass along savings to collectors.  This is all good, right?

It seems that the crystal giant is getting very upset with dealers and websites that are selling Swarovski figurines and Swarovski jewelry at prices that are below the crystal brand’s prices on their own web site.  Well, of course it would be a distraction to the brand for consumers to purchase from these other stores and web sites versus spending more money at Swarovski.com, but honestly, I don’t see the big deal.  Swarovski has already sold their figurines and jewelry at their wholesale cost to a pre-selected, authorized business, WHY are they so distressed that these other businesses are willing to operate on a lower commission / less profit, to keep the figurines selling, still putting money in their own pocket?

And now, it appears that Swarovski is even striking back at the very crystal collectors who enjoy purchasing and displaying Swarovski figurines!  How so?  According to articles on the internet, the company no longer wants to honor their own Swarovski Warranty UNLESS the figurines were purchased directly from the offline store or from their own web site.  Unless a consumer can provide a warranty card, and sales slip from an authorized retailer, which shows both purchase date and price, they will not offer after-sales-services any longer.  This could prove quite tricky for people who receive the items as gifts and either never had a sales slip, or are not comfortable asking the gift-giver for such documentation.

So what are collectors to do?  Swarovski crystal collectors (and those who enjoy wearing Swarovski jewelry) need to make a conscious and careful decision on how important the warranty is for each purchase.  Perhaps the cost-savings is the most important factor with every purchase, and you wish to give up the Swarovski warranty benefits.  Others may feel that on more expensive purchases, that paying full price may be perceived as an ‘insurance’ policy and plan to pay full price for that warranty benefit.

I certainly don’t agree with what is transpiring.  I feel that collectors and consumers will eventually stop buying Swarovski if the prices are more than they can afford or are willing to spend.  I don’t think the price-fixing is going to entice their devoted customer base to keep on buying. Loyal collectors are going to have to decide what makes the most sense for them: full price with a Swarovski warranty or discounted Swarovski without any warranty.  And as John Matarese says, As always, ‘don’t waste your money’.