Why Engagement Rings Are a Scam

monsieurhire2 · 2014-02-22T01:22:10+00:00

Diamonds have no resale value. There is no scarcity of them either. The DeBeers cartel controls the prices, and inflates the "value" with advertising.

Here's a tip, get "Blood Diamond" on DVD, watch it with her, and act completely horrified, then vow never to buy a diamond again. Opt for a gold band; at least it an be melted down or sold in a financial emergency. If she whines, bring up "Blood Diamond" in an extremely self-righteous, morally indignant tone.

redpillbanana · 2014-02-22T00:32:28+00:00

The one I got my ex wife. She saw it at an estate sale and loved it so much she had to show it to me. (Hint hint) I wasn't sure I wanted to get married at all but I got it because the deal was just too good to pass up.

So like any beta asshole I eventually propose and she loves it. Years later she gives me shit about the cheap ring I proposed to her with.

2014-02-22T01:48:34+00:00

Every woman's SMV will equal a diamond one day!

NakedAndBehindYou · 2014-02-22T02:29:05+00:00

Everything about marriage is a scam.

UnamusedPunk · 2014-02-22T02:19:22+00:00

De Beers actually controls around 50% of the diamond market compared to 90% that they did in the late 80s

http://www.kitco.com/ind/Zimnisky/2013-06-06-A-Diamond-Market-No-Longer-Controlled-By-De-Beers.html

Diamonds aren't "worthless" and engagement rings are HARDLY their only purpose.

I'm not telling you to go out and buy an engadgment ring but thats because the act of getting married is the bigger rip off, not the diamond it's self. Also, if I had to bet, most of the divorced men in this sub would rather pay 10x what their original engagement ring cost then what divorce has cost them.

a_chill_bro · 2014-02-22T02:21:45+00:00

This is like a matrix within a matrix.

unsungman · 2014-02-22T02:26:49+00:00

Word...funny video. A while back I submitted this article to TRP:

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/11/02/a-mans-perspective-on-why-engagement-rings-are-a-joke/

Pretty much a more detailed analysis of what the video talks about.

Every man who says that they'd like to get married should have a strategy for paying for the engagement ring. Unless I get engaged to a unicorn who agrees that it's a scam (and that the money should be better spent on something like a dope honeymoon or a house down payment)...I don't expect to get out of the engagement ring tradition.

Sadly, some women are status chimps when it comes to engagement rings. This causes men to spend WAY TOO MUCH money on something symbolic to meet these expectations...which comes with consequences.

Life is all about OPPORTUNITY COSTS. To get X you give up and/or forego Y. Unless you're a baller, blowing alot of cash on an engagement ring will come with serious opportunity costs.

And that's just the engagement ring...not to mention the wedding, flowers, and all that jazz.

Anyway, I entertain the thought of getting married one day so I'm pretty much financing the cost of the ring with stock investments which I track monthly on my website:

http://unsungman.com/game-over

Pretty lame and somewhat stupid of me...but I know the risks and it makes for interesting conversation. And, if I have a shitty marriage the "opportunity cost" of me selling off my stock positions to buy a ring will be somewhat measurable. Kinda fits with my dark humor and could make for some funny post divorce jokes. On the contrary if she turns out to be a real doll and a great wife I can be like "worth every dollar I could have had" or something cheesy like that.

Point is I urge guys on here to put serious thought into how much they're willing to spend on a ring and most importantly what they're willing to give up to buy that ring.

So before you put a ring on it think long and hard about potential opportunity costs:

http://www.investopedia.com/terms/o/opportunitycost.asp

zyk0s · 2014-02-22T20:08:11+00:00

Proposing in of itself is, in the current cultural reality, completely idiotic and meaningless.

Back when you had to promise before God and half your village that you would protect and provide for (if you were a guy) or respect and obey (if you were a girl) the person standing next to you, a proposal made sense. The guy was basically telling her "I have found the balls to put myself in this vulnerable position towards you because you are very pretty and I want to pound you incessantly until your body swells. But once you say yes, you will be completely dependent on me, so it has to be your decision. If I demonstrated to you that I am a man worth following and that I will care and provide for you until your death, then say yes."

Under those circumstances, it makes sense for the guy to ask, he had chosen the (potential) target of his provision and he was going to get the sex he wanted from a visibly pretty woman. His gain was immediately visible. Hers was a a bit less obvious, and she needed something to go on, hence why the man would court her, take her on dates and give her gifts, to make his provisioning potential and the kind of life she should be expecting visible to her. And then, the diamond ring even made sense, it was the symbol of a very strong ability to provide.

But now, when you've already been sleeping with the girl for months, why in hell would you get down on one knee and propose? Not for the sex, she's already given it to you. Not for the promise of obedience, the feminists made sure that was superfluous. However, the guy's provisioning is still expected, so proposing today really means "please, take me as your financial slave, so I can make sure we keep fucking".

I doubt there are many people here who would not understand that, but for the newcomers: unless the girl is still very young and a virgin, and traditional enough that you have good reason to believe she will take a submissive stance in the marriage, DO NOT PROPOSE. If your girlfriend of a few years wants to get married, let her know she has to do the asking (she will anyway) and that you refuse to submit to this on-one-knee-with-a-ring charade. If she wants to get married, she should tell you "I think we should get married", which you should answer with "here are my conditions". That is, if you already decided against the overwhelming warnings and want to take your chances at this gamble.

widec · 2014-02-22T00:58:56+00:00

From the video "even knowing all that, doesn't get you out of an engagement ring"

Makes me kind of think, since the resale value is so shit, if I'm ever put in a position of buying a ring why not buy a used one? You can get a nice one for the cost of a cheap one, and no one will know any better except for yourself. If something has no real value then I might as well pinch pennies, hypothetically of course.

Cats_of_War · 2014-02-22T04:14:01+00:00

Even more so they are a relic of a aged past.

See in the past women would commit to the best provider since life sucked. The engagement was kinda like a deposit for taking her off the market.

DasWood · 2014-02-22T07:44:29+00:00

My post on this from /r/videos

"invented by the DeBeirs diamond corporation".

ERRRR WRONG this was invented more than a decade BEFORE the famous ad campaign and came into vogue 4-5 years before the ad campaign.

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/04/the-strange-and-formerly-sexist-economics-of-engagement-rings/255434/

But in the 1930s, states began striking down the "Breach of Promise to Marry" law. By 1945, 16 states representing nearly half of the nation's population had made Breach of Promise a historical relic. At the same time, the diamond engagement ring began its transformation from decorative to de rigueur. Legal scholar Margaret Brinig doesn't think that's a coincidence, and she has the math to prove it. Regressing the percent of people living in states without Breach of Promise against a handful of other variables -- including advertising, per capita income and the price of diamonds -- Brinig found that this legal change was actually the most significant factor in the rise of the diamond engagement ring. It's historically plausible. The initial mini-surge in diamond imports came in 1935, four years before DeBeers launched its celebrated advertising campaign. What's going on here?

Dexter77 · 2014-02-22T10:57:20+00:00

Women are becoming the breadwinners. I don't mind getting them a diamond ring if I get a motorcycle in return.

mo_dingo · 2014-02-22T16:54:07+00:00

I'd like to do some further discussion on "diamonds have no resale value" BS from someone who is in the industry.

Any good that has a high demand but small supply will command a high price, relatively speaking. The value of diamonds is what we give it, through it's use & perception. Whether it be for cutting saws/blades or larger stones with less occlusions/yellow hue & proper proportions (cut), they do have value and they certainly have re-sale value.

However, if you go to the mall and by an engagement ring, you are going to greatly overpay for the good. Malls are high traffic locations, and as such, command high rents for the businesses. My father paid 10k/month for his mall store in the 1980's; now expect to pay $40-100k.

Because of this, retail outlets in stores must over-charge their customers in order to make a profit. If you go to a store in the mall, and ask to see a catalog of some of the jewelry that they can special order, the prices will be listed, but at the lower corner of the page, you will see a small image of 3 old-fashioned keys. This refers to keystone pricing, or "triple-key" pricing, which means that the wholesale price of the item is 1/3 of the listed price.

The mall stores & other retail spots are like the Circle K of jewelry. Insane markup for the convenience and service they provide. Costco has really made a dent in the jewelry world (as well as many others, they are not the top seller of wine in the country) and has lead to the demise of many jewelry stores. Why pay 3x wholesale when you can get it for 20% over wholesale?

So, if you buy from a retail outlet and try to sell to a pawn shop, yes, you will get hosed. The pawn shop must make a profit and they will likely sell it at wholesale pricing just to get rid of it, which means you will lose a lot of money. Other jewelers may wish to keep your diamond and try to sell it, but again, they will not pay retail just to sell at retail, they are taking a financial risk and will pay under wholesale, the margin under determined by the market/diamond/mount/etc.

Unless you are in the industry, you will never get wholesale pricing. Costco is a great choice if you must buy a diamond, it's as cheap as retail comes but don't expect to get your money out of it 100%.

The best you can do is buy from an individual who is looking to cash out because they are desperate and hope you will pay more than a pawn shop. This can be tricky because you need to be able to tell the difference between a real diamond, synthetic, fake diamonds and CZs (cubic zirconia).

Which leads to the final point. You buy from a retail shop because you don't want to risk getting scammed in a private deal. It's more convenient and certainly has more prestige than someone from craigslist. Just like a car, you cannot take it back to the dealer in 6 months and get what you paid. They will take the car to auction and get what they can for it, so they will price accordingly.

Sidenote: Firearms are one good that can be easily bought used and maintain or gain value in time. I purchased a FiveSeven Mk1 pistol about 2 years ago for $600 and I know I could sell it for $1k all day long. You have to buy it right and know what you have.

Zackcid · 2014-02-22T21:29:59+00:00

ARRRGGHHHH!!

That video was so eloquently and beautifully done. :)

ilovemyself101 · 2014-02-24T08:31:21+00:00

Hmm interesting, I think I shall do an experiment.

2 girl flatmates, bring up engagements, then too diamonds and how I watched blood diamond and would never support such a violent act indirectly.

???

Result!

zetaspawn · 2014-02-22T10:04:37+00:00

Spent like 300 bucks on a ring that has her birth stone in it, which also happens to be my birth stone as well, used the extra money to buy us a ps3 and a wii U. We are very happy with our purchases and she has the most unique ring at her work since it's a green stone and not a diamond.

Title	Why Engagement Rings Are a Scam
Author	Casanova-Quinn
Upvotes	35
Comments	50
Date	February 22, 2014 12:26 AM UTC (12 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/TheRedPill
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/TheRedPill/comments/1yl0f6/why_engagement_rings_are_a_scam/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/TheRedPill/why-engagement-rings-are-a-scam.11666 https://theredarchive.com/post/11666

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