I'm trying to buy an engagement ring, and the process is as scammy and information asymmetrical as buying a car or mattress. In other words, it looks ripe for a smart startup to totally challenge the industry. My Trio Rings is the only one I've been able to find. Has anyone bought from them? What was the experience like?

In this case, challenging the industry means going up against the public's image of what an engagement ring should look like.

It's an image reinforced by years of successful marketing and backed by an enormous monopoly. Some may see that as an unsurmountable challenge, others may see opportunity.

This article posted on HN a few months ago was brilliantly informative:

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4535611

That said, I'd be interested in hearing about the experience as well.

Hey jseliger, I'm the director of marketing at mytriorings (been on hn since my last startup!). Are there any questions in particular you have about diamond buying? Happy to shed some light on any questions! We're a company started by young folks, I myself am only 25! We're disrupting the industry by making wholesale prices accessible for the everyday consumer who otherwise only has access to high end and big box retailers which overprice their products exorbitantly based on social "norms" (marketing funded by debeers in the past few decades) around diamonds. Hope you find some great feedback here, we also have a great deal of reviews on our website and on our amazon store!

Thanks and good luck! pun279