The two year anniversary came up recently between my girlfriend and I so I wanted to give her something special. Until now, I would have bought her the usual assortment of gifts, like flowers and other do-dads that I noticed she had posted on Facebook or slyly mentioned in a conversation.

This time, I decided to buy her a ring online

I’ve bought many things online before but jewelry was one of those items I just never really got around to since there are a lot of little factors I would need to know. I didn’t want to ask her outright her ring size or her favorite stones, otherwise I would have ruined the surprise.

I did eventually find–what I would like to think is–an excellent ring. When I gave it to her, she swooned and the gift was a complete success.

But I’m not here to tell you about my little story but rather to offer a few suggestions if you’re about to do the same as I had done (without ruining the surprise and keeping it within a reasonable budget).

My Suggestions when Buying Jewelry Online

Whether you’re buying it as a gift or just picking it up on your own – shopping for jewelry online is a little different than, say, buying a toy on Amazon. In many ways, it’s a lot like shopping for clothes, in the sense that you need some base information to make sure you’re getting exactly what you expect.

Here’s how I’d recommend going about doing that:

Get the basics

The basics will boil down to taste, event, and physical dimensions.

For example:

• Sizing

• Type of stone(s)

• Colors

• Type of metals

• Occasion

When you’re shopping for yourself, you’re going to know what you like so this one’s a gimme: those wanting to purchase jewelry as a gift might need to fly under the radar and go through their friends to get this information without tipping them off as to your intentions.

What you could do is to ask their friends sly questions about their tastes and preferences and relay that information back to you. You may also want to get a few ideas from sites like Pinterest based on the occasion (such as an engagement, Valentine’s Day, or anniversary).

Do Your Homework

The great thing about buying online is that you don’t get that pressure that you would if you stepped into a jewelry store or other retail location. Someone isn’t coming over to pitch you.

You also get the benefit of doing comparison shopping from home so you’re not running all around town going to different stores, wasting gas, and generally knowing you’re not going to get a price on match with what’s online.

Let’s say you go to www.frontjewelers.net to get started. Once you’re there you can begin shopping around and looking at the available options. At this time, I’d recommend looking at the warranty information to make sure you’re covered in case it doesn’t fit or a gem pops out. Reading the testimonials and reviews will also give you good ideas on where to start.

Having this ability to do it all online will get you the best bang for your buck especially when you don’t feel like you need to make a quick decision since a salesperson is hyping the purchase (because they know they’ll get a commission).

Easy as 1, 2, … 3?

To be honest, there isn’t really a need for a third step because if you’ve got the information needed for what type of jewelry to get, along with taking the time to shop around for the best deals (and customer service) you’re more than good to go.

Buying jewelry online may not be something you’ve done before, but I’m sure with my tips (and story) you should have everything you need to get the best glam for your buck.

This post was contributed from Sam Peters