9malls.com review of Blue Nile, BlueNile.com 12-06-07 Rating: *** 1/2 3.5 out of 5 stars Web site: www.BlueNile.com Who is Blue Nile? Blue Nile is a Seattle based company owned by Mark C. Vadon that sells GIA and AGSL certified diamonds and provides the guidance and education. According to Alexa.com BlueNile.com has a traffic rank at 16,153 with 641 sites linking in. The year was 1995 when Mark Vadon bought the company from a man by the name of Doug Williams. Vadon took at 85% stake in a internet jewelry web site owned by Doug Williams promising 5 million in return. This web site earned approximately 250,000/month. "Mark Vadon offered $5 million, which he did not have, for an 85 percent stake in Williams company - a deal penciled on a napkin and contingent on his raising the money (http://www.bluenile.com/articles/new_york_times_article_010707.asp?track=sb_1&elem=text). In 1999 in the height of the internet craze Vadon raised 6 million in just eight weeks! He would go on in the next 12 months to raise $44 million. The site was off and running, with smart business decisions Blue Nile survived the dot com bust and continues to flourish today. . Blue Nile Review: Blue Nile ranks extremey high on ePinions.com at 4 1/2 out of 5 stars. I like to look at the  negative reviews when I review companies because I think they are the most telling. I mean it's great when everything goes well, but what happens when things go wrong? Some people complain about quality. One BlueNile.com shopper bought a wedding band which broke at a football game while clapping. BlueNile customer service reps were "patronizing" and they wanted to change this shopper $45 to fix the ring (http://www.epinions.com/content_278577778308). One member complains that the diamond was "lose" in the setting. They called Blue Nile who said they should send the ring in to get it fixed. It took "2.5 weeks for me to get the ring back, even after I asked for rush service since this was their mistake and the ring fit perfectly otherwise (http://www.epinions.com/content_259458764420). Finances: Blue Nile ranks behind only Tiffany & Company in diamond ring sales, according to industry analysts (http://www.bluenile.com/articles/new_york_times_article_010707.asp?track=sb_1&elem=text). The stock price reflects that trading at 74.77 as of December 06 2007. It was only on 38.53 January 01 2007. In the last 12 months Blue Nile's annual sales are up 27.4%. Net profit on those sales during the last 12 months are up 5.1%. Ford Equity Research states that, "Earnings growth has shown strong acceleration." TheStreet.com has a hold recommendation on Blue Nile. One of the reasons for the hold recommendation on the stock TheStreet.com states, "Risk from economic downturn. NILE still depends on the U.S. market for a major portion of its revenue and also generates a disproportionate amount of revenue in the fourth quarter of the year, during the holiday season." What I think of Blue Nile: Any way I can buy cheaper jewelry from artificially inflated brick and mortar  stores I'm all for. If you would like to save money at Blue Nile, "For a limited time, receive 20% cash back on orders up to $250 or $50 cash back on orders over $250 when you pay with PayPal." If I were you I'd take advantage of this offer it won't last long. Disclaimer: Please do your own research especially for financial data. I'm writing this review to the best of my ability based on the information I've obtained and analyzed. Please look at this review as general information and not as a financial statement for Blue Nile. Back to 9malls.com