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A diamond ring is a significant purchase to be making online and although the price is often cheaper than buying from a bricks and mortar store, there are risks involved, too. While there are risks, purchasing diamonds online without problems is possible and in fact, is becoming increasingly commonplace.

There are a few advantages to buying diamond rings online. The first is the fact that the price is generally cheaper than a store because the overheads are fewer. The second is that there is a far greater range of diamond rings to choose from and thirdly, the convenience of simply clicking from store to store beats trudging from shop to shop hands down.

But there are risks involved with buying online, particularly if you're not a regular purchaser, as is the case with many buyers of diamond rings.

Before beginning the process of buying a diamond ring either on-line or otherwise, it's a good idea to do some research first. Learn as much as you can about diamonds because it doesn't matter whether you inspect the diamonds in person or not, if you don't know what you're looking for there's no way you can protect yourself.

Knowledge of exactly what the 4 C's of diamonds are - cut color, clarity and carat - and what each of these terms means will be a good starting point. Give yourself a budget and, again through research, determine what you can reasonably expect to buy for the amount you've set aside. If you come across a diamond ring that falls significantly below what you've seen elsewhere, all else being equal, you have cause to be suspicious.

When you have found a diamond ring that suits your style and budget ask for a diamond grading report from an independent laboratory. A reputable jeweller will have no problem getting one done for you and, in fact, most should have the independent report already conducted on each of their diamonds.

To ensure that you are dealing with a reputable business look for a Better Business Bureau (BBB) logo on the site. You should also be able to access the BBB report to find out if there are any outstanding complaints about the way they have conducted their business.

Finally, it is highly recommended to use an escrow service when buying high-priced diamonds. The seller will send the diamond to the escrow service and you will send your payment, the escrow service will usually have the diamond appraised while it is holding it and then they will send you the diamond and the seller will receive your payment.

In short, you are parting with quite a sum of money when buying diamonds and you need to do everything possible to ensure that you will be getting what you pay for.

There's a lot to know about buying diamond rings, the more you read, the better you will be able to protect yourself.

If you have a website about a topic you enjoy, you can make money from discussion forums. Talk, post links to your site, get traffic. Traffic means money, right? If not, try different affiliate programs or Google Adwords. The worst sites should get a couple cents per visitor. Now here's how to talk and make money.

Search "forum" plus the topic of your site on Google or Alta Vista. For my first site, I searched "backpacking + forum" and in the pages of results I found several good forums. I also searched related topics like "hiking" too. You can also check about.com, and other sites that have forums on many topics.

Registration is usually giving your email address and choosing a password. Some forums allow guests to post without registering. Once registered, browse the forum topics, and post a response to anything, just to "learn the ropes".

Income From Discussion Forums

The point of posting in forums is to get readers to come to your web site. Sure it's fun to give advice and discuss things of interest to you, but that's secondary. With that in mind, do the following:

1. Always link to your site. If they don't allow any links, find another forum.

2. Don't "spam." Sales pitches will be removed. Offer honest advice, or express an opinion, then sign off with your name and the link to your site.

3. Ask for help from others. This is an effective and acceptable way to "advertise." Enter a topic like "Can I get some advice?" and post something like, "I just started a meditation site. If some of you would visit and tell me what you think, I'd really appreciate it." Have a link to the site. People love to help, and to give opinions, and they'll click on those ads while they're at your site.

4. Look at total "views." Many forums show the total times each "thread" has been viewed. When you see some with many more than others, get in on those, or start a new thread on the same topic. Go where the traffic is, and get some of it.

I didn't like the idea of forums until I made a few posts, and saw my traffic and revenue climb for days afterwards. That convinced me. Just be polite, offer some value to others, and always have a link to your site. Many other secrets of using forums are covered in my newsletter, but this should be get you started. Talk and make money today.

Steve Gillman writes on many money-related topics. To learn more, and to subscribe for FREE to "Web Site Optimization Secrets," go to: http://www.TheMoneyMakerSite.com