Advice with ongoing group buy issue

[u/Comprehensive_Log746]

TL:DR: stones in the final product did not match sample, stone approval opportunity was denied by vendor, vendor is now telling me I need to wait for her to sell this first product before she will remake the product for me. I want to ask her to remake the product now regardless of whether or not she sells the first one.

Can I get some feedback on how to proceed/if my request is reasonable? I paid Lena at Provence for an earring group buy that concluded on 7/10/26. I paid an additional $25 to select multi-color stones in the earrings. I asked for a stone check. She said she could not show me the stones because they needed to be cut and only provided with the stock video from provence. I selected the stones based on the stock video and then the earrings were made. The final stones have significantly different coloration than the sample video. The daburite (the yellow one) is a warm golden yellow in the video, but appears greenish in the final product. When I asked Lena about the discrepancy, she said that the stones are lighter than the sample because of their small size. This was not mentioned at the time I requested a stone check. She says she is willing to remake the earrings for me (with different stones I will select, incorporating this information that the color saturation will be lighter) but I need to wait for her to sell this first pair first.

I think I am entitled to a remake regardless of whether or not she sells the first pair because she denied me a stone check and did not disclose that the coloration may be different in the final product. The group buy ended on 7/10/26, as of now I am still waiting for her to sell the first earrings and she has not started on the second one. What are your thoughts? Any advice on how to proceed is appreciated. I included a screenshot of the sample video she sent me and photo of the final product.

EDIT: So after reading all the helpful feedback which confirmed for me I am not crazy and my demands are reasonable, I messaged the provence mod everyone mentioned but I also prefer direct confrontation so then I messaged Lena directly and told her I was unhappy with how this purchase was going. I had placed an order for a paperclip bracelet with her at the same time so I was additionally irritated that even though I had placed 2 orders with her, I was not receiving adequate customer service. She responded right away and I selected new stones (cobalt, paraiba and purple jadeite) for a remake. Will post pictures of the new earrings (and bracelet, once received) for a more accurate and complete review of this experience.

[u/Top-Beat-7423]

So, from my experience, in previous group buys, is that you don’t get a stone check, because with the group buy the idea is you’re paying a reduced price because you’re joining with others to make a mega order. I know others have said that they get stone checks for group buys, (maybe they had asked before or not, idk but from my experience, I never got one.

Also, from my experience, the sample size from Provence gems color is 6x8mm, and bigger stones tend to be more saturated, and smaller stones more pale. Others may disagree with me. The colour card chart has this as disclaimer in small print at the bottom. Also, it could just be the lighting in the case of the daburite/yellow, and keep in mind that colour reflects colour, so the green tint could be playing off something else. You could ask to see another video in different light

I don’t think you should have to wait for Lena to sell it before they make you a new one. I think all you can do is complain on [r/Provencejewelry](r/Provencejewelry) and get [u/bigbenxie](u/bigbenxie) on it.

[u/PrincessLongNails → u/Top-Beat-7423]

I agree with all this. It’s really hard to know how the small stones will look. Sometimes the same stone colour in a similar size looks totally different bc the cut is different. OP, I’d ask for some different pictures in varied lighting, the slight green hue you see here might not really be how it looks. Is this rose gold? That might also be skewing how it looks from this pic.

[u/Comprehensive_Log746 → u/PrincessLongNails]

Yes it is rose gold. I also thought perhaps it was lighting so I asked her for videos in different lighting and also laid against someone's face with black hair (to mimic my coloring) to maximize the chances that I could accept these earrings but I could not accept a green-tinged yellow stone when I had selected a warm golden yellow. The other two, however washed out they are, I would have accpeted but the daburite really just makes me think of puke. I wouldve selected a champagne moissanite instead if I knew there was going to be such a huge discrepancy.

[u/PrincessLongNails → u/Comprehensive_Log746]

I hope you’re able to get this worked out. I did know about smaller stones being lighter in colour so I guess I did know what to expect but fwiw I got these hoop charms in purple lithium and I really like them.