From yearbooks to letterman jackets to class rings, there are a lot of keepsake products out there for high school students to buy, and how much each one costs depends on the school or person. Sometimes, at AHS, whatever organization a student earns their letter in pays for the base letterman jacket. Students can then pay for add-ons out of pocket. For the yearbooks, students can pay for it themselves. This year’s price is currently $125 (which you can buy here!) However, class rings cost a minimum of over $300, or so I thought.

Initially, I was going to argue that class rings were a waste of money. But once I started researching and looking into class rings not offered by Jostens and Balfour, the ones advertised at AHS, I realized that it’s really those class rings, Jostens’s and Balfour’s, that were a waste of money.

First off, Jostens and Balfour massively overcharge students. The cheapest class ring from Jostens is $309, and Balfour’s is $382.99. However, other jewelry stores offer cheaper prices. For example, Walmart offers a variety of customizable class rings, with their traditional class rings starting at $79.97. That’s a $229 price difference from Jostens. Don’t trust Walmart? I don’t blame you. There are plenty of other companies that provide great customization for a much cheaper price. Joy Jewelers (rated A+ by the Better Business Bureau), for example, provides 37 options for girls and 14 options for boys that are less than $309. Their cheapest women’s ring is $120, and the cheapest men’s ring is $240. Seniors are already paying for outfits for prom and graduation, cap and gowns, yearbooks, and application fees for college or vocational schools. With all that money already being spent, seniors often don’t have a lot of room in their budget for a ring worth hundreds of dollars. Not to mention, some people just can’t afford to drop a couple of hundred dollars on one ring. But, some may say, there’s a reason that Jostens and Balfours are more expensive than other options.

Well, it could be argued that the reason Jostens and Balfour are so much more expensive is because they offer more customization. But, what they really offer is the same level of customization for a diamond-encrusted price tag. Both Walmart and Joy Jewelers, as well as other class ring companies, offer about the same amount of graphics, choices for rings, and options for gemstones that Jostens or Balfour do for half the price. If you’re going to be paying an arm, a leg, and a kidney for your class ring, shouldn’t you be able to better customize your ring and actually make it more personal than a Walmart ring? Honestly, my guess for the huge price jump is not for the quality of the ring itself, but the ease with which students can get them. If you choose to get a Jostens or Balfour ring, you get hundreds of options available all on a pretty, simple website that’s easy to navigate and to customize your ring instead of having to spend hours on the internet looking through dozens of different companies, some of which are definitely a scam. But, the tradeoff is the couple of hundred dollars upcharge.

Class rings can mean a lot to those who get them, maybe because of family tradition or you just want something to commemorate your high school career. So if you’re considering getting one, take the time to research other options, including local ones, that could better fit your style and budget than just taking the ones offered to you on a silver platter.

So, if the customization is the same, why the giant price jump? Because Jostens and Balfour capitalize on their well-known company in an industry where other companies aren’t nearly as largely advertised to convince students they’re getting the best deal for their class ring. Class rings can mean a lot to those who get them, but students shouldn’t let their sentimentality cloud their vision, because companies like Jostens and Balfours will take advantage of it. So, before you drop some crisp hundred-dollar bills to these companies, consider getting your class ring through other sources first.