Karl, I’m not sure I agree with the expert. As a woman, both extremes are equally likely to doom a relationship. The best idea is to shoot for appropriate. If this woman was in Jr. High, or if the man was financially struggling, or if he hadn’t shown himself to be a ’spender’ already….the necklace would have ‘fit’ the situation better and would not have stood out as odd.

I think the important thing about gift giving in general is to give something appropriate. If he shot this low, because it’s a new relationship, it’s not likely to be a long relationship.

Mike, based on the little info. I have, that’s what I lean toward.

A person’s gift-giving habits will probably be highly influenced by the way their family gives gifts. For example, I only purchased gifts for two family members this past Christmas, and received gifts from none of the members of my family. I try to be a bit more conscientious with girlfriends, but I’m not likely to become an extravagant gift-giver at any point.

A relationship expert has commented that a new relationship is more likely to survive a gift that costs too little than a gift that costs too much. A two-month old relationship might fit that category, depending on how quickly it’s progressed.

The boyfriend might really dislike the group that was performing at that concert. I’m unlikely to want to attend a Prince concert (for example), regardless of how much I like a girlfriend.
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Regardless, by hinting that she wanted to see a concert, that indicates that tickets to the concert wouldn’t be “too much”. Furthermore, even if the seats weren’t “good”, mediocre seats are better than no seats. And even if the boyfriend didn’t want to attend the concert, he could have purchased three tickets for the lady and instructed her to take a couple of her friends.

I don’t know the full situation, but it’s a yellow flag.