Selling jewelry

[Throwdownmyaceinthehole]

So, just looking at items we don't use anymore and putting them on ebay. But what about jewelry? I have a few nicer pieces. Pearls, gold bracelet, etc. the local jeweler will only take them as trade ins on more expensive items and ebay doesn't seem like a good fit for jewelry? Has anyone had luck selling elsewhere? This has convinced me that jewelry is way overrated as gifts. I have only a couple of items that I wear all the time. The rest of it just sits in a box.

[Brat]

In Portland there is an auction house that handles jewelry, before Christmas they have a special auction with a lot of jewelry: O'Gallerie: Fine Arts, Antiques and Estate Auctions

They are reputable. The state has no sales tax so the location is attractive to buyers. All auction houses charge a substantial fee IMHO.

[athena53]

E-Bay is a better fit for jewelry than the "We Buy Gold" places but I agree that jewelry isn't an investment. I've bought some jewelry on e-Bay; mostly a charm here or there for my bracelet and the bracelet itself. As a buyer I'd be more likely to go for things where the value is pretty easy to assess if the material is what they say it is, so that would include items that were mostly precious metals. It gets trickier with pearls and gemstones since the price is heavily dependent on quality and condition.


Since listing is free (they rake off a % only when you sell) you could give the gold bracelet a try. Be sure to include carat value (14K or 18K) and weight.

[photoguy]

We didn't bother with eBay and just sent our stuff to midwest refineries for melt value. I think we got 97 or 98% of spot price -- far better than any local place. Of course we didn't have anything super-valuable (a couple hundred dollars worth of old jewelry).

If you try and sell on Ebay make sure that once you take off transaction costs (10-15%) and hassle that it's worth the extra time.

[Sue J]

I sold some name brand cultured pearl necklaces on ebay. They were Mom's and after she died my sister and I picked things we wanted to keep and neither of us were interested in these two.

I took some very close up pictures in good lighting. It was important to get a clear picture of the designer tag, "Miriam Haskell" and other details.

I did 7 day auctions but these were sold "Buy It Now" within a day or so. Both buyers were from Japan.

We did keep the one genuine pearl necklace. I have it but told my sister we can share it if she ever wants it.

I also sold some gold items. Gold was about $1714/oz that week but of course our take was vastly reduced. I went to a couple of local gold buying shops and the offers were very close so I sold them to the least sleazy shop.

My sister was very happy to get some cash in an envelope and not have to do the footwork.

[Amethyst]

This company, Gray & Sons, buys second-hand jewelry. We haven't sold them any of ours, but have bought several pieces from them. The catalog looks intimidating, with its $50,000 watches and $100,000 diamond rings, but they also sell items costing less than a thousand dollars.

Used, Preowned & Reconditioned Fine Swiss Watches : Rolex, Cartier, Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet and more Luxury Brand Watches

Amethyst

[BBQ-Nut]

My mom gave me several old individual silver dinner settings from Reeds and Barton which she says may be worth more than just the weight in silver.


Found a local appraiser - still waiting to hear back.


I'm hoping either he'll make an offer or offer we can put them up for a consignment sale. These have all be sitting in my closet for years.


If I can get a local dealer to move these then I think I'll save on boxing, shipping, and insurance costs if I were to send these off to an auction house.

[Brat]

Replacements also buys sterling silver, you should check with them.


I have an old Reed & Barton pattern, send me a pm on the off chance they are the same.

[Throwdownmyaceinthehole]

Hubby put my pearl necklace on ebay and instantly got our open bid amount, so maybe there is a good market out there. I'll let you know in 9 days, 12 hrs and 17 minutes