Selling Jewelry – Avoid Getting Swindled

There are many different potential traps when you are trying to sell jewelry for cash, because the market for them is so large.  As soon as the news outlets alerted the public to the rising prices of gold, diamond and precious metals and precious stones, everybody from the experienced jewelry buyer to the con artist and unscrupulous business set up shop to try and get as many people as possible to sell their jewelry to them.  In fact, the Better Business Bureau and other consumer reporting indices have reported much higher numbers of fraud concerning makeshift jewelry buyers ever since gold began to really rise. This is what makes this industry so lucrative. 

You shouldn’t only think of swindlers as con men with black coats and sunglasses, however.  The forms in which bad deals come can be surprising.  Otherwise reputable establishments such as 4-star hotels have been known to advertise to their guests that they have jewelry-buying services that can pay them a substantial amount of money for their old and unwanted jewelry.  In many cases, these establishments will lowball you severely, sometimes offering as little as one-third of what you could command by selling jewelry online to a reputable dealer who deals exclusively in precious metals and jewelry, and publishes their price list for full disclosure. The lesson here is to avoid going to a place that operates another primary business, and only bus jewelry and gold part-time or when there’s a sudden upswing in value – you will be getting swindled.  These places simply don’t have the customers, knowledge or system in place to help you maximize your earnings on the jewelry you sell. 

Before looking for where to sell jewelry, make sure you familiarize yourself with the prices that precious metals are currently fetching.  This should be and usually is readily available at any reputable online jewelry dealer.  For gold jewelry in particular, you want to know the gram price and spot price.  The spot price is the worth after refining fees, and this is the figure to which you should compare all future offers to buy your jewelry. While you should never expect to get exactly the spot price (how would the buyer make any profit, after all?), if you receive an offer that is a laughable fraction of this, then you know you are on your way to being swindled.  Walk away from the deal, and look into selling jewelry online.  Reputable online companies have no need to swindle you, because they deal in volume and so the very real financial problems that plague offline jewelry dealers aren’t a concern.

Don’t allow yourself to be tricked into selling your jewelry for substantially less money just because a dealer tells you that your broken wristwatch, the missing latch on a gold necklace, or the cracked gold ring reduces the value.  All of these things are irrelevant, unless you’re selling the jewelry to a buyer who wants in in the original form.  The gold will most likely be melted down anyway, so the deformities shouldn’t reduce the price you can command by selling them.

Most importantly, once you’ve decided where to sell your jewelry, go over the terms of service with a fine-toothed comb.  You don’t want to get swindled in this last stage, after having navigated all through all the other attempts that get so many jewelry sellers.  Make sure that if you send your jewelry in to have it appraised by the online company’s gemologist, the package is insured and you can always get your jewelry returned to you if you refuse their best offer.

Also Read: How To Sell A Gemstone The Correct Way

Read More:

How To Sell Silver Jewelry For Beginners

Sell loose diamonds : Tips on Selling Loose Diamonds

Selling Diamond Jewelry For Dummies