How to Sell Your Jewelry
Selling jewelry is not a skill that comes naturally to most people. There can be a lot of money tied up in old, estate jewelry that is not longer wanted or even broken, but getting it out isn’t always easy and the potential of being taken advantage of is high. To help, I’ve put together an in-depth article on the art of successfully selling jewelry. Here are some of the key points that you shouldn’t try to sell your jewelry without knowing.
The determining factors of estate jewelry price are style, condition, and intrinsic worth. You don’t get paid for the jewelry in relation to what you paid but the condition and demand when you sell. Clean jewelry shows the item at its best and helps in evaluating the design and gems, so be sure to clean your jewelry before you go to sell it.
Here are some cleaning tips. Never clean gold and gems in chlorine. Ammonia based cleaning products are used throughout the jewelry industry, but they can damage some gems. Try and avoid them if you can and know for certain if they well not hurt the gems in your jewelry. Use a mild soap with warm water and a soft toothbrush, then rinse thoroughly for most jewelry. A hard toothbrush and toothpaste or tooth-powder will scratch gold and hurt some gems. The best cleaning tip is to know for certain the best cleaners to use on your jewelry and do it carefully.
Selling estate jewelry is the art of compromise. There is a balance between dollar paid and quickness of payment and ease of transaction. If you want the high price, fast and easy, you are dreaming. The higher the price gained from the sale of estate jewelry, the longer the time and more difficult the transaction. Finding another consumer to buy your jewelry is the most profitable but the most difficult, time consuming and problematic. Walking into a dealer’s shop is the easiest and fastest way to sell but you are selling at wholesale or less. Finding the balance is a personal judgement call. Each method of selling estate jewelry has it strengths and liabilities.
Safeguards are critical when selling jewelry to the public. First NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, and NEVER meet an unknown buyer in your house. Personal safety and protection against robbery should be your first priority. Fraud should be next on your mind. Cash is the best transaction, checks of all kinds can be faked. Also be aware of switching of jewelry, conmen are on the look out for unsuspecting people. Most of the world is filled with wonderful people and everything should go just fine, but you need to be prepared in case it doesn’t. Trust your instincts. Keep diligent and alert. Don’t take risks just to make a little more on the sale of your estate jewelry.
Selling your estate jewelry is not an everyday experience. Enjoy the adventure and learn some new skills. One very positive side effect of selling jewelry is you will learn how to evaluate jewelry. You will become a very wise jewelry buyer.
If you want to read in more depth on this subject you can look at the full article here: How to Sell Your Old Jewelry.
