Selling Second Hand Jewellery
Ask a Question
Has anyone found a way to sell second hand jewellery successfully? I have an engagement ring and wedding ring that were purchased for £3000 and worn for 2 years.. i‘ve tried Facebook Marketplace, gumtree and every local jewellery shop (who all told me they couldn’t buy them unless they were vintage). The most Ive been offered is £200 for both of them from a shop that would melt the metals down. I’ve got them listed for £600 but so far i‘ve had a lot of time wasters and no one actually interested, I’ve been trying to sell these for 2 years now! Should I give up and take £200? Or is there some way of selling them I’m missing?
I wouldn't sell them for £200 if they're worth a lot more. I think some second hand shops take them but you'd have to ask around. Some jewellery sellers buy second hand jewellery to sell on. Might be worth looking in local papers or at car boots to see if you can find a local seller. Failing that there's always ebay but you'd have to send them tracked delivery.
Thanks I didn’t want to sell on eBay because of the cut they take of the money and then what PayPal take on top of that! If I sold them for the £600 I wanted for them, their cut would be about £80 i think! Plus then there’s the extra cost of delivery, because i’d have to pay insurance, signed for etc..
Don't sell on ebay unless collection only ebay have these new rules and always favour the seller so could lose your money have you tried shpock and vintage app they pretty good
If the new rules always favour the seller - as the SELLER surely that shouldn't concern her.
davidstockport sorry I was meant to say buyer happened twice to me in a month all positive but then open case
I didn’t advertise on eBay purely for the amount of commission they take, by the time they take 10% or whatever it is and then PayPal take 10% too would rather sell on gumtree or Facebook where you keep all the money yourself!
Don't sell on FB or Gumtree - there are some jewellers that buy gold for good prices. (it just sounds like you haven't found them yet) Even our local TK Max had a section in-house that bought gold. Look for gold buyers in your area - I think you will be surprised how many there are. There are online ones that claim to be the best but make sure you look for reviews on the companies before you send or part with your treasures. It is worth making enquiries at the jewellers who actually value pieces, commercially, as well as they are the most reliable.
we went to an area in Glasgow that has around 8 different second hand jewellery shops and every single one turned me down, one looked at the rings and the other seven said “if it’s not vintage, we aren’t interested” there arent any more places around here that buy jewellery except cash converters but I wasn’t sure if that was worth trying?
sarahgreen15 my friend buys and sells second hand jewellery. I got my engagement ring from her. She always looks in pawn brokers for jewellery. You could try there.
Was it the argyll arcade that you went to by any chance?
sarahgreen15 Cash Converters and similar companies will usually offer one half of what they can reasonably expect to sell at, as people buying from such places expect to buy at about half the "going price". You can usually only get about a quarter of the items true worth. The true worth is not what they were initially bought for - the jeweler who initially sold them made a big profit too.
This is not a criticism of the traders involved - businesses have very high overheads.
That's crazy! Whether it's vintage or modern, the gold value is still the same and it's worth checking out the daily rate and weighing your pieces. There are some jewellers that make and resize jewellery so they buy pieces to melt and re-use. I feel very sorry for you. I have no experience of the cash converters or the ones that you send the pieces off to. (only some of the reports on the scam programmes)
they are platinum rings, so more valuable than gold, but because my rings are quite a small size, and most places only pay scrap value for the metal and just throw away the diamond, which is a 0.5ct.. scrap value for my rings is about £200, which is what one place offered me
sarahgreen15 that's so sad! It makes a mockery of the situation when vintage pieces are generally old fashioned and extremely small, therefore can only be sold to a niche market. Perhaps some others may add to this thread and come up with some better ideas.
sarahgreen15 If somebody told you that they throw away half carat diamonds - they are trying to rip you off, only an expert can ascertain the true value but even poor quality half carat diamonds are worth several hundred pounds. Better quality can be worth thousands.
No one has mentioned auctioning them, you might try looking for a reputable auctioneer (who will give a fair estimate of worth) and set a reserve on the price. Auction fees are usually about 15% of hammer price. This might explain https://www.gardinerhoulgate.co.uk/departments/2/Jewellery
Thank you.. have you ever had success from an auction? I’ve never tried or heard anyone using them other than for cars
sarahgreen15 I've bought at auction but never sold, one advantage I can see is that at specialised auctions the auctioneers try to ensure that those likely to buy attend. And most of them can give reliable estimates.
I haven't used them, but this company looks OK, buys diamond engagement rings, and will do a free valuation
A word of advice - it's better to get a valuation from someone who is not the potential purchaser. Furthermore the valuation does not usually reflect the actual selling price. (the selling price will nearly always be less - unless sold to a private individual for their own use).
Join for free to get genuine deals, money saving advice and help from our friendly community
Chief Bargain Hunter