What’s your idea of the perfect jewelry buyer?
Of course, it’s that company will swiftly buy your jewelry at a great price without any hassle.
Our picks
CashforGoldUSA
If you intend to sell your gold, silver, and platinum jewelry, then you can’t go wrong with CashforGoldUSA. This gold buyer is a veteran in the business with over 30 years of experience. The gold buyer has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau. Also, payment is so fast that you will get your money in a day.
The icing on the cake is their unbeatable pricing model – CashforGoldUSA has been confirmed to pay 3x the offering by other gold buyers. And with their 100% price satisfaction guarantee that provides with a return of your item, and at no extra cost, you won’t get a better deal elsewhere.
Remember that you’d get a 10% bonus in addition to the price from CashforGoldUSA, if your item gets to them within 7 days.
You can sell your gold, silver, or diamond jewelry right away through CashforGoldUSA.
Worthy.com
Worthy is a jewelry marketplace that has an impeccable record as confirmed by its A+ rating from Better Business Bureau. On the online platform, Worthy.com, you’ll find several buyers certified by the marketplace looking to purchase your jewelry.
If you’re planning to sell your diamond item on Worthy, ensure the jewelry is from a reputable jeweler like Tiffany, Cartier and a host of other big names in the business as the buyers on the marketplace can be quite picky. Fortunately, this attitude of theirs should work in your favor as you can get a higher price for your jewelry.
A 0.5-carat diamond could go for up to $1000. Also, the marketplace provides premium insurance of as much as $100000 using the reputable services of Lloyds of London.
Visit Worthy right away for a quick estimate.
Are you in possession of any gold item – coin, jewelry, or gold bullion – and you are not sure of the price?
The CashforGoldUSA platform is equipped with a gold calculator that estimates the price of your gold based on the current market price. Check it out now!
Are you in possession of some quality jewelry locked away somewhere gathering dust?
Perhaps, you have that wedding band from a marriage that ended or some jewelry left in your care by a recently passed relative.
Of course, there are a lot of jewelry items like wristwatches, necklaces, and others that are passed down within a family – the sentiments attached to such items can be quite massive, regardless of their market price.
Jewelry in anyone’s possession can be a knotty subject.
Jewelry are often exchanged as gifts among loved ones as an expression of their feelings. This isn’t limited to the relationship seen among couples as parents also purchase jewelry for their children.
Buying quality jewelry comes at a steep price, and these pieces tend to lose their cool after a few outings. With jewelry, valuation can be a thorny subject, and with many people in the business that are only about their selfish interest, the risk of being scammed is massive compared to transactions involving other commodities.
With the associated risk involved in selling expendable jewelry, the challenges can be daunting.
This could explain the inactions of many in possession of jewelry, resulting in such valuables locked up somewhere despite the urgent need for cash. It’s a clear case of seating on a truckload of money and opting to do nothing because you’re worried something might happen to it.
Finding the value of your jewelry item shouldn’t be that difficult if you reside in a location with trustworthy jewelers and pawnshops that will tell you the truth about the price of your jewelry. This way, you can opt for the buyer that’s offering you the best price for your jewelry item.
However, this approach doesn’t offer you a lot of choices considering you have to deal with only the jewelers and pawnshops around your location.
Fortunately, the Internet comes to the rescue through online buyers that have built a solid reputation over the years. This way, you can sell your jewelry for a hefty sum of money compared to what the buyers close to you are offering.
However, it’s not over yet as you have to weigh the benefits obtainable through each buyer and proceed to do business with the one whose reputation is stellar and offers the best price.
Not sure about the buyers that match this description? Here are some online jewelry buyers that are trusted:
Worthy.com
CashforGoldUSA.com
The above buyers are genuine online jewelry buyers, and their reputation is untainted.
Table of Contents
Leading online platforms where you can sell your jewelry
A lot of online places to sell jewelry are only a click away. But the reputation of these platforms isn’t the same across board, and the price on offer for your jewelry differs as well. Here, we intend to dissect the strengths and weaknesses of the most outstanding jewelry buyers.
It’s worth noting that while some offline jewelry buyers can be trusted, they don’t match what you get selling your fine jewelry online. Regardless of the nature of the jewelry, you’re bound to get the best price for your item. Also, you don’t have to stress yourself visiting any block and mortar outfit to sell your item – you can do all that in the comfort of your home.
Comparing the leading jewelry buyers:
For selling gold and jewelry: CashforGoldUSA
If you’re looking for online places to sell jewelry like gold and other precious items like silver, platinum, and scrap, then you might want to consider CashforGoldUSA as transacting with them is swift, hassle-free, and you’ll get a fair price.
The jewelry buyer is a subsidiary of CJ Environmental, a company that has been in existence for more than 30 years with an A+ Better Business Bureau rating. And if you are looking for the best price, CashforGoldUSA will surprise you as an investigation by Fox News confirms that their offers beat those of other jewelry buyers significantly.
If you sell your jewelry to CashforGoldUSA, you don’t have to fidget about how long the process takes as you’ll get paid in a day. The jewelry buyer also offers a 10% bonus in addition to their high price offering, but this will only apply if you transfer the item in less than a week.
Find out the approximate worth of your gold jewelry using the CashforGoldUSA.com gold calculator.
Here’s a video that paints a clear picture of how to use the CashforGoldUSA platform:
Benefits of using CashforGoldUSA
- User-friendly interface
- A+ Better Business Bureau standing
- Fast payment – in one day
- Provides premium insurance of as much as $100000 – but a $5000 basic coverage for every item
- It’s no greenhorn in the business with its over 30 years of transacting jewelry.
- Selling your jewelry happens real fast
- You can decline the offer if it’s not up to your target, and the jewelry item is returned without any additional cost to you.
- If you deliver the jewelry item within a week, you will get a 10% bonus more than the price offered by the buyer.
Drawbacks of the CashforGoldUSA platform
- It’s not ideal for jewelry that are branded or from popular designers as insurance coverage is pegged at $5000.
- The ‘take it or leave it’ pricing model doesn’t auger well with those looking to compare offers on a single platform – this is where Worthy.com’s marketplace approach outshines CashforGoldUSA.
- Frankly, CashforGoldUSA is ideal if you intend to sell gold or silver jewelry that’s not of a high-end level for some quick cash without worrying about whether you’ll get paid or not.
It’s worth emphasizing that CashforGoldUSA is a different entity from Cash4Gold. The latter was a hotbed of litigations much of which was due to its expensive ads in the 2009 edition of the Super Bowl.
Visit CashforGoldUSA.com right away.
For selling Jewelry: Worthy.com
Worthy.com remains the most sophisticated online marketplaces that’s available at the moment. If you’re looking to sell your high-end jewelry that has a minimum value of $1000, then you should consider Worthy.com.
Due to the online auction platform deployed in selling the jewelry item, you stand a better chance of getting real value for your jewelry. The marketplace consists of several buyers scattered across the globe but brought together under the umbrella of Worthy.com.
Selling your jewelry on Worthy.com
Proceed to Worthy.com and fill up the personal information form. To get your jewelry ready for the bidding war, the marketplace provides you with a renowned mailer such as USPS or FedEx – your choice – and insurance coverage for your item.
After a few days, you will have your item evaluated in a GIA laboratory, with the specifications of the jewelry listed, and you’ll also get the possible quote to expect after the auctioning process. If you agree to the framework of the transaction, bidding starts in earnest.
Whether it’s a diamond ring, a gold necklace, or a similar item, you’ll get bids for your item. Depending on the worth of your jewelry, it shouldn’t take a long time before your fashion jewelry’s market price is reached.
Payment for your jewelry item should get to you in days, depending on the payment method you opt for – PayPal takes about a day, a bank transfer or check will require several business days.
Worthy fees
Being a marketplace, Worthy.com gets its revenue by taking a percentage of your jewelry’s selling price.
It’s completely different from most online jewelry buyers that on examining your item, dangles a price before you. This way, you’re left in the dark of how much they’re gaining from the purchase of your jewelry.
By categorically staking its claim on fees based on the value of your jewelry, you don’t have to worry about your item being underpriced as the marketplace loses if you do.
Worthy commission
The marketplace takes a small chunk of the amount earned from selling your fine jewelry as transaction fee. Below is a breakdown of the commission fee by Worthy.com:
Between $1000 – $5000 à 22% commission
Between $5001 – $50000 à 15% commission
Between $50000 – $250000 à 10% commission
>$250000 à 5% commission
Benefits of using Worthy.com
- Unambiguous selling process
The ease of getting a quote for your item – just enter the relevant details of the jewelry and the possible estimate is visible to you.
Evaluation of your jewelry occurs in a GIA laboratory, so you’re guaranteed of a neutral and genuine procedure. And should you decline to sell your jewelry in the end, you can still keep the grading report.
It’s worth noting that evaluations done in a GIA laboratory are reputable, so it’s sort of a big deal considering you get such for free.
You’re kept in the loop of the delivery process as Worthy.com uses mailers that provide updates on the location of your jewelry.
- Outstanding customer service
On the marketplace, a customer support agent is only a chat away so that you’re carried along the entire process.
- Convenient payment methods
Once it’s confirmed that your jewelry has been bought by any of the bidders on the marketplace, your money is made available to you through any of the three payment methods – bank transfer, PayPal, check – though the time factor tends to vary with the means you opt for.
- Premium insurance
Your jewelry is insured for as much as $100000, which is more than you’d get elsewhere.
- Secure environment
Though Worthy.com has a strong online presence, you’d be amazed by its building. There is sufficient security presence in and around the premises. Also, a security pass is required by anyone looking to enter the places where the jewelry goes through.
In a nutshell, no one can take your jewelry from you.
- Best price
From the impartial assessment that’s done in a GIA laboratory to the provision of the largest online jewelry marketplace, you’re likely to get a fair price for your item on Worthy.com.
Having several jewelry buyers under the same umbrella isn’t an easy feat, but the Worthy.com marketplace makes it look easy.
- The final decision remains yours to make
Despite the auctioning approach used on Worthy.com, you still have the final say.
After the GIA report is made available to you, selling the jewelry could happen in three ways:
You can specific the price of your jewelry. Once the item is sold, and there’s a matching bid, your jewelry is sold. Here, the selling process is rather brief.
You can decide to peg your base price above the estimations from Worthy. Looking at the bids, you can see if your asking price will be exceeded or not. But the decision to accept or ignore a price is still in your hands.
There’s also the option of selling the jewelry at the Worthy.com estimate following the assessment in the GIA laboratory. Here, the marketplace sends you the amount, proceeds to sell the item in an auction and if the item gets more than the estimated price, the balance is sent to you through your preferred payment method.
Drawbacks of Worthy.com
- You can’t sell any jewelry that’s worth lower than $1000 on the Worthy marketplace.
- A hefty commission which could reach up to 22% of the amount received for your jewelry
Can Worthy.com be trusted?
With a lot of positive reviews raving about the marketplace on both the website and third-party platforms, coupled with its Better Business Bureau A+ standing, there’s no reason to mistrust Worthy.com. Also, you can decide to setup an appointment, but this is only advisable if you can make it to their New York headquarters.
Having been to their office and transacted with them, we can guarantee that you won’t encounter any problems using Worthy.com, though the fee could be a major stumbling block.
Check out this video that demonstrates how the marketplace operates:
Other online platforms to sell jewelry
Beyond Worthy.com and CashforGoldUSA, other trustworthy jewelry buyers abound. Here are some of these virtual jewelry buyers and what makes them thick:
For diamond jewelry: WP Diamonds
WP Diamond is another place to sell jewelry online. This online jewelry buyer is only into the purchase of diamond items. WP Diamonds is well-known in the jewelry industry for buying diamond items like diamond rings at decent prices.
You can sell your gemstone jewelry, watches, loose diamonds and precious stones to WP Diamond without worrying about getting paid.
On the flipside, WP Diamonds offers you a single price after your item has been assessed – no questions asked and no negotiations.
Pros of using WP Diamonds
- The online platform has a user-friendly interface
- Streamlined jewelry selling process
- Remote selling of your jewelry
- Your item is insured for up to $100000
- Impressive BBB rating
Cons of using WP Diamonds
- You get one offer for your jewelry, which isn’t likely to change regardless of what you do.
- Assessment of your jewelry is done by a member of the WP Diamonds staff, so there’s always the possibility of a biased estimate – a far cry from the non-partisan and reputable GIA laboratory service deployed by outfits like Worthy.
In a nutshell, WP Diamonds can be trusted to buy your jewelry without any excuses. The jewelry buyer isn’t a novice in the business, but transacting with WP Diamonds is no different from going to any online store. Their operations are skewed to maximize profit from buying your jewelry than helping you to get an outstanding price for your diamond item.
For diamond jewelry: Circa (formerly Mondiamo)
One of the new players in the diamond resale business is Circa. But don’t underestimate this jewelry buyer as it’s a subsidiary of BlueNile – a company renowned for transacting diamond engagement rings virtually.
To sell your fine jewelry on Circa, you’ll need to enter the details of the item which should include the specifications of the jewelry obtained from a reputable evaluation outfit.
Depending on the evaluation report provided, Circa promises to match that with an offer within a specific range. To activate the offer, you’ll have to send in your jewelry, and the jewelry buyer will redeem its promise based on the nature of the report provided.
According to Circa, over 90% of their customers have gotten an offer in the upper quadrant of the speculated offer range. And you don’t have to worry about the 15% fee charged by the jewelry buyer as that has been deducted from whatever offer you get.
Pros of using Circa
- You can get a reasonable price for your jewelry as Circa’s parent company, BlueNile, is a big player in the industry.
- Circa has a credible reputation as confirmed by its A+ Better Business Bureau standing.
- Handles the delivery of your item using FedEx
- Provides insurance coverage for your jewelry item during the delivery process
Cons of Using Circa
- Transacts only diamonds that has a minimum of 0.4 carats – which can be a problem for people looking to sell their jewelry that’s not up to that level.
- The inconvenience of sending your jewelry is necessary for an offer to be established if you don’t have a certified evaluation of the item.
- And if you get an offer, you might want to take action as soon as possible since it lasts for about 7 days. If you stall on accepting the offer beyond this period, get ready to go through the entire process again.
Circa is a decent jewelry buyer, though a greenhorn in the business, it relies on the prowess of its parent company, BlueNile. You can be optimistic about your chances of getting the best price for your jewelry.
For selling diamond jewelry: Diamond Buyers International
Like you might have guessed, this jewelry buyer transacts just diamond items like loose diamonds. You’ll have to use other jewelry buyers like Worthy.com or CashforGoldUSA, if your item isn’t diamond.
Selling your diamond jewelry to Diamond Buyers International works in the same manner as what’s obtainable with the use of other virtual jewelry buyers.
On visiting the jewelry buyer’s online platform – DiamondBuyersIntl.com – you will get an estimate after entering the specifics of the item onto the site. Afterward, you will request the services of a mailer to deliver the jewelry to the gold buyer.
The jewelry buyer uses FedEx with as much as $5000 as insurance to receive your item.
To ensure you don’t lose sight of the item’s shipping process, you’ll be provided with a unique tracking code. Once the buyer gets your item, you are notified instantaneously.
The jewelry buyer will send you an offer in a day to your registered email address. As always, you have the opportunity to decline or accept the offer.
The three common payment methods – bank transfer, PayPal, and check – are available. You can choose any of these methods, but it’s worth noting that the payment timeline might vary.
If, for whatever reason, you declined their offer, the jewelry buyer will send your item back to you without any additional financial cost to you.
Typical of the average jewelry buyer, Diamond Buyers International isn’t transparent about its fees which might impact the price you’d get for your item.
Pros of using Diamond Buyers International
- Extensive review phase – around 30 days
- The jewelry buyer is quite reputable with a Better Business Bureau A+ standing despite just entering the jewelry resale scene in 2008
Cons of Diamond Buyers International
- Insurance coverage for jewelry delivery is pegged at $5000 – it’s small compared to the $100,000 insurance policy big players like Worthy provide.
- Customer service is almost non-existent
- Price is firmly the grips of the appraiser that’s attached to the jewelry buyer. This means the best price for your item might be elusive as the evaluation process is not handled by a neutral third-party – which is exactly what’s obtainable with Worthy.com.
- An antiquated website that’s difficult to navigate, and it lacks adequate information on the activities of the jewelry buyer.
While Diamond Buyers International might have a decent reputation, its platform is quite inefficient and should be shunned, if you are serious about getting the best price for your jewelry.
For selling jewelry: International Institute of Diamond Valuation (IIDV) (De Beers)
IIDV is a subsidiary of De Beers, one of the pioneers of the jewelry industry. While IIDV is largely new to the jewelry resale business, the newbie has gained massive recognition – many older jewelry buyers can only dream such – due to its significant customer base.
Despite being new to the business, they have maintained the same approach of buying items from customers with few changes.
On visiting the IIDV website, you have to submit the relevant information, request a mailing service, and deliver the item to the jewelry buyer’s physical office in New York where the grading report is generated.
Benefits of using IIDV
- With a Better Business Bureau A+ standing, the IIDV has proven to be a force to reckon with in the jewelry resale sector.
- Offers different payment methods–check, bank transfer, and PayPal –though the timeline isn’t the same for all of them. Payment via PayPal often takes around 24 hours while a bank transfer or check takes around 3 days to a week.
- IIDV takes delivery of your item through FedEx.
- The evaluation of your jewelry is captured through video surveillance, an indication of the level of transparency applied by the jewelry buyer.
- Due to the massive popularity of its parent company, IIDV collaborates with a large number of jewelers scattered around the country, saving you the stress of delivering your item to their headquarters.
Drawbacks of using IIDV
- The assessment of your jewelry is done by the buyer’s staff and not a neutral expert like GIA. This is contrary to what’s obtainable when you transact with big players like Worthy.com.
- It’s worth noting that IIDV upsets the jewelry arrangement of your item when assessing its quality.
- While neutral parties like GIA provide a report of the evaluation process, the IIDV assessment team would do nothing of such.
- The IIDV website is grossly inadequate if you’re looking for valuable information regarding the processes involved or the services rendered by the jewelry buyer.
- Customers aren’t carried along as there’s not enough insight on the outcome of a declined offer. Also, the IIDV staff don’t tell you if their disruption of your jewelry structure, during a quality assessment, has any repercussions.
- Compared to the pricing model used by platforms like Worthy.com where it’s decided by the highest bidder in a bidding war with several other jewelry buyers, IIDV just gives you whatever offer they feel like.
Considering the impressive Better Business Bureau standing of IIDV, its stellar reputation isn’t in doubt. With De Beers being a top player in the jewelry industry, its subsidiary’s reputation can be expected to be in disrepute.
However, for such an entity that has a towering parent company, we’re disappointed in how services are rendered and their level of organization, especially when you compare IIDV to other online jewelry buyers.
For selling jewelry: The Real Real
One of the top online jewelry buyers at the moment is TheRealReal.com. If you’re looking for places to sell your jewelry and designer clothing, you can’t possibly go wrong with this buyer.
The Real Real operates more as a marketplace than a traditional jewelry buyer. While there is no bidding as seen on Worthy.com, you’ll be selling your item to other people, not the platform.
To utilize TheRealReal.com, you’ll need to create an account on the platform and deliver your item to their physical structure for assessment. After an examination of your jewelry, you’ll have to discuss with their experts online on the price of the item. If a consensus is reached between both parties, the pictures of the jewelry are uploaded to the website as well as the necessary specifications of the item and price.
As soon as your jewelry is sold, the platform sends you the payment after deducting their fee. Typically, the fee varies with the selling price of the item, but it’s more than Worthy.com’s 22% maximum. Here’s a breakdown of TheRealReal.com’s commission:
<\= $200 –> 50%
$1000 – $2500 –> 30% commission
>$2500 –> 15% commission
To improve the use of their consignment site, you’ll get a 5% bonus on the payment if you accept to take the site credit instead of the conventional means of payment.
If your item isn’t take off the shelf, then it’s returned without any extra cost to you.
Benefits of using The Real Real
- Its Better Business Bureau A+ standing is an indication of how reputable the platform is.
- Your decision is considered when the final price is to be agreed especially if the item is valued at $750 and above.
- You don’t have to worry about the gains of the platform as the base price of your item is visible to you and the mandatory commissions for each price range are accessible to everyone.
Drawbacks of using The Real Real
- TheRealReal doesn’t operate as a jewelry buyer as the platform takes delivery of different items, and this could affect the sale of your item.
- While the online platform offers an assortment of jewelry from distinct brands, class, and price range, TheRealReal prioritizes luxurious goods that are from brands that sell fast with a more notable revenue. This is in contrast to platforms like Worthy.com that beam their searchlight on items the nature of the stones or jewelry rather than the brand involved.
- Due to this dissimilarity in approach, there’s a higher chance of selling your fine jewelry on the Worthy marketplace than attempting to dispose of the item on The Real Real as the latter is more focused on the latest fashion than helping you to make money.
- The evaluation process on The Real Real isn’t free.
- The grading report is gotten from a TheRealReal laboratory rather than an unbiased laboratory as obtainable with the use of Worthy.com.
- TheRealReal decides the list price of your item and whenever it’s sold or not. The platform could even attach discounts to the sale to get people to make payment.
- Its listing fee is higher than that of Worthy.com.
- Payments are made every month, and you could spend weeks waiting to get paid even after the item has been sold.
The Real Real is a decent platform if you intend to purchase luxury items, but its shortcomings are exposed if you’re looking to sell your fine jewelry.
For selling diamond: The Diamond Valet
The Diamond Valet is a more basic jewelry resale platform. Its website is a make-shift attempt at transacting jewelry items.
Regardless of the nature of the website, the jewelry has a Better Business Bureau B+ standing. It’s an indication of the relatively average nature of the buyer.
Though founded in 2013, the jewelry buyer claims to have over 100 years of experience – a hint at how transparent The Diamond Valet is.
Benefits of using The Diamond Valet
- Simple platform – easy to navigate.
Drawbacks of using The Diamond Valet
- You get a single offer – no negotiations – unlike what’s obtainable with a marketplace like Worthy.com
- Limited payment methods – only checks are available – so you might have to deal with a delay in payment.
- Deploys the in-house appraisal method that has no room for transparency resulting in lower prices.
For selling jewelry: Sotheby’s
This online jewelry buyer operates the auctioning model that’s seen on Worthy.com. Unlike the latter, you can sell anything from expensive art and furniture to jewelry and other items that are often acquired by the wealthy.
According to Sotheby’s, high-end jewelry has been auctioned on its platform. The ‘CTF Pink Star’ which is a 59.60ct pink diamond was purchased for $71.2 million during an auction on Sotheby’s platform in Hong Kong.
The diamond duo of ‘Apollo & Artemis’ featuring 14.54ct blue diamond and 16ct pink diamond were another auction listing sold on Sotheby’s platform in Geneva via an auction for $57.4 million.
From a distance, selling your moderately valued jewelry on Sotheby’s might appear impossible, but that isn’t the case as you sell items worth around $2000 on the platform.
Benefits of using Sotheby’s
It’s a popular name in the jewelry business. Sotheby’s has been involved in the sale of high-end valuables, so it’s always an honor to sell your item on the platform.
Drawbacks of using Sotheby’s
- The online platform pegs its commission at 25%, and this is regardless of the value of your jewelry.
- Unlike the free certified GIA lab report that Worthy.com provides for those looking to sell their jewelry in its marketplace, Sotheby’s platform requires that you pay for the evaluation process and listing your item on its website.
- Sotheby’s platform isn’t like the marketplace arena that’s visible on Wothy.com – it’s basically like any conventional e-commerce site where items are listed for interested customers to buy. There’s no bidding taking place despite the platform’s claim of being an auction house.
- While Worthy.com and CashforGoldUSA accept all forms of quality jewelry, Sotheby’s will only get involved if the item is of a popular brand name and the expensive type.
For selling jewelry: Christie’s
Christie’s is one of the places to sell jewelry, and it’s another auction house of international repute – quite as upscale as Sotheby’s. Christie’s has physical buildings all over the world.
The sale of jewelry on Christie’s platform isn’t just constrained to its auction houses that hold events 26 times in a year, the outfit sells jewelry in private events that hold in major cities like London and New York as well on its site for those too far away to reach the physical locations.
Christie’s private events tend to showcase estate jewelry with the least item costing about $2000.
Benefits of using Christie’s
- Christie’s is quite popular with an unprecedented level of patronage. If you provide pictures of your item, the estimated cost of your jewelry will be given to you at no extra cost.
- A well-trained sales representative ensures you make the right decision regarding the approach to use in selling the jewelry as Christie’s offers three different ways of putting up your item for sale – auction, private events, or on their website.
Drawbacks of using Christie’s
- Shipping costs are on you.
- It takes too long to sell your item. You will only get estimates after as much as 6 weeks. And it could be months later before the item is sold. When you compare this lengthy process with Worthy’s one week sales period and CashforGoldUSA’s 24 hours payment timeline, you might want to think twice before using Christie’s.
Worthwhile tips for selling your jewelry
The decision to sell your fine jewelry online requires a calculative approach to avoid reaching any rash conclusion. It’s worth emphasizing that while many trustworthy platforms abound online, there are those sleazy websites that on the lookout for people to scam.
This makes it imperative to arm yourself with these valuable tips listed below:
Identifying genuine diamond
Besides the diamond piece, your jewelry consists of several premium components like platinum, gold, silver, and others. You can easily identify precious items via their markings – gold has ‘K’ coupled with digits indicating the value of the gold and ‘PT’ represents platinum.
To confirm if a diamond is genuine or not, exhale on the stone and observe what happens. If what you’ve is a genuine diamond, it won’t fog. A fake diamond fogs quickly.
Apply some heat to the diamond, then expose it to near-zero temperatures. A genuine diamond is known to be extremely tough and it doesn’t fracture no matter the temperature it’s exposed to. Fake diamond tends to breakdown once you attempt this test on it.
You can also confirm if a diamond is genuine or not by putting the stone in water. A fake diamond will float but a genuine one sinks as it has significant weight.
Identifying genuine gold
Considering the immense value of gold, it’s no surprise that counterfeit gold items are now commonplace. To confirm if your gold jewelry is genuine or not, try these tips:
- The flame test
To verify the true nature of your gold item, hold it in a flame.
While there’s a color change in fake gold, a genuine one turns white-hot and will only become darker much later. For a gold plated item that’s heated, the metal plating melts away exposing the metal hidden away.
- The magnet test
You can also confirm if your gold item is genuine using a magnet. The precious metal is not magnetic, so if your gold jewelry gets attracted to a magnet, then it’s fake. However, there are occasions where the real gold is used but certain metallic parts of jewelry are attracted to a magnet since they are magnetic.
- Floating test
Put your gold item in water and observe the action of the precious metal. If the item sinks, then it’s genuine gold. Fake gold will sink in water.
- Skin test
Fake gold rubs off certain colorations like green or black on the skin. Genuine gold doesn’t taint your skin.
You can verify if your gold item is genuine by checking for the presence of certain markings on the precious metal. These markings might have digits enclosed in a box such as 16K, 20k, etc.
Don’t know what those numbers are? Here’s a little insight to make things clear:
24K à 99.9% gold
22K à 99% gold
22K à 91.6% gold
18K à 75% gold
14K à 58.5% gold
9K à 37.5% gold
If you’re looking to sell your gold jewelry, then we recommend CashforGoldUSA as the jewelry buyer has a Better Business Bureau A+ standing. Also, you are likely to get a better deal as investigations by Fox News confirms that the gold buyer pays three times more than the competition with payment provided in less than a day. And if you deliver your gold item within a week, you’ll get a 10% bonus in addition to your payment.
Get an approximate price for your gold item through the CashforGoldUSA platform right away.
Evaluating your jewelry
You shouldn’t sell jewelry online or anywhere else, if you are not sure of its value to avoid being cheated.
Often, people head to the pawnshop nearby to ascertain the price of their jewelry. It’s not a bad idea if you arrive at such a decision with sufficient background investigation from Yelp reviews, statements by previous customers as well as the BBB standing of the store.
While it’s tempting to just proceed to the local jeweler and sell your item, remember that merchants of this kind lack the world-class facility that you’ll find in GIA laboratories. This explains why many prefer selling their jewelry on Worthy.com as the platform is known to provide a certified evaluation report that’s done in a GIA facility, and you don’t have to pay for it.
Through an appraisal by a neutral party, you can get the true worth of your jewelry, which can help in shaping the price of the item before you sell jewelry online. If this evaluation process is handled by the jeweler, estimates will be provided, but the actual value of the item will be much more than what’s quoted.
GIA’s Report Check for Jewelry Certification
For transactions that involve the sale of jewelry, GIA certifications are often peddled due to how widely accepted the document has become. Hence, problems have arisen in the form of fake certifications and this has reached the GIA authorities. The outcome is the creation of a ‘Report Check’ that makes it easy to confirm the legitimacy of a GIA certificate just by entering the report number onto the website GIA.edu.
How to sell your jewelry for money
If you know the value of your jewelry, selling it to any of the jewelry buyers considered earlier or nearby pawnshops at a reasonable price become much easier. If you are looking to get paid quickly, then online platforms like CashforGoldUSA and Worthy should be considered as they use payment methods like PayPal and bank transfers.
Nearby jewelers VS online jewelry buyers
The nearby jewelry store is often the first point of call for most people looking to sell their jewelry.
While it’s not a bad idea, there are certainly better alternatives.
To sell jewelry online can prove more beneficial than doing business with the neighborhood pawnshop.
The fact behind this:
Regardless of how trustworthy the local jeweler might be, you’ll get only a single offer and this is largely going to be based on his limited knowledge on the value of your item. The pricing model for jewelry differs depending on the buyer, and it’s susceptible to errors.
Everything about the worth of your jewelry depends on who’s assessing the item. From the value of the stone to the worth of the setting – nothing is universally pegged at a price. If you look beyond your nose for estimates of your jewelry, you stand a better chance of being offered good prices.
Swindlers abound
The jewelry industry is a hotbed of deception and sharp practices for obvious reasons. If you’re going to swallow the estimates of your supposedly friendly neighborhood jeweler hook-line-sinker, you are setting yourself up for some swindling. Luckily, third-party platforms such as review platforms, Better Business Bureau, and others help ensure online jewelers with a lot of testimonials can be made to stay the course.
Convenience
A visit to the local jewelry store could be blocks away or a bus ride to the town or even a train ride – comfort isn’t the name of the game, and despite all of that, you can only remain optimistic about the price offered.
With online jewelry platforms, you don’t have to go through all that stress. If you visit a remarkable jewelry buyer, exceptional customer service, insured mailer, and you’re kept in the loop of things. This puts your mind at rest and with the swift payment for your item sent to you in the comfort of your home, local jewelers are no match.
GIA Certification
In the virtual jewelry retail community, a GIA certified report is considered the Holy Grail. The report exceeds the basic appraisal process by a mile – no comparison!
Often, the local jeweler evaluates your item at no extra cost. With the evaluation report, you can conclude on the estimate of the jewelry worth, which makes insurance coverage for the item easier.
An estimate doesn’t represent the actual worth of your jewelry. This can only be achieved with a verified lab certificate that outlines the specifications of your jewelry.
While regular laboratories abound, there are only two jewelry grading labs of world-class repute and these are the International Gemological Institute (IGI) located in Antwerp, Belgium, and the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) situated in New York, USA.
These laboratories are known for their neutral and unbiased assessment of your jewelry and certificates are issued afterward. Worthy.com partners with these world-class laboratories for the appraisal of your jewelry, and the one used will depend on your location.
In these international laboratories, your item goes through innovative equipment that is built to grade jewelry without disrupting the quality of the item. Also, the actual worth of your jewelry is confirmed on the current market price as the laboratories have access to the latest records of jewelry sales from all over the world.
Regardless of the nature of your jewelry, the GIA/IGI report outlines the specifications of the item to its last details. Also contained in the certificate is the worth of the jewelry according to the latest figures from the market.
However, this is usually given in a range of figures to minimize the chances of error. If you decide to bear the cost of a GIA//IGI certificate, you could spend $200 or more depending on the value of your item – the higher its worth, the higher the report will cost.
This reputable report is exactly what platforms like Worthy.com provides for free if you decide to sell your fine jewelry on their marketplace. And you don’t have to return the report if the sale fails to sail through.
Despite the similarities, online jewelry sites differ in their ways.
Benefits of doing business with an online jewelry buyer
It’s not an easy decision to sell your precious jewelry to an online jewelry buyer. You might have a jeweler that stays nearby and a family friend having been involved in getting your mother her jewelry. It’s not a bad idea to put loyalty over financial gains, but you can also show your loyalty by selling your fine jewelry at a higher price and treat the individual to something special. Remember that online jewelry sites can be navigated in the comfort of your home, and a few operate an open-book policy.
Worthy.com is one of the few online platforms that provide you with the reputable GIA report at no extra cost to you. This document will enlighten you on the specifications of your jewelry and the possible price you can get for the item. This is unlike the appraisal done by the neighborhood jeweler that’s not handled in any world-class laboratory, so his valuation might be incorrect, regardless of how trustworthy he might be.
While the neighborhood jewelry shop provides you with one offer, a leading virtual marketplace like Worthy.com flourishes through auctions where your jewelry is sold to the highest bidder, improving the chances of getting a price close to your item’s value.
The nearby jeweler has a reputation that revolves around what someone told you, possibly the jeweler’s relative or friend, so there’s no guarantee that they are right – you can’t take their words for it. But it’s a different ball game in the online world where previous customers are always eager to breakdown the service they received in detail, especially if it was bad. There’s also the role played by third-party platforms like Better Business Bureau that rate entities and contain reports of experiences by customers. If a jewelry buyer is shady or has such traits, you’ll find out easily.
Is it possible to sell the jewelry to the store you purchased it from?
It’s not uncommon to see people try and return jewelry to the place of purchase or work out some modalities with the store to get their money back. Beyond the money-back window, it might be hard for a store to give you cash for the jewelry you bought from them. However, some stores do permit trading your jewelry for another that’s more costly, so you’ll have to part with more money.
These aren’t exactly beneficial if you intend to get the money used in purchasing the jewelry back and soon. Also, these options don’t come with a report from a reputable laboratory that contains the worth of your item.
Can you get your money through diamond upgrades and trade-ins?
Some big jewelry outfits and the local pawn shop often provide trade-ins and diamond upgrades. This will require the assessment of your jewelry, and depending on its worth, you’ll be given a price for the item, which can be deployed towards purchasing a more valuable one.
Here’s a list of regularized diamond upgrade & trade-in places:
- Tiffany diamond upgrade
- Jared diamond upgrade and trade-in
- Kay Jewelers diamond upgrade and trade-in
- Nordstrom diamond upgrade
While these jewelry sellers have the required facility to do this, you won’t get your jewelry’s worth in cash. And below are the reasons for this line of thought:
The evaluation of your jewelry by these outfits doesn’t involve the provision of a lab report. This is despite how crucial the report is towards putting the specifications of your jewelry in the spotlight. Of course, the certified lab report will confirm the worth of your jewelry – and these jewelry sellers don’t want you to know that. Remember that an appraisal is never equivalent to a certified lab report as the former is a subtle attempt to hoodwink you into agreeing to their estimates.
The jewelers listed above only offer you the estimated worth of your jewelry but the true worth of your item – which could be worth much more than their estimate – is not revealed to you.
Often, people make the mistake of allowing the sales rep to convince them into exchanging their jewelry for another high-end item – when they just wanted their money back. This reinforces the need to avoid these trade-ins and diamond upgrade facilities as they are just created to collect your cash.
Bottom line: Sell off your jewelry, get the cash, and put it to good use – which could be buying that property, fixing some financial issues you are having, or just investing the proceeds into something capable of having you settled for life.
FAQs on selling jewelry
What is the best way to sell jewelry?
Selling your jewelry online remains the best way to get more money for your item. Leading online marketplace like Worthy.com is convenient and offers more cash for your item as it uses the renowned GIA laboratory coupled with an auction-style approach towards selling your item.
Why is diamond resale value so low?
The resale value for your diamond item is so low when placed side-by-side with retail prices because the jewelers purchase diamonds in large quantities and at discounted prices that are considerably lower. It makes no sense for the jeweler to buy the diamond item at the retail price if such a gemstone could be purchased at a lower price from a dealer.
What percentage do pawn shops pay for jewelry?
Most pawnshops tend to offer between 40% – 50% of the market value of your jewelry. This is comparable to the massive price that you’d get if you sold your jewelry online through platforms like Worthy.com.
Is it better to pawn or sell jewelry?
Selling your fine jewelry to a pawn shop might appear to be a great choice as the deal can get closed quickly. However, you should sell your quality jewelry on an online platform like Worthy.com as the collection of jewelers on the marketplace gives you a better price and could get closed within a day.
Bottom line: Sell your jewelry and get cash real quick.
When should you not sell your jewelry?
If you’re used to the jewelry and can’t do without it, then selling the jewelry might not the right choice.
If this isn’t you, then sell that jewelry!
Possible reasons to sell your jewelry:
Cash is king on these streets – jewelry in a safety deposit box does nothing for you.
With pieces of jewelry like an engagement ring, an heirloom, antique jewelry, and others, there are sentiments involved. If this is the case, you can invest the earnings from the sale of the jewelry into something that makes you happy such as purchasing a property, college fees, and other worthwhile investments.
If there are some negative emotions attached to the jewelry, then you shouldn’t hesitate to sell the item.
No one wants such items. Your kids don’t want a necklace given to you by their deadbeat dad nor are they looking to don jewelry associated with a painful event in the past. Just get rid of it by selling it for cash – your kids will certainly want that money.
Leave all the sad memories associated with that jewelry in the past by selling the item for cash.
Yes, it might be a gift, but it’s yours. No court can take the jewelry given to you in a relationship that went sour. So you have every right to sell the jewelry.
And the award for the best online jewelry buyer goes to…
Worthy.com
There are many jewelry buyers are reputable and reliable, but Worthy.com is the best online jewelry buyer as it’s miles ahead of the competition. Their auction-style approach plays a major role in ensuring you get the best price. Beyond the price aspect – which is crucial – the provision of the reputable GIA certification and their excellent customer service puts them ahead of the pack.
Remember, Worthy.com doesn’t accept items valued at below $1000, so if your item belongs in this category, CashforGoldUSA has you covered. Their pricing model exceeds the offering of other jewelry buyers and different payment methods are available.
