Often times you want to make more on your old jewelry than a pawn shop will give you. When selling on eBay you often don’t make much. If you are selling a high valued metal, you often can get the most by selling it for the metal itself: selling gold jewelry and selling platinum jewelry. Yet, what if the jewelry has expensive diamonds or gemstones?

Where to Sell Diamond Jewelry

It is very difficult to sell high end jewelry on eBay. People want to know whether what you are selling is real. When going to a jeweler or pawn shop you are lucky to get 1/3 of the price you paid. So we recommend a place where a Certified Gemologist verifies what you are selling: IDoNowIDont.com. It is a great place to sell your jewelry for closer to it’s normal value than at other places.

Great Deals For Jewelry Buyers

IDoNowIDont.com is also a good place to buy for the same reasons. As this site doesn’t have dealer mark up – it is great for buyers as well as sellers. Both get a fair deal. It is a good place to check for inexpensive diamond jewelry.

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If you have jewelry you know you will never wear, selling it or remaking it can be a reasonable option. However, if you decide to do so, you want to make certain that you get the best price.

Earlier we wrote 2 informative articles that can be useful if you want to sell gold jewelry:

• Selling Your Gold Jewelry – this includes information on how to determine the exact value of your gold as well as helpful selling tips.
• Selling Jewelry At Pawn Shops – reasons to sell jewelry and things to know.

Yet, even with all that information, people often think they will strike it rich. Though you do get needed cash and will be selling something you are (hopefully) not using, reselling jewelry may not be as good as television commercials imply.

Often people learn better with a video that explains the situation. Here is a useful video that may help you know the huge price variations one can get when selling gold jewelry:

Jewelry is wonderful and enjoyable. But know that generally it isn’t an investment unless you can sell it as is and the prices have truly gone up.

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Yesterday I went to a gem and jewelry show, so here is a review of what a gem show is like for those who haven’t gone to one.

What to Expect

1) Lots of Vendors

The show I went to yesterday had over a thousand vendors. If you go the gem and jewelry shows in February @ Tuscon, AZ, expect over 10,000 vendors. Yet, if you are in a small town, perhaps you will only have 25-50 vendors. Yet, even in the smallest shows I have been to, there is a nice variety of gems, jewelry, and beads.

2) Large Price Ranges

When comparing prices of simple beads, I saw a price range from $4 – $10000 for the same gemstone. Of course the size and quality differed. So you really have to know different qualities. I found some bargains in the retail section that were better than the wholesale section. Knowing what you are buying can make a HUGE difference.

3) Wide Variety

You can find raw crystals, jewelry cleaner, fashion jewelry, jewelry making supplies, and fine jewelry. Anything that is gem or jewelry related was there. It is very fun to just wander and gawk. Yet, if you are looking for something specific, taking notes can be very helpful.

4) Demonstrations or Displays

Every gem or jewelry show offers something special. Some have fancy jewelry displays, others have classes, and a few just have a large variety of vendors. When going know what is available so you can take advantage of it if it interests you. For example the show I went to yesterday had booths with jewelry cleaning. The rings I was wear sparkle much more now. Though I went to buy beads, I loved having my jewelry cleaned as well.

How To Find What You Want

If you don’t have any particular goals in mind, sometimes asking a vendor what they have that no other booth has gets you to see the “special” items available at a jewelry show. It lets you explore items you would not otherwise notice in the vastness of a jewelry show.

For those with particular items in mind, we wrote this nice guide with gem show tips that will help you get the most out of a gem show. Like any other large fair, it really helps to go prepared.

Favorite Shows

Though I have my favorite shows, I know everyone is different. Try several different ones. Some smaller shows let you really know the vendors and go to classes or demonstrations. Larger shows have more variety – but they take much longer to see. So much depends on the time you have and what you are looking for. I tend to prefer the larger ones for the variety – but everyone is different.

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After reading an article talking about the boost of sales at pawnshops, we thought it may be timely to remind people of jewelry selling options.

Need Money Now

Pawnshops may be useful for short term loans. Yet, if you need to actually sell jewelry with precious metals, usually you can do better by selling to a metal reseller. See tips for: selling gold jewelry, selling platinum jewelry, and selling silver jewelry.

Outdated Style

1) Use a New Design: If you are selling jewelry because it has been outdated, you may wish to consider remaking the piece into something new. For example, making a diamond ring into a solitaire diamond pendant is fairly straightforward and will usually cost much less than buying a diamond pendant directly.

2) Hold Until the Jewelry Style Comes Back: Generally, styles go in cycles, if you hold a piece long enough, often it will come into fashion again.

Jewelry You Never Wear

If you don’t want to have your pieces remade or they aren’t worth selling, consider swapping jewelry with friends. Trading will friends can save you all money. You do need to make sure the items are all worth about the same amount.

If You Do Sell

If you need to sell jewelry for financial reasons, comparing what you can get from many sources (a metal reseller, a pawnshop, craigslist and/or ebay) can help you get more for your favored jewels.

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As the holiday season approaches, being organized and knowing the best ways to sell handmade jewelry can make the difference between a profitable holiday and one which suffers great losses in both time and money. Here are some super tips on how to make money by selling jewelry at those craft fairs.

True Cost Of Making Jewelry

Pricing your jewelry can really determine how well your jewelry sells. Everyone says you need to price your jewelry right — but how do you do this? On how to make money with crafts, we show you exactly how to figure out how much you spend making your jewelry so you can figure out how much each piece costs. If you price your jewelry lower than this amount you will lose money with each piece. Knowing the profit margin, you will know how many pieces you need to sell to pay for your booth fee. This will enable you to make educated decisions.

Pricing Your Jewelry

Once you know the true cost of making your jewelry (by doing the math recommended above), you know the minimal sell price for your jewelry to make a profit. But how much is your jewelry actually worth? You can test sell it on EBay, which can be a second minimal price, but remember that isn’t the same as a fair setting. EBay has lots more jewelry competition, no physical touching of jewelry, and people hope for a bargain there. The best choice is: finding comparable jewelry at other fairs if possible. If that isn’t possible, look elsewhere online to see how much stores are asking. Most likely somewhere between the EBay price and online store price is the price that will sell best. If you sell too cheaply, people won’t value it (and sometimes won’t buy because it is priced too cheap!); if too expensive, it simply won’t sell.

Do NOT Include Tax in Your Shown Price

I’ve found that not having tax included in your price helps you sell more. If you have tax included, your items will appear more expensive than other booths. Having items priced such that when adding tax will give you a rounded number can be convenient but be sure to display that lower price.

Have Something Low Priced At Your Booth

By having something that is easily affordable, you will attract more customers. Whether it is an inexpensive pin or pair of earrings, these help you sell many more items. Find something that is easy to make, affordable and has a nice profit if possible. Often these pieces will pay for your booth. That means more profit for you.

Booth Location Matters

If your festival is first-come-first served, arrive early. Choose a location that is heavily traffic-ed such as by the entrance, the food or major intersections in the fair layout. If those are not options, if there are workshops, locations near those can be advantageous if the workshops are popular.

Great Displays

Having your products easy to see and nicely displayed will enable people to see what you are offering easily. Having a bowl or box to search through for bargain items is often sought after as well. To create an inexpensive display: use plywood, velvet and hooks. They look nice and last well. Often, you will get better prices with a nicer display.

Extras That Help Profitability

Those inexpensive items (recommended above) often get added to the more expensive purchases. Also you can offer gift wrap for a fee which can make an extra $1-5. Be sure to ask each customer if they are interested in such deals. Or offer free gift wrap with the purchase of 2 or more items.

Other Tips

Those were just a few of the tips that have helped me and my friends sell jewelry at shows and festivals. There are many more secrets to learning how to sell jewelry well at fairs. Blueprints for profitable shows, techniques for avoiding shoplifting, and how to take advantage of the most profitable times at a fair are just a few topics explored in a great ebook we discovered online. Many of these tips can help now so buying the book electronically is recommended. Guide To Your Profitable Jewelry Booth. Secrets Of Selling Handcrafted Jewelry Like Crazy At Shows, Fairs, And Festivals.

Have a great show!

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If cash gets short, sometimes one wants to sell jewelry they are no longer wearing. This is the third article in the series of our “How to Sell Jewelry” series.

Platinum is expensive enough, that it often has diamonds or precious gemstones which makes it much harder to sell for it’s true value. However, knowing the base value for selling platinum jewelry is still useful.

Platinum Jewelry Markings

The first thing one needs to know is how much platinum is in the jewelry piece you own. Platinum is measured in quantities of 1/1000. Common markings are:

• 100% Platinum: 1000Plat, 1000Pt – not often found in jewelry
• 95% Platinum: 950Plat, 950Pt, Pt950 – highest quality jewelry usually made
• 90% Platinum: 900Plat, 900Pt, IRIDPlat – IRIDplat has 10% Iridium
• 85% Platinum: 850Plat, 850Pt – most commonly palladium is used for the 15% non-platinum metal

Other metals often used as alloys are marked as:

• “Co” for Cobalt
• “Cu” for Copper
• “Ir” or “Irid.” for Iridium
• “Os” or “Osmi.” for Osmium
• “Pd” or “Pall.” for Palladium
• “Rh” or “Rhod.” for Rhodium
• “Ru” or “Ruth.” for Ruthenium

Other Factors

Besides the quantity of platinum and worth of set gemstones, there are 4 other factors that often change the value of a jewelry item.

1. Workmanship – if exceptionally fine artistry was used, it can add value
2. Famous marker markings – these are markings from Tiffany’s or various other prominent jewelry designers.
3. History – Did someone famous own the piece?
4. Age- If the piece is a true antique, it can be worth more.

Base Pricing

As stated in our Selling Gold article, try not to sell any metal jewelry for less than the scrap metal value. Estate dealers often only offer you 50% of the scrap value. Try a metal (or bullion) dealer to get the most. Kitco is one of many that specialize in this.

If you are interested in the other articles, see: Selling Silver Jewelry and Selling Gold for Cash

For selling other types of jewelry, see Selling Jewelry Tips

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This is the second of a series on selling jewelry and ways to get the most value out of it. You may be selling jewelry you no longer use; or you may be selling jewelry for profit or financial need. Either way, many of these same concepts apply.

Know the Base Metal Value

The first article of our series, Selling Your Gold Jewelry, focused on figuring out the value of the base metal and to some extend trying to get the full value of the metal if you can’t get the value of the jewelry itself. (The first article focused on the more expensive metal, gold.) This article will explore what to do with jewelry of less valuable metals, such as silver. Knowing a baseline price is extremely useful when selling your jewelry. This will be true for whatever jewelry you want to sell. You don’t want to sell it for much less than the materials, if at all possible.

Tips for Determining Base Value

First look at markings on your jewelry to see how it is marked. Many types of silver (and their markings) are detailed on our Silver Necklaces page. You can go to an estate dealer or pawn shop to verify, but we recommend actually selling at a metal dealer if you can’t find a better price. Generally they will pay substantially more than the other stores as those stores sell to them. One that buys and sells metals (including jewelry) is Kitco. Here are their buying scrap metal prices.
This is the least amount you should sell your jewelry. Hopefully you can get more.

Other Places To Sell Jewelry

Now that you have the minimum price, you need to investigate if you can sell it for more. If you have lots of jewelry, the easiest will be an Ebay Store.
It takes much less effort for usually better return than other methods. Alternatively, you can try classified ads or making a website. You could even selling at art galleries for high end pieces. We have many more suggestions on how to sell jewelry and crafts.

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Many people wonder if they can really make money with their hobbies. We read that we are to follow our dream… but will that dream support us? Can one really make money making jewelry especially if your love is beading?

Handcrafted jewelry has always been in demand, especially if it is unusual. For example, when reading the Fremont Tribune today, they had an article: Leach makes career out of beads. Her beads are worn by famous people such as Laura Bush. She is having a wonderful time — doing her art. She is making it doing what she loves and supporting herself doing it.

So let her story inspire you and reach for your dreams!

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As the price of gold gets higher and higher, many people are considering selling gold jewelry for cash. You need to be careful when selling your gold jewelry. Know what you have and know what it is worth before trying to selling if at all possible.

Determining What Type of Gold You Have

First you need to know how much gold is in your jewelry. If you are selling the jewelry for metal value only (which is how most dealers base their pricing), look at the gold marking to determine carat weight. Assuming you bought from an honest dealer, the gold marking will be accurate.

Hopefully your jewelry is marked with something like 10K, 14K or 18K. If the gold marking is followed by GF, the jewelry is gold filled.

If you have gold filled jewelry, generally, it is not worth selling for gold value.

How Much Is Your Gold Worth?

Gold karats are expressed in units of 24ths. Thus, pure gold is 24-karat or 100 percent gold, 18-karat is 75 percent gold, 14-karat is 58.5 percent gold, and so on.

The price of gold is based on a troy ounce which is approximately 31.1 grams. Many kitchen scales will give weight in grams as well as regular ounces.

A formula would then be something like this:

(Grams of gold x % gold) / 31.1 = Troy ounces of Gold

So a 60 gram necklace of 14 Kt gold would be 1.128 troy ounces of gold. (60 x .585)/31.1
You would then look up on the chart how much 1.128 troy ounces of gold is worth.

Alternatively: if you have 1 troy ounce (31.1 grams) of 14K gold and gold is selling for $1000 per troy ounce, the value of the actual gold would be $580. Of course the buyer will want some profit. However, knowing the base value is useful. If you end up needing to sell for the gold content value, we recommend selling at a place that specializes in buying metals. One such place is Kitco. Here are their current gold buying prices.

Helpful Gold Selling Tips

• Cash value for gold jewelry is much less than the appraised value unless your appraisal was during a time of much lower gold values. Assume the price offered for your gold jewelry will be much less than you paid for it.
• The value of gold fluctuates. Always check the current price before selling. Note the current gold price when given an offer if you don’t plan on selling your gold jewelry the same day.
• Know what you are selling first if at all possible.
• Comparison shop if you don’t know your dealer. Go to two or more dealers to get quotes. They should be willing to tell you how much they will pay for your piece for free.
• If you decide to try selling your jewelry elsewhere (ie: EBay, newspaper, etc), know what estate dealers will pay first so you have a minimum selling price for your jewelry.
• If your item is an antique, has precious stones or is designer (such as Tiffany’s), it often worth more than simple gold value.

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People have asked Jewelry Mall, what can I do with my old jewelry? If you are like them, you may want to reuse or re-purpose some of your old jewelry to something you will actively wear and enjoy. There are several possibilities such as:

• Keep your jewelry and see if it will come back into style.
• Change the jewelry yourself
• Have a professional jeweler change your jewelry
• Sell (or donate) your old jewelry

Waiting Until the Jewelry Comes Back Into Style

Classic Jewelry almost always comes back into style. Pearls, Semi-precious stones and Diamonds are often worn by generations. If you buy jewelry such as this, it will be able to be worn again. If you want something to do right now, read on for more suggestions.

Changing Your Jewelry

Sometimes, simple changes to existing jewelry can create a new look. For example, using a pin as a pendant may really work. Alternately, removing a pendant may allow the necklace itself to be reused. Then perhaps the pendant can be used as a charm. Alternately, for very inexpensive jewelry, you may be able to use parts in key chains, kitchen magnets or even attached to zippers on coats or purses.

Changing beaded necklaces into earrings (or bracelets) is very simple. To find stores which sell the needed parts, search for “findings” in our Jewelry Stores

What a Professional Jeweler Can Do

Professional jewelers can reset stones and recast metal to create new jewelry from your treasures. This can be much less expensive than buying new jewelry.

Sometimes, a jeweler will let you trade up a stone. For example, many jewelers will allow you to “trade in” a smaller diamond when buying a larger diamond. Though not all jewelers will do this, it is worth asking.

Selling Your Jewelry

Sometimes selling your jewelry (or donating it) is the right approach. See our how to sell jewelry guide for suggestions on getting the most money from jewelry sales:
Selling Jewelry

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