How to Sell Jewellery: Your Indispensable Guide

28 Mar 2011

If you’re wondering how to sell jewellery quickly, securely and simply, all whilst getting value for your items, this article will help you. There are many methods of selling jewellery, each with different pros and cons.

In this feature, we’ll help you sift through your options, looking through some of the most popular ways of selling jewellery and how to determine which one is right for your needs. Overall, we’ll help you answer the question ’how do I sell my jewellery?’

Before you sell jewellery…

Before you start thinking about how to sell jewellery, there are some things you may want to consider. For example, is it important to you that you sell quickly? How can you be sure that your transaction is secure? Here are the points you need to think about –

Safety and Security In the world of how to sell jewellery, security and safety should always be a priority. Make sure your chosen method offers you secure payment options and try to find out as much as you can about anybody offering to buy your jewellery or sell it for you – for example, some industries have trade organisations, such as the National Pawnbrokers Association. Moreover, always abide by standard safety measures such as never letting anyone you don’t know into your home to value your jewellery.

Hassle v Ease When looking at how to sell jewellery, consider how easy or difficult it is. As an example, while some methods require you to travel long distances and even spend a considerable amount of time and money, others, such as 62days.com let you sell from the comfort of your computer.

Charges and Fees Whether you’re selling jewellery online or off, many places will actually charge you for doing so. This can be in the form of fees, charges, interest or even all three. So, when deciding how to sell jewellery, check out the different terms and conditions of the businesses you’re considering dealing with to find those that let you sell cheaply or even for free.

Flexibility Selling jewellery can feel like a big step. If you’re worried that you might regret doing it later, look out for services that offer you a cooling off period.

Timing The value of your jewellery may go up and down at different times based on market fluctuations. One way to decide whether the time is right to sell is to keep an eye on the markets.

A Definite Sale? Ask yourself, ‘does my chosen option of how to sell jewellery guarantee that I’ll sell my jewellery within a given time?’ If not, you might be spending a lot of time and energy for little – if any – return.

Help and Support This is particularly relevant when thinking of how to sell jewellery online. Make sure there’s a real person – ideally an expert – on hand to assist you and offer you help along the way.

How to Sell Jewellery – Your Options

The next step in choosing how to sell jewellery is to list and rate your options. Amongst the most popular methods are:

Auction

Selling jewellery at auction may be unpredictable but it’s also very popular amongst people who have large amounts of high value items to sell.

In an auction, people bid for each item of jewellery and the highest of these bids wins, buying the item for the bid amount. Remember, when the auctioneer’s gavel strikes, the sale is complete and final.

Auctions are often seen as a good way of gauging the market value of an item. However, when bidding gets frenzied or competitive, it can mean an item sells for higher than its usual value.

If this is your chosen option of selling jewellery, make sure that you choose a suitable auction house for your item type. This is because an empty auction house or one with buyers disinterested in your item can mean a low sale price or no sale at all.

Online

Online is quickly becoming a favourite method of selling jewellery. Indeed, selling jewellery online can be fast, simple and offer you the best deal.

At 62days.com, we offer you a quick, simple and secure way to sell jewellery with no charges, free appraisals and free collection. Once you sell, you even get a 62 day cooling off period.

From start to finish, the whole service is completely free – there are no charges of any kind including the collection of your item by FedEx courier.

From our payment methods to our website and our collection and delivery of items, every aspect of 62days.com is totally secure and traceable. Our jewellery experts are also always on hand by telephone to answer your questions.

As to how to sell jewellery online with 62days.com, it can all be done at home or from your office. Just upload a photo of your item or describe it and we’ll give you a free, no-obligation appraisal.

High Street Pawnbrokers

One way to sell your valuables is to pawn jewellery. Located on high streets around the country, pawnbrokers offer you a loan which is secured by your jewellery for a set period – usually 6-12 months.

Whilst not exactly a way of selling jewellery per se, it’s one way of earning additional income.

One benefit of using a pawnbroker is that you can get your item back within this period. However, this can get expensive. In particular, you need to pay back the borrowed amount plus interest for every month your item has remained there – and the rate of interest is typically very high.

Car Boot Sale

Another way to sell jewellery is to ’do’ a car boot sale.

On the plus side, this means that you set your price and, as long as you can haggle, you can get the most for your jewellery.

However, this is usually a regulated method of how to sell jewellery and can come with some added admin and/or fees. You can sell via an organised car boot sale, but this is likely to involve some fees, thus reducing your profits.

In terms of this being a method of selling jewellery, note that it can be a long process and there is no guarantee of a sale.

Antique Dealers

When thinking of how to sell jewellery, consider whether your jewellery is classed as antique? If so, you could consider selling it to or through an antique dealer.

This can be quite a flexible way of selling jewellery – the dealer may offer to buy it from you or to help you sell it.

There’s no certainty of sale – it all depends on the quality and saleability of your item as well as whether the dealer has a particular buyer in mind.

Selling by antique dealer usually means getting a higher price for your jewellery, but it also typically means higher fees so take this into account.

Knowing Your Jewellery

Make sure you know about your item and understand its value. Here are a few jargon busting definitions to set you on the right track:

Hallmark The value of your jewellery can be higher depending on its maker. To find out who this is, check if it has a hallmark.

Carat or Karat The term carat is used to determine the purity of gold. The higher the carat, the higher the purity, e.g. gold can range from 1 to 24 carats. Note that diamonds also have a carat measurement, but this refers to the weight of the diamond.

How to Sell Jewellery Online and Off – Getting Started

So, you’ve picked your chosen way of selling jewellery and you’re ready to go. How should you get started? Well, if you plan to sell with 62days.com, you can get your free appraisal now by simply uploading a photo of your jewellery or describing it. This is also useful if you’re still unsure as to how to sell jewellery as there’s no obligation to sell once you have your quote, so you can find out how much you can get for your item with nothing to lose.

You can even get quotes on other items, so if you’re looking to sell diamonds, sell silver, sell watches or sell gold you can get a fast and free appraisal for any valuable item.