Selling Your Old Jewelry: How Much Money Can You Get?

Where Can You Sell Your Old Jewelry?

One of the most common places you can sell your jewelry is the jewelry store. There are many jewelers who buy old jewelry, but whether you would be able to sell your piece would depend on its condition and the metals and stones the item contains.

Not all jewelry stores buy jewelry, though – some jewelers prefer not to deal with second-hand items. Another option is to sell your jewelry at a pawn shop. However, in this case, you will likely get less money than if you sell your items to a jeweler.

Don’t expect a jeweler to pay for your old items as much as they cost when you bought them new.

How Much Money Can You Get at the Jewelry Store?

Don’t expect a jeweler to pay for your old items as much as they cost you when you bought them new, even if you sell them to the same store you purchased them at. Usually, the best price you could hope for will be no more than 20-50% of the original price you paid. In many cases, however, you are likely to be offered less.

Why Can’t You Get More Money for Your Old Jewelry?

There are a couple of reasons jewelry stores don’t usually offer more for used jewelry.

First, your jewelry is old, and stores are wary of buying used merchandise as they know that its parts are worn out, making the piece not as durable as if it were new. Even if the store tries to sell your jewelry, it would have to offer it at a heavily discounted price to make it attractive to customers.

In many cases, stores don’t actually intend to sell the used jewelry they buy from you. They may take the stones out of their mountings and reset them in new pieces.

The metal parts are often sent to refineries to be melted down. That’s why you most likely won’t get paid more than what the materials in your jewelry are worth, i.e. it doesn’t matter how beautiful the jewelry is as stores don’t usually pay a premium for design.

Another important reason for the low second-hand prices is that stores buy diamonds and other jewelry in bulk and thus get attractive discounts from wholesalers.

That’s why jewelers don’t really have the incentive to pay more for used jewelry when the new items offered to them are cheap and come with warranties.

Trading In Your Jewelry: Is This a Better Deal?

An alternative to selling your jewelry for cash is to exchange it for a new item. The jeweler will offer you a trade-in price that you won’t receive in cash but will be able to use for the purchase of another item from the store.

In such a case, you will usually have to pay some additional money to cover the difference between the trade-in value and the new item’s retail price.

Usually, trade-in deals will give you a better value for your jewelry than if you sell it for cash. Jewelers will be willing to offer you a better trade-in price since you will make a new purchase at their store.

So, if you’re debating between an exchange and a cash sale, the former will usually be the better option.

How to Get the Best Price for Your Jewelry

So how can you get the most for your used jewelry? Whether you trade your items in or sell them for cash, there are two main things you can do to make sure you get as high a price as possible:

Bring all your documents. If you have any documentation related to your jewelry, take it with you. Appraisals and certificates are the most useful since they help jewelers establish the quality of your items.

If, for example, you neglect to find and present your diamond’s certificate, the jeweler may need to have the stone graded and incur additional costs, meaning that you will get a reduced price to compensate for these expenses.

Not to mention that a third-party verification of your jewelry’s value also helps you to argue for a better price.

Clean your jewelry well. The better your items look, the more attractive they will be to a prospective buyer. This is especially important if you have diamonds or other gemstones because if they are free from any dirt, the jeweler will be able to establish their quality more accurately.

And last but not least, if your jewelry is clean, the staff at the store won’t have to spend time cleaning the item to make it more saleable, and time is money.