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Rare Classic Burma Ruby and Diamond Ring

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Is It Safe to Sell Jewelry Online?

There are many ways to sell jewelry in Miami and Coral Gables. If you would rather sell your jewelry, or sell engagement ring online, you need to learn a few things. Among these is the fair resale value of what you are selling, the reputation of the people you are selling to, and the best way to ship your goods to them.

Establishing a realistic retail price for your jewelry, or engagement ring, is a step which is crucial in understanding the offer you will receive from potential buyers when you want to sell engagement ring online. Retail prices can be up to three times the cost of an item. That is to say that some jewelry mark-up on a piece of jewelry is sometimes more than three times the actual cost. I have seen many cases in which a client brings in a piece to sell which they purchased many years ago at a chain jewelry store and when I walk them through the analysis of the goods involved which make up jewelry and the process of manufacturing the piece, they are astonished at the amount of markup the chain store used. Chain stores are notorious for buying cheap, low grade jewelry in bulk from Asia and then packaging it nicely and charging four or five times the cost. Compare what you have to available similar goods on the market and then extrapolate a sale price from that. People sometimes think that because they paid a certain amount, they will get that back – in general this is a mistake. In some rare cases however, if you purchased a piece of jewelry well and you paid a fair price, you could be able to recover or even make money. For example, if you purchased an unheated Ceylon sapphire greater than five carats in the nineties and you go out to sell it today, you will find you may get more than what you paid. Same applies to unheated rubies from Burma or unheated sapphires from Kashmir or Burma.

When you sell diamonds online, safety relies greatly on the reputation of the people you are selling to. What if you send them your one carat engagement ring and they say they got a Cubic Zirconia (CZ) or a smaller diamond. This has happened and you need to be aware of exorbitant offers and outrageous claims. You need to document what you are shipping to the potential buyer and you need to make sure that if you decide not to sell to them, they will pay to have your jewelry shipped back to you in a safe way. I will detail the steps to take when preparing a piece of jewelry for shipping:

  • Clean your jewelry. It is important that you clean your jewelry before you ship it to make sure you document the best, true look of the engagement ring you want to sell online. If you have pearls, simply wipe them clean with a dry cloth and place them in a box with tissue paper to dampen any impact they may receive. If shipping emeralds, you need to be careful as emeralds have “a high cleavage rate”. This means that emeralds have many different points which when struck will break the stone severely. This is because of the crystal habit of emeralds and their inclusions. Simply wipe your emeralds with a clean cloth and surround it with bubble wrap when packing it. Diamonds, Sapphires and other hard gemstones should be cleaned under hot water and with a clean toothbrush. This will remove any deposits and make your jewelry shine. When packing them, simply place them in tissue paper and in a box.
  • Before you pack. Before you pack your jewelry take many photographs of it from every possible angle. Also, when you are preparing the box, take a video. Make sure your video includes all of the packing procedure used to include taping the box shut and adhering the shipping label.
  • Ship only via insured services. These include the USPS, FEDEX and UPS. All of these offer an insured option and it should be paid by the person offering to purchase your jewelry. They should also include return shipping in the event they do not purchase your jewelry.
  • Track your package. Always keep the receipt you get from the shipping company and always track your package to make sure the company offering to purchase your jewelry signs for the package and your package is received in the condition you shipped it. Assume nothing.
  • Call when your package is received. As soon as your tracking information states the package was signed for, call the company and make sure they signed for it. Also, tell them to contact you as soon as they open the package and confirm what you shipped is what you said it is.
  • When you receive the offer, ask them to place it in writing. If it is close to the price you established earlier, make sure they pay you by a secure way like PayPal or Wire Transfer.

If you are reading this and you do not live close to our store, you may contact us and we will provide insured shipping for your piece if we are interested in buying it. We always ask for any appraisals, grading certificates, or receipts for the pieces along with photographs from various angles before we determine if we are interested in purchasing. You can call or email us here to see if we can help you sell jewelry online.

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