Selling an engagement ring.

February 1, 2005 10:28 AM

Any Advice on the best way to sell a ring and not get ripped off? A friend of mine has an engagement ring he would like to sell (the relationship died some time ago, before he popped the question). It was originally worth $2,500 and he would like to maximize his return. Clearly, a pawn shop is not the way to go, but neither of us know what other options there are.
posted by Irontom to shopping (7 comments total)

Find a new woman.
posted by crazy finger at 10:31 AM on February 1, 2005

EBay?
posted by madman at 10:36 AM on February 1, 2005

I assume he has the original diamond cert and everything right? Then selling it to a decent jeweler shouldn't pose a problem as the rocks 'worth' is listed there, together with color, carat et al.
posted by dabitch at 10:40 AM on February 1, 2005

Recognize that jeweler's markup may be 100-200%, so its worth to the jeweler may be substantially less than what your friend paid. On the other hand, maybe the jeweler is willing to accept it back for other merchandise, allowing your friend to get that high-end watch he's always wanted.
posted by Pressed Rat at 10:51 AM on February 1, 2005

Has your friend contacted the store where he bought the ring? Most jewelers have an "estate division" that will buy single pieces or lots of previously owned jewelry

But as Pressed Rat mentions, jewelers use a "keystone markup," which is usually well over 100%. Your friend will be lucky to get half of what he paid, even if everything is in perfect condition.
posted by njm at 11:51 AM on February 1, 2005

If he's still able to return it for store credit, maybe he could then sell the store credit at a discount and make (hopefully) most of his money back. I see jewelry store credit for sale on craigslist and other places and imagine that the sellers are in a similar circumstance. I don't know this for fact though and would recommend that he do some research before going through with it, should he choose this path.
posted by hootch at 12:13 PM on February 1, 2005

Recognize that jeweler's markup may be 100-200%
A jeweler told me as high as 500% which is why you will see 50% or more off specials around Christmas time.
posted by thomcatspike at 4:43 PM on February 1, 2005