What is the best way to go about selling an engagement ring?
July 16, 2011 1:55 PM Subscribe
What is the best way to go about selling an engagement ring?
About a year ago I purchased an engagement ring for my then girlfriend. Before I got the chance to pop the question, we parted ways. I have since then decided that I would like to sell it. The jeweler that I bought it from will not take it back for the full price that I bought it for. I am thinking of resorting to eBay to get the best return.
I have all original receipts and documents and have had the diamond certified and appraised.
Has anyone had any experience doing this? Or does anyone have any pointers?
Thanks in advance for your help.
About a year ago I purchased an engagement ring for my then girlfriend. Before I got the chance to pop the question, we parted ways. I have since then decided that I would like to sell it. The jeweler that I bought it from will not take it back for the full price that I bought it for. I am thinking of resorting to eBay to get the best return.
I have all original receipts and documents and have had the diamond certified and appraised.
Has anyone had any experience doing this? Or does anyone have any pointers?
Thanks in advance for your help.
Oh just to mention, jewelers almost never will buy back at the same purchase price (how else would they make money?).
posted by handbanana at 2:00 PM on July 16, 2011
posted by handbanana at 2:00 PM on July 16, 2011
If you have quality/grade certification for the stone, you might do OK yourself on eBay, maybe not. There is a seasonality to engagements, and you've missed the June popularity bubble, and might want to wait for the December/Christmas one. That said, if you haven't already got certification for the stone, your best route might be appraisal/selling to a site like I Do, Now I Don't. Advantages: quick cash at fair market prices. Disadvantage: If your setting is spectacular, or the ring unusual, you might get closer to retail on eBay.
posted by paulsc at 2:17 PM on July 16, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by paulsc at 2:17 PM on July 16, 2011 [3 favorites]
Enable your mefi mail and I will send you a direct message.
posted by coolsara at 2:58 PM on July 16, 2011
posted by coolsara at 2:58 PM on July 16, 2011
eBay is a very tough market to sell jewelry on...from my experience. You either have to have a very high sellers rating, a run of luck in finding a buyer, or be forced to sell it for a much lower price. You might want to look into pawn shops as well. I was in the same situation as you once before, and ended up selling mine cheap to a friend who was looking to get married but was low on finances for a ring. He took it to a jeweler and had the stones re-set on a hand-me-down band, turned out really beautiful..and at a fraction of the cost he would have paid retail.
Of course I took a large hit on the initial cost of the ring. But the feeling that it found a home for a friend and his fiance really made my day. They've been married for a few years now. I'm in a new relationship and am looking to buy a ring once again (I would normally offer to take a look at what you have at this point, but unfortunately I already have a style in mind set with amethyst...good luck tho!)
posted by samsara at 3:23 PM on July 16, 2011 [3 favorites]
Of course I took a large hit on the initial cost of the ring. But the feeling that it found a home for a friend and his fiance really made my day. They've been married for a few years now. I'm in a new relationship and am looking to buy a ring once again (I would normally offer to take a look at what you have at this point, but unfortunately I already have a style in mind set with amethyst...good luck tho!)
posted by samsara at 3:23 PM on July 16, 2011 [3 favorites]
I sold my wedding set last year (used for 7 years, not new) through a small, independent jeweler who sold "previously owned" jewelry. I got back half of what we spent on it originally. The diamond was only 3/4 carat, which I loved but isn't currently popular, so it would have been difficult to sell as a loose stone (people were buying 1 carat stones at the time). So we took a chance at leaving it all together and it sold in just a few weeks. She priced it so that she got her cut up front and I walked away with an amount I was happy with.
The jeweler who made my ring doesn't buy back jewelry either, unless I wanted to use it as trade in on something twice as expensive (no thank you!) even though they designed the ring. So I would shop around at small jewelry stores, especially ones that do ring design. They tend to be creative thinkers who love the art and would be willing to help someone out. If you go in a store and see a case with random jewelry in it "on sale" at 50% off, chances are it's the used jewelry case. They can also tell you what you could get out of the ring if you scrapped the gold.
posted by MultiFaceted at 3:37 AM on July 17, 2011
The jeweler who made my ring doesn't buy back jewelry either, unless I wanted to use it as trade in on something twice as expensive (no thank you!) even though they designed the ring. So I would shop around at small jewelry stores, especially ones that do ring design. They tend to be creative thinkers who love the art and would be willing to help someone out. If you go in a store and see a case with random jewelry in it "on sale" at 50% off, chances are it's the used jewelry case. They can also tell you what you could get out of the ring if you scrapped the gold.
posted by MultiFaceted at 3:37 AM on July 17, 2011
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He found the best value for selling the ring was to sell the diamond and melt the gold for value.
He only lost about $400 or so on a $10000 ring.
If the ring in question is an antique, this surely doesn't apply.
posted by handbanana at 1:59 PM on July 16, 2011