Does jewelry sold on eBay need an appraisal?

That's a very interesting question, actually, particularly because jewelry is only valuable based on its perceived value. I mean, really, why would a crystalized lump of coal that's been transformed over millions of years from intense pressure be worth so darn much that a piece the size of a gumball could be more valuable than your car?

But I'll be fair. Gems and jewelry definitely does have value and one of the best ways to ascertain that fair market value is through the International Gemological Institute. Their fees range from about $35 for an appraisal of some relatively generic jewelry pieces to hundreds of dollars for rare diamonds and other valuable gemstones.

They describe their jewelry appraisal thusly:

"Accurate Gemological Identification Reports are available to anyone desiring a detailed description of a specific item of jewelry. These reports provide reliable details such as the identification, content and weight of the gems and precious metals contained in an article of jewelry along with an enlarged color photograph which shows further identifying information.

"Consumers, retailers, jewelers, insurance companies, financial planners and estate executors are thus assured of a reliable source of information concerning the precious stones and jewelry items in their possession or safekeeping."

Of course, the fact that you can find jewelry appraisal certificates for sale on eBay is rather troubling, but hopefully the IGI, being as it's the only one listed on eBay's Opinions, Authentication and Grading page for jewelry appraisals, is legit.

Now do you need to get an appraisal? No. There's no policy on eBay I could find that states any sort of appraisal of gemstones or jewelry is required.

However, it's still probably a best practice, especially if you believe the item to be worth $500 or more, just to assure the bidder that it's legit and really of the value you've set.

Generally, to set a given price on an item, you should do a historical search (do a search for similar items, then on the left side scroll down to "Search Options" and click on the "Completed Auctions" checkbox, then redo the search) and use that as a basis of what the market with bear: make sure you look at auctions that ended successfully not those that ended with zero bids, however.

With jewelry, however, it might be well nigh impossible to do that because you might have a one-of-a-kind piece, in which case the best you can do is get a sense of the going price for pieces with that gemstone or set of gemstones, then basically pull a number out of thin air that's not too far afield and use that as either the opening bid, or as the "reserve price", with an opening bid far lower to attract buyer interest.

Good luck to you on this sale!