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Selling jewelry on eBay, does it need to be appraised?
Dave, how would you go about selling jewelry? Does Ebay have any appraisal service? Would I have to pay to get it appraised first and then submit the information along with the listing? It it necessary to have an appraisal for jewelry that is under $200?
While I'm an active eBay buyer and seller, I have to admit that I haven't gone near the jewelry section, so my specific knowledge is, um, not robust. Instead, I asked my sister (she's more creative than I am: check out her site art dolls to see what I mean) about your question. Her response was that there's no reason for any jewelry seller to have an appraisal, and you certainly don't need to have one to list on eBay. However, if you want to sell something valuable, then an appraisal is a smart strategy for helping ensure buyers that it's legit, not a rip-off. If I can add to that, it's interesting to do a few quick searches on eBay for jewelry and look at whether they include appraisal information or not (in general, I believe that there's a ton of research you can do by just exploring both the current and recently closed eBay auctions). I popped into the Jewelry & Watches section, then sorted results by highest to lowest price, then looked at a few auctions that actually had bids and was currently more than $400. Outside of lots of jewelry (like "HUGE LOT VINTAGE FINE & COSTUME JEWELRY $$$OVER $2000") that aren't likely to be appraised, remarkably few of these auctions had garnered even a single bid. Of the few that did have bids, a two-toned gold diamond ring was bid up to $710 without an appraisal, a 14K amethyst and diamond ring from the same seller was at $499, and another seller had three items of jewelry all bid up to $400 or higher, and none with a specific appraisal. My conclusion is that you don't need to have anything appraised. The only time you might need to do something like that is when you're first starting out and you believe potential customers might see what you have and decide that the risk of buying, say, a $150 pair of earrings from someone with a feedback score of 7 is too high. Then an appraisal can help make your business seem more legitimate. But don't take my word. Spend a few minutes reading through the fascinating chat transcript on eBay entitled eBay Expert Member Workshop: What You Should Know about Jewelry Appraisals to see what people who are selling jewelry on eBay have to say about this subject. Hope that answers your question. Good luck to you on eBay!
Categorized:
Auctions and Online Shopping
(Article 3801,
Written by Dave Taylor)
Tagged: Previous: My PC takes forever to boot, "cannot find disk"? Next: How can I add a Google search box to my Web site? Subscribe!
Dave, Angela, that's certainly better than nothing, but still not as good as an appraisal, because the appraisal is from a third party against the current, not past, value of the jewelry. Posted by: Dave Taylor at March 18, 2006 10:00 PMI think the more complex question to answer would be what can you expect to receive for your jewelry, whether through eBay, private sale, pawn shop, metal refinery or one of the various online gold buying companies that have sprung up in the last year. Understanding the answer to the question includes, to a certain extent, the answer to the appraisal question so I'll start there... Most appraisals performed by jewelers, or even an accredited appraiser, are for high retail replacement value. In other words, the value noted is the highest possible amount you could expect to pay were you to try to replace an item at retail. Can you expect to receive anywhere near this amount? Unfortunately, the answer is a resounding no. Is having one useful if you're selling an item? Certainly. It's a marketing tool and most average consumers are looking for a bargain so the $1,000 ring with the $10,000 appraisal is certainly going to qualify. If you want a real estimate of what you can expect to receive, contact an appraiser and ask for a cash value (or liquidation) appraisal. This will tell you the true market value of the item. When it comes to jewelry there are two factors which determine an items worth... 1. The intrinsic value of the gold, platinum, silver and precious gemstones included in the piece. and 2. The value of the item itself as a "work of art." If you want to determine intrinsic value, call any number of the companies (us included) that buy jewelry based on gold content. If you want an idea of the wholesale value of the piece, contact a company which resells some of the jewelry it purchases as we do. If you're not sure, just ask. Once you have an established idea of the wholesale value of the piece, then you can go about marking it up accordingly for private sale. A word of caution about eBay though. Look at how much of the jewelry actually sells versus what does not. You might be surprised. Posted by: Andrew McDaniels at March 16, 2009 2:02 PMI have something to say, now that you mention it, but ...
I do have a comment, now that you mention it!
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