Relative Selling Values for Jewellery

If you're looking to sell an item of jewellery, here's an article about what routes are possible, and how they commonly realise differing amounts of money. 

Here's a very rough comparison, but of course this will vary depending on item, different places and market conditions. 

Starting from the higher values, to lower. As a rule of thumb, the routes that offer the most money take longest to achieve, the quicker ones less.

Frequent options:

1. Private selling between two people can be one of the highest values a client can realise if selling an item. You're taking on the job of a shop and the work required to find a buyer, plus the risk of being paid. And of course a private seller nearly always doesn't need to charge VAT!
2. Selling price after commission fees in a shop selling on your behalf* - there's no way of saying how long it would take. You have the security of a reserve price. Sometimes you'll get more for a part exchange. We offer this service -  click here. 
3. Auction Selling price after fees*. Auction houses often quote a range 'hammer price', and an auction may escalate to the top end or beyond the range. You do of course have a reserve safety net. Do note the buyer pays a premium on hammer price, and after your commission to the auction house, there's quite a difference between the two, which the auction house has earned. 
4. Immediate sale to shop buying an article outright. A shop is taking on the risk of finding a buyer, warranties and tying up their capital. 
5. Material or gold value selling price to a business is one of the lower values an item can realise, however this is often the quickest way to dispose of an item. Sometimes you get more for a part exchange. We offer both these services - click here to read more. 

Factoring in time and effort may also be considerations when deciding which avenue is best for a client.

Incidentally, we also use a few rules of thumb: they're not set in stone, though are a reasonable guide. Assuming than an insurance value is the very highest value an item has at 100%, then you may expect

• 40% to 80% of this value for options 1,2 or 3 above
• 30% to 50% of this value for options 3 or 4
• 10% to 20% for option 5

These rough outlines will vary depending on an item's size, condition, desirability, as well as general market environment. 

* these can be similar, but bear in mind that an auction house will add on a buyer's premium to a hammer price, so the difference between what you get and the buyer pays widens.