Can I Make Money Selling Pictures Of My Feet

Knowing where to sell jewelry can help you fetch the most cash.

You can sell your jewelry at local retailers, such as jewelry stores or pawn shops, or online. Choosing the best option will depend on several factors including how fast you need the money and what jewelry you're trying to sell.

Table of Contents

Where to Sell Jewelry Online

🏆 Worthy – Our Top Pick
Cash for Gold USA
Cash for Diamonds USA
TheRealReal
Sotheby's

Where to Sell Jewelry Locally

Jewelry Stores
Pawn Shops
Gold Exchange Stores
Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace

Tips for Selling Your Jewelry

Get an Independent Appraisal
Know the Jewelry Details

Summary

Where to Sell Jewelry Online

There are plenty of places to sell your jewelry online. This can be a good option if you have a unique piece or your offers from local buyers are too low.

One disadvantage of selling online is having to mail in your jewelry. The process can take several weeks to complete shipping, appraisal, and payment process. (the advantage is that you're selling to a much larger population!)

🏆 Worthy – Our Top Pick

Worthy can be one of the best places to sell your diamond ring for the money. You can mail your diamond ring and other jewelry with free FedEx shipping.

Your jewelry is graded and Worthy prepares your item for auction. Diamonds undergo the industry-leading GIA appraisal and Central Watch in New York City appraises watches.

Worthy lets you set a minimum price and some items may qualify for a price guarantee. Your seller fees start at 18% for items that sell for $5,000 and get as low as 10% if your item sells for more than $30,001. Your payment options are direct deposit, PayPal, and paper check after your item sells.

Winning Bid	Fee
Up to $5,000	18%
$5,001 – $15,000	14%
$15,001 – $30,000	12%
$30,001 and above	10%

Worthy's fee table, as of 7/9/2021

They've auctioned off a $4,000,000 diamond on their platform and have experience selling fine jewelry priced in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

They are a big player in the space and one advantage they have over a big auction house like Sotheby's is that they can move quickly (big auction houses may take at least 6 months) and have lower fees – plus you only pay a fee if the item sells.

It's possible to sell these fine jewelry items on Worthy:

Loose diamonds
Rings
Necklaces

Bracelets
Earrings
Watches

You may be able to earn more than selling locally because you get access to a larger group of buyers. But how much you make can be somewhat unpredictable as you won't know if your auction will attract few bids or become very competitive.

You can look at recent listings to get an idea of how much you can make at auction so they're definitely worth checking out to see how they compare against other options.

Pros

Auctions can be more competitive than instant payments
Professional appraisal, photographs, and cleaning to prepare for auction
Flexible cash payment options
Shipments have insurance up to $100,000

Sell your jewelry on Worthy

Cons

Not every auction turns into a bidding war
Can take two weeks to complete the auction process

Cash for Gold USA

One of the best places to sell gold, silver, or platinum jewelry online is Cash for Gold USA. You can even sell dental scrap when it doesn't contain bone or porcelain. The minimum karat for gold jewelry is 8k.

You can ship your items to them for free via FedEx and the include insurance up to $5,000. Cash for Gold USA provides an appraisal within 24 hours after receiving your jewelry. You can accept the offer and receive payment by check, bank wire or PayPal.

If you decline the offer, Cash for Gold USA mails your jewelry back for free.

Pros

Accepts most jewelry items containing gold
Receive an appraisal within 24 hours
Fast payment
Free return shipping

Cons

May earn more at a jewelry auction
Other platforms can be better for selling diamonds

Sell your jewelry on Cash for Gold USA

Cash for Diamonds USA

Cash for Diamonds USA is the sister site to Cash for Gold USA. CJ Environmental Inc., a self-described leader in precious metals refining, is the same parent company for both platforms.

You can get free shipping and an appraisal within 24 hours. The appraisers use the industry-leading GIA appraisal standards. How much you make depends on the carat, clarity, cut, and color of the diamond.

Cash for Diamonds USA returns your jewelry for free if you reject their offer for these diamond pieces:

Wedding bands
Loose diamonds
Gold jewelry

Your diamonds can be any size and broken jewelry doesn't lower the appraisal value. This merchant can be a good alternative to visiting a local gold and diamond exchange store.

Pros

Appraisal within 24 hours of receipt
Cash payment
Can sell broken jewelry

Cons

May earn more with other platforms
Only get paid for material value and not the jewelry market value

TheRealReal

Fine jewelry and watches are two items you can sell on online luxury consignment shop TheRealReal. You may prefer this option if you don't want to sell your jewelry in an auction but want a better price than what precious metal recyclers offer.

TheRealReal sets the sales prices using data points from recent sales of similar items.

You keep up to 70% of the sales price for jewelry that sells for $995 or more. Watches selling for at least $2,495 let you pocket 85% of the final value price.

Pros

May earn more than an auction or instant payment vendors
Can sell at the highest price for the first 30 days
Can sell fine jewelry or watches

Cons

Seller fees can be high
Not guaranteed to sell
Selling price gradually drops to attract potential buyers

Sotheby's

Sotheby's is where to sell jewelry that's rare or highly valuable. You can sell your gold and diamond pieces at auction or with a private sale. The best option depends on the estimated value of your jewelry.

Sotheby's has you send pictures of your items to get a preliminary estimate. If it meets their standard, Sotheby's has a specialist worth with you to appraise and sell your jewelry.

Pros

The best option for the most valuable jewelry
Can sell at auction or private sale
Work with a dedicated specialist

Cons

Not all jewelry qualifies

Where to Sell Jewelry Locally

Selling your jewelry to a local buyer is likely your quickest option. You can visit your local jewelry buyer and walk out with payment. If you don't like one local offer, you can easily compare rates with another local store or try selling your jewelry online.

Jewelry Stores

Local jewelry stores will often buy used jewelry. This should be one of the first places to consider (locally) because they may be able to give you the best price. You'll also want to stick with locally owned jewelry stores as they are more likely to give you cash, rather than store credit.

They don't always have the best price though. Much like how you can get more of items on eBay than at a garage sale, sometimes local supply and demand can affect how much you get for your jewelry. It's convenient but you may not necessarily get the best price. Most local places are looking to sell that jewelry so they take that into account.

Check out the American Gem Society for a list of local stores that buy jewelry.

National jewelry stores like Zales, Kay Jewelers, and Helzberg Diamonds offer in-store appraisals buy you will need to mail in your jewelry. You can get store credit but not cash. That's fine if you are looking to buy more jewelry, as your trade-in value will likely be higher than the cash value. But you should avoid selling to the national jewelry stores if you need cash.

These national jewelry stores offer trade-in programs:

Jared
Kay Jewelers
Zales

Pay attention to the buyback program terms and conditions before you agree to anything.

Local and national jewelry stores will appraise your items for free to give you a quote. Most diamond appraisers work with the Gem Institute of America (GIA) which is the "gold standard" in valuing diamonds.

Pros

Independent stores may pay cash
Can sell gold, diamond and platinum jewelry
Maybe the highest-paying local option for valuable jewelry

Cons

National brands only offer trade-in credit
Jewelry stores don't accept every type of jewelry

Pawn Shops

Even if your town doesn't have a fine jewelry store, it likely has a pawn shop.

Jewelry stores will only buy items in high demand, such as necklaces, gold rings, and diamonds. But pawn shops will buy pretty much anything, including specialty pieces like watches, costume jewelry, and trendy collections such as Pandora.

You will not get as much for your jewelry at a pawn shop as you would at a local jewelry store. Shoppers of pawn shops expect ultra-low prices and the buyers need to account for some profit margin for themselves.

However, both jewelry stores and pawn shops should use the current London Fix prices to appraise your gold jewelry.

Pros

Pawn shops more likely to buy all types of jewelry
Can get cash instead of store credit
May offer more than the scrap value for gold jewelry

Cons

Offers may be smaller than jewelry stores
May make more money by selling it yourself

Gold Exchange Stores

You've probably seen store signs stating, "We buy gold" during your daily commute. These signs are usually for gold and silver exchange stores.

The good news about exchange stores is they accept almost anything with precious metals and diamonds. You can even sell gold bullion and collectible coins for cash. This option can also be an excellent alternative to pawn shops so it's worth the effort to compare offers.

Gold exchange stores are likely to pay you the scrap value for your gold, diamonds, silver, and platinum.

Scrap value is less than the market value for the jewelry piece as they are likely looking to melt your jewelry down to make a new piece. But upfront payment can be better than trying to find a buyer wanting to expand their Black Hills Gold collection.

Call and compare the purchase prices if there are several exchange stores in your town.

Pros

Accepts most jewelry and diamonds
Cash payments
Many towns have multiple stores to compare prices

Cons

Offers may only be for the scrap value
May need to schedule an appointment for specialty items

Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace

You can always try selling your jewelry yourself to make more money. Jewelry stores and pawn shops must pay you a low amount so they can profit. It's free to list your items on Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, or selling apps and you can charge less than your local stores.

Getting an official appraisal for your jewelry can help you earn more money as you can verify the authenticity. The appraiser should also tell you the fair market value for your jewelry.

Pros

Can make more money as you sell directly to the buyer
Can sell jewelry that stores won't buy from you
It's free to list on most apps

Cons

Requires more effort than going to a store
May need furnish official appraisal to prove authenticity

Tips for Selling Your Jewelry

Whether you sell your jewelry locally or online, here are some suggestions to follow to get the most money for your gold and diamonds.

Get an Independent Appraisal

Any legit jewelry vendor will appraise your jewelry to make an offer. While many vendors are trustworthy, you should get an independent appraisal first to compare appraisal values.

Many jewelers provide free appraisals. However, you may need to pay several hundred dollars to receive an official report to keep for your records.

Knowing how much your jewelry is worth gives you a better idea of where to sell your jewelry. For example, you may try selling valuable pieces at an auction. But it may be better to save time and sell lower-quality jewelry for scrap value to make money quickly.

Know the Jewelry Details

You should know as much about the jewelry you're trying to sell as possible. The more details you know, the better idea you'll have of the material and market value of your jewelry.

Pay attention to these appraisal details:

Diamond carat size, cut, color and clarity
Gold karat rating and weight
Jewelry manufacturer
Know if the material is natural or artificial (i.e., cubic zirconium)

Summary

There are plenty of places to sell jewelry locally and online. How much you make depends on the quality of your piece and where you try to sell it. Getting multiple quotes from online and local merchants can help you find the best price so make sure to do your homework.

If you need help selling other stuff, this post explains the best places to sell your non-jewelry items.

Having official papers from the manufacturer or the original proof of purchase prove the piece is legit and will help you fetch a higher sales price.