These are the questions people ask most often before they sell jewelry, answered from published sources: the FTC’s jewelry guides, NIST, GIA, New York City’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection and the IRS. For longer answers, each one links to the guide that covers it.
Best Place To Sell Jewelry is an independent referral service, not a buyer, pawnshop or dealer. When you call or send the form, we pass your request to an independent buyer in New York, who makes any offer.
Do not see your question? Call and ask it.
Questions people ask
Is Best Place To Sell Jewelry a buyer?
No. It is an independent referral service. It does not buy, test, appraise or grade jewelry. When you call or send the form, we pass your request to an independent buyer in New York, who makes any offer. Any sale is between you and that buyer, and you never have to sell.
Does it cost anything to ask?
No. Calling or sending the form is free, and you are under no obligation to accept an offer.
Where is the best place to sell jewelry?
It depends on the piece. Plain gold suits a specialist gold or jewelry buyer; signed and antique pieces suit a buyer who resells jewelry as jewelry; important pieces may suit an auction house. Whichever you choose, the best buyer tells you the weight and karat and writes the offer down.
How is gold jewelry valued?
By its metal. Melt value is the weight in troy ounces times the gold share (karat divided by 24) times the day’s spot price per troy ounce. A buyer’s offer is usually below melt because the buyer pays to refine the metal and needs a margin. See sell gold jewelry.
What do 10K, 14K and 18K mean?
The share of pure gold out of 24 parts: 10K is 41.7% gold, 14K is 58.3%, 18K is 75% and 22K is 91.7%. Under the FTC’s jewelry guides, the word gold on its own means 24 karat. See 10K versus 14K gold.
What is a troy ounce?
The unit gold and silver are priced in. One troy ounce is 31.10348 grams, heavier than the 28.34952 gram kitchen ounce, according to NIST. A pennyweight is one twentieth of a troy ounce, 1.555174 grams.
Why do you not show gold prices?
Gold, silver and platinum prices change through every trading day, so any figure printed here would soon be wrong. Check a live spot price on the day you sell and use the melt formula.
Why is an offer lower than what I paid?
A retail price includes the store’s costs and margin. A buyer pays what a piece is worth to them to resell or melt, so an offer is lower than what was paid in a store.
Is an appraisal the same as an offer?
No. An insurance appraisal is written for insurance. It describes the piece, but it is not what a buyer will pay.
How are diamonds in jewelry valued?
By the 4Cs that GIA set out in the 1950s: clarity, color, cut and carat weight. A carat is 200 milligrams. Expect larger stones to be examined one by one; for small stones, ask whether they were valued by total weight or not at all. See where to sell diamond jewelry.
Do I need a GIA report to sell a diamond?
No, but for a larger stone a report helps a buyer confirm its grades. GIA offers a Report Check on its website where a report number can be looked up. IGI is another laboratory that issues diamond reports.
What about lab-grown diamonds?
Under the FTC’s jewelry guides, a lab-grown diamond should be clearly described as laboratory-grown (or similar): it was made in a laboratory rather than mined. Tell the buyer if a stone is lab-grown, and expect it to be valued separately from a mined diamond.
Is it better to sell jewelry to a jeweler or a pawnshop?
A pawn is a loan against an item, which you get back when you repay; in New York City, lending money on pledged goods needs a DCWP Pawnbroker licence. A jeweler or specialist buyer buys outright. If you want to sell, go to a buyer. See pawn or sell.
What should I bring to sell jewelry?
Government-issued photo ID with a signature, your pieces sorted by type and karat, and any receipts, appraisals, grading reports and designer boxes or papers.
Do jewelry buyers in New York City need a licence?
Yes. A business that buys used goods in New York City needs a DCWP Secondhand Dealer General licence, posted where customers can see it, with the number printed on receipts. Businesses that buy or sell exclusively online are exempt.
Will a New York City buyer tell me what my jewelry weighs?
A business that buys gold, silver or other precious metal in New York City must have a scale and tell the seller the troy weight. The scale must be State-approved, read in steps of 0.01 troy ounce or smaller, and be marked Class II or III.
Why does the buyer need my ID?
New York City rules require a buyer to record the type and number of each seller’s ID, and the seller signs in front of the dealer. A photocopy of an ID is not enough. Buyers cannot buy from minors.
What happens to my jewelry after I sell it in New York City?
The buyer records the purchase and cannot resell used jewelry within 15 days. Precious metal purchases are also recorded electronically with photos and kept for six years.
Can I sell jewelry from outside New York?
You can call from anywhere in the US; the line is answered from New York. The guides on this site apply to jewelry anywhere, but the city rules quoted are New York City’s.
Can I sell jewelry online instead?
Yes, through mail-in buyers, marketplaces or consignment. Ask about insured shipping both ways and the return terms before you send anything. This site does not run a mail-in service. See sell jewelry online.
Do I pay tax when I sell jewelry?
A profit may be taxable. The IRS says net capital gains from selling collectibles, such as coins or art, are taxed at a maximum federal rate of 28% (IRS Topic No. 409). Some larger sales of certain bullion coins and bars may be reported by the dealer on Form 1099-B; most small sales of jewelry are not. Ask a tax professional.
Can I sell broken jewelry?
Yes. Broken gold is valued by karat and weight like whole gold. See sell scrap gold.
Are pearls worth selling?
They can be, but pearls have no metal value, so their price depends on what a buyer can resell them for. A gold clasp has metal value of its own. See where to sell pearls.
Ask about a piece