Selling jewelry online looks simple: fill in a form, ship the piece, receive an offer. For some sellers and some pieces it works well. But selling online changes one thing that matters a lot with jewelry: you are no longer in the room when your piece is examined, tested and weighed. This page sets out the online options, how they compare with selling in person, and the questions to ask before you put anything in the mail.
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. This site does not run a mail-in service and does not ship jewelry.
Would you rather ask before you decide how to sell? Call and describe what you have, and we connect you with an independent New York buyer.
The three ways to sell jewelry online
Mail-in buyers
A mail-in buyer has you ship your jewelry for examination, and the offer comes after it arrives. How you are paid if you accept, and how the piece comes back if you decline, are set by each company’s terms, and the terms are where the risk lives.
Online marketplaces
A marketplace lets you list a piece and sell it to another person. You set the price, write the description, take the photographs, answer questions, and ship to the buyer, or meet them. Depending on the marketplace’s rules, you may carry the risk of a buyer who claims the item was not as described.
Online consignment
An online consignment service lists your piece for you and pays you a share once it sells. You ship the piece to them first, and wait. Ask what happens if it does not sell.
Online versus in person
| Question | Online | In person |
|---|---|---|
| Where is the piece examined? | Wherever the buyer is, after you ship it | At the counter, with you there |
| Are you told the weight? | No | In New York City, a licensed buyer must tell you the troy weight |
| Who carries the piece? | You ship it, under terms you agree | You carry it |
| How do you decline? | Ask for the piece back, under the buyer’s terms | Pick it up and leave |
| What paperwork? | The buyer’s online terms | A receipt and, in New York City, a recorded sale |
Neither route is wrong. Selling in person gives you control of the piece and the weighing. Selling online can reach buyers who are far away. What matters is knowing the terms before you ship.
One rule about online-only buyers
New York City’s Secondhand Dealer General licence, the one a buyer of used jewelry in the city must hold, exempts businesses that buy or sell exclusively online. So an online-only buyer may not hold that licence or follow its scale and record-keeping rules. Check what rules, if any, apply to the business you choose.
Questions to ask before you ship jewelry
- Is the shipment insured, and for how much? Who pays for the insurance?
- Who carries the risk of loss while the package is in transit, you or the buyer?
- What happens to the piece if you decline the offer? Who pays to send it back, and is the return insured?
- How long do you have to accept or decline, and what happens if you say nothing?
- Will they test the metal or alter the piece before you accept?
- Will they show you the weight and the karat they recorded?
- Will the offer be itemized by piece?
- Where is the business, and what laws apply to it?
Get the answers in writing before you ship. Photograph every piece with its marks visible, weigh it, and keep the list.
Work out the value before you ship
Whether you sell online or in person, know the metal value first. For gold: weight in troy ounces x the gold share (karat divided by 24) x the day’s spot price per troy ounce. One troy ounce is 31.10348 grams (NIST SP 811). A buyer’s offer is usually below that melt value, because the buyer pays to refine and needs a margin, so it is the gap you are judging. The page on how to sell gold jewelry explains the arithmetic in full.
For diamonds, a grading report gives an online buyer a description to work from; GIA offers a Report Check on its website where a report number can be looked up. Read where to sell diamond jewelry before you send a diamond anywhere.
Pieces that suit online selling, and pieces that do not
Pieces with a clear description and papers, such as a signed designer piece with its box and receipt or a diamond with a grading report, are easier to describe and value from a distance. Mixed lots of unmarked jewelry, antiques and pieces whose value depends on careful examination are harder, because so much depends on what the buyer finds when they open the box. For those, being in the room is worth more. The guides to designer jewelry and estate jewelry cover both kinds.
The in-person alternative
If you are near New York City, selling in person to a licensed buyer, in Manhattan’s Diamond District or elsewhere in the five boroughs, means the city’s licence, scale, ID and record-keeping rules apply to the sale. The selling jewelry in NYC page explains those rules, and the guide to jewelry buyers explains how to check one.
Prefer to ask before you ship anything? Call, and we connect you with an independent New York buyer.
Questions people ask
What is the best place to sell jewelry online?
The best online buyer is one whose terms you understand before you ship: insured shipping both ways, an itemized offer, the weight and karat shown to you, and the piece returned at no cost if you decline. Compare those terms rather than advertising.
Is it safe to mail jewelry to a buyer?
It can be, if the shipment is insured for its value, you know who carries the risk in transit, and the return terms are in writing. Photograph and weigh everything first.
How do I sell jewelry online?
Choose a mail-in buyer, a marketplace or consignment, read the terms, work out the metal value yourself, photograph and weigh each piece, and get the shipping and return terms in writing before you send anything.
Do online jewelry buyers need a licence in New York City?
New York City’s Secondhand Dealer General licence exempts businesses that buy or sell exclusively online. Ask any online buyer what rules apply to it.
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