Where to donate fine jewelry?

[Peary]

Hello, I've done a Google search on this, but was wondering if any of you have had personal experience donating fine jewelry (~$4k range for a ring)? Any good organizations you could recommend? I want to donate to a place where they'd reuse the jewelry and put it good use, rather than melt it down to recycle the metal. If there aren't any great options, I could just attempt to sell the rings and donate cash to charities. Thanks in advance!

 

[kenny]

First, kudos to you for your generosity!

If you don't find such a charity, and you're in no hurry for the funds sell it on Loupetroup, idonowidon't, or consign it with a jeweler online or local.
Then when it sells, it is easy to find the charity of your choice happy to accept your contribution in cash.

If you are in a hurry and will accept a very low amount a pawn shop will probably buy it for more than scrap.
Though you could donate 100% of your proceeds, that would be sort of "donating" most of its value to a for-profit business.
But at least this my be the fastest way to complete this and you get to pick the charity.
I do believe they ALL take cash.
Though this is fastest, it would give you the lowest tax deduction.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

thats a lovelly thing to do
first i would think about the causes that are close to your heart

i have found from buying a few things some charities - or rather branches of charities do a lot better than others
you want your pieces to generate the most money for the charity

for example i have brought several pieces on line from a hospice shop who obviously has a volunteer with a good eye
also the hospice where i live has a nicer boutique shop in the main street to sell the nicer things that will get better prices

once you have desided who you would like to benefit from your donation I'd reach out to them and ask some questions


good luck and good one you too

 

[peachster]

Maybe consider Housing Works NYC. A very reputable charity and they are meticulous in selling donated items, including jewelry, to support their organization. Look them up. But as others suggested, it may be more expedient to sell yourself and take the net proceeds to benefit any charity you support, including those who don’t have a selling conduit.

 

[Buttercookies]

Where are you located?

I recommend Assistance League.

Assistance League

www.assistanceleague.org

 

[Peary]

I also found this org, https://supportourtroops.org/jewelry, that seems to take jewelry specifically, if anyone is interested.

 

[VRBeauty]

I like to shop thrift stores. The Discovery Shop near me (American Cancer Society) has staff that keep an eye out for treasures, checks what things are going for online, and prices things accordingly. Basically they price things to sell but they don’t give them away. As a donor, I like that they’re valuing my donations appropriately. The Cancer Society stores also sell more valuable and collectible things online (I think through eBay).

My point isn’t to plug the ACA though - it’s this: if there are thrift stores near you that support causes that you might want to support, consider checking them out to see if you like how they price things. You might even be able to talk to their “back room” staff about how they might price your items. And, you might want to look for a charity that also holds on- line auctions so they can expose your donations to a wider audience, and probably get an even higher price than they would just selling through a local shop. If they could let you know when the item will be listed, you could even post a notice in the “pre-loved” forum to alert PS’ers to the sale!