Trading Up

[Alex8879]

Hi,
I'm looking to trade up, that is, to sell my diamond and purchase a new one. I sure would appreciate help with the following questions:
1. How much can I expect to get for my diamond? It's a Round Brilliant, D, VVS2, excellent cut grade. See attached GIA cert. I see similar diamonds for sale online and know the price is approx. $20,000. When I appraised the diamond in 2009, the replacement value was $37,000. How much $$ or % should I expect to take off when I sell it?
2. Where should I go to sell it? Should I consider going to a place that will purchase my diamond and sell me a new one? What are the pros and cons of this? (I should say that I've already obtained a quote from WP Diamonds and it was extremely low.)
3. Should I retain the services of a gemologist / appraiser? What will he/she be able to do for me?
4. I am uncomfortable buying a diamond online without a professional's help. Can I work with a gemologist to select a diamond online or elsewhere? What is the normal fee for something like this?
Thanks in advance for your time and assistance.

 

[MollyMalone]

Hi, Alex -- here's an informative guide to selling your diamond written by independent appraisers & longtime trade members of the PS community and valued forum participants, Neil Beaty (PS "handle": denverappraiser) & David Atlas (Oldminer):
https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/how-to-sell-your-diamonds
https://www.pricescope.com/author/david-atlas
https://www.pricescope.com/author/neil-beaty

Mr. Beaty and John Pollard, another highly regarded PS trade member & forum participant (posts under his true name)
https://www.pricescope.com/author/john-pollard
recently launched a personalized diamond selection service for consumers for an exceedingly reasonable "beta" fee of $10, which currently also gives you a $25 credit towards the purchase of any of the diamonds they proffer for your consideration. Here's the home page of Pro Diamond Advisor:
http://www.prodiamondadvisor.com
and the FAQ page
http://www.prodiamondadvisor.com/faqs/

 

[tyty333]

You could list it on loupe trope or Diamond bistro and put a link to it from our pre-loved forum.
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/forum/preloved-ps-jewels/']https://www.pricescope.com/forum/preloved-ps-jewels/[/URL]

There is a thread here for someone looking for a 1.29 or higher saying pre-loved it ok. Looks like the thread
got high-jacked so I dont know if that person found a stone or not.

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/need-help-selecting-h-a-1-29-or-larger-pre-loved-ok-too.211774/page-2']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/need-help-selecting-h-a-1-29-or-larger-pre-loved-ok-too.211774/page-2[/URL]

What's it worth? Most people would not want to pay the extra for the high color/clarity. I would try to price it more like
a G/VS stone and see if you get any bites.

You know the overblown appraisal isnt worth anything right?

We can help you buy a stone on line. There are lots of PSers with lots of experience.

 

[denverappraiser]

Retail replacement value in 2009 has nothing to do with it so I assume your question is how much discount you should take from the competitive dealer offers out there, right?

It’s going to depend on how you plan to sell. If you can retail it yourself and you’re a skilled dealer, you can sometimes get full price, and by that I mean what the competitive dealers are charging. For most people they need to offer a discount in order to persuade customers to come to them. Say 10% below the bottom of the big time dealers, like Blue Nile. That lands you at about $15-16,000. ($17,517-10%=$15,763)

If you’re going to sell to a dealer for inventory, they’re going to want to pay you less than that. How much less will a subject for negotiation and how well that goes will depend on your negotiation skills. I would be a little surprised if anyone will put down cash over $11k but bids are free. Ask. Condition is going to matter and 6 years is a long time. It might help your position to resubmit the stone to GIA and get it in writing that it’s still VVS2. A tiny amount of damage makes a big difference and buyers will be happier with a more recent document.

Consignment deals will usually land between these two. You’re dealer isn’t putting out the money up front so they can pay a little better on the back end. On the other hand you don’t know when the deal will happen and you’ll still probably need to update the GIA. If they can get a higher price than you, say $20k, and they’ll do the work for 20%, you’re still netting $16k from the deal.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I just wanted to say that I have sold a diamond on consignment through Good Old Gold. I think that is a good place to sell an excellent cut modern round brilliant. I agree that you'd probably need a new GIA report. They can basically sell at retail and you pay around 10% commission if the buyer does not choose to pay extra for lifetime policies. You pay less than that if you use the money from the sale towards another diamond there.

 

[Alex8879]

Thank you!