1.5 ct AGS Ideal 0 diamond--selling/consignment questions.

[equallydour]

First, thanks to everyone for providing so much valuable information on this forum. It's a tremendous help to anyone who wants to buy a quality diamond but is overwhelmed by the market.

I bought a round brilliant diamond from Nice Ice in 2002. It was a great process, and I was thrilled with the diamond, as was my fiancee, who soon became my wife. She passed away a little while after we were married, and after several years of considering it, I think I have decided to sell the diamond to help pay for my going back to school.

The AGS certificate for the diamond is attached to this post. The basic specs are:

Round Brilliant
7.43-7.44 x 4.55 mm
Cut: AGS Ideal 0
Color: G
Clarity: SI1
Carats: 1.504 cts
Fluorescence: Inert

The actual measurements and geometry can be seen in the certificate. The diamond is simply beautiful.

I contacted Nice Ice about consigning it with them, and Todd was very nice in his reply. He stated that their consignment fee was 15%, and estimated that based on my original price of $10,290.00, I could expect to net $8,746.50 if I sold the diamond through them on consignment after their fee was deducted.

This seems pretty reasonable to me, but I wanted to run it by the pros here to see if you had any other advice or thoughts. I found three apparently very comparable diamonds through this forum's diamond search at White Flash (http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2638945.htm and http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2661543.htm) and Gold Old Gold (http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/8216/) that retailed for significantly more. I certainly, certainly realize that I cannot expect anything close to retail, and understandably so--someone buying from me cannot expect the same service and expertise that a retailer can offer them. Still--with such a difference in price, I thought it would be worth asking you guys.

Thank you!

 

[equallydour]

Re: 1.5 ct AGS Ideal 0 diamond--selling/consignment question

I thought I attached the scan of the certificate--maybe not. I'll try again.

 

[nfowife]

Re: 1.5 ct AGS Ideal 0 diamond--selling/consignment question

I would contact a few other vendors and see what they charge- goodoldgold, jewelsbyericagrace, winfields (also sell crafted by infinity if that is who you purchased from), pearlmans. See what they would charge you for a commission and what they'd expect you to net after the sale.

 

[denverappraiser]

Re: 1.5 ct AGS Ideal 0 diamond--selling/consignment question

15% is a reasonable commission. Given that you've got experience with the dealer and are comfortable working with him, that's a leg up. Given that the dealer has experience not onlly with this type of merchandise but with this very stone, that's two legs up. The only thing I would question is the decision to base the selling price on what you originally paid. This strikes me as peculiar given the recent changes is pricing that everyone has been suffering through. He may need to update the cert but he then can and surely will sell at whatever the current market conditions support. What you paid is beside the point.

 

[Rhino]

Re: 1.5 ct AGS Ideal 0 diamond--selling/consignment question

15% is a reasonable commission. Given that you've got experience with the dealer and are comfortable working with him, that's a leg up. Given that the dealer has experience not onlly with this type of merchandise but with this very stone, that's two legs up. The only thing I would question is the decision to base the selling price on what you originally paid. This strikes me as peculiar given the recent changes is pricing that everyone has been suffering through. He may need to update the cert but he then can and surely will sell at whatever the current market conditions support. What you paid is beside the point.

Right.

 

[scepture]

Re: 1.5 ct AGS Ideal 0 diamond--selling/consignment question

Although it is the less preferred option, if you feel secure enough, you can try other secondhand sites where you can directly sell the diamond (think craigslist, but for jewelry). I know sites like 'idonowidont' also take a commission (15%), but others like '___bistro' (full name not listed because they have a linked forum as well) do not charge a commission (I believe).

I'm no expert, but if you do not need to sell it immediately (depending on when you need the money for school), I would definitely shop around to some of the dealers on here.

 

[Rockdiamond]

Re: 1.5 ct AGS Ideal 0 diamond--selling/consignment question

Interesting discussion- I agree with Neil that15% is an extremely reasonable commission.
I would doubt that any dealer would offer such a stone at "old" prices.
It's entirely possible they want to list it at current price, and give back 15% of the original selling price- which would make their profit greater than 15% .
Or, they will adjust the sell price to current levels and still pay the original buyer 15% of the total price when the diamond sells. Which can sometimes take a while, or happen quickly.

Of course the second alternative is a lot better for the consumer- but knowing just how difficult it is to sell diamonds, the first alternative is not out of line either IMO.

I think that from a certain perspective, what someone paid makes a huge difference.
When a consumer sells a diamond they are rarely going to get a price as high as a store charges. Stores offer all kinds of advantages to buyers- so it's value added.
If the consumer is selling the diamond to a store, or pawn shop, they're going to have to take a lot less than the jeweler needs to pay his normal suppliers. Pawn shops generally pay even less.

So a person having a 2.05ct D/VS2 Triple EX that they bought 10 years ago for $45k will still feel great getting $50k even though the current retail price is much higher.
If they'd have bought the stone in 2007, they might have a lot more in it- but dealers are still not going to pay near retail, and the seller has to take a loss to sell to a reputable dealer.
It matters to the seller what they paid.
I agree it does not matter to potential buyers.

To the op +1 to Neil's points about working with someone you know and trust.

 

[Mayk]

Re: 1.5 ct AGS Ideal 0 diamond--selling/consignment question

So sorry for your loss.

 

[jaebond]

Re: 1.5 ct AGS Ideal 0 diamond--selling/consignment question

I'm very sorry to hear about your wife.

 

[equallydour]

Re: 1.5 ct AGS Ideal 0 diamond--selling/consignment question

Thank you all very much for the excellent information you have provided, and very quickly at that. It shows one of the ways a free market can work very well for consumers when there's a good forum for information exchange.

Thank you also for your sympathy. She passed away in 2003, too young, but she was a wonderful person who had a wonderful life, and her soul surely lives on.

 

[fmzip]

Re: 1.5 ct AGS Ideal 0 diamond--selling/consignment question

So sorry to hear about your loss.

If you have any interest to sell it locally, please let me know as I am in the market for a diamond engagement ring.

How far away from Connecticut are you? I travel alot for business as well so depending on your location, it could be something of interest.

 

[Laila619]

Re: 1.5 ct AGS Ideal 0 diamond--selling/consignment question

Good luck with selling your diamond. Looks like a lovely stone. I'm really sorry to hear about your wife.

 

[scepture]

Re: 1.5 ct AGS Ideal 0 diamond--selling/consignment question

I think there are a lot of people that would be interested in your diamond (myself included makes 2 people just on this thread!), so i'm sure that you won't have a terribly hard time selling it as long as the person knows that they are getting an extremely good diamond at a very fair price.

 

[Todd Gray]

Re: 1.5 ct AGS Ideal 0 diamond--selling/consignment question

As I recall, it's been some time since we last talked and diamond prices have changed significantly over the past few months... we should talk again.

 

[equallydour]

Re: 1.5 ct AGS Ideal 0 diamond--selling/consignment question

Thanks to this forum, I think I have something in the works. **edited by moderator. we do NOT allow sales or posting of personal information on the forum**

 

[equallydour]

Re: 1.5 ct AGS Ideal 0 diamond--selling/consignment question

Sorry about that! I didn't think about it, but I should have known better when I posted my email address.