Help in selling!

[caratgirl]

Richard, I don't think that he'll even get a nibble at $7500. I check out those ads, and just laugh when people try to overprice their diamonds. They usually list them for about a month before either giving up or probably just finally taking a lowball offer. I thought the $5000 offer was doing great! But hey, just my opinion.

 

[shann79]

Diamondsman,

I sent you an email three days ago through the website.

Shannon

 

[diamondsman]

which website? I never got anything from you

 

[fire&ice]

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On 11/25/2003 11:09:14 PM diamondsman wrote:

but i do need to know right away, and I would not buy stones that have been shown and peddeled all over to get the last penny out.
n.

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I completely concur. I have seen goods peddled here, there & everywhere. It's not that these goods are good. Just, "shop worn".

 

[pelepup]

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On 11/26/2003 10:09:45 AM fire&ice wrote:

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On 11/25/2003 11:09:14 PM diamondsman wrote:

but i do need to know right away, and I would not buy stones that have been shown and peddeled all over to get the last penny out.
n.

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I completely concur. I have seen goods peddled here, there & everywhere. It's not that these goods are good. Just, 'shop worn'.
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I don't get this?

 

[Richard Sherwood]

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Richard, I don't think that he'll even get a nibble at $7500
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Not from dealers, but from interested privates in the market for such a stone he(she?) would. That's half the battle, locating the correct market. It's easy to sell stones for large discounts off wholesale. A no-brainer. The extra bucks come when you invest time, energy and smart selling in the process.

If you're willing to do this, you get rewarded for your efforts with additional money. If you're only willing to take the non-effort route, you leave money on the table for somebody else to make who's willint to invest the time and energy. There's nothing wrong with that if you're not willing to, but some people don't mind expending the extra effort for the additional money. When you compare the hours invested with the extra return received, it's usually a pretty good return.

Let's examine the market levels for this stone:

$9000-$9500 higher retail bricks & mortar selling price
$8000-$9000 average retail bricks & mortar selling price
$7000-$7700 internet selling price
$6400-$6500 selling price to a jeweler from a diamond wholesaler
$3500-$4000 instant cash liquidation to a knowledgeable estate dealer
$2000-$2200 selling price to a pawnshop that owns a loupe

Now here's the upward spiral that would happen if you sold it to the lowest level of this tier, the pawnshop.

The pawnshop would "flip" the stone to an estate dealer for a quick grand or so profit.
The estate dealer would "flip" the stone to a diamond wholesaler for a quick grand or so profit.
The diamond wholesaler would "flip" the stone on the internet to a private for a quick grand or so, or sell it to a jeweler.
The jeweler would hold the stone until finding the proper buyer for a grand or so profit.

Each of these dealers would expend the time and effort necessary to make their profit. That's what makes them different than privates who aren't willing or don't know how to do this. They're entitled to their profit.

On the other hand, a private selling a diamond can enter this market level tier at a reasonable position as well. My $7500 asking price was determined by the relationship to what a bricks & mortar store would be asking for this diamond, $8,000-$9,500, and right within the internet selling level.

A private individual who has been shopping b&m stores for this quality of diamond would recognize that $7500 is lower than the prices they have been seeing. I don't know about you, but if I needed a certain quality diamond, and saw it offered at $500 to $2000 less than what I had been seeing, I'd be interested. I'd probably figure I could get the seller down 5% to 15% in price and end up buying the stone for a grand or two less than what I would pay in a b&m store.

By starting your asking price at a lower level than the b&m stores, yet saving yourself 5% to 15% haggling room in order to close the sale, you are operating from a good starting point.

This process is helped considerable by a professional appraisal from an independent appraiser. It helps establish credibility for the diamond and confidence for the buyer. A short right-of-return period also reinforces this confidence.

Don't forget this is a solid commodity, a GIA certified diamond of high quality with what is probably a fine make. With the Christmas season and Valentine's season coming up to boot.

You can always cash the thing out at anytime to a knowledgeable dealer. If that's what you want to do, Diamondsman's tentative offer is first class. If you want to expend the extra energy, you probably could realize an extra grand or two for your efforts. How long do you have to work on your regular job to make a grand or two? Couple of weeks, eight hours a day, five or six days a week?

 

[Caratz]

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On 11/25/2003 4:22:06 PM newenglandgemlab wrote:


I'm not sure how the details of the IRS rules work, but generally you can take an itemized tax deduction for a non-cash charitable contribution, provided you get a legitimate appraisal before giving it away.

*IF* you can find a charity willing to take it off you hands, and *IF* you can legitimately take a $12,000 tax deduction, I would think that would be the best way to go. You'd get about $4000 back from fed/state government, and the charity would get a few thousand for it . . .

Hi Caratz, Charitable contributions/donations are based on a Fair Market Value (FMV) and that $12,000 would not be a legitimate number. FMV means willing buyer and willing seller both with complete knowledge of the facts and not pressed with time constraints in the most commonly traded marketplace. FMV is normally less than the cost to buy from a vendor and the amount would depend on the item. Cindy----------------

That makes sense.

The $12,000 appraisal in still bugging me. If $12,000 is not a legitimate number for tax purposes, for what purposes is it legitimate? What does the $12,000 number represent? The price a seller might hope to receive in his wildest dreams?

Are there ANY standards in the industry governing what a professional appraisers can put down as the value? Is there any accountability? If an appraiser regularly grossly inflates the number in the appraisal to an amount that no informed buyer would ever pay, are there any consequences?

 

[caratgirl]

Good points, Richard. I guess that as a consumer looking for a deal, I also place a great deal of importance on the price being low enough to make the risks worthwhile. For example, the risk of getting robbed or physically harmed. Sure, you can meet in the bank conference rooms, but when the deal actually takes place, you still want to have an appraiser of some sort verify that no switching was done. Very risky not to expect sleight of hand.

Now if I am the seller, I would never let them get their money back in a few days. They could have damaged the stone, pulled a fast one, etc. To really know, I would have to pay an additional fee each time to the appraiser (and make the appointment quickly) in order to feel that I was not getting ripped off in reverse.

In reality, most people will meet at a jewelry store that can verify that the diamond is real and that the price is fair. But then you are the the mercy of a jewelry professional that thinks that what they have in stock is better or cheaper than what is being looked at. The discomfort level is also quite high for both parties, usually. It's not like you can exchange a lot of cash in front of the jeweler in his store.

When I purchased my first diamond from a private party, after the deal was done, he told me that it's a good thing that the transaction was above board, because he had a gun in the pack on his belt (and showed it to me!). Now, how comfortable would you be seeing that? Luckily, the deal was a pretty good one, but makes me shiver to think what could have happened.

Still, just my opinion.