How to set resale price?

[sarahbellum]

I think this is the right forum, but please forgive if it is not.

I have a professional appraisal of a wedding set that I would like to sell. The price is listed as "Estimated Retail Replacement Value". I''ve read this thread https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/reselling-gems-jewelry-what-can-you-expect.17952/, but the expected resale values are listed in relation to wholesale.

My first question is, how do I translate retail to wholesale? I''ve not been able to come across any semi-recent threads that address this. Is there anything close to a standard markup?

My second question is, if I post all of the details from the appraisal, would anyone want to chime in on what you think I should set the price at? I''ve seen you all give opinion on value of diamonds/settings that are possibly going to be purchased, but I haven''t seen any given on diamonds/settings that are going to be sold.

Thank you in advance. The people on this forum are amazing and I really appreciate everything that I have learned from you guys thus far.

 

[oldmancoyote]

Hello Sarah - welcome!

This may help: http://journal.pricescope.com/Articles/66/1/A-consumer%e2%80%99s-guide-to-reselling-diamonds.aspx

Unfortunately, in terms of translating "retail" to "wholesale" there are no hard and fast rules. Mark-ups depend widely on what is being sold, by whom, to whom.

I would personally demur on providing estimates of resale value for an item since I don''t know your intended market! I may be able to tell you what a similar item could make in my home market, but that''s irrelevant and possibly dangerous since it may set completely wrong expectations. Go back to the appraiser you used the first time (or an indipendent appraiser, if the initial appraisal was provided by a jeweller/retailer), and ask him/her to provide you an appraisal for resale to the appropriate market.

 

[oldminer]

Just as a retailer sets a mark-up above wholesale cost which they believe the item can bring, you will have to set a realistic figure according to the market you are going to try to sell it in. Go to a couple "Jewelry Buyers", or stores which advertise "We buy jewelry". See what they will pay in cash. Then, how much more do you think you can ask on Craigslist, or get on Ebay, or sell to a friend for? You won''t get full retail and ask yourself how much your time and effort is worth?

There is no set amount or percentage for you to use. Most consumers find selling ordinary jewelry items above the instant cash price extremely difficult and the current economy is not going to mike finding a willing buyer any easier.

If your items are very fine or very unique, which most wedding sets are NOT, then you go to an auction gallery and let them advertise and sell the items to a far larger and more affluent audience than any individual can find.