Liquidating diamond inventory?

[Bondtana]

Hi everybody. I recently sold my business. I am looking to liquidate the leftover diamond goods I have.

I've sold breakout melee & single diamonds before... But I'm unsure of what prices to expect for the diamond goods with smaller .01-.07 diamonds set in them. I've gotten $120/carat for the breakout stuff, including the junky stones. The goods from my store are all si1-vs quality.

How much more should I expect to get?

Any advice in general on liquidating (post store closing) would be greatly appreciated too!

Thanks!

 

[oldminer]

Seriously, you had a store and in that store you sold diamonds, but now that you are closing you don't know where to sell diamonds? That's a very strange scenario. You know where you bought your diamonds, so you know who sells them, correct? Those guys will buy your diamonds if they are less costly than the ones like them that they get from their regular sources. If you owe them money, then they won't be so anxioius to pay you, but you could exchange them for what might still be owed....That might be the best way to eliminate any debt issues.

Otherwise, you can do just what eveyone else does. Use the diamonds in jewelry or sell them to dealers who say they buy diamonds. You can sell diamonds in quantity to well established buyers of diamonds that advertise heavily in trade magazines such as Rapaport or JCK Magazine. They may not pay a lot, but they pay immediately. This is surely the quickest and easiest route for an ex-dealer.

Pricescope is not a venue for liquidation sales of miscellaneous merchandise. This place is for consumers to discover diamonds and to gain knowledge on the subject. Consumers would be well advised to avoid buying from unknown sellers regardless of the temptation of a possible bargain. The chances for a good deal are far outweighed by the pitfalls involved in placing one's trust in an unknown seller. Sorry, but that's the truth from my view. A safer bet on a bargain would be a Lotto Ticket for the $1.5 Billion prize tonight, and we understand the long odds against winning that, too.

 

[Gem Queen]

lol!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I have seen jewelers sell leftover or discontinued stock such as settings on ebay often.

 

[Bondtana]

Seriously, you had a store and in that store you sold diamonds, but now that you are closing you don't know where to sell diamonds? That's a very strange scenario. You know where you bought your diamonds, so you know who sells them, correct? Those guys will buy your diamonds if they are less costly than the ones like them that they get from their regular sources. If you owe them money, then they won't be so anxioius to pay you, but you could exchange them for what might still be owed....That might be the best way to eliminate any debt issues.

Otherwise, you can do just what eveyone else does. Use the diamonds in jewelry or sell them to dealers who say they buy diamonds. You can sell diamonds in quantity to well established buyers of diamonds that advertise heavily in trade magazines such as Rapaport or JCK Magazine. They may not pay a lot, but they pay immediately. This is surely the quickest and easiest route for an ex-dealer.

Pricescope is not a venue for liquidation sales of miscellaneous merchandise. This place is for consumers to discover diamonds and to gain knowledge on the subject. Consumers would be well advised to avoid buying from unknown sellers regardless of the temptation of a possible bargain. The chances for a good deal are far outweighed by the pitfalls involved in placing one's trust in an unknown seller. Sorry, but that's the truth from my view. A safer bet on a bargain would be a Lotto Ticket for the $1.5 Billion prize tonight, and we understand the long odds against winning that, too.

Thank you for the thoughtful response. Maybe I wasn't clear in my initial post.

I've sold breakout melee & single diamonds before... I've gotten $120/carat for the breakout stuff, including the junky & cracked stones. The goods from my store are all si1-vs quality.

How much more should I expect to get?

PS I don't have a ton of experience selling diamonds because I took over the family business when my father passed away. I only did it for a few years, was self taught & know that there are more knowledgeable people out there & on this forum in particular.

That's why I'm asking for advice.

 

[Tekate]

Guess the poster lost! but I thought it odd that a dealer in gems wouldn't know how to sell diamonds!!

 

[yssie]

No PSer is going to advise you on how to sell "junky", "cracked" melee from scrap gold for $120/ct.
And frankly, no PSer is going to advise another PSer to buy from a vendor who is apparent comfortable selling "junky", "cracked" melee at outrageous prices - this is a supportive community and we look out for each other.

As a general rule of thumb for smaller stones without pedigrees (under say 20pts)... I aim for ~$10/ct on the secondary market, minus setting. So you're well out of my league anyway

 

[MollyMalone]

I am taken aback by the snide comments posted even after the OP explained this was his father's business that he ran for awhile after his father died; he is now seeking to put the business to rest & came to PS because he thought there are people here who could offer advice on how best to unload what's left after the primary liquidation, give him informed feedback on what he might realistically expect to see price-wise. There is no indication in either of his posts that he's looking to open a bazaar here on PS or viewing us as prospective buyers.

Bondtana, I'm sorry I have no concrete specifics to offer you & that you have experienced some rudeness here. PS forumites actually are mostly retail consumers & the Trade members who are most active on the boards don't have a business similar to your dad's, but maybe there is a Trade member who will see your queries & offer meaningful leads to some decent outfits who routinely take in what you have described, so you don't have to be bothered with selling it on a more piecemeal basis.

 

[yssie]

Molly - I do not object to seeking advice on liquidating from a business past.

I object to a former tradeperson assuming a community of consumers will be supportive of and invest time and effort into helping any vendor who is comfortable selling low-quality goods to other consumers at tremendously inflated prices - junk, cracked, $120/ct, as described by the OP himself.

"Fair value for money" is, to me, an ethical demand I make of all vendors I choose to interact with. A vendor may of course charge whatever he wants for whatever he has, and if he can find buyers willing to overpay that's his luck, but I'm not supportive of the practice.

 

[hayzing]

But I don't think he's wanting to sell leftover "junk". He said what he had left was SI-VS, right?

I think he was just quoting a price he'd gotten for the junkier stones he once had, and wanted to know what he could expect to get out of the higher quality items he has left based on that price point. Or am I mistaken?

 

[yssie]

But I don't think he's wanting to sell leftover "junk". He said what he had left was SI-VS, right?

I think he was just quoting a price he'd gotten for the junkier stones he once had, and wanted to know what he could expect to get out of the higher quality items he has left based on that price point. Or am I mistaken?

This is true, he did, I read the OP with a different hat. So I must amend my response - from the one data point we've got regarding his expectations I think he may be in for an unpleasant surprise

 

[hayzing]

But I don't think he's wanting to sell leftover "junk". He said what he had left was SI-VS, right?

I think he was just quoting a price he'd gotten for the junkier stones he once had, and wanted to know what he could expect to get out of the higher quality items he has left based on that price point. Or am I mistaken?

This is true, he did, I read the OP with a different hat. So I must amend my response - from the one data point we've got regarding his expectations I think he may be in for an unpleasant surprise

LOL

 

[MollyMalone]

Bondtana -- 9 pages into a Google search yielded the first table with any indication of prices paid to those in the trade for a variety of stones. Shows "up to" $150/ct for .01 - .09 ct breakout melee, less ($65 - $85/ct) for parcels of mixed qualities & shapes in this size range; note this is a January 2014 list:
http://www.southeastdiamonds.com/Diamond_Buying_Prices.html

P.S. to Yssie

As a general rule of thumb for smaller stones without pedigrees (under say 20pts)... I aim for ~$10/ct on the secondary market, minus setting.

The usual advice given here to consumers, who think they want to procure melee/side stones for a jewelry piece that's being made, is "Let your jeweler/bench handle that; they have access to more inventory, at better prices, than you can reasonably expect." So am hoping the next time the question gets asked that you'll share your reliable sources for decent, secondhand small pointers costing a couple of bucks or less.

 

[yssie]

I snorted out loud. The snark goes both ways this evening pretty big typo there: 10/pt or less on the secondary market for quality (but not pedigreed) stones under say 0.4-0.5. Less under ~0.2ct.

 

[Sunstorm]

Yssie that was a good one, I about died when I read your 10/ct price but I thought it was a joke. That said 10/pt would be too high OTOH for non-pedigreed melee on the secondary market. Especially when selling bulk the OP should not expect to ever get that price.

I am a bit confused by this thread I must say. I do feel that the OP has good intentions but is pretty ignorant at this field, which is likely why he came here and we cannot attack him for not knowing that this is a forum for consumers, not a forum to help retailers sell their jewelry. That would actually be againt forum rules.

OTOH, it is not surprising that OP's business failed because one has to have a pretty profound knowledge of diamonds and jewelry to even have a shot of becoming successful and today even that would not guarantee anything.

That said I am sorry OP, I do understand you took over a business and your best choice is most likely to sell it if you know nothing about this business and are not doing well.

In no way should any of my above comments be construed as specific advice, they are only general comments and I wish you the best of luck OP.

 

[Tekate]

Hmm. I dunno Molly Malone, I thought it odd and I thought it unusual and perhaps a person just fooling around, and I had not seen his/her post.

 

[Rockdiamond]

HI Bondtana,
My perspective is as a NYC diamond buyer- of which there's no all that many of us left.

IN the case of larger good that need to be sold back into the dealer market, you'll take a bath on the price as compared to what you would have to pay to buy the stone.
The positive aspect is that the market is liquid- there's plenty of buyers.

When it comes to meleé, a seller is in a far weaker position.
Demand for melee is generally by manufacturers that need specific sizes in specific quantities.
Anyone buying to stockpile is buying at next to nothing prices.
Plus, if it's in jewelry now, there's breakage and labor to remove the stones.

I see you've sold for $120 per carat in the past- I think that would be a very good deal for you even for your SI goods today.

Actually I just called a buddy who is in the business of buying breakouts- he said if there's larger quantities ( 5cts +) he pays about $120 per carat- less for smaller quantities.
Hope this helps!!