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When and why would you sell your jewelry pieces?

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Ideal_Rock
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Aug 15, 2004
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It has been over 100 degrees for 30 days so far this summer and our furnace A/C unit has picked this moment to give up the ghost! We hadn't budgeted for this, so I sold a couple of beloved pieces to fund half of the replacement cost.

When and why would you sacrifice one of your beauties?
 

NewEnglandLady

Ideal_Rock
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If we needed the money, I would have no problem selling my jewelry. In terms of when, I'd sell it as soon as we needed it. If there was a giant expense that forced us to blow through our emergency fund quickly, I wouldn't have much of a head's up, but I think that would be very unlikely. I think under normal circumstances I'd probably have a long time to plan before selling anything.
 

mayerling

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I recently sold a bunch of jewellery for quite a hefty sum. It was pieces from my childhood, in yellow gold which I hate, and I did it to fund the purchase of a piece that I love.

As for my wedding set, I really think it would have to be a pretty serious situation - such as having to put food on the table - to force me to sell.
 

JewelFreak

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I have a bunch of Tiffany silver jewelry I'd love to sell. Question is, how? EBay isn't so hot for that. If necessary I'd sell the other stuff I love but not without pangs, for sure. You can't eat it & we've been in phases where that was a consideration.

Uppy, I do dig your pain. Our a/c died a few months ago too. Shortly thereafter, the well pump took its last breath. And 2 wks ago we replaced the roof about 15 minutes before it sprang a leak. All this within one year. Sigh. Didn't need to sell anything but it sure put a dent in my plans to set some stones! :knockout:
 

packrat

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I'm sorry you had to sell some favorites Uppy. I've got some gemstones listed to help pay for a puppy. The things I have left it would need to be a big problem before I'd want to part w/them, but I would do it.
 

MissStepcut

Brilliant_Rock
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JewelFreak|1311613891|2976383 said:
I have a bunch of Tiffany silver jewelry I'd love to sell. Question is, how? EBay isn't so hot for that. If necessary I'd sell the other stuff I love but not without pangs, for sure. You can't eat it & we've been in phases where that was a consideration.

Uppy, I do dig your pain. Our a/c died a few months ago too. Shortly thereafter, the well pump took its last breath. And 2 wks ago we replaced the roof about 15 minutes before it sprang a leak. All this within one year. Sigh. Didn't need to sell anything but it sure put a dent in my plans to set some stones! :knockout:
I wish Pearlman's/JbEG/whoever else buys and sells used Tiffany would add Tiffany SS! I think they avoid it just bc it's hard to authenticate.
 

lyra

Ideal_Rock
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I'd sell it if I needed the money. I have no family heirlooms. They are just material things. I've been almost homeless once and sold lots of stuff, some of it very sentimental. But that's also how I got over being attached to "things". I would hold off on selling something if the return was going to be extremely low. Like I wouldn't want to sell my original diamond--but it's only a .26ct and I couldn't get anything for it. Sorry you're having this trouble right now. A few years ago, our A/C died during the hottest summer we'd ever had, and we happened to have our inlaws staying with us at the time. Ugh! We got it fixed but they refuse to ever visit us again because of that. ;))
 

Miss Sparkly

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The worst reason was to try and keep our house that knew we would probably lose anyway. We did, and my diamond was gone ;( I sold almost all the jewelry that I don't wear and just keep to the basics. I've sold jewelry in the past to fund other projects that just inevitably were sold too because I become bored with them.
 

TooPatient

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lyra|1311618244|2976433 said:
I'd sell it if I needed the money. I have no family heirlooms. They are just material things. I've been almost homeless once and sold lots of stuff, some of it very sentimental. But that's also how I got over being attached to "things". I would hold off on selling something if the return was going to be extremely low. Like I wouldn't want to sell my original diamond--but it's only a .26ct and I couldn't get anything for it. Sorry you're having this trouble right now. A few years ago, our A/C died during the hottest summer we'd ever had, and we happened to have our inlaws staying with us at the time. Ugh! We got it fixed but they refuse to ever visit us again because of that. ;))


I'll have to remember that... or maybe around here the heater going out might work better.

Almost all of my collection was taken when our house was broken into right after high school (still living with mom at the time -- I had a pretty nice assortment of stuff thanks to my grandmother). I've got a few sentimental pieces (e-ring, grandmother's charm bracelet, pearls) that I would not part with unless it was a matter of medical urgency (like procedure insurance wouldn't cover). Most of the rest isn't really worth anything at all but I'd part with it if there was any chance it would help with whatever.
 

diamondringlover

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I have already sold some gold for melt, but I would sell whatever I needed to if I really needed the money....I am thinking about trying to sell some stuff so that I can get my rings reset, I really want to have them reset, but there isnt enough money in the budget for it :(sad
 

jewelerman

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i sold part of my jewelry collection when i went back to college and didn't work for 4 years.Since then Ive had to sell bits and pieces because employment hasn't been steady.Its been very difficult to sell most of those pieces but Ive got my favorites still and once the pieces are sold then i focus on what i have left and enjoy or appreciate them more. i haven't added a major new piece to the collection for 8 years because i think that would be irresponsible to buy more jewelry when im not employed full time.
 

lyra

Ideal_Rock
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TooPatient|1311619617|2976450 said:
lyra|1311618244|2976433 said:
IA few years ago, our A/C died during the hottest summer we'd ever had, and we happened to have our inlaws staying with us at the time. Ugh! We got it fixed but they refuse to ever visit us again because of that. ;))


I'll have to remember that... or maybe around here the heater going out might work better.
Doh! That's not what I meant! Wrong emotie. I love my inlaws and am sad that they won't visit because of the hot humid weather here. Our a/c works great now. We bought a service plan and the repair bill was only 20% of what it might have been otherwise.
 

centralsquare

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I'd sell if I were worried about paying basic expenses, or if we had to cut back our lifestyle / downsize and my pieces no longer fit in with the new lifestyle.
 

partgypsy

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I'm actually in a serious decluttering mode, and would be fine with (except for a handful of things) selling most of what I have, like today. The only barriers are a) most of it is relatively inexpensive, don't know a good way of selling it (tried the site that should not be named but had technical difficulties), b) my two daughters feel that all of that stuff should be theirs! Since I can't think of a way to safely and efficiently sell it, holding onto it for now. My SIL even said if we could get alot of stuff together, get a booth at a flea market, but that just sounds expensive/painful to me.
 

MissStepcut

Brilliant_Rock
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Oh, I didn't answer the question! I am looking to sell a couple of things soon because they're associated with an old relationship. I'd also sell things that I bought myself if I grew tired of them, but probably not gifts.
 

texaskj

Brilliant_Rock
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Everything from my ex-husbands is pretty much gone. :D
 

Mrsacornblue

Shiny_Rock
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I sold some jewelry to fund my wedding set transformation from a 1/2 to a full eternity and resetting my e-ring into a different solitaire. It took quite a nice chunk off the final price and were pieces I never wore so I don't miss them. I'd have to be in dire straights to sell anything with sentimental value.
 

iheartscience

Super_Ideal_Rock
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I would sell anything that didn't have sentimental value if we needed the money. And if we needed even more money, I'd sell my e-ring. The one thing I'd definitely want to keep if possible would be my wedding band, but even then it's just a thing.

I would also sell things I don't wear much just for the extra cash or if I wanted to put the money towards a new project. I have a few things I don't wear much and plan to list on eBay/a jewelry board, but I hate taking pictures so I haven't yet.
 

LGK

Ideal_Rock
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I sell various pieces of mine occasionally, usually if I find I don't love them or wear them as much as I ought- I don't like to let things languish unworn. Usually I sell them through the antique mall I work at or occasionally via ebay if it's something that needs a wider audience (i.e., not an engagement ring- like, my tennis bracelet I don't wear enough).

So far I haven't had to sell anything for a loss, and I made a HELL of a profit on a 2 ct transitional cut ring. (And I think the lady who purchased it was still getting a good deal, really.)

My two OEC rings will have to be pried off my cold, dead paws however :naughty: But the various other pieces like necklaces or bracelets are fair game if I don't wear them enough.

That sucks you had to part with your jewelry unplanned, though, Uppy. Hopefully you got some good prices for them at least. With prices going up, it's easier to get decent prices for older pieces it seems.

The funniest experience I had with selling something, was the really blingy 3 stone halo setting my 3.39 ct OEC came in. I had just gotten a new setting for it, finally, and was telling my husband about it excitedly while we were standing at the front desk of the antique mall I work at. This customer I know pretty well overheard me and was like "I'll take it!" She had been drooling over it for months. And like a lot of laypeople, she didn't care a whit about the center stone- in her mind my "ring" was all about the setting, and she thought I was totally loony for changing it. So I got it set with a CZ for her and she bought it the next day. She still gloats over having got my "ring" whenever I see her, and we're both happy! (I'd hated that setting from day 1- it was wayyyyyy too OTT and I don't like the round-halo look with *one* stone on my hand, let alone three of them!) She's never reset it with anything else, either, haha.
 

Dreamer_D

Super_Ideal_Rock
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My earrings and e-ring are the only things worth selling. I would do it if we needed the funds in an emergency. I don't think I would sell it for an a/c unit, because they are cherished pieces, but a lost job or some other major emergency and they would be gone. Likely for the buy back the vendors offer because it would be fastest.
 

diamondseeker2006

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I got rid of some old yellow gold pieces that I never, ever wore during the last couple of years when gold has been really high. I don't see a lot of point in keeping things I no longer like or wear. The only reason I could foresee having to sell my best jewelry is if my husband lost his job for an extended amount of time or something like that. We keep an emergency fund for household and car repairs.
 

jstarfireb

Ideal_Rock
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Mar 24, 2007
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Some of my older pieces and "learning" jewelry...I would sell if I needed the money for something important.

But my current favorites...I think I'd honestly rather go hungry than sell them. I'd sell my clothes, shoes, purses, move into a smaller apartment or get a roommate, basically anything to avoid selling those.
 

simplysplendid

Brilliant_Rock
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I am selling a number of pieces now and still have quite a number to sell (around 30-40 pieces). The pieces I want to sell are those that I no longer love and which I do not intend to pass down to my children and many of those pieces have never even been worn! That does not mean I am not buying jewelry. I still am, fewer but finer, rarer and higher end items.
 

TristanC

Brilliant_Rock
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I would sell all my ex-gf's jewelry, but I don't think they would let me... I should ask right? ;-)
 

KatyWI

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I wouldn't. I am way too sentimental to part with my wedding set, or the diamond ring I inherited from my grandmother. I would almost definitely eat rice and beans every day before I would part with them (especially considering it would be hard to get what they're worth)!

Anything else that I own I'd sell, but I don't have much fine jewelry, it's almost all costume or pieces with scrap value to anyone else, so it wouldn't get us very far.
 

canuk-gal

Super_Ideal_Rock
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HI:

I've added and routinely subtracted to my collection over the years, I've forgotten what I used to have! Moreover, I've serioulsy downsized my cache in the last few years to things I want and wear daily. Some of it I sold and some of it I gave to my family. Certainly I'd sell my ER's "if necessary".

cheers--Sharon
 

Arkteia

Ideal_Rock
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When I get so disorganized that I start losing my stones... :lol: :lol: Which happened recently.
I would rather sell stones than jewelry because honestly, I do not have such incredible jewelry that will cost a lot... But in general, if I do not wear it or if I want to seriously upgrade. I would sell stones if I foresee huge expences setting them and I do not like these stones in general (such as aquamarines). But as it stands now, I'd better ask advice of fellow PS-ers before I do so. I have made a couple of very serious mistakes. I find ebay a difficult place to sell mostly because I do not have any serious seller's account with mega-stars there... Everything sells but people are more prone to buy if they see that you are a known vendor.
Sometimes, if I can not sell, and the item is inexpensive but pretty or unusual, like my Russian enamels which I do not wear, I would use them for gifts because I have to make many gifts, to doctors or other people around me...
 

athenaworth

Ideal_Rock
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I sell the stuff I don't wear because I'm sentimental and I want my babies to be loved by someone. I learned a long time ago that my things wouldn't sell for enough to fund much of anything though, so that's really my only reason.
 

marymm

Ideal_Rock
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I just sold several white-gold and cluster-diamond type rings that are just not my style and that I never wore... and the money I received is basically paying for the prettiest little OEC solitaire - I'll only be out-of-pocket a couple hundred dollars, otherwise I'd never be able to purchase it.

But now that I sold these rings, I really don't have anything left that I don't adore or that doesn't have sentimental value --- I'd have to be in a hard place financially to think of selling any of them, but I'd do it if it was my only option. I think I would be taking a real loss though, so it'd have to be desperate times.
 

Indylady

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If I don't wear it, and if I needed the money.
 
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