How to Sell Your Engagement Ring
Whether you called your engagement off or are just trading in your ring for a newer model, you want to choose the method that works best for you. Determine the market value of your ring, and once you’ve done that, you can decide where you want to sell it.
The most common options are at a pawn shop, a jeweler or online.
Determine Market Value
It’s important to know what your ring is worth before you attempt to sell it. Take your ring to a certified jewelry appraiser. Bring along any paperwork that came with your ring, including any certification that specifies the ring’s color, clarity, cut and carat weight if it has diamonds.
The American Gem Society, American Society of Appraisers, International Society of Appraisers and National Association of Jewelry Appraisers are all well-known, certified appraisal organizations. The cost of an appraisal depends on the location. It may cost per hour or be a percentage of the value.
It’s important to ask specifically for the resale, cash value or liquidation value of your ring because the appraisal amount might be much higher than what you’ll actually get, according to the website diamonds2cash.com.
If you don’t have money for a jewelry appraiser, you can use an online calculator to determine the approximate value of the gold or diamonds. These values change depending on supply and demand.
Pawn Shop
One option is to sell your ring at a pawn shop. The benefit of selling it at a pawn shop is that you’ll get cash quickly. The downside is that you will most likely get far less than your ring is worth, even as little as one-third of the value, according to diamond industry expert Ira Weissman in the article, “The Engagement Is Off — Now What Do I Do with the Ring?” on The Huffington Post website.
If you’re trying to sell your engagement ring because you need money quickly, a pawn shop will also give you a loan and hold your ring as collateral. At the end of the specified loan period, you’ll have to pay back the loan plus interest. The amount of interest depends on your location.
Take your ring to a few pawn shops and sell it to the one that makes the best offer.
Jeweler
If you’re not comfortable dealing with pawn shops, you can also try to sell your ring to a jeweler. Some jewelers have policies to buy rings back within a certain time period, so check into that first. You can approach local jewelry stores or find a jewelry buyer who sells to clients around the world.
Sell to jewelers who have good ratings with the Better Business Bureau. You still won’t get near the market value of your ring because jewelers have to make a profit, but this is probably one of the easiest and quickest ways to sell, according to the article, “How To Sell Your Jewelry,” on Arden’s Jewelers’ website.
Online
One area gaining popularity is online auctions. Besides the standard online auction sites, new specialty sites designed specifically for selling engagement rings are popping up. Before you post online, take close-up photographs from various angles.
If you have gemological lab certification, Weissman recommends posting a link to that information online as well. In addition to posting your ring to an online auction site, you can also post it in the local newspaper.
These avenues of selling are likely to get you the most money, but may take longer than other options.
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