Diamond rings sometimes last a long time but on other occasions, we may need to move on from them. Perhaps things didn’t go as planned or you are simply looking to raise some cash and want to sell your diamond jewelry to do so.
But there are so many options (and not to mention scams) out there, how do you find a reliable diamond buyer for your unwanted jewelry?
In this guide, you will get some insights about selling your jewelry and who to trust in the diamond industry. I’m also going to reveal some extra information about diamond buying and selling to help you navigate through the entire process.
Let’s jump right in by reviewing the various ways to find a diamond buyer near you…
Here is a list of topics we will be covering:
Today’s world has made it more convenient and faster than ever to get rid of things by selling them online. There are some well-known sites like Amazon and Ebay that I’m sure you are familiar with.
All you need to do is to create an account, upload some photos of the items you want to sell, set a price and wait. Depending on the site you use, you may be able to do this for free or at a small charge for creating a listing.
From experience, listing on sites with a good brand name will have generally lead to better results as there are more eyeballs for your listing. Also, popular sites like eBay/Amazon generally have a higher trust factor from individuals.
Besides the ecommerce giants, you can also find local diamond buyers via online classified sites such as Craigslist. While Craigslist is a well known resource for getting rid of just about anything (it’s free as well), you also need to understand that people tend to be flaky when dealing with unknown individuals.
With classified sites, you need to be mentally prepared that the deal isn’t done until it’s done. You may go through a couple of no-shows before finding the right buyer.
Also, you should be cautious especially when huge sums of money or valuable objects are changing hands. Be smart about doing meet-ups and apply some common sense in choosing a location. If you are still nervous about this, you can always bring a friend along.
Ah, the ever-present pawn shop option! Selling or pawning your diamonds to a pawnbroker is one of the fastest ways to get immediate cash in an emergency.
Now, pawn stores sometimes have a slightly different valuation system than what you would typically find on the secondary market. They might use a kind of mark system to evaluate a purchase like paying a set dollar amount per “point”.
For example, if they are paying $10/point, a 1 carat diamond ring (100 points) would be valued at $1,000. This may sound ridiculous as these are often low-ball offers.
I recommend that you do some prior research on what your jewelry piece roughly costs before visiting the pawn shops. To save you time and unnecessary travel, you could also call in beforehand to get a ballpark figure on what they would pay for taking your jewelry in.
And then there are wholesale diamond buyers which are harder to find as most don’t work with the public directly. Going the route of finding a wholesale diamond buyer would be a good idea if you have a high-quality loose stone that is not mounted in a ring.
That’s because these are generally specialized businesses that have deeper pockets than your mom-and-pop pawn stores and are able to handle more valuable diamonds.
For example, if you have a 3 carat diamond ring that you want to get rid of, finding a store that would be willing and able to fork out the capital for the purchase would be difficult.
In my opinion, the best online diamond buyer operating in this niche market is WP Diamonds. Basically, they are part of a wholesaler network that buys your diamond ring and resells it to other manufacturers and dealers.
They have an impressive A+ from the BBB and offer a very fast and secure service. From getting a free quotation (with no obligations), the entire process can take as little as 24 hours from getting your quote to getting paid. More importantly, they offer some of the best rates in the industry because of their lean business operations and scale.
There are no processing fees and they even cover fully insured shipping via FedEx to courier the item you want to sell directly to them. Alternatively, you can also visit their offices in NYC, Hong Kong or Birmingham (UK) if you happen to live near these cities.
This option may or may not be a good idea for you depending on your personal situation. If you know someone who is in the market for a diamond ring and you want to give them a deal, this may be an option for you.
However, a lot about selling your ring this way has to do with what the ring meant to you and by whom it was given. For example, you may not want to sell your engagement ring (with unhappy memories) to a close friend because you will see it all the time.
But if you are selling the engagement ring to an acquaintance, then it might work out well for you. On the other hand, if you are selling an heirloom to someone in the family you love to see with the piece of jewelry, then this can turn out to be a great plan.
At the end of the day, it’s all about the meaning behind the stone and whether or not you want it completely out of your life.
In the diamond industry, the more you know, the harder it is for you to get taken advantage of. And this goes both ways for the buyer and seller. People like to see proof and are likely to go elsewhere if you don’t provide it.
As a seller, you should provide records (receipts) and certification for your diamond as this will help you build trust with the other party.
As a rule of thumb, you need to have a certificate of your diamond from a reliable 3rd party like GIA or AGS. This will come in handy to prove what the diamond’s quality is and help both the buyer and seller to understand exactly what they are dealing with.
Next, you want to make sure the diamond or engagement ring you are selling looks good. Have it cleaned professionally, or do it yourself because first impression counts! Think about it. If you were in the buyer’s shoes and someone shows up with a dirty, grimy piece of jewelry, would it turn you off?
Here’s a pro tip if you are listing your engagement for sale online. You want to clearly show what you have for sale and taking good photographs of your diamond jewelry is critical. Try to capture the photos during the day when there are lots of ambient light and make sure you take pictures from multiple angles of the ring.
This is actually fairly simple but involves some work on your part if you want to get a better selling price. By getting more offers for your jewelry, you can size up the best deal that comes along.
For example, you may post your diamond ring for sale on three online sites, take it into a pawn shop, and think of a couple of people you know who might be interested in buying.
Lastly, be willing to do a fair bit of haggling with the diamond buyer to get a better price. Don’t be afraid to counter-offer and compare; this is actually the best way for everyone involved to feel good about their decision.
Here, I do want to point out that you need to be realistic as well with the amount you can get from selling your diamond ring. In general, if you can get 1/3 or even 1/2 the price you paid in retail, you would have done very well.
I know most people think that if they bought a ring for $10,000, they expect to sell their ring for at least $9,000. In fact, most people are very surprised that their rings aren’t worth that much in the open market.
Well, I’m sorry to tell you that diamonds are bad investments and much of the money you paid actually goes into the retail markup. So, when you sell it to a wholesale diamond buyer or a pawn store, they are likely going to take it BELOW wholesale prices.
If they can’t buy it from you below wholesale prices, these businesses would have no incentives doing business with you and be far better off dealing with their suppliers directly.
We’ve covered a lot of ground in this write up and I hope you found it useful. To recap, we’ve talked about selling on various sites online, offering your diamond to pawn shops, selling wholesale and even selling to friends.
Feel free to use any (or all) of the tips mentioned to help you get a better deal and stay safe when making a transaction. I also recommend reading up the various sections on Beyond4Cs.com to get a better idea of what the 4Cs are and how they are priced.
The more you know, the better the chances you have in a great outcome. As a final reminder, set an amount in your mind that you would like to work towards. But you should also be flexible as nothing is completely predictable.
Research, work hard, and don’t forget to be careful with giving out information about yourself. Armed with all of these tips, you should now have a pretty good head start to finding a reliable diamond buyer near your location. Best of luck!
5 Comments
Some more points to add to your great article. Although online is one of the easiest and quickest ways to sell anything, always consider whether or not you trust the source. If you feel uncomfortable with a situation, don’t do it! Never exchange personal information, and always use PayPal or some other form of safe online buying, and/or keep the cash in escrow to ensure that the deal goes as planned and everyone feels safe. It is also imperative that you be honest about the diamond’s worth and don’t be misleading. It won’t be worth it in the long run!
I live in Texas and read some of your articles. They are superb. Do you know of any Houston diamond buyers that are reliable and can offer immediate cash to sell my diamond ring? I know you have high praises of White Flash. Would they be willing to take in my GIA certified diamond?
White Flash don’t buy diamond rings from the public. It’s not their business model to do so and they only do buybacks for their signature diamonds. If you are looking for Houston diamond buyers, I don’t have people to recommend. You can try Googling or contact WP Diamonds to see what they can offer for your ring.
Do you know of any gold and diamond buyers in NYC that will be willing to take in an uncertified diamond ring? It’s passed down from my grandma and had been sitting in my drawer for ages along with some gold jewelry.
WP Diamonds is a trusted gold and diamond buyer with an office in New York City. They also buy gold jewelry as well. Get in touch with them and fill a form to get a quote. It’s free, easy and you can then decide what to do with your jewelry.