One of the most common questions we have seen over the years is this “what are the biggest mistakes made when selling a diamond?”
We see a lot of confusion, misconceptions and mistakes people make when selling a diamond ring, diamond necklace, loose diamonds or any diamond jewelry. However we have found that there are many common problems, today we are going to discuss the Three Biggest Diamond Selling Mistakes.
Talking to a professional who SELLS diamonds, not a professional who BUYS diamonds
Many individuals head right to their local jeweler when it comes time to sell a diamond piece. This isn’t always the best place to get independent and unbiased information. The problem is that if the jeweler sold you the exact piece you are trying to sell for $5,000 and is now telling you that it’s value is only $2,500, you would look at them as if they had lost their mind. So as an alternative to giving clients an offer, many jewelers will say they do not purchase diamonds, but will give you a value for which you should accept. Again, the problem with this is that unless they are ACTUALLY willing to give you that value themselves, they really have no business throwing numbers around. Pieces are truly worth what someone else will pay for them and to get a realistic feel for the re-sale diamond market you need to go directly to the source – Someone whose sole profession is buying diamonds from individuals.
Trusting the Internet
After stopping at a local jeweler, the next stop for most people is the web. While information on the web is often very beneficial, keep in mind that it is not always accurate. Not only are you likely to find mis-information about diamond pricing, but also keep an eye out for clever marketing tricks to guide you towards diamond buying companies. “Independent” ranking sites about Top Diamond Buyers, are usually exactly NOT what they claim to be, and tend to be marketing companies working for the top rated sites just to entice a unknowing individual to their site.
DO YOUR RESEARCH! Trust sites like the BBB, JVC, and other review sites that allow for customer reviews directly on their sites – Yahoo, Bing, Google, and Merchant’s Circle Etc.
Sending a piece to a person who promises you exactly or more than what you are asking for, and other concerns with selling a diamond piece privately.
Unfortunately with fake review sites also come a handful of other Internet scams. If you are trying to sell a diamond piece locally on a platform that allows you to post something for sale in your local town, do NOT send your diamond piece to ANYONE other than a company – REGARDLESS of how many emails you get from PayPal saying funds have been deposited into your account.
This unfortunately has happened to a few of our clients, and the person and the diamond piece are never seen or heard from again. Also if you a working with local individuals do not accept a return for a diamond piece after it left your possession. This unfortunately happened to a client as well – A client sold her diamond ring to a buyer who found her posting on a local list site . The next day he called and said that he had taken the piece to his jeweler who informed him the diamond was not real. She uneasily took the piece back and gave him the money back. She then sent the piece directly to us as she did not know what else to do. When we received it, unfortunately the diamond was in-fact not real. However, you could clearly see where this individual had removed the diamond and replaced it with a fake. The moral here is NOT to accept a return from a private individual after is has left your sight.
