I have now gotten a couple of boxes' worth of old jewelry, silver forks, etc., from my late mom. I have not actually looked through them all yet, but am wondering if anyone has any suggestions for wisely ascertaining the real value of this stuff (I suspect most is not really worth much, is not real silver, etc), and selling anything worth selling for a decent price, without getting ripped off?
A real jeweler could probably tell you if any of the stuff had real stones, gold, silver. You might have trouble finding one these days since such stores are often staffed by anybody who can sell the stuff.
When you sell to bulk buyers of these things, often they are buying to melt down the metal. Whether for that or for resale, you should expect to get around 25% of the retail value, if that. People are generally dismayed by how little their jewelry and silver will fetch, and feel cheated, having been led to expect that it is valuable.
You could try to sell it on eBay, where it will come close to the best retail price if it sells. You need to study what similar pieces sell for (not merely are offered for) beforehand. But do your due diligence against getting ripped off, for instance by buyers who claim the package never arrived. EBay generally favors the buyer in these disputes, so you want to study up on how to forestall that kind of thing. But my guess is that what you have is probably not worth going to a lot of trouble to sell, unless you are in great need of money. You may be able to donate some of it to an auction for charity, or even to Goodwill or the like, if you take a tax deduction.
You might also contact local auction houses. We were able to sell some things this way. Even though they take a cut, you can still make money without the headaches.
You might try a local consignment store. Many of ours sell estate jewelry (costume and real), silverware etc. I would suggest starting with just a few pieces. Investigate the possible price with a few different vendors and see who you feel comfortable working with.
For the silverware, you could also contact replacements limited. www.replacements.com (http://www.replacements.com). They are a middleman who finds pieces of old china and silver patterns so that others can "complete their set". Their website can be helpful in terms of you determining what you have.
For any of these options, you're going to need good individual pictures of each piece that you can send along to "bait the trap" and get agents like consignment stores to take an interest.
You don't have to send all the pix to all the places, but you'll want to have one or two representative pieces in digital format that you can easily attach to an email.
Either an electronic camera or a phone should make that possible.
M.
I going to suggest that you call your insurance agent first. Let them know that you have inherited some jewelry and would like to get it appraised and ask who they would suggest handle such a thing. Then call the person, tell them that you are not sure that it is worth anything, but would like an insurance appraisal and ask what they would charge to look at your loot.
As you say, it may not be worth anything, but at least this person will not have a vested interest in quoting a value that could be too low.
If the appraisal cost is too high, ask that appraiser what that person would suggest about finding someone that could give you an idea of what you even have. (real stones vs glass or 10 vs 18 c gold...)
QuoteFor the silverware, you could also contact replacements limited. www.replacements.com. They are a middleman who finds pieces of old china and silver patterns so that others can "complete their set". Their website can be helpful in terms of you determining what you have.
I sold a number of things to them earlier this year and was shocked at how little they paid. Add to that the fact that I had to pay for shipping--expensive because they were dishes--the only thing I got out of that was some space in my kitchen.