Boxes of GOLD jewelry from jewelry store

1treasurehunter1

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Feb 24, 2013
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A lady advertised that she has jewelry from her sisters closed jewelry business, I was able to go to the sale a day early but was already too late. She sold the karat gold for $20 and less per item; she said that there was heavy stuff too. Unbelievable. Her sister put those low prices on the gold even though she could scrap it for more...why? As a jeweler, how could she? She literally had trays of gold, someone got tens of thousands of dollars worth of gold for next to nothing. Worst day ever for me.
 

Beachkid23

Silver Member
Oct 26, 2013
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fort myers fl
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Can't really beat yourself up over it. Just pretend it was all gold plated. Or gold filled. And maybe it was because it sounds like if she was a jeweler she probably wouldn't sell it for that cheap. Maybe she's messing with you. I'm trying to make you feel better by the way.
 

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1treasurehunter1

Full Member
Feb 24, 2013
102
82
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Thanks. You're probably right. It makes no sense otherwise. I would think all jewelers know the scrap value of gold and wouldn't waste time writing out price tags with under spot prices. The remainder of the silver all had handwritten tags with original prices still attached. Also, the first picker didn't buy all the gold, just a portion. Maybe it was light weight 10k stuff and the heavy stuff was sterling for around $20. Need to stop thinking about it.
 

AlienLifeForm

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Jan 31, 2010
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Thanks. You're probably right. It makes no sense otherwise. I would think all jewelers know the scrap value of gold and wouldn't waste time writing out price tags with under spot prices. The remainder of the silver all had handwritten tags with original prices still attached. Also, the first picker didn't buy all the gold, just a portion. Maybe it was light weight 10k stuff and the heavy stuff was sterling for around $20. Need to stop thinking about it.

If I thought about every deal I was too late for by a minute I would never get any sleep. Happens to everyone, we can't be everywhere all the time. The next one is right around the corner.
 

SDIceMan

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Nov 12, 2013
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I don't mean to hijack your thread, but I have a "one that got away" story, and I was early to the sale!

I was on a road trip and rerouted to Denver for Saturday night in order to go to a rare Sunday morning sale. It was five young guys who had purchased a dilapidated house with all the contents in order to renovate it as their first rental. As they pulled up to the house in their various vehicles at around 630 in the morning, they noticed me sitting in my vehicle and said I was welcome to come into the sale even though it wasn't scheduled to start until 7 AM. The foyer of the house had some tables and a small bookshelf set up FULL of jewelry. Most of it was in jewelry boxes.

One of the young guys told me that the jewelry was a dollar a piece, regardless of what it was. Now, I still kick myself to this day, but for some reason that still baffles me, instead of immediately saying "I'll take it all", I proceeded to wander through the house, picking up the odd item here and there and taking my sweet time. The house wasn't very big, but I am the type that wants to dig in every nook and cranny. Around 25 minutes had passed by the time I made it back to the foyer. There was a new arrival rifling around the tables; a woman with a 5 gallon bucket basically using her forearm to sweep the jewelry boxes and loose pieces off of the table and shelves into the bucket. I squeezed in and managed to snag just a few pieces before she got to them.

Out of the three pieces I grabbed, two were pretty elaborate Joan Rivers costume jewelry that I sold for $30 and $40 respectively within the week. The third piece is a marked 14 karat yellow gold ring with a green stone. I have that tucked away for my "rainy day fund".

Anyway, I guess my point is, whether late, early, or Johnny on the spot, the nature of this hobby is that some deals will haunt you. Missed opportunities, bad buys, the list goes on. I need to heed WarBaby's words of wisdom - The next one is right around the corner.
 

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trdhrdr007

Bronze Member
Nov 1, 2009
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1,332
Dude.....you don't pass by a sure thing to look at something else. There's even some old saying about birds, hand, & a bush.
 

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