Selling Gold Items on Ebay

[trdhrdr007]

I recently bought a large batch of gold items from an estate sale. Most of the time when I make a purchase like this the items are either sent to the refiner or sold to my guy in the nearest large city. The majority of what I picked up will be sold the same way. This was a higher end estate & there are some pretty nice pieces that could be candidates for Ebay. I've pulled the nicer pieces & have included a few pictures. The items in the first pic are all marked(& tested) 14k except the fish which is 18k & unmarked. None of these items have any sort of manufacturers mark.

The next pic is of 3 14k pieces that have manufacturers marks. I've also included pics of those marks. I couldn't get a good pic of the bracelets marks & I'm having a hard time reading it under a loupe.

Here's my question. I can sell all these items without any problem near spot. With ebay fees I figure I have to make at least 110% of spot just to break even. Then I need to make enough more to cover the hassle & risk involved with selling on ebay. At this point I'm thinking it would be worth selling the Egyptian pendant, the jade earrings & possibly the Crea San Fransisco pendant. I haven't been able to identify who made the pinecone pin but suspect it might be a good sale if I could. I think the blue/grey earrings might be cultured fresh water pearls but don't know for sure. All comments, hints and/or tips would be welcome.

 

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[insontis]

List a bit higher than what you'd be happy with with a BIN OBO setting and always aim at least 2x over spot (more depends on designer, stones, popularity, etc). You should have no problem making at least 2x spot on desirable pieces. If you are finding it difficult to gain interest from buyers after one or two 30 day runs for a pendant, try adding a chain with it. I've sold numerous dainty chains with pendants for 2-5x spot before fees.

As for unmarked pieces, I had a cross with an unmarked 18K cross that I paired with a box chain and sold for $185 before fees. Together they were worth under $70 in scrap.

Honestly, if I were you and I had the time & desire I'd list all pieces that are in good condition on eBay and let them run for at least one 30 day period on BIN OBO. If you gain watchers, but no offers then perhaps you need to lower your price or just give it another 30 day listing. If you get offers, I wouldn't jump on them right away unless they are 75% or more of your asking price. If its an item that has a lot of watchers, I normally am very picky about what offers I accept and may even wait to see if someone pays the full price. I just had a necklace with pendant that sold at $130. It was worth maybe $50 in scrap, but I had it listed at $149.99. Had about 8 watchers when I received the offer. Waited a day just to see if anyone else would submit an offer or outright buy it. Didn't happen this time, but I still believe I could have sold it for full price. At this point I am trying to keep money flowing; otherwise I would have declined anything under $140 and would have relisted as BIN.

 

[jerseyben]

I scrap most of my gold finds unless it is worth significantly more. For instance, if I have an item that will scrap at $100, I wont list it unless I can easily get $150 for it. But that's just me.

That being said, it appears as though some of the folks who are fairly new to ebay have been listing similar items and they appear to be doing well.

I would say, consider your target market. Who is going to buy this stuff? There is a reason it got sold at a yard sale or donated to a thrift, etc.

You could always try the "list it all and see what sells" method. All that will cost you is your time. You won't ever know until you actually get out there and try it.

 

[trdhrdr007]

I generally sell lighter weight dainty chains in my display case at the local antique mall. No problem getting more than scrap with light weight items. I've found that heavier items are a lot harder to sell for a high premium over melt. Does that hold true for ebay? Except for the earrings & the amethyst pendant in the middle of the 1st pic these items would scrap out between $150-300 each.

 

[diggummup]

I wish the makers mark on the pinecone brooch was a little more clear. That should sell very well regardless, at least double scrap value I would think. I didn't really see a question asked unless your wondering what kind of price to list the items at. I think that's already been established. Make sure you put "charm pendant" in the title listing for the Crea pendant. I agree with putting a dainty gold chain on pendants, I've done it myself in the past. It's amazing what a .5 gram chain can do to the price of a pendant.

PS- Yes, I think heavier gold items are harder to sell for a higher premium over melt (percentage wise) .

 

[Bassmaster96]

From what I have saw, the Jade items sell pretty good. The pinecone should also be a great sell.

 

[trdhrdr007]

I wish the makers mark on the pinecone brooch was a little more clear. That should sell very well regardless, at least double scrap value I would think. I didn't really see a question asked unless your wondering what kind of price to list the items at. I think that's already been established. Make sure you put "charm pendant" in the title listing for the Crea pendant. I agree with putting a dainty gold chain on pendants, I've done it myself in the past. It's amazing what a .5 gram chain can do to the price of a pendant.

PS- Yes, I think heavier gold items are harder to sell for a higher premium over melt (percentage wise) .

I guess my question was if it's realistic to expect to get 2x melt on these type items. The Crea pendant weighs in at 5.8 grams & is roughly $130 melt. The pinecone pin weighs in at 10 grams, roughly $228 melt. Would these really sell at $260 & $456 respectively? Values could be slightly off because I didn't check todays spot price. The mark on the pinecone looks like a cursive "m" if that helps.

 

[insontis]

I guess my question was if it's realistic to expect to get 2x melt on these type items. The Crea pendant weighs in at 5.8 grams & is roughly $130 melt. The pinecone pin weighs in at 10 grams, roughly $228 melt. Would these really sell at $260 & $456 respectively? Values could be slightly off because I didn't check todays spot price. The mark on the pinecone looks like a cursive "m" if that helps.

I've mostly only sold items weighing around 3-4 grams to less than a gram. As you said, it's easy to get way over spot for lightweight pieces. jerseyben made some good points. You should start by listing it and seeing what sells. If you can't find a similar piece to compare price to, list it high on BIN and accept offers. If you don't get any bites, it's either not widely popular or the price is too high. If you'd be content with anything over spot, or like ben said, $50 over $100 of scrap, I'd list the pinecone piece at 2x spot and accept offers. Even if you don't get $456 for it.. even $50-$100 on top of spot is nice.

 

[insontis]

I scrap most of my gold finds unless it is worth significantly more. For instance, if I have an item that will scrap at $100, I wont list it unless I can easily get $150 for it. But that's just me.

That being said, it appears as though some of the folks who are fairly new to ebay have been listing similar items and they appear to be doing well.

I would say, consider your target market. Who is going to buy this stuff? There is a reason it got sold at a yard sale or donated to a thrift, etc.

You could always try the "list it all and see what sells" method. All that will cost you is your time. You won't ever know until you actually get out there and try it.

These are good guidelines to work with. So long as you time that you are willing to invest then you should be able to gain a good idea of what will sell for what. In my opinion its better to list too high and gradually lower it as I gain information instead of getting a quick flip. The reason this works for me is because I have money set aside that is used only for buying and selling. I don't need to make the money back right away on a piece unless I want more funds for investing.

The only thing I'd add is that the reason an item was "sold at a yard sale or donated to a thrift" is not necessarily a bad one for you as a buyer. Most thrift store donations of gold I'm sure are by accident or due to an estate clean out, etc. Those who sell items at yard sales I also feel don't have many resources or knowledge on what the items are worth or how to best sell them. If yard sale sellers had more knowledge of what it was they were selling the "garage sale finds" forum would be a lot less active.