You’ve done all the legwork at the auction houses and estate sales, and got yourself some gold or silver jewelry to sell.
You walk into the store with a big grin on your face, thinking you’re about to cut a fat hog.
We’ve seen you before, and we’re happy to see you, but it isn’t you that’s about to cut that hog.
Much less at a pawn shop.
When it comes to selling jewelry, only 7% of the general population have used them for selling jewelry – because most of us know where to get the most for our wares.
However, they do offer quick cash in exchange for your jewelry and give you the chance to get your items back.
If you’ve never sold jewelry at a pawn shop before, it’s important to know what to expect before you take your jewelry there. The average loan is for $150 which should tell you something about what they think diamonds are worth.
In this article, we will discuss how much pawn shops typically pay for different types of jewelry, as well as some tips on how to get the most money for your pieces.
Table of Contents
How Pawn Shops Work
Pawn shops have been around for centuries and have been a popular way to get quick cash. How do they work?
You bring in your item and the pawnbroker will assess it for value.
They will then offer you a loan based on a percentage of the item’s value.
The interest rate on the loan is high, so most people use pawn shops as a last resort.
Pawn shops are required by law to hold items for a certain period of time before they can sell them (usually 30 days). This gives you the chance to get your item back by paying off the loan plus interest.
It also gives the authorities an opportunity to do their investigations to see if those items were reported stolen and, if so, give you a ride to the county hotel.
Here’s what you can expect at a pawn shop:
Pawning/Loans/Sales
You have to be in a real pickle to take your fine jewelry into a pawn shop, but okay, you are. This is the option that will give you a loan for an average of 30 days for an item.
A pawn shop will decide if what you are offering as collateral is something that they can sell if you default on the loan.
You also have the option to sell your item outright and forego the loan option.
You may get 10% more for your item if you just sell it to a pawn shop.
Once the pawn shop buys your item, or if you default, they will then put the item out in the store for sale.
It is possible to get an extension for an additional 30 days, but typically, it is best not to expect that to happen especially if what you brought in is desirable for the shop to own and then sell.
When you bring a piece of jewelry to the pawn shop, they will want some good identification and proof that you own the item.
They will ask for some kind of a receipt or document that identifies the item and connects your name to it as the legal owner.
This is necessary because pawn shops are the primary outlet that thieves attempt to use to sell items, and pawn shops are under strict police department and DOJ rules and regulations.
Once the pawn shop decides that your item does belong to you, and that it is something that they could sell in a relatively short period of time, then the transaction is fast.
The only thing you will have to decide at that point is if you want a loan or if you want to just sell the item outright.
Retail Sales
If you have sold or defaulted your item to a pawn shop, then it will be then put out for sale at retail cost if possible. There is a lot of misinformation saying that you can buy jewelry for dirt cheap at pawn shops.
This is simply not true.
You can sell for dirt cheap, but you will pay close to retail costs for items.
Pawn shops usually need to have a jewelry expert on hand to determine the retail value of everything that comes into the store.
If you go into the store looking for a diamond ring, you will be quite surprised to see that they are not much different in price than going into a jewelry store…only without the customary guarantee offered.
A pawn shop will in no circumstances accept returns on items that you have found later to be chipped or flawed in some way.
How Much You Can Expect For Your Jewelry At A Pawn Shop
The amount of money you can get for your jewelry at a pawn shop depends on the value of the piece and the current market conditions.
Pawn shops typically offer 30-60% of an item’s retail value, but this can vary depending on the item and the pawn shop.
To get the most money for your jewelry, do your research ahead of time to understand the value of your piece and what comparable pieces are selling for.
You can also try negotiating with the pawn shop owner to get a better price.
Gold Jewelry
When you go into a pawn shop, you can expect to get around 40% of the spot market for the weight and carat or purity of your gold items.
The shop will weigh and confirm the gold content by the hallmark that is stamped on the inside of it, or else they will test the item with acid to determine the purity if it is not marked.
Some pawn shops have done well enough to purchase a Niton gold analyzer gun so that they can verify gold content without using acid.
- They will buy any type of gold jewelry, broken or not.
- They will buy gold coins whether domestic or foreign.
- They will buy dental gold. They will buy gold nuggets or placer gold.
The price they will pay to buy it, is not the price you will get for the loan however.
It is not uncommon to get the 40% of that days spot price if you are selling outright, but only get 20% of the spot market value if you are simply going for a loan.
Silver/Platinum Jewelry
The same can be expected for sterling silver and platinum as it is for gold.
The only difference is that the formula changes because the silver and platinum spot prices are, of course, different from the gold spot price.
The items still should be verified as belonging to you, and they will still be weighed and the hallmarks looked at.
They will be acid tested if there is no hallmark.
The amount that you will get for selling outright to the pawn shop vs getting a loan is still the same as for gold.
Either way, once the pawn shop owns the items whether by loan default or by buying it, it will go out in the cases for retail sale, or it will be sent to the refinery for melt prices.
Costume Jewelry Headline
It is nearly unheard of to be able to pawn or sell costume jewelry at a pawn shop or even at a jewelry store for that matter.
While there are several designer brands of costume jewelry, the value in those is simply the design or the name, but the metal and gemstone value simply is nonexistent.
A pawn shop needs to recover their money and make a good sized profit on top of that, and they will not buy anything that cannot be compensated by a refinery or sold quickly for top dollar in their store.
Gemstones
Diamonds and natural gemstones are of interest to a pawn shop.
It does, however, depend on the clarity and size of the diamonds and the gemstones.
If you have gemstones or diamonds that are of mediocre appearance and are smaller than a half carat, you will simply not be paid for those.
It would be best to have them removed or to indicate in writing that you want them back during the transaction.
Pawn shops will buy diamonds that are SI2 and better, that is, eye clean. The same goes for colored gemstones if they are not heavily included.
There is a jewelry expert who will determine what the shop should buy or not when it comes to these stones.
You can expect to get 10% as a loan, and maybe 20% of what you paid if sold outright for stones that are of very high quality.
What Gets The Most Money At A Pawn Shop?
We hate to have to break it to you but you are simply not going to get the best deal for selling jewelry or coins, nuggets and the like at a pawn shop.
Pawn shops are going to want to flip the jewelry and everything else they buy as quickly as possible, which means that they are not going to want to pay top dollar especially if the jewelry ends up having to go to a refinery to melt.
Even though the amount you will get for jewelry is low, it is still the hottest item that you can bring to a pawn shop.
Next to that are gold and silver coins, guns, electronics and high quality stereo equipment, then tools.
The reason for this is because the resale market is the best for these as opposed to items such as appliances and old acoustic guitars.
Pawn Shop Alternatives For Selling Jewelry
Now that you have an idea of what you can expect to get for your jewelry if you were to sell or pawn it at a shop, you might be wondering what other options are available to you.
We suggest the following:
Jewelry Stores
Shop around several jewelry stores.
Take all your gold, silver and platinum as well as any precious gemstones. Be sure to write down the prices for each thing you want to sell, but do NOT tell the stores that you are shopping for the “best price”.
Make sure that they see you writing down the prices that they give to you.
Why?
Because they will know that they have to stick to their quote regardless of what other offers you get. Simply say that you want to know what you would get if you had to sell the item.
Consignment
If you are not liking the amount of money that a jewelry store is offering, you can ask them about consignment in their store.
You are likely to get more for consigning your jewelry, coins, and gold nuggets than selling them outright to the store owner.
By consigning your items, the store owner does not have to come up with money to pay you up front, but instead, will just polish up the items and simply wait for them to sell and collect profit.
This will be the best case scenario short of putting items on Ebay, Craigslist (dangerous) or Etsy ect.
A jewelry store may even offer you a good price for diamonds and items that they know their customers would want.
FAQ’s About Taking Jewelry To Pawn Shops
How much will I get if I pawn my wedding ring?
Your wedding ring will fetch you about 10% of what you paid for it if it has diamonds that are of decent quality.
So if you paid $4000 for your diamond wedding ring, you can hope to get $400 for it on a loan, maybe $600 if you sell it outright to them if the diamond was good quality.
You can get up to 40% for it if it is simply gold or platinum without stones.
This is because they will pay you 40% spot price for the metal, but a diamond ring will have metal plus a stone that is going to bring the cost up much higher.
How do I find out how much my ring is worth?
You can find out how much your ring is worth by bringing in your ring to a jewelry store and getting them to send it out for a Certified Gemologist Appraisal.
But that does not, and will not, ever get you the appraised price.
It is for insurance purposes.
You can go from jewelry store to jewelry store to see what they would pay for it, or consign it also.
You can try to sell it on Ebay if you have some kind of way to authenticate its value and may get half of what you paid, if it is a popular style or highly desirable quality.
Is it better to pawn or sell jewelry?
It is far better to sell it on the open market than at a pawn shop. If you need money, you may be better off picking up loose change from the ground.
If a jewelry store loves the item as much as you did when you bought it, or if they have a customer base that would, you will stand to get 50% of what you originally paid for it.
Is it bad luck to buy a wedding ring from a pawn shop?
Can you prove that the diamond that is in your brand new wedding ring did not come from someone else’s wedding ring at some point in the past?
If you think that an inanimate object can have “bad juju” on it, then you should never buy anything used.
Not a car, a house, jewelry or tools.
Farming or business equipment, boats, and motorcycles could have bad juju too.
Remember, jewelers are constantly buying jewelry and have been for years. They will remount nice diamonds that they buy into new settings that you may buy as well.
Final Thoughts
When selling jewelry at a pawn shop, it is important to be aware of the prices that they are willing to pay.
You can get more money for your items by consigning them than by selling them outright, but you will need to wait for them to sell. If you are not happy with the offers from a jewelry store, you can try pawn