“I saw this being sold on Ebay for…”

What you should know about the valuation of your gold and jewelry vs. what you see through online sellers such as Ebay, Amazon, etc..

As a continuation to our previous post on “The Truth in Appraisals“, we’ve decided to explain what you see selling online versus real jewelry worth.

During a typical appraisal, I’m often told that a particular item I’m appraising is being sold on Ebay for much more than my current offer.  There are various things you should know about online pricing:

1) Items sold online are valued at whatever price the seller is asking for. Remember – we live in a free country… Online sellers aren’t jewelers or appraisers and have the right to ask whatever they choose for their item. If you feel you can get the asking price of a similarly listed item for yours, then by all means you should list it.

2) Online sellers are selling to end-users. At Lombard Mutual, we act as intermediary buyers or loan granters. We are valuing your item with the purpose of re-selling it in order for us to make a profit. Much like wholesalers, we need to buy your item with a certain margin to turn a profit and cover our overhead and expenses. The only way to avoid selling to someone with these costs is to sell to a friend.

3) “What have you seen your item actually sell for?” This is a common response I have to clients who have seen their jewelry being offered online. If you go to ebay and look at completed sales, you’ll be able to view actual selling prices and not just the wishful pricing of online sellers.

The basic lesson here is to be cautious of your expectations when it comes to selling your gold or valuables. We love when our customers take the position of being informed sellers, but it doesn’t work if they are not understanding of the proper tools and rational behind an appraisal. We strive at customer satisfaction and are willing to match or beat any real and documented offer one has received from other pawnbrokers or jewelers.

If you have any further questions, or wish to speak to one of our professional appraisers, than please don’t hesitate to call Lombard Mutual at (212) 819 – 0366.