One of the best ways to quickly make money is by dealing in precious items, such as jewelry and gemstones.
If you want to know how to sell diamonds but don’t know where to start, this guide will have you covered!
Today, we’ll walk you through a brief overview of the job along with a step-by-step guide to help you get started!
Why You Should Consider Selling Diamonds
Although different diamond traders may have unique reasons, here are some of the top advantages of selling diamonds:
- Always in High Demand: Reports show that the diamond market will continue growing by up to 4.4% from 2020 to 2030. This means that finding a potential buyer for your diamonds should be fairly easy.
- High Profitability: According to a report by Statista, the operating profits of selling diamonds are quite high, reaching up to 24% for rough diamond sales!
- Doesn’t Require Education/Training: some gigs and jobs require special certification and costly licenses. All these requirements are not mandatory if you want to buy or sell jewelry and/or diamonds.
- You Can Do It Online: Selling diamonds online is becoming much easier nowadays (more about that in the following sections). You don’t need to have a dedicated store to start selling diamonds, which cuts your initial investment costs significantly.
Problems With Selling Diamonds
Selling diamonds is associated with some issues and problems that you need to keep in mind. Here’s a quick look at some of these points.
1. Limited Resale Value
Unlike gold jewelry, diamond doesn’t hold value well. This is because the markup value of diamonds goes away the minute you buy them. In other words, you might end up losing money while selling used diamond jewelry.
2. Prone to Scams
Since diamond is precious and lightweight, it’s a popular item among scammers. You should be careful of common scams like delivery fraud.
3. Short-Term Market Fluctuations
Like precious stones and gold, the price of diamonds fluctuates continuously. This means that you might end up losing money if you sell it shortly after buying it.
4. Hidden Fees
Some diamond buyers might incur hidden fees that remarkably slash your profits, so you have to keep that in mind.
What You’ll Need to Sell Diamonds
Although selling diamonds is fairly easy, getting the best prices for your diamonds still depends heavily on how you do it. Here are some of the essential items you’ll need to sell diamonds.
- Written Appraisal Report: This one is a report by a qualified appraiser that gives an estimation of the value of the diamonds in question. This one is also done for both diamond jewelry and loose diamond.
- Proof of Ownership: This one is also known as a diamond certificate. It identifies the current owner of the diamonds along with other related aspects, such as their value and quality.
While it’s not a mandatory requirement to sell diamonds, a reputable diamond buyer may refuse to purchase diamonds without one.
- Essential Documents for Tax Purposes: Depending on the local laws where you live, selling diamonds might count as a taxable capital gain. In that case, you’ll need to include records of the transaction while filing your tax report.
- Learning About the Diamonds Market: Like other items on this list, this one also isn’t mandatory to sell diamonds.
However, keeping up with the market fluctuation will help you maximize your profits from the sale and avoid getting underpaid or even scammed by ashady jewelry buyer.
Where to Sell Diamonds
While you can sell diamonds at a jewelry store, you can also sell them online. Here are some of the best websites where you can sell jewelry such as selling a wedding ring or loose diamonds.
1. Craigslist
If you want a convenient website where you can sell your ring for a decent price, you should try Craigslist. Alternatively, you can also go for other online auction websites like eBay.
What Makes This Option Great
Craigslist is one of the most popular online auction websites with plenty of visitors.
This means that you can easily find diamond and gold buyers who are willing to pay top dollar for fine jewelry and unique pieces, especially if you’re selling a diamond ring.
That being said, selling diamonds on Craigslist may require some caution. That’s why it’s important to follow the website’s guidelines to avoid any scams.
- Fees/Commission: Craigslist is mostly free for local postings. Fees may apply to other postings, but jewelry and diamonds aren’t within these categories.
- Payment Methods: Cash and checks. (Craigslist accepts other payment methods but only recommends those two.
2. WP Diamonds
WP Diamonds is a reputable multinational diamond dealer company that specializes in selling and buying recycled diamonds. The website allows you to get a quote for your item, whether it’s jewelry or loose diamonds.
What Makes This Option Great
The website is incredibly easy to use and allows you to get a quote for your item easily. After the “Get a Quote” option, select the properties of your diamond(s).
You should typically receive a quote within 24 hours for your diamonds after WP Diamond inspects them.
The website buys your diamond directly, so you don’t have to worry about bidders or finding buyers.
- Fees/Commission: No commissions, fees, or deductions from the final offer
- Payment Methods: Wire transfers, PayPal, and checks.
3. Nivoda
Nivoda is an online marketplace that specializes in diamonds, whether you’re buying or selling.
Unlike WP Diamonds, Nivoda doesn’t buy or sell diamonds directly. Instead, it’s a marketplace where you can access thousands of retailers that sell and buy diamonds.
What Makes This Option Great
Nivoda allows you to list your items for free. It also acts as a guaranteed middleman that handles quality control, and shipping. The website also ensures secure and on-time payment.
- Fees/Commission: No fees for selling on Nivoda (only for buying)
- Payment Methods: Wire transfers or through Nivoda balance
How To Sell Diamonds: Step-By-Step Instructions
Now that you know more about selling diamonds, here’s a brief guide that shows you how to properly do it:
1. Get an Appraisal for the Diamonds
Getting an appraisal is the best way to know the value of what you’re offering. However, an official appraisal in writing can be a little pricey, as appraisers charge around $50 to $150 per hour.
For that reason, you should only get an official jewelry appraisal if you suspect that your diamond is worth more than $2,000.
If you can’t get a pre-sale appraisal, you can still get an estimate of the price. To do that, you’ll need to get an estimate from a reputable jeweler.
2. Check the Prices for Similar Items Online
Another reliable method to get a ballpark estimation of what your item sells for is checking it online.
Search for items with similar gradings, such as measurement, weight, proportions, finish, etc.
You should still allow a wiggle room in the price because selling prices are usually lower than buying.
3. Set a Minimum/Starting Price
After getting an estimate from several jewelers, you should have a more realistic estimate of your diamonds’ value.
In that case, you should decide on a minimum price that you won’t go lower while selling the diamonds. This helps you stay confident while negotiating the price with a potential buyer.
Since diamonds lose much of their value after buying them, some estate jewelry brokers might offer as little as 10% to 20% of the actual retail value of the diamonds.
4. Pick a Suitable Buyer for the Diamonds
After setting a minimum/starting price, you should choose a suitable buyer for your diamonds.
The choices here may vary depending on your research and the item you’re selling. A good idea here is to go for a consignment shop instead of a pawn shop.
This one will sell the diamonds for you and earn a commission on the sale. Despite that, it can still be a much more profitable sale method that many sellers overlook.
Alternatively, you can opt for online auction websites to sell the diamonds to the highest bidders. However, you need to use secure and reputable websites for it.
Things to Consider When Selling Diamonds
While selling diamonds, there are some essential aspects that you need to keep in mind. These will help you get the best prices for diamonds and reduces the odds of getting scammed.
1. Keep Any Documents Regarding the Diamond
Any documents related to the diamonds can be quite valuable while selling them. This includes anything from older appraisal reports to sale receipts.
This is because they provide evidence for the authenticity of the precious stone. Not only that, but it can also save you the extra cost of hiring a certified appraiser, maximizing your profits.
The documents also make it easier for you to file your taxes depending on the laws where you live.
2. Don’t Rush a Sale of Fine Diamond Jewelry
Unlike gold, fine diamond jewelry is subject to fluctuation while estimating its price. In other words, each buyer might have a different price in mind.
For that reason, rushing a sale might end up missing a much better price. Unless there’s an absolute emergency, we highly recommend that you take your time while selling diamond jewelry.
3. Beware of Scams and Frauds
The diamond is a lucrative market for scammers. To avoid any foul play, you should only deal with reputable marketplaces and buyers.
Familiarize yourself with common scams and frauds associated with the diamond business to detect and avoid them right away.
4. Invest Your Earnings
After successfully selling your diamonds, you should consider utilizing your earnings and the new information you’ve learned in a reliable investment.
If you find the jewelry business an attractive business opportunity, here’s how to start a jewelry business online.
The advantage here is that you won’t need a physical location to sell your items. It also helps you get higher profits for the pieces you own.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some common questions that diamond sellers usually have on their minds.
Can I Sell Diamonds Without a Certificate?
If you don’t have a certificate for the diamonds you have, you can still sell them. However, selling diamonds without a certificate limits your buyers.
Also, since it’s difficult to establish the authenticity of the diamonds, most buyers will offer less money for diamonds without certificates. To solve this problem, you can get an appraisal for your diamonds or certify them independently.
How Can You Tell If a Diamond is Real?
You can certify the authenticity of diamonds using a variety of methods. Each one of them has a reliability factor. The most reliable method is to leave the job to a professional and get a certified appraisal report.
Alternatively, you can use a variety of tests to check the diamonds. This includes the fog test, loupe inspection test, or checking its reflection colors against the light.
Similar Tutorials to Check Out
If you’re looking for other ways to make quick cash by selling old jewelry, you can also check these guides.
- How to Sell Silver: Selling silver, whether it’s in the form of jewelry or cookware, can you get a decent sum. You can also hunt silver trinkets online and sell them for huge profits.
- How to Sell Gold: The precious metal is always appreciating in value, which makes it an excellent option for anyone looking for ways to make quick cash.
- How to Make Jewelry to Sell: Selling handcrafted jewelry is a lucrative and highly profitable market. It’s also a perfect gig if you’re creative and crafty with small initial capital.
Wrapping Up
This marks the end of today’s guide that shows you how to sell diamonds, whether they’re loose or jewelry.
Selling diamonds is all about proper documentation and getting a good estimation of their value. This way, you’ll avoid losing potential profits.
