Has anybody sold silverware recently?

patbz · ‎03-10-2010

With the price of silver going crazy has anyone sold a piece or a complete service recently? I'm talking a silver service, not silver plate. I looked up my set on Ebay and several sellers are offering same set for $8,000 plus. I havent looked at mine in 20 years so this is an easy decision.

FancyPhillyshopper · ‎05-02-2017

A few months ago I sold a bunch of silver rings (25+) which I had collected over the years when much younger, and never wore anymore.

My jeweler pays me by gram WEIGHT, and so what I received was very minimal as compared to what I probably spent on the jewelry over the years.

However, he does NOT melt anything down--he will sell it to other folks to sell to people to wear and enjoy. I did not sell the silver rings to make money--I am just trying to upgrade what I own and disperse of some of my earlier purchases. I also sold him some gold jewelry pieces for a much better return!

I am sorry to say that you will never get that amount you said if you take your silver to a resale place. Ebay sellers are trying to convince collectors to purchase silver at a high price, based on intrinsic value (artistry, rareness, etc.). The sets could sit there online for years and years without a nibble. Young people do not really seem to want silver sets, and will definitely not spend thousands and thousands until they have a lot of disposable income.

The resale market will only offer you scrap/melt value, weighed by ounce.

Snowpuppy · ‎03-09-2010

Take a look at your service set on Replacements dot com.

If your set is going for $8k on ebay, you'll likely be floored. 😉

Replacements will offer you very little $ if you offer to sell to them. Good luck!

Ainhisg · ‎03-09-2010

Just because that's what it's offered for on eBay does not mean that's what it will sell for or if it will even sell. Change your search parameter to "sold items," and that will give you a better idea of what you could possibly get.

drizzellla · ‎03-14-2010

I looked into selling my Mother's silver flatware. But after the shock at what I was offered, I declined.

I got a quote from Replacements. They offered $1.00 for knives. That was maybe 10 years ago.

I also looked into silver buyers and it didn't seem worth it. BUT I have not looked recently.

At Thanksgiving my brother was chattering on about the price of silver. But there is a big difference between selling silver and buying.

Eileen in Virginia · ‎08-25-2010

I recently (within the past year) considered selling my sterling silver flatware and decided to keep it in the end. I checked one of the major silver resale companies but was put off by their requirements for accepting the silver. Basically, it had to be in "like new" condition. While I understand that they wouldn't want pieces with dings or other imperfections to resell, my silverware was made in 1942 and used for special occasions by my mother's family. I could have polished it until the cows came home and it wouldn't meet their requirements. Also, the shipping costs were nothing to sneeze at and reviews indicated that they were slow to return items they didn't accept.

I also took it to a well-respected fine metals merchant in our area to see what he'd give me. While his offer was good, he would melt it down to recast into ingots. I wasn't ready to take that step, so it's sitting in the silver chest where it's been for the past couple of decades. At the end of the day, it doesn't take up that much room and I've got fond memories of using it when my Mom was alive. Who knows - maybe I'll use it again!