Jewelry

[LSavage]

Ok so this is the deal My step mother passed away last year my dad is just now cleaning her things out. My stepmother was a QVC junkie ... she had 2 dressers full of jewelry she had bought over the years ...and the kicker is she never wore jewelry so none of it has been worn or taken out of the boxes. Some of the names are Joan Rivers, black hills Gold, Diamonique, and Lee Sands, among others , watches, rings, braclets, necklaces, you name it is there...lo.

My father was going to put it in a yard sale , I told him to hold off till I could find out the value , some of these pieces are very nice . Can anyone help me. how would I go about finding what all this is worth ?

[Cardamom]

Whoa, hold off on that yard sale! That is not the best way to get the most for your jewelry. The metals will be valuable, silver and gold. I'm afraid any costume jewelry like Joan Rivers and lee Sands may not be worth much. You could try ebay on those in hopes a collector might buy, more likely for Joan Rivers than Lee Sands. The real stuff you could get appraised or sell it to a cash for gold or silver place. I don't know if they give you anything for gemstones but they would be the quickest way to get some money and I'm sure it would be much more than what you would get at a yard sale. Check your area for consignment shops as well. I have one by me that is stocked with qvc jewelry. If you have the time ebay would be your best bet since you have all the original boxes. PS I'd take it all to a jeweler to be appraised. I forgot that part. Lol.

[carlycat]

I just went thru this myself. First of all, appraisal is expensive. It was $65 per piece, so choose carefully. We kept all the gold because it can be sold at spot gold prices for higher than you can resell. The costume, sterling, etc, we sold at the estate sale. We got $5000 selling it off one piece at a time. People bought it like crazy.

[goodstuff]

First of all...........you should check the markings on the items to see which may be real gold, silver, gold plated, or just fashion jewelry -- and sort and catalog what you have. If you have a friend or family member who is knowledgeable about jewelry, maybe you could enlist their help. It sounds like a big job.

With the possible exception of some real, solid gold/gemstone pieces, the resale value for your MIL's items won't be nearly what she paid QVC. Any "real" items might be taken to a reputable jeweler for appraisal. My first thought is that you or other family members might be invited to select a few items you would enjoy wearing. After that, if you have a good consignment store in your area, you might take some of the items in and see if they're interested in selling them for you on commission perhaps a few at a time.

This is such a sad picture of what happens to compulsive shoppers who get their daily "fix" through TV shopping. Never opened, never worn -- just acquired, hoarded, and forgotten. Such a waste.........

[esmeraldagooch]

Why not go to her online QVC account and find out which items she purchased as far back as they have invoices for. My mother kept everyone of hers in a box and it was helpful figuring out what items were.

The gold and gems should be taken out of the garage sale items. It's not the place to get the highest amount for them.

[LSavage]

I have taken some pieces out that I wanted to keep, given a few things .. I will go through and pick out the silver and gold pieces, But just do not have the time to investigate every piece. I may try selling it on ebay in one big lot and just be done with it .

[Sunnycorle]

You should really sell it piece by piece on EBAY. YOu will get top dollar that way and it is fun to do. Take good pictures with the boxes they are in and you will sell it all. there is a market out there for retired pieces. Please take your time doing this and it will pay off. A yardsale would be like giving it away. She treasured these things so do her justice and get these items in hands of people that truely want them.

[Sunnycorle]

IF your father is retired you could get it started on Ebay and he might find it fun to do himself. My father sells stuff on ebay all the time and loves it, he has the time to do it.

[author]

Perhaps sell the costume stuff by piece at the garage sale but call it an "Estate Sale"....there is a lot in perception, and you might get better prices. Hope there are original shipping receipts so you can get an idea of original price and go from there. Definitely save out the gold or gemstone pieces, although maybe collectors of Black Hills gold would buy these at an estate sale.

[DoneTryin]

On 8/5/2014 LSavage said:

I have taken some pieces out that I wanted to keep, given a few things .. I will go through and pick out the silver and gold pieces, But just do not have the time to investigate every piece. I may try selling it on ebay in one big lot and just be done with it .

Check your area for an ebay store. Yes, they keep a percentage of the sales, but it might be worth it to you since you don't have a lot of time to work on it as a project. Good Luck!