Where Can I Sell Silver Jewelry?

Did you know that most silver jewelry is sterling silver, also known as .925, or 925, silver? Sterling and 925 silver are 925 parts per 1000 of pure silver, so it's not worth quite as much as .999 fine silver bullion, but it's worth more per ounce than pre-1965 silver US coins, which are 90% pure silver.

I mention the purity, and value per ounce, of sterling, because most places that are willing to buy silver rings, bracelets, necklaces and other sundry silver jewelry products, won't give you more than a percentage of the price of the item's junk silver, or bullion silver, value. I mention this, because when I went to sell some of my grandma's old silver rings, no one offered me more than 80% of spot silver value, time.925. (In other words, "Not Much!")

So, instead of selling your silver locally, to a coin store, or pawn shop, go where there are the most buyers. And, the most buyers available to most people would be on eBay. Also, if you do end up just getting the spot price of silver for your jewelry, you're going to get more online than locally, where they will discount spot by 10% to 20%. (I've always gotten more than NY silver spot, even when selling junk and bullion silver.)

eBay has been running specials on and off all year, where they're not charging a listing fee on the first 25 to 50 auctions you put up. So, if you plan it right, you'll end up not having to pay more than 9% of the sales price. (Remember, the buyer pays for shipping, as long as you list it that way.)

Selling on eBay: If you're going to sell your silver or gold on eBay, take the time to find the kind of jewelry you have for sale, then watch some silver jewelry auctions that have pieces like yours. Then, copy the format of the auctions that raise the most money. (There's a "Sell An Item Like This One" button on most eBay jewelry auction items.)

For more information on how this all works, visit WhereCanISellSilver.com.

You could always sell your silver jewelry to one of the cash for gold places, but they're just going to pay you a percentage of spot, just like everyone else. Anyway, ever since reading this gold4cash article, the thought of mailing my jewelry off somewhere freaks me out.

If I don't trust the guy at the pawn shop, or coins shop, to weigh my jewelry and give me a fair price, how the heck am I going to talk myself into mailing my grandma's silver rings off to someone in another state? Jeez, if they're crooked, how will you ever get your money back? Anyway, they're not going to pay you what the jewelry is worth, so don't bother.