Grace’s consignment fees increased

[Mjay]

I finally made the decision to start consolidating and clear out some things that I don’t wear. I had planned on sending my items to Grace. I just looked at her website and noticed that her fees increased again. 25% for items under 20k! OUCH. That is so hard to stomach. It was 20% last I checked. I’m nervous about listing expensive items on eBay due to unclear liability during the authentication process. Loupe troop also makes me nervous. I’m terrified of getting scammed. Who else does consignment? Any other safe routes to selling?

 

[Mreader]

Gilded Lane takes some (not all) items on consignment so if they are vintage/antique you can ask her. Her fees are lower.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

25% is a racket. Also consider that if an item doesn’t sell, you have to pay a fee to get it back. Did it once, never again.

 

[elizat]

Jocelyn/Gilded Lane is lower, and she will tell you whether or not she thinks her audience will be interested. Very easy to work with, would recommend highly!

I think Jewels with Stories on IG does consignment as well. No information on purchasing or dealing with her.

Magpie Vintage in New Orleans does it, but it's high. 50%.

Jewelry Consighment Network in Savannah. Hear me out. The website is rough! But people buy from them in person, all the time. It's a lovely store, in downtown Savannah and the owner is great, as is the staff. They work with the premise of they will agree to get you the most they can for the item and you tell them that amount or they suggest it, and then they add a mark up. They negotiate based upon their mark up and all discounts come out of their profit. They get a ton of foot traffic and have a very nice antique and vintage section.

It's pretty much a brick and mortar business, not really driven by online sales, but it's right in the heart of Savannah. Last time I was in, 15 minutes before closing, a couple came in and bought 8k worth of stuff- two bracelets before going out to dinnner. People are normally on vacation or a get away, so they are happy to spend. I usually buy something every time I go, if I'm honest. It's a nice selection of everything from silver and semi precious to Native American jewelry, to antiques and art, to antique pieces and old deco Tiffany pieces.

They ask that you leave an item at least 6 months.

 

[Mreader]

25% is a racket. Also consider that if an item doesn’t sell, you have to pay a fee to get it back. Did it once, never again.

I thought if you left it up for a certain number of months you weren’t charged?

I asked some places both storefront and online when I was contemplating selling a ring, and 20-30% were numbers I was getting which seems pretty standard in the industry.

 

[WillyDiamond]

Be careful on the consignment route, know the rules and if the shop goes bust you may be out of luck to recover anything. Recent fiasco in the watch world.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

I thought if you left it up for a certain number of months you weren’t charged?

I asked some places both storefront and online when I was contemplating selling a ring, and 20-30% were numbers I was getting which seems pretty standard in the industry.

With Grace you pay no matter what. The site is a bit ambiguous but it looks like if it doesn’t sell after 18 months the fee is $250 otherwise it’s $500.

 

[Mreader]

With Grace you pay no matter what. The site is a bit ambiguous but it looks like if it doesn’t sell after 18 months the fee is $250 otherwise it’s $500.

Wow, that’s a real bummer. I thought that it was free if you left it up for 18 months. I remember that beautiful ring that you had on consignment there and it wasn’t like some of the super high ticket items that she has so it would be annoying to pay $250 just to get it back.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

Wow, that’s a real bummer. I thought that it was free if you left it up for 18 months. I remember that beautiful ring that you had on consignment there and it wasn’t like some of the super high ticket items that she has so it would be annoying to pay $250 just to get it back.

Yes and the most annoying thing is I didn’t really feel like I got anything in return for the consignment fee apart from appraisal (Not really an appraisal since it didn’t list a value). For example, if you consign with her your item will not be included in sales unless you ask her. I would have rather had the option in the consignment agreement to include it in the sales, rather than having to contact every time she has a sale.

 

[Mjay]

Jocelyn/Gilded Lane is lower, and she will tell you whether or not she thinks her audience will be interested. Very easy to work with, would recommend highly!

I think Jewels with Stories on IG does consignment as well. No information on purchasing or dealing with her.

Magpie Vintage in New Orleans does it, but it's high. 50%.

Jewelry Consighment Network in Savannah. Hear me out. The website is rough! But people buy from them in person, all the time. It's a lovely store, in downtown Savannah and the owner is great, as is the staff. They work with the premise of they will agree to get you the most they can for the item and you tell them that amount or they suggest it, and then they add a mark up. They negotiate based upon their mark up and all discounts come out of their profit. They get a ton of foot traffic and have a very nice antique and vintage section.

It's pretty much a brick and mortar business, not really driven by online sales, but it's right in the heart of Savannah. Last time I was in, 15 minutes before closing, a couple came in and bought 8k worth of stuff- two bracelets before going out to dinnner. People are normally on vacation or a get away, so they are happy to spend. I usually buy something every time I go, if I'm honest. It's a nice selection of everything from silver and semi precious to Native American jewelry, to antiques and art, to antique pieces and old deco Tiffany pieces.

They ask that you leave an item at least 6 months.

Thank you so much for the fantastic recommendations! I’m going to look into them.

 

[Mrsz1ppy]

Yes and the most annoying thing is I didn’t really feel like I got anything in return for the consignment fee apart from appraisal (Not really an appraisal since it didn’t list a value). For example, if you consign with her your item will not be included in sales unless you ask her. I would have rather had the option in the consignment agreement to include it in the sales, rather than having to contact every time she has a sale.

My items have been included in the sales, and I didn’t have to ask. Not sure what difference there would be between my agreement and yours, but just wanted to add my experience.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

My items have been included in the sales, and I didn’t have to ask. Not sure what difference there would be between my agreement and yours, but just wanted to add my experience.

Huh, it says tight in her site that items will not be included in sales unless you advise them to. I guess I might have shot myself in the foot by not specifically saying I wanted my ring included.

No matter, it didn’t work for me but other PS’ers have had good experiences with her. Different strokes and all that.

 

[headlight]

I’m going to assume the fee to get it backs covers insurance, return shipping. Admin work, etc.,which I’m not saying isn’t legit, HOWEVER they are getting free inventory they don’t have to make a financial investment to maintain so I think the policy is very one-sided but that is the nature of consignment, unfortunately- seller is never in the driver’s seat in these situations. I used to have a great gig going with a local jeweler but it was a 50-50 split. Honestly I thought it was fair as I enjoyed the pieces for a time and then was able to recoup some of the profit of which the items were usually listed for higher than the original purchase price as I had held on
To them for some time. Unfortunately that retailer stopped doing it.

 

[denverappraiser]

Sotheby’s charges 38%, and you only get one shot at it. That’s plus an assortment of fees in most cases. Christies is similar but they have a slightly more complicated formula. I mention this not to endorse these fine companies as to point out that 25% net isn’t so unreasonable. Headlights experience at 50% is fairly typical. There’s a reason that so few dealers want to do this, even at that price. Most, if not all, of the work is done up front. Repairs, cleaning, photography, accounting, security, etc. There’s the constant stream of email and phone calls with both buyers and sellers and yes, there *IS* such a thing as a stupid question. There’s the front-end negotiation with the seller to come up with the description and help you set the price, for example. If it doesn’t sell, a consignment shop gets NOTHING for any of this. That’s why the cancellation penalty. There are ‘free’ paths for the DIYers. Loupetroop.com comes to mind. Write your own descriptions, take your own photos, pay your own fees, do your own negotiations, and assume your own risks. eBay comes down to about 15% after you factor in the fees and, as you point out, the risks to sellers are considerable. Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist are even cheaper, and the risks are even worse. What could possibly go wrong?

 

[LilAlex]

25% for items under 20k!

That seems pretty good to me. How dumb am I? Lang was much higher, IIRC.

 

[Mjay]

That seems pretty good to me. How dumb am I? Lang was much higher, IIRC.

Maybe it is? I hadn’t really shopped around. I just noticed it had gone up from when I had inquired a few months ago. She does get a lot of exposure and seems to get a premium for her pieces so it’s probably worth it. I’m just curious to see if there are better options.

 

[elizat]

That seems pretty good to me. How dumb am I? Lang was much higher, IIRC.

I think Lang is a lot higher. Many places are as high as 50%. I think people have gotten used to a pricing structure with Grace and it has gone up a few times recently, so it seems like a hike. I think one of the downfalls of being into jewelry and on PS in particular, is that there are a lot of wants and people buy, sell, and rebuy other things. Lots of things are not thought of as long term purchases, so when you go to flip them, there is a little more pain involved! I guess the solution is buy less or really want what you buy... right?!?

 

[Mrsz1ppy]

I think Lang is a lot higher. Many places are as high as 50%. I think people have gotten used to a pricing structure with Grace and it has gone up a few times recently, so it seems like a hike. I think one of the downfalls of being into jewelry and on PS in particular, is that there are a lot of wants and people buy, sell, and rebuy other things. Lots of things are not thought of as long term purchases, so when you go to flip them, there is a little more pain involved! I guess the solution is buy less or really want what you buy... right?!?

Lang is 40%

 

[Mjay]

Ok so little update on my thoughts. First off I was not trying to bash Grace in any way. She is fabulous and her consignment program is wonderful. I want to make that clear. I was just irked by the increase and wanted to explore all of my options. After doing more research I do think her consignment fees are very fair and I definitely understand the termination of consignment fees. It has been over a year since I’ve sold anything privately so I’ve forgotten how much actually goes into it. I ended up finding a very expensive piece of jewelry that I feel I must have. So I impulsively decided to privately list my item (for even lower that what I would net after Grace’s fees) in hopes of a quick sale. I do feel my item will be favorable within her inventory and I feel it will most likely sell quickly but I wanted quick quick due to my want for this new item. Within 24 hours I had 8 inquiries. Tons and tons of questions. All great questions that I have no problem answering but man the amount of time and work that goes into answering questions and taking and sending videos all while living my busy daily life was actually quite difficult to manage. Of the 8 inquiries two were clear scammers and I feel only 4 were actually genuinely interested. All inquiries thus far have resulted in “I’m going to discuss with husband,” “I’m trying to scrape together the funds,” “can you offer layaway?” or just ghosting with no further responses. I can’t even imagine the amount of inquiries that Grace must have every single day. The amount of questions her team must answer, the videos she has to take, the post she makes. It’s a lot. I even noticed her advertising items on Pinterest. I may still reach out to gilded lane to but as of right now I plan to give it a few more weeks and then send to Grace.

 

[Asscherhalo_lover]

Ok so little update on my thoughts. First off I was not trying to bash Grace in any way. She is fabulous and her consignment program is wonderful. I want to make that clear. I was just irked by the increase and wanted to explore all of my options. After doing more research I do think her consignment fees are very fair and I definitely understand the termination of consignment fees. It has been over a year since I’ve sold anything privately so I’ve forgotten how much actually goes into it. I ended up finding a very expensive piece of jewelry that I feel I must have. So I impulsively decided to privately list my item (for even lower that what I would net after Grace’s fees) in hopes of a quick sale. I do feel my item will be favorable within her inventory and I feel it will most likely sell quickly but I wanted quick quick due to my want for this new item. Within 24 hours I had 8 inquiries. Tons and tons of questions. All great questions that I have no problem answering but man the amount of time and work that goes into answering questions and taking and sending videos all while living my busy daily life was actually quite difficult to manage. Of the 8 inquiries two were clear scammers and I feel only 4 were actually genuinely interested. All inquiries thus far have resulted in “I’m going to discuss with husband,” “I’m trying to scrape together the funds,” “can you offer layaway?” or just ghosting with no further responses. I can’t even imagine the amount of inquiries that Grace must have every single day. The amount of questions her team must answer, the videos she has to take, the post she makes. It’s a lot. I even noticed her advertising items on Pinterest. I may still reach out to gilded lane to but as of right now I plan to give it a few more weeks and then send to Grace.

I'm in the same boat. At this point if it's an item "worth" her fees I'll list it myself for my lowest for a few days and then off to Grace. I've sent over a dozen pieces to her over the years and through all of that only 1 is still on consignment. All with minimal stress on my end, well worth it to me.

 

[Mreader]

Ok so little update on my thoughts. First off I was not trying to bash Grace in any way. She is fabulous and her consignment program is wonderful. I want to make that clear. I was just irked by the increase and wanted to explore all of my options. After doing more research I do think her consignment fees are very fair and I definitely understand the termination of consignment fees. It has been over a year since I’ve sold anything privately so I’ve forgotten how much actually goes into it. I ended up finding a very expensive piece of jewelry that I feel I must have. So I impulsively decided to privately list my item (for even lower that what I would net after Grace’s fees) in hopes of a quick sale. I do feel my item will be favorable within her inventory and I feel it will most likely sell quickly but I wanted quick quick due to my want for this new item. Within 24 hours I had 8 inquiries. Tons and tons of questions. All great questions that I have no problem answering but man the amount of time and work that goes into answering questions and taking and sending videos all while living my busy daily life was actually quite difficult to manage. Of the 8 inquiries two were clear scammers and I feel only 4 were actually genuinely interested. All inquiries thus far have resulted in “I’m going to discuss with husband,” “I’m trying to scrape together the funds,” “can you offer layaway?” or just ghosting with no further responses. I can’t even imagine the amount of inquiries that Grace must have every single day. The amount of questions her team must answer, the videos she has to take, the post she makes. It’s a lot. I even noticed her advertising items on Pinterest. I may still reach out to gilded lane to but as of right now I plan to give it a few more weeks and then send to Grace.

Nice observations and thank you for sharing! And yes all too familiar with those questions and the work involved...I have never tried to sell something in that price point so the shipping would also be stressful and worrying it gets to where it is supposed to be. I cannot wait to hear what you have up your sleeve.

 

[Dreamer_D]

I sold a bunch of stuff privately about 10 years ago and it is a lot of work! For higher end items too there are worries about shipping and insurance. Def worth it in some cases to consign.