WOW. Crazy Consignment

[pinkjewel]

What are the liabilities of some of these places taking jewelry on consignment? I know of a few places that take things on consignment but do not present it to the public as such - they sell it as their own inventory and are therefore liable if something is to happen to the piece within a reasonable amount of time (small stone falls out, chain breaks, etc.). In the case where the business takes on these liabilities and has to stock the piece, keep it safe, and add it to their insurance, what is a fair percentage?

It varies by state, but in my state they also have to be licensed by the state and county to consign jewelery (or even outright buy it and re-sell it), hold all items for 30 days before displaying, send reports of all consigned items to the sheriff's department for review against stolen item reports, own specific 'approved' scales, ect. It's a huge PITA.

Plus, depending on the store, it needs to be cleaned, photographed, listed on the website, insured; plus, as part of inventory, it does have to pull weight for rent, utilities, and other overhead costs. Your consigned piece has to be the equal profit of something they order/make, or else why hold case space and work to sell it?

Wow- what state do you live in???? That's a lot of restrictions!

 

[Gypsy]

YAY! WE HAVE A BOARD TO LIST OUR SALES NOW ON PS! And diamondbistro is no longer banned to say!

Just thought I'd spread cheer!

 

[zoebartlett]

Good to know! Thanks for the heads up!

 

[aviastar]

What are the liabilities of some of these places taking jewelry on consignment? I know of a few places that take things on consignment but do not present it to the public as such - they sell it as their own inventory and are therefore liable if something is to happen to the piece within a reasonable amount of time (small stone falls out, chain breaks, etc.). In the case where the business takes on these liabilities and has to stock the piece, keep it safe, and add it to their insurance, what is a fair percentage?

It varies by state, but in my state they also have to be licensed by the state and county to consign jewelery (or even outright buy it and re-sell it), hold all items for 30 days before displaying, send reports of all consigned items to the sheriff's department for review against stolen item reports, own specific 'approved' scales, ect. It's a huge PITA.

Plus, depending on the store, it needs to be cleaned, photographed, listed on the website, insured; plus, as part of inventory, it does have to pull weight for rent, utilities, and other overhead costs. Your consigned piece has to be the equal profit of something they order/make, or else why hold case space and work to sell it?

Wow- what state do you live in???? That's a lot of restrictions!

VA- but, those restrictions did get me my car stereo and GPS back when my car was broken into and helped catch the guy the broke into by BF's house, cause he tried to pawn some watches he had taken. So, worth it, I think, and at least here, I think those stores earn their 25-30% cut.

 

[Amys Bling]

wow!! That is crazy!!!

 

[gemgirl]

I don't know if this is a fair comparison to make but....... there are professional eBay listers out there. First there were two shops in my town (which have since closed), then I heard of people advertising and taking in people's belongings to photograph and list from their homes. Professional eBay listers routinely charge 30% or 33%. I'm not suggesting that you list your ring on eBay, I'm just saying that there's a similar fee for selling on eBay but putting the sale into someone else's hands. It seems to be the going rate. I think it's too high myself. I think 20% is far more reasonable.

I would definitely do DB first with a link here in our new forum. I'll bet you that gorgeous ring (I wish I could buy it!) is gone in a few days doing it that way.

 

[Miss Sparkly]

I think GOG is about 20% and JBeg is 10 or 15%...

I also feel for people who need to liquidate quickly for cash. When I recently bought my Birks ring from a pawn shop, I bought it for $1200, which means the pawn shop likely paid the seller, what, $800? The ring retails for $4000. My friend who was with me was like "Why would anyone sell it so cheap??" I suspect it was either stolen (though unlikely since it came with the lab report) or the person was desperate for cash Sad.

I got lucky to sell my RB for a small profit, but would never have sold for a loss, either, Gypsy. We thought about consigning because we could have made a little more even with the %% fee, but who knows how long it would take to sell.

Try around $200 depending on the ring. My 90 point diamond that I bought from a pawn shop was an I, VS2, GIA Excellent and they paid the seller only $600 for it (I have a friend who works that particular pawn shop)

 

[Gypsy]

My band sold a few days ago... so I'm fine. But I really am surprised by the consignment stats. Thanks everyone!