***This question is only for Researchers who have written 400+
answers***

I own an engagement ring that I had purchased for an ex-fiancée.  She
broke off our engagement two years ago.  Since then, we have both
moved on quite happily, but I haven't sold the engagement ring.  I
would like to, but have not had the time to invest in finding a buyer
that will pay a price comparable to what I paid for it in the first
place.

Here's my dilemma.  I would like to find a buyer (jeweler?) sooner
rather than later, but I don't want to do so too hastily such that I
lose a significant amount of value on the transaction.  Clearly, there
exists a utility function on the money which I would receive by
liquidating the ring - such utility of having cash as opposed to a
diamond might be worth x% loss of value, but that is neither here nor
there.

My point is that I'm looking for the right buyer.  A jeweler is
perhaps the most intuitive first choice, but most jewelers acquire
diamonds on consignment, not paying the full value of their wholesale
price to his/her supplier until the end-user transaction has
completed.  So, many jewelers offer a small (25%) percentage for a
pre-owned ring, because that's the amount of cash they have to outlay
for new rings (taking on a used ring as inventory at its value or even
80% of its value makes little financial sense for most jewelers).

Anyway, I'm looking for a jeweler (or other type of buyer) who is willing to
pay something close to the true value of the ring...say 60-90%.

Specfications:
Diamond solitaire ring
Platinum band (.900 PT) Tiffany style (6-prong) setting, size 6

Weight:  .78 ct
Color:   F
Cut:     Ideal Round
Clarity: VS2

Thanks,
The Grammaton Cleric

p.s.  If I actually sell the ring through a contact that you (the
Researcher) provide, I will give you a very generous tip.

---

Clarification of Question by grammatoncleric-ga on 29 Jul 2003 14:22 PDT

It occurs to me that my "Researchers with 400+ answers" parameter may
be too restrictive.

The following Researchers are also allowed to answer this question:

tehuti
politicalguru
journalist
knowledge_seeker
czh
hummer
mvguy
larre
pafalafa
mathtalk
hammer

Most jewellers want to buy stuff at silly prices (Their markup is huge
anyway).

I've sold stuff at better prices than I could get from jewllers at
auctions but you've got to use 'the right' auctioneers.

In any event, you can always insist on a reserve.

Why not try ebay?

A friend of mine sold an engagement-and-wedding-band set through a
classified ad in her local newspaper. She was very pleased with the
number of responses she got, and the take was very close to the
purchase price.

Your ring sounds quite desirable (platinum is "in" right now), and I
would expect that a classified ad with an announced price (and some
negotiability) might be an excellent investment.

Hi Grammaton Cleric

Following probono's comment above, I've sold 2 or 3 pieces of
jewellery on Ebay, all at prices close to (and in one case, above) the
actual price paid.  2 of these items were platinum rings with precious
and semi-precious stones.

I believe the reason why I got such good prices is because I went
through the effort of not only fully describing the items but also
getting valuation and insurance certifcates (which I posted in the
eBay ad) verifying the authenticity and quality of the items.

:) jem-ga