Jewelry Rip-Off. Got any advice?

[Not Heidi]

How do I get my money back? I paid 60% more than a pair of earrings was worth, and now I'm trying to figure out how to get my money back. I've drafted a demand for refund letter, but I don't know if that'll do the trick.

I bought a pair of 14k gold and sapphire earrings almost six years ago. Fortunes have reversed and now not only could I not buy jewelry anymore, I've had to sell a few pieces. A local jeweler informed me a couple of days ago that these earrings are worth about 40% of what I paid for them.

I'd welcome your advice, even if it's only telling me when I have to stop being reasonable and take the guy to court.

Thanks.

PS re court: there's a problem. The jeweler is in Delaware. I'm now in California. ??

[PoliticAverse]

1. What's the basis of your claim? Is it that the jewelry was falsely advertised?

Or that you paid too much?

Also when your jeweler says "worth 40%" is that what your jeweler would pay for them or is your jeweler saying that you should have paid 40% of what you actually did pay for them?

[Not Heidi]

12. My guy said

almost verbatim:

Put them on eBay. If you are offered $600, take it and don't ask questions.

To answer your question, I don't know exactly what he meant. I'm guessing that he meant he wouldn't have paid more than $600.

[csziggy]

30. Remember when you are selling to a retailer, they have to get a profit when they sell

Many retailer plan on getting twice what they pay for something. So if the item is worth $1200, they can't pay more than $600. Plus, in the intervening years, jewelry may have dropped in value, or the specific jewels in the items may have dropped in value.

I generally consider that jewelry and art are not investments. I buy what I like and don't plan on them increasing or even holding value over the long run.

[PortTack]

2. Unfortunately, jewelers will not pay much. If you have paper work on them, I'd sell them on eBay

You’ll get a much better price

[Not Heidi]

14. Question.

What would "paper work on them" be? Does this qualifiy? This is on the receipt:

Yellow 14 Karat Small Hoop Harryk Color Stone Earrings With 0.02Tw Round Diamonds* And 1.34Tw Princess Sapphires

* My guy pointed out that there are no diamonds at all. That's one reason I'm pissed - equally at the jeweler and at myself.

[PortTack]

29. I believe so. Also any markings in the metal is very helpful

[lapfog_1]

3. get a second appraisal

if the jeweler who told you that was also buying other jewelry from you...

as for getting your money back, that will be a very long shot after so long of a time.

[seta1950]

4. Not much you can do

After all this time , the earrings have lost some of their value, as it is. I’ve worked in the jewelry business for over 30 years , all aspects of it and unfortunately I can tell you, a lot of people have been had.

[Not Heidi]

15. Does the fact that they've never been worn mean anything?

Of course, I don't know how I could prove that, since I could've cleaned them very well. But it's true.

[msongs]

5. jewery prices go up and down all the time unless they cheated unlawfully good luck nt

[Shrike47]

6. Don't get your hopes up. Jewelry, like a car, loses value the minute you walk out of the store.

If I were still practicing law, I wouldn’t take your case, unless the seller gave you some sort of guarantee or misrepresented the earrings. Remember the jeweler expected to make a profit when he sold you the earrings, and presumably did.

[Not Heidi]

16. More than $1,000. Helluva profit.

Thanks.

[left-of-center2012]

7. A merchant/seller can charge what they want

Unless fraud was involved, selling something at a price 60% above it's value is not a crime.
And if you're charging fraud, you'll need real proof that something illegal was done.

Also you said it was "almost six years ago".
If it was a crime, which you'd have to prove and not just allege, some crimes have a 'statute of limitations'
which means time may have run out to do anything about it.

Of course you can always sue, which costs money to do.

[Not Heidi]

17. Thanks.

Yeah. The first two words in my mind when my jeweler guy broke the news were "caveat emptor."

[pnwest]

8. Jewelry's value is whatever someone is willing to pay for it. Six years ago

the gold and the sapphires may have been valued higher than it is now. But, even if not, you can't go back and demand a refund for ANY items for which you overpaid - especially not when so much time has passed. Sure, you can sometimes get a refund on things that go on sale within a certain amount of time, but that's related to store policy - they're just doin you a solid. This is a case of buyer beware - ALL jewelry is ridiculously marked up. When you bought the ring, you not only paid for the gold and the gems, but also the designer's work and the store's name. There's no way to put "worth" on those things, that's why the jeweler said it's only "worth" that 40% he quoted. He's giving the value of the gold and the gems. Now, you could list those earrings on Ebay at the full price that you paid, and if someone's willing to pay that price, then that's it's "worth" at that moment.

I learned this the hard way when I was in a bad money fix and went to pawn my wedding ring. Paid $1500 for it, was offered $130 at the pawn shop. Purely the value of the gold and the diamond.

[left-of-center2012]

9. So, the seller made a 60% profit

How is that a crime?

[LisaL]

10. When you buy things, you usually can't sell them later for what you paid for them.

What exactly do you think the "fraud" was?

[a kennedy]

11. Hey, welcome to DU, and jewels like gold, although not as volatile, do vary with time.......

when my husband and I got married in 1980, gold was 800.00 an ounce……..now gold is $1700.00 an ounce….. and not real sure how gems are doing.

[Shellback Squid]

13. no recourse, precious metals and jewels fluctuate on price

[Not Heidi]

18. Thanks to everyone.

I appreciate the big fat dose of common sense, which I clearly lack.

Let's see what happens on eBay.

[left-of-center2012]

19. "Let's see what happens on eBay"

And, as the seller, you can ask whatever price you want.

[Not Heidi]

21. Holy crap - you're right! Then --

I'll be careful to set the price at the full $1,650.



I could no more do that than change my eye color to orange.

[left-of-center2012]

23. Holy crap

Nobody cares.
Ask any price you want.

[marble falls]

20. If you're trying to sell them to the jewler, 40% is about right. He has to mark them up and ...

... resell them. He might also buy them back, but after so long I can't imagine him offering more than 80%.

And then: he's on on the other coast. I'd sure try nice before demanding.

[Not Heidi]

22. Nice goes a long way, that's true. n/t

[marble falls]

24. What you have going for you is that jewelry and gold will never be worth nothing. I think the ...

right letter and the right phone call, with no hint of any sort of promise of legal action, you stand a good chance of getting a major portion of what you spent back.

Good lick and I hope your situation improves either way.

Bless.

[blueinredohio]

25. A couple years ago a friend of mine got a divorce.

Had wedding rings to sell. They were beautiful with diamonds in both engagement and wedding rings. Both jewelry shop and pawn shop told her they could only give her what the gold was worth quick was probably around 40% of what she paid. Are diamonds not worth anything?

[left-of-center2012]

26. I sold a gold and diamond men's ring once

They paid me for only what the gold was worth.
I've often wondered if they sold the diamond separately and made a fortune.

But I needed some fast cash and took what they offered.

[cinematicdiversions]

27. Diamonds are not that valuable on the resell market. NT

[Vinca]

28. If you were trying to sell them to the jeweler who gave you the value, he's trying to get a good

deal for himself. If not, you probably have to chock it up to "mistakes made" and move on UNLESS the items are not 14k as they were sold or if the sapphires aren't sapphires. Then, you might still be out of luck for small claims court because of the statute of limitations. Unless you paid a fortune for them, I'd sell them for the best price you can get and move on.

[TexasBushwhacker]

31. That's just retail markup

You weren't ripped off. It's just capitalism.

[TreasonousBastard]

32. I've never been in the jewelry biz, but family has been in the high end of it...

High enough to have worked on that huge rock of Elizabeth Taylor's.

Unless a piece is of historic value, no matter what work went into it it's only worth the weight of the metal and stones. The assumption is that it would just be melted down and new stuff made.

The 0.02Tw means the total weight of the diamonds is .02 carat, or really, really small and not worth much. Do some goggling and find cheap rings with a dozen diamonds that small for 200 bucks or so.

Get whatever you can for them and just walk away. You may think you were cheated, and you likely were, but caveat emptor is the first rule of retail jewelry.

[haele]

33. If the jewelry or jeweler is unique or has a collectable value -

Look at similar prices in eBay and price accordingly.
If it's just somewhat common mall store fine jewelry, price at insurance value (about 60% of what you paid), and price accordingly.

In 1989, I had to sell my Great-grandmother's six fine jewelry cocktail rings and a parure sets (necklace, earrings, and bracelet) at a consignment auction to help clear her estate: one smaller sapphires and diamonds ring was from a 1940's Hollywood designer and fetched more than the aquamarine and diamond parure set that looked as if it would be worth ten times the ring.

When I was long term between jobs, I also went through my childhood jewelry box of JC Penneys costume jewelry from grandparents and sold choice crystal, mabe pearl, and plated sterling pieces in almost pristine condition to collectors for a couple hundred dollars. Apparently some of those peices were from Grandma from her no-good cheating husband, so she gave them to me thinking I'd like a "princess" gift that she would never wear.

Jewelry has always been an odd business; if you want to get near your money back, you have to sell it yourself.

Haele