Wearing jewelry has always been one of the best ways to show that you enjoy the finer things in life and living comfortably. However, items such as necklaces, rings and other types of accessories are sometimes pretty expensive to purchase, and if you end up not liking them anymore after some time, it’s a shame to let them go to waste.
This happens quite often because our taste for aesthetics changes over the years, so something that looked stunning to you in your teenage years may be the complete opposite now that you’re older. This doesn’t mean that you have to throw it away though, because that would be a huge waste of money and resources, and there are a lot of smarter things to do instead.
In this article, we are going to give you a few ideas for things that you can do with some of your old and unwanted jewelry, so if you are currently dealing with a situation like this, or you are just curious enough to hear what we have to say, feel free to continue reading until the end. Let’s take a look.
1. Consider gifting it to a friend
Instead of throwing away an item that you no longer want to wear, you can consider gifting it to someone close to you. It can be a birthday gift or a present for any other occasion, such as a wedding or an anniversary.
These types of gifts are usually much appreciated and they are kept for a long time. They sometimes even become the legacy of a certain family, and they are passed from one knee to another, so gifting is probably the best way to “get rid” of something that you don’t want to wear anymore. However, there comes another scenario, where a person needs money at the moment, so gifting is not the best option compared to the following one on our list, which is selling.
2. Selling it to the right place
Selling an old and unwanted item is the best way to get some of the cash that you’ve spent on it back, but since jewelry is quite expensive, it’s very important to find the right place if you finally made up your mind to sell.
Now, when it comes to determining the price for your item, it will greatly vary depending on the condition, if it’s damaged externally, the material and a bunch of other extra factors. This means that you shouldn’t be disappointed if the price is a lot lower than what you paid for the initial purchase, but it also means that you should not allow someone to “lowball” you with a bad offer.
So, how exactly do you find the right person to sell to? Well, you can visit your local jewelry scrapper, and ask them to recommend a price. Then, you can visit a bunch of other ones and try to compare the prices. This greatly reduces the chances of you getting scammed, because you’ll quickly realize what the current standard for your item is, due to the insight of the other scrappers. If you still struggle to find someone trustworthy after all this, you can click here.
3. Gifting to charity
If you’re recently feeling like you are more fortunate than others, it’s always a great idea to gift some of your unused jewelry to charity. Maybe all of your friends and relatives already have what they need in life, so why not do a very humane deed and gift some of it to those in need.
A lot of charity organizations usually strive for donations such as clothes and food, but that doesn’t mean that they won’t accept some jewels as well. Anything that can be sold and turned into money that can help those in need is a welcomed gift. Consider doing this if you are thinking about scrapping the things you are not wearing. At least you will make someone’s life better and restore some hope in humanity. As a good start, you can check Me to We foundation here.
4. Open up an online shop
Maybe you don’t feel like selling to your local jewelers, so instead, you want to create your online shop and set your custom prices. Or even better, if you happen to be someone who creates these types of items, creating an online store is probably the best way to make some profit out of it.
A lot of jewelry creators end up with many extras, things that they won’t be wearing anymore due to the change of taste or simply because they created an improved version. This means that if you are one of these people, instead of throwing away your time and effort, you can make it count and get some extra cash out of it. The internet is an amazing thing and it opens up a lot of possibilities these days, even though we cannot see most of them.
5. Consider completely scrapping them
You are probably wondering why we are listing something for the second time, but the truth is, we’re not. Scrapping and selling are two completely different things, and here’s why. When you are selling a piece of jewelry to a person, you are selling it for the looks, the design and a lot of other reasons, mostly aesthetic. You are selling an item as a whole, so the price will be impacted by how it looks if it is damaged, etc.
Scrapping, on the other hand, is an entirely different scenario. When you are scrapping an item, you are doing it purely for the materials. So, this means that even if your item is slightly scratched or damaged, it won’t matter, because they are going to smelt it and use the silver or the gold for example to create something new. Depending on the quality of your item, sometimes it is a lot smarter to scrap it, and other times it’s better to sell it as a whole item, although most jewelry shops will have both options available for you upon visiting.
