Searching for the “best place to sell jewelry near me?”

Whether you are selling diamonds, gold, an engagement ring or other fine jewelry, or vintage or costume jewelry, you may choose to sell locally for immediate cash, and hopefully the highest price.

You may have normal fears of getting ripped off, or otherwise finding a legitimate buyer who will give you a fair price.

In this post I focus on sell how to sell fine jewelry, including gold and diamonds.

However, if you have unwanted costume or fashion jewelry, these posts are for you:

• How consignment works and 5 tips for selling on consignment
• Donate to a thrift store

• How to find reputable jewelry buyers “near me”
• 3 places where you could “sell jewelry near me”
• Where you could sell online (including CashforGoldUSA, Poshmark and Facebook Marketplace)
• What you should do before you sell
• How to decide whether to sell your jewelry (vs. keeping it)

For immediate cash for fine jewelry with gold, silver and diamonds, find a reputable pawnshop, jeweler or gold and diamond buyer.

While you might not have considered an online jewelry buyer, today there are several reputable companies that allow you to sell your fine gold, silver and diamond jewelry without leaving home, and get paid within 24 hours.

We detail the leading businesses below, and our top recommendation is CashforGoldUSA and their sister site Diamonds USA, with their A+ BBB rating, 24 hour payment and that they accept all gold, silver and diamonds.

How to find reputable jewelry buyers “near me”

The logical place to start is with a Google search for “best place to sell jewelry near me,” if you want to start locally to sell your jewelry. We've made your search easy by including an embedded Google search tool below.

Instead of searching for jewelry buyers near me, jewelry sellers near me, jewelry purchasers near me … enter your ZIP code, and Google will do the rest. If you need cash now, you can use Google to find businesses that are open now:

Zip Code:

The benefitws of going to a nearby jewelry buyer are you can get cash immediately, support a local business, and work face-to-face with someone you trust.

The cons of selling locally is that you have to physically go into the store, which can be time-consuming and embarrassing.

To find a reputable local jewelry buyer in your community take these steps:

• Ask around for a reputable gold, diamond buyer or jeweler in your community
• Search the company's Yelp, Better Business Bureau and Google reviews
• Visit, and get a quote
• Visit multiple local businesses
• You can also mail in your jewelry to an online buyer, get a quote and see if they can beat local offers. Companies like CashforGold and Worthy will return your time for free, 100% insured, if you choose not to sell with them.

Here are a few places you could start with:

3 places where you could “sell jewelry near me”

1. Search for “pawnshop near me”

Pawn shops are prevalent in most communities, and while pawn brokers have a shady reputation overall, there are some quality businesses that will give you a fair price for your fine jewelry. However, that fair price is typically around 50% of the retail price of your diamond, and 50 to 70% of spot price, or melt price, of any gold.

2. Search for “jewelry buyer near me”

Jewelry stores typically buy fine jewelry, though because the competition in local markets is less competitive, and the overhead of maintaining a retail location and staff more expensive than a legitmate online buyer, selling your jewelry near you typically nets a lower payout, though cash is immediate, which may be important to you.

A jeweler near you will likely offer a free jewelry appraisal that can help you understand the quality and value of your item — whether or not you choose to sell to them.

3. Search for “jewelry stores near me” that buy jewelry

Jewelry stores typically pay a maximum of 70% of melt price, while pawn shops pay even less. In your online search for a place to sell jewelry locally, you will likely come accross adds and posts for national online jewelry buyers.

CashforGoldUSA reports paying an average of 80+% of gold melt price for jewelry, inclusive of all insurance and shipping — including free returns. Learn more about CashforGoldUSA in our review.

Where you could sell online

1. Search for “sell jewelry online” to find an online jewelry buyer

Selling jewelry online might make you nervous your piece will be lost, stolen, or you will get ripped off. 

However, online jewelry buying is a very competitive space, and therefore it encourages buyers to maintain good reputations online with users and reviews, as well as with their trade organizations, the Better Business Bureau, Trustpilot and Reddit.

We outline top online fine jewelry buyers and jewelry auctions, which include:

• Abe Mor
• Circa
• Sotheby's
• Worthy
• myGemma (formerly WP Diamonds)

These are all reputable jewelry buyers and marketpalces, but most take a couple of weeks to compete the process, and have minimum values of $1,000 or more.

For those and other reasons, our No. 1 recommendation for selling fine jewelry is CashforGoldUSA with its A+ BBB rating, 24-hour payment and more than 20 years in the business. They buy 100% of all real gold, silver and diamonds.

The experience works like this:

1. Go to CashforGoldUSA and provide your address.
2. You receive a free FedEx or USPS mailer, with a tracking number. 
3. Receive an offer for your jewelry by phone or email. Accept or reject it.
4. Get paid within 24 hours by direct deposit, paypal, Virtual Visa credit card, print-at-home check, check mailed overnight FedEx, check sent via USPS First Class mail
5. 10% bonus if you send in your jewelry within 7 days.
6. If you choose not to sell, return your item via insured, trackable FedEX for free.

While there are many online jewelry buyers, our top recommendation is CashforGoldUSA because of its A+ BBB rating and 24-hour payment.

Should you sell jewelry on The RealReal?

The RealReal is an online marketplace for luxury resale items, including fine jewelry. The site prices your consigned jewelry based on current market trends, and you get paid a commission up to 70% depending on the list price of your items.

The RealReal is accredited by the Better Business Bureau with an A+ rating, but it has only 1.06 out of 5 stars, with numerous customers complaining about long wait times to process consigned items, items not being returned in the same condition they were sent, unapproved markdowns, and difficulty resolving issues with customer service. Trustpilot reviews are more positive, with the site boasting 4 out of 5 stars based on 35K+ reviews.

There is no guarantee that your item will sell on The RealReal, and successful jewelry sales there are by professional jewelers or others who have the ability to professionally photograph, display and market jewelry on the site. To consign with The RealReal, you’ll first have to schedule an appointment to meet with a representative and be accepted. 

The process of selling on eBay is similar: a lot of work to photograph, post, manage and ship items, while competing with professional jewelry sellers.

Is it worth selling jewelry on Facebook marketplace?

The good thing about selling jewelry on Facebook marketplace is that you get to set your own price and don’t have to pay a commission. However, there are some cons/potential risks to be aware of: 

• You may be selling your jewelry without understanding its actual value (unless you get a professional appraisal and lab report first), so you might be leaving money on the table listing below the item’s actual value — or over-pricing it, in which case it is unlikely to sell. 
• You likely won’t reach as many quality buyers, which means you won’t get the highest possible price for your items. When you work with a professional gold or diamond buyer, they know how to photograph, market, price and sell fine jewelry to get the highest return.
• Listings on Facebook marketplace are not anonymous, and potential buyers can see any public information showing on your profile. If you are posting valuable jewelry, you might become a potential target for thieves. Before you list anything, make sure no identifying information is accessible on your profile. However, this can set off red flags to any potential buyer.   
• You’ll be handling transactions on your own, which means you need to be careful if you meet up with buyers. Pick a safe public place to deliver your items, and make sure no one tries to follow you home. If you plan to mail items to a buyer, consider investing in a PO Box to list as your return address.

Is it safe to sell items under a “Craigslist jewelry for sale by owner” listing?

Jewelry sales are best left to professional buyers like CashforGoldUSA who will know how to prepare, photograph, and market your jewelry. You are unlikely to find as many (or any) high-quality buyers on Craigslist.

The safety risks of selling on Craigslist are even higher than on Facebook marketplace because you can’t see anything about the person who wants to buy your items.  

23 sites like Craigslist to buy or sell stuff in 2023

Is it worth selling jewelry through a consignment shop?

Selling on consignment can be worthwhile for those with professional experience and multiple pieces of branded or otherwise very valuable jewelry. Most gold, diamond and gemstone jewelry will be sold for scrap value.

Because brick-and-mortar consignment shops have more overhead costs, you likely won’t make as much as you would selling to an online to a site like CashforGoldUSA.

Can you resell jewelry back to jewelry stores?

You may want to return your engagement ring or other jewelry back to the store where you bought it — or participate in a resell program from Tiffany, Cartier, Kay Jewelers, and Zales.

While jewelers will not typically buy back jewelry they sold you after a 30-day window, some retailers do have trade-up programs that allow you to cash in the value of your current diamond and apply that to a more expensive piece of jewelry, or larger center diamond.

What about diamond upgrades and trade-ins?

Local jewelers, as well as some national jewelry stores, offer diamond upgrade and trade-in services, in which they will evaluate your jewelry, offer you a sum that you can then apply to another, more expensive piece of jewelry:

• Kay Jewelers diamond upgrade and trade-in services
• Jared diamond upgrade and trade-in services
• Tiffany diamond upgrade policy
• Nordstrom diamond upgrade policy

This list is, in general, legitimate jewelry retailers. But if you are looking to sell a ring, watch or other jewelry for the most cash, upgrade and trade-in services are not typically the best route. Why?

• A local jewelry store — including a national chain — will not provide a certified lab report on your jewelry, so unless you obtain one on your own, you have to take the jeweler’s valuation of your current diamond at face value. In other words, Kay Jewelers, Jared, Nordstrom or Zales will extend an estimated resale value of what your diamond is worth — but you have no way of knowing what you could get for it on the open market.
• If you really want cash for your unused or unwanted jewelry, don’t let a sales person talk you into getting a BIGGER, MORE EXPENSIVE piece of jewelry, when what you really want is cash. Keep in mind that the retail (and resale) value of diamonds has declined more than 25% since the start of 2023.

What you should do before you sell

Often, the first place someone goes when they are thinking about selling unwanted jewelry is their local jeweler.

This is a solid first step, but it should not be your last.

It is important to educate yourself about the kind of jewelry you have.

It is also important to educate yourself about how to sell jewelry:

1. Assess whether your fine jewelry is branded, such as Tiffany, Cartier, Harry Winston and Bulgari, or whether it will likely be disassembled and sold for scrap. c
2. Consider a jewelry appraisal
3. Gold and silver: Start with this complete guide to symbols stamped on jewelry to understand the karat of gold or silver. You can learn more about the value of gold in this post, and the value of silver in this post.
4. Diamonds: Understand the 4Cs of a diamond, and consider a diamond appraisal and possibly also a diamond certification.
5. Get several quotes from local jewelers and online jewelry and diamond buyers. 
6. Understand that you will likely get 30% or less than what you paid for your jewelry. So if you bought your piece for $1,000, you’re looking at a selling price of $300. The price of diamonds has declined in recent years, and any gold is contingent on today’s price of gold. 

Be sure to shop around, and feel free to negotiate with any offer — including with online buyers. Why?

1. Fair price. Even if your jeweler is 100% honest and reputable (as many are!), he or she offers just one offer, and one opinion about what your piece of jewelry is worth. Setting a price for any piece of jewelry is highly subject to opinion and mistakes. The grade of a gemstone or diamond, the market value of various styles is subject to interpretation. Look for jewelry buyers that post highest-offer guarnatees.
2. Fraud is rampant. For many reasons, the jewelry industry has historically been rife with fraud and dishonesty. If you are relying on a quote from just one local jeweler, you are more likely to get ripped off. Thankfully, organizations like the Better Business Bureau, as well as online review sites and blogs mean that the entire world can hold accountable businesses with hundreds or even thousands of reviews and reports — especially online businesses, including gold, diamond and jewelry buyers.

White vs yellow gold — what is the difference?

Why sell your jewelry?

Many relationships involve precious jewelry — investments that represented care, love, tradition.

When the relationship ends, those engagement rings, watches, necklaces, earrings, gold chains, and bracelets can linger in velvet-lined jewelry boxes for years — or even the remainder of the new owner’s life!

Here’s the thing: Even if that jewelry is worth tens of thousands of dollars, it is still clutter to you.

It all holds energy, good or bad.

Cleanse out the bad energy, welcome the good.

All that negative energy can translate into a positive experience, money to pay bills, or investments in the future.

Even if you are unsure whether the value of the gold or diamonds may go up soon, money in your pocket today is 100% guaranteed, vs the unknown of future prices. Plus, you can pay off debt which saves money in interest, or put money into a 401k or 529, which saves money on taxes — guaranteed.

Reasons to sell your jewelry include:

1. Money in a bank account is always better than jewelry sitting in a box somewhere.
2. If the jewelry has sentimental value — an heirloom, estate or antique jewelry, a gift, engagement gift, etc. — you can honor the person and story behind the ring, bracelet or earrings by spending the proceeds on something positive that does enhance your life. This might include investing in your future, buying a home, a vacation, education for your kids — or another piece of jewelry that you DO wear and that brings you joy!
3. If you don’t wear the item, you likely feel bad about it in some way: Either negative feelings about where or whom it came from (complicated relationship with the giver, divorce, guilt for buying yourself something you don’t use). Get rid of the jewelry, and get rid of the negativity!
4. Say no to clutter!!
5. No, your kids don’t want it. Your daughter does not want an engagement ring from a relationship that ended in divorce. And your future daughter-in-law sure as shit does not want that! Let it go!

A list of reasons you SHOULD NOT sell your jewelry — online, or anywhere else:

1. You wear it regularly and feel good about wearing it.

That’s it. That is the only reason you should NOT sell your ring. 

Not your story? SELL YOUR JEWELRY!

The bottom line is that I sold an engagement ring that I didn’t use, no longer wanted, and kept me holding on to a relationship that I was no longer in.

Plus, I got some cash that I needed at the time.

I don’t think it was insignificant that same month I started my first significant relationship in two years.

I also think that selling those diamond and gold rings has something to do with the fact that my ex and I have been getting along better than since before our split.

In ways I don’t fully understand, I was freed.

I also wrote about how to sell valuable necklaces, watches, and bracelets.

Heirloom, inherited, estate and antique jewelry are often confusing and emotional assets that can earn the owner money to honor their loved one in a meaningful way. Learn more about appraising and selling your estate and antique jewelry.

If you specifically want to research selling diamond jewelry or loose diamonds or gemstones, there are some quality resources online and in-person.