by Chanell Gautreaux

Created on: May 26, 2010

Whether or not it is better to consign jewelry in a boutique or place it for sale yourself on eBay will depend on a few factors including the type of jewelry, its value, its volume and whether or not it is of your own creation.

There are advantages and disadvantages to placing your jewelry on consignment.  For instance, you may not have control over the pricing, you will have to share a significant portion of the sale proceeds with the proprietor of the consignment shop and your market will most likely be limited to local shoppers who happen in off the street.

One advantage though of selling jewelry locally on consignment is that you can “set it and forget it.”  That is, you set up the agreement with the retailer and then go back to your life until the store notifies you that your piece has sold.  You don’t have to worry about the marketing or the sales pitch or any of the overhead.

On the other hand, eBay is a twenty-four hour, seven day a week marketplace with customers from all over the world who might potentially see and purchase your jewelry.  Depending on how you set up your auction (or buy now) terms, the cost of selling on eBay is minimal and if a buyer wants your item badly enough they just might be willing to bid higher in order to get it, driving up the price and your profit margin.

Selling on ebay is one of those “simple but not that easy” ventures.  You need a digital camera in order to take pictures of the jewelry you’re selling and you will want to be keyword savvy in order to create just the right ads to attract potential buyers.  There is also the matter of promoting the fact that you are selling online and the costs and tasks of shipping items.  Placing jewelry for sale on ebay can be a very time consuming endeavor and final auction bids may not meet your expectations.

Used, antique, heirloom, trendy and costume jewelry all have different values and different markets.  Consider your own buying habits and ask yourself if the jewelry in question is something you would be likely to purchase via mail order or if it is something you would want to be able see in person before making a decision.  Even though eBay has been around for quite some time there are many people who are skeptical of buying online.

Small items that you might sell at a garage sale would likely do well on ebay whereas more expensive jewelry might sell better on consignment.  Ultimately, if your aim is to make the most money possible from your sale you will want to cut out the middleman and skip consignment altogether.

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