I have old jewelry I'm working to sell. Here are the tips I've read.

* start with friends and family. You never know who might want something, if only as a present for someone else.

* then go to Craigslist, but of course meet in a public place for safety. Get cash.

* third, ebay and etsy. More scammers that way but a wider audience.

* fourth, if all else fails, a pawn shop / jewelry shop. But they'll give you the worst prices.

So I'm on the family level of things right now with my jewelry. I also finally found a jewelry store near me which will give me rough estimates of the worth of some of these pieces without the $85 per item charge they initially wanted.

I did find time to get out to the jewelry store, after two months of putting it off. They were great. For free they spent an hour with me and gave me estimates of various pieces, and what they would sell for.

Hurrah!

Now I need a background to take the photos against. Bob is going to bring me home a satin pillowcase at some point, so I can use that.

Bob couldn't find a satin pillowcase just on its own to buy, and I didn't want to buy an entire sheet set just for one pillowcase . So he got a white workout shirt with that satiny finish and it was perfect.

I've been taking photos of my various items and listing them on CraigsList, ebay, and etsy. So far I've sold one necklace on etsy. I've had requests for items on Craigslist but every person wants to haggle on price. So I'm holding firm for now.

I'm happy that one necklace sold, and hopefully the other items will start to sell soon!

I have a ton of nice costume jewelry, a bunch of vintage jewwelry, and a small handful of fine jewelry to sell.

I am thinking to do the silver and gold for scrap, but get nervous bc the prices keep fluctuating and I can only do this once. I don't want to mess it up.

Jilly -

From everything I read, you lose a lot of money if you bring something in for scrap. So I would avoid that route if you can at all do something else.

Etsy is *super* easy, super cheap, and you just list it and forget it. Eventually someone buys it and the money is deposited in your account. So it's quite stress free. That's how I sold my moonstone necklace.

Think about listing the vintage stuff on Etsy to start with. Do just one or two so it's low stress and you can see how it works.

The vintage stuff I actually want to hold on to until i have experience. The gold and silver is easy enough, because those have established value. The costume jewelry is easy, because they have no hidden value - they are just pretty things. But the vintage stuff is hard, and requires a lot of research. I don't feel up to that right now, and if i let something go without researching it, i've blown my wad, so to speak.

Also, listing things for sale will be tough for me for awhile, since I am not sure when I am moving to Yuma or what...and then there is a big san diego and florida trip coming up. I'm never really stable. I want to be. At least I know that whatever else happens, I can't stay here.

Maybe there is a way to consign some things? Let someone else do the pricing and selling.

Jilly -

Your plan sounds good. Start with the easier things and take it from there. Don't worry about the rest.

Everything is relative - right now you are actually quite stable! You've been in one place for a while. You have friends there. You know your way around there. You can go on fun trips and then return "home". Sure it's not perfect - but treasure what you have reached!

heh, stable for me. I actually have until July to remain here. In July the gnats return; I have a serious reaction to them and can no longer live here.

Since I am going to Yuma, then san diego, and then Florida this month/Feb, this next couple of weeks is going to be a resting period.

I might move Serenity down to Yuma on my trip out, although I could also wait until I come back from FL in late feb.

Yes, though, it is a relief to realize that I don't have an actual deadline until July.

Jilly -

July is a LONG way away. Relax and enjoy your vacations. You have plenty of time to brainstorm about what you want to do in July.

Still just the one necklace sold. Looking at listing other items to widen the potential pool of things. Also, sliding prices down a bit. I started them high so I didn't miss out on money. One step at a time.