BUY JEWELRY NOT JUNK!

I buy and sell gold jewelry and lately I have become very concerned and downright depressed over the scams I've run across on ebay. Therefore, I wanted to take the time to give a little advice to others out there who may not have the experience that I do. I buy on ebay and I have friends and co-workers that also buy on ebay. I can honestly say that every other item they buy is pure junk. Fake gold, fake stones, scratched and broken stones and criminal exaggerations of stone measurements.

I know a lot about jewelry because I had been addicted to all the shopping channels on television and spent thousands and thousands of dollars purchasing jewelry pieces not to mention that my father started all of us (me and my three sisters) off with a love for jewelry because he was in the business and every special ocassion we received a piece of gemstone jewelry. This started when we were very young so you can imagine how much we had. Anyway, after sitting in front of show hosts talking about jewelry for hours on end, day after day, year after year, I have learned a lot and I continually research and study information about jewelry and worry our jeweler to death because I find it so beautiful and fascinating. I've been selling on ebay since July of 2003, am a powerseller, and love it. It's time consuming and at times a headache but I wouldn't stop doing it for anything in the world. Each time I put up a listing I feel like I've created a piece of art and it satisfies that need in me to create. My husband and I do not compromise when it comes to being completely honest and forthright about the jewelry pieces we sell. We inspect and test everything before it is offered to our customers. Unfortunately, not everyone lives by these principles.  

Some sellers advertise their items as 14k (and sure enough they may be stamped) or real gold but in fact they're plated. I've even seen the tools, ruuning in auction, that you can buy to stamp your jewelry 14k. I've also purchased items that came with jewelry tags stating it was 14k and once tested turned out to be fake. If a seller doesn't list the measurements ask for them because most photos are blown up much larger than the item really is. This is not misleading because you, the buyer, need to be able to see the details but sellers have an obligation to tell you exactly what it measures. My advice is to stay with the sellers you know. Check out sellers feedback ratings (even though sometimes this is misleading) and ask questions. Ask if they know where the item came from, ask if they're willing to stand behind their item, ask if they've had a jeweler actually test to see if the marked item is real because we do stand behind our items and each and every one of them is tested by our jeweler. Ask if the gemstone has been tested because I have purchased so many that were actually glass and the sellers response (most of the time) was "Well I bought if from another ebay seller and they said it was real." Read the descriptions carefully, if the seller states that they aren't sure or that they can't read the marks - be WARY. If a seller can't read the marks then the seller hasn't had the item checked out and that means that a seller doesn't have a loupe and let me tell you a ring with stones can look fine but if you look at it under a loupe you may notice deep scratches, nicks or even stones that are broken or turned in the setting. Please note that when a seller states that your jeweler can remove the scratches - NO they won't. It would mean taking the stone out of the setting, probaby cutting the size of the stone down and then putting it throught a lengthy and very very process of tumbling and polishing. I've been to so many jewelers and each and every one of them has told me no that they do not and would not or even can't take the scratches out of a gemstone. If you're buying gemstones, ask if there is any damage (nicks or scratches) to the stone. Most photos will not show the damage and a seller may think since they didn't state in their auction that the stone was flawless then you as the buyer do not have a case if filed. Keep in mind that you can't file with ebay if the item is under $25 and you can only file three (I think that's the number) cases with paypal in a 6 month period. They know it and count on it. Remember also that people do LIE. It's a fact. It has happened to me many many times. Countless times I and many friends of mine have bought items that were advertised as new and they were so far from new it was criminal. Most of the time these people have nothing to lose because they know that you won't do anything about it and these days hardly anyone cares about their feedback rating. First of all, if they have a high feedback rating a negative or even many negatives will not affect their rating. Also, if a seller gets a negative or their feedback rating drops they know they can just open another account because you can open as many as you want. Don't get me wrong, sellers get negatives and most of the time it happens to sellers that are honest and hard working. You can't please everyone and face it there are those out there that no matter what you do you can't please them. Also sellers work listing items in their spare time and mistakes do happen but your really good sellers will make good on mistakes and will be concerned & helpful. Sad to say that you do have sellers that get irate when you point out a problem, even if it is glaringly their mistake and they will turn the tables on you and accuse you of all kinds of unscrupulous misdeeds. These sellers are in the minority but they are out there. A seller that gets multiple negatives in a short period of time is a red flag as far as I'm concerned. All I'm saying is that please research the item you're interested in and be smart - if it looks too good to be true it probably is. Also note that if you buy a item that is listed as real gold in the title or the description but the item turns out to be fake that seller should have listed that item in the correct category such as gold plated or gold filled or costume. Please look to see what category these items are listed in before you buy. If the seller used a gold category but the item is fake you have a CASE!!!  Ebay can be a wonderful experience and I absolutely love buying and selling here but you have to be very very careful and use your common sense.

As for buying from other countries, I can only say from experience that I have never had a problem buying from Great Britian sellers or Canadian sellers. I have had horrible experiences buying items from other countries.

JEWELRY STAMP GUIDE FOR EUROPEAN MARKINGS:

8K = 333

9K = 375

10K = 417

14K = 585  (15k was also a standard karat used)  

18K = 750

20K = 833

22K = 917

24K = 1000

STERLING  can be marked 925 or 835 for Bristish Sterling and coins can be marked 900 or 90.

PLATINUM can be marked 850 Plat - 850 Pt. - 950 Plat - 950 Pt. - .900 - .950

Please keep in mind that it was not a Federal Law in the US to require gold stamping until the early 1900's. Many antique items have no marks or unreadable marks.

NOTE:  If you have a piece that is marked P for example 14kp this does not mean the piece is gold plated. "P" means plumb. Pure gold is not practical for most jewelry applications because it is too soft so other metals are added to make it harder. Items that are marked "P" for plumb means that it has more gold in it and thus more valuable so 14kp is more valuable than 14k. Most gold plated items are marked: GE or HGE,GP, EP. Vermiel is gold plated but GF or G.F. refers to gold filled. If you don't want fake gold stay away from words in descriptions such as: bonded, coated, plated, mils, micron, technigold, overlay, layer, rgp or rg (which stands for rolled gold), or alloy.

PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL OF THE AFOREMENTIONED IS STATED IN MY HUMBLE OPINION AND I ENCOURAGE YOU TO DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH ONLINE.