Jewelry is everyone’s best friend. You may get properly groomed with a gold or silver ring, a necklace, a bracelet, or even a pair of earrings, and the outcome would always be the same, you’d always look elegant and dashing all throughout. In such case, you are thinking of trying to get a bargain over other shops and are analyzing your options. A majority would go for the obvious choice; but not all obvious choices are correct. Here are a few pointers regarding buying jewelry from pawnshops vs. buying them from jewelers:
• Pawnshops are more analytic when it comes to pricing their items. Believe it or not, they can even price their gold pieces according to the current price of gold in the market. Think of it as their way of monitoring the market, in order to ensure that you, as the buyer, and them as the seller are both going to get the best deal. This means that their prices are even more realistic than what you can find on a jewelry retailer nowadays.
• Aside from monitoring, they can also adjust their price to reflect the said rate of jewelry. While jewelers price their items according to its make, design, and even designer name, pawnbrokers price theirs according to weight and karat. Think of it this way, it’s not all about aesthetics, it’s about the real value of the item. This means that you would always get a fair price, or even lower if the item in question is affordable according to the market markdown.
• This brings us to one of the significant pointer of pawnshops; they would usually disregard designer name and origin, in order to evaluate the jewelry fair and square, its contents, its weight, its make, the intricacies of its design, etc. Getting rid of the designer name makes it more practical to analyze the item, since you wouldn’t want to raise its price just because the designer or brand name is famous. The reputation of the designer would definitely come last; it’s all about the actual quality of the jewelry.
Buying from jewelers:
• Jewelers or retail jewelry shops in particular do little to no effort when it comes to changing the price of the item. It’s all about the origin of the item (how it was designed, who designed it, etc.). In short, they are all priced according to cost basis. It’s just like buying one of those modern cellphones, regardless of the features; you’re always going to be charged according to the name and legacy of its manufacturer, not because of the functionality and convenience it provides.
• Fun Fact: Jewelers buy their items wholesale, like groceries. Now, take notice of the word ‘buy’ from that recent sentence. You may ask, “So, jewelers spend money outright just so they’ll have something to sell?” Yes, you got that right. The thing is, this will enable them to mark up the price of each item, even going as high as a 100%, in order to get back what they’ve spent and make a profit at the same time. So regardless if it’s just a small ring or a miniscule pair of earrings, you will still be charged a high cost. We’re not even getting to the part that they might charge more simply because the item was made by a well-known designer, no different from those luxurious designer bags or dresses.
• A jeweler wouldn’t bother to adjust their prices due to the two former reasons; hence, you would not be able to adjust your budget. There is never a low cost when it comes to retail jewelers, unlike pawnshops, in which both you and the pawnbroker could strike a fair deal – a win-win situation.
With all of that being said, you may be looking for a pawn shop that would provide you with the most honest return possible. No worries, as Cebuana Lhuillier has got your back. With their Pawning Service you can never go short in any amount, as they accept an array of items, from jewelry to gadgets, as collateral. In such case, they’d also offer the best items they have once you decide to buy jewelry from them. They also lead the pawning industry by offering safety and the highest appraisal rate in the industry in its close to 2,500 branches nationwide.
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