Alright ebay, I WON'T Sell!!

likelyfran

Have just listed a couple of bits I don't want anymore, on ebay.
Thought, I'll just relist that one and put this other one on, won't take long.
WRONG!

The ebay listing process has been getting more and more arduous and just as you get used to the last lot of changes, they add some more silly ones.

Trying to list a piece of jewellery which is sterling silver, with CZ stones.

Did listing on mobile to start it off, intending to edit/list on computer, uploaded 2 photos of item. Went on computer, dadada, got to end of editing but message came up that photos were problematic. OK, they weren't PERFECT photos but they weren't bad as I understand buyers want to properly see something, and I've seen MUCH worse on ebay.
Ok, so I do some more, trying all different ways to photograph the item.

Still not good enough - not enough pixels or something.

Finally, tried again, on a different background. Bit of a rubbish photo compared to the other ones I'd done, really, but no matter, this time accepted so I could list! 1 rubbishy photo instead of 3 better ones is better apparently. Go figure!

Anyway, sorted.
NOT!

I'd put that item in the 'fine jewellery' category - because it's sterling silver -and always have, with similar, with no problem.
But NOW, because a stone is CZ - no matter what the metal is, could be platinum! - the item must go in 'costume jewellery' with all the plastic and stuff from China.

Item is finally up but it's making me think twice about selling again, cheers ebay!

wubbles

The more they go on, the more they add stupid rules, changes, procedures, make things more and more and more complicated with over the top rules and regulations.

To be honest I think theres a group of people in eBay who have to justify their job by making these changes.

soolin

As someone who dabbles a bit in vintage jewellery, I would not consider sterling silver and CZ to be fine jewellery and virtually all the auctions I attend would lump something like that in with a larger lot as costume jewellery.

I really might be worth considering a different venue to sell it as well, the value is an awkward one as it is cheap enough not to need tracking, but as RM would consider it a precious metal it isn't covered against loss unless it goes special delivery. A few pound sin hand at a car boot or local Facebook group might give you a better return.

supersaver09

soolin wrote: »

As someone who dabbles a bit in vintage jewellery, I would not consider sterling silver and CZ to be fine jewellery and virtually all the auctions I attend would lump something like that in with a larger lot as costume jewellery.

But Sterling Silver is a Precious Metal.
Why would it not be considered Fine Jewellery?

soolin

supersaver09 wrote: »

But Sterling Silver is a Precious Metal.
Why would it not be considered Fine Jewellery?

It's too cheap for the auction houses I attend to lot as a single item, the sellers would pay a lotting fee, sales fee and then the buyers would pay commission- all on a low value item. So they tend to lump it all together in the general part of the auction , only the good jewellery, the gold, the properly vintage and things with a real value are sold in the 'fine jewellery' part of the auction.

It might well be different elsewhere.

However, take a look at the ebay completed listings- there are an awful lot of these rings, extremely pretty and something I would love to own, but going unsold at around the £5 mark.

I did buy a small collection about 18 months ago, about 3 rings were marked 925, the rest unmarked so I assume just alloy, the 3 marked rings had beautiful stones in them- and I paid around £10 for the lot including commission- which means the poor seller probably ended up with less than a fiver. Strangely though I've paid more than that for unmarked alloy items but which were art deco in style and age.

StumpyPumpy

supersaver09 wrote: »

But Sterling Silver is a Precious Metal.
Why would it not be considered Fine Jewellery?

Fine jewellery is generally considered to be made of precious metals and precious stones. Which means that the cubic zirconia makes the whole piece fail the test.

I imagine eBay are trying to stop fake diamond pieces (which is what CZ basically is) being passed off as real with just a part hidden reference to CZ in the text. So they just ban the lot from appearing in the fine category.

I have a lovely 925 ring with a central sapphire and cluster CZ stones surrounding it, don't know if I'm going to sell it or not yet but if I do I wouldn't dream of putting it anywhere other than in the Costume Jewellery section.

SP

Avoriaz

Have you considered taking the items to a reputable local jewellery shop?

Last year Mrs A took some old rings and other jewelry items to a shop in Chichester that had been recommended to her and was offered about £300 in total for them, which was more than she had expected.

Cash in hand with no eBay hassle, posting, risk of scams and returns etc.

Having said that, some of her items were gold and had semi precious stones.

Sterling silver rings with CZ or other artificial stones and costume jewelry etc are not worth much. You can buy them new for about £10 so don't set your expectations high

likelyfran

soolin wrote: »

As someone who dabbles a bit in vintage jewellery, I would not consider sterling silver and CZ to be fine jewellery and virtually all the auctions I attend would lump something like that in with a larger lot as costume jewellery.

I really might be worth considering a different venue to sell it as well, the value is an awkward one as it is cheap enough not to need tracking, but as RM would consider it a precious metal it isn't covered against loss unless it goes special delivery. A few pound sin hand at a car boot or local Facebook group might give you a better return.

Sorry for late return to thread, has been a lot of illness in our house.

Hmm - yes, silver is generally defined as a 'precious metal' so that's what I go on.
I buy quite a lot of jewellery - little bits and bobs - from ebay and have bought lots with sterling thrown in and am often surprised as the seller could sometimes have made quite a bit on the item(s) had they sold them separately. A £30 vintage bracelet for example.
I also got some 9ct gold earrings from Etsy from an English seller for about £2, literally.
But then, I've got a good eye and I'm crafty at spotting things that other people don't.

Yes, I agree on the different venue for selling - a nice shop in London, SW, would do very nicely - INFLATE those prices!!

likelyfran

soolin wrote: »

It's too cheap for the auction houses I attend to lot as a single item, the sellers would pay a lotting fee, sales fee and then the buyers would pay commission- all on a low value item. So they tend to lump it all together in the general part of the auction , only the good jewellery, the gold, the properly vintage and things with a real value are sold in the 'fine jewellery' part of the auction.

It might well be different elsewhere.

However, take a look at the ebay completed listings- there are an awful lot of these rings, extremely pretty and something I would love to own, but going unsold at around the £5 mark.

I did buy a small collection about 18 months ago, about 3 rings were marked 925, the rest unmarked so I assume just alloy, the 3 marked rings had beautiful stones in them- and I paid around £10 for the lot including commission- which means the poor seller probably ended up with less than a fiver. Strangely though I've paid more than that for unmarked alloy items but which were art deco in style and age.

I'm finding ebay very unpredictable at the moment.
Sometimes I just miss some real gem that someone got for absolute peanuts and other times you can't get anything decent without paying through the nose.
I'm learning about the 'market' I want to specialise in. Kind of as a hobby really. Selling my own possessions for now but want to make a living from it in time.

likelyfran

StumpyPumpy wrote: »

Fine jewellery is generally considered to be made of precious metals and precious stones. Which means that the cubic zirconia makes the whole piece fail the test.

I imagine eBay are trying to stop fake diamond pieces (which is what CZ basically is) being passed off as real with just a part hidden reference to CZ in the text. So they just ban the lot from appearing in the fine category.

I have a lovely 925 ring with a central sapphire and cluster CZ stones surrounding it, don't know if I'm going to sell it or not yet but if I do I wouldn't dream of putting it anywhere other than in the Costume Jewellery section.

SP

Take your point about ebay trying to weed out the outright fraudulent listings (a lot from abroad ...) but I think that's going too far.

Nah - to my mind, costume jewellery doesn't contain any 925, well, if it was a big crochet brooch with a tiny little 925 charm hanging off it or something, I would call that a costume item but a 925/sapphire ring - sorry but to me that's the lower end of 'fine', regardless of the presence of CZ, especially as no-one with half a moral would knowingly try to pass off CZ as 'diamond'.

Just in my view/opinion/vision, the 'fine' category in general, and up 'til recently the apparent ebay one, ranges from sterling modern rings up to things that go for £££s because of their great antiquity or the fact that they're made of 18/24ct gold or platinum.

Sorry, jewellery is rather an obsession of mine!

likelyfran

Avoriaz wrote: »

Have you considered taking the items to a reputable local jewellery shop?

Last year Mrs A took some old rings and other jewelry items to a shop in Chichester that had been recommended to her and was offered about £300 in total for them, which was more than she had expected.

Cash in hand with no eBay hassle, posting, risk of scams and returns etc.

Having said that, some of her items were gold and had semi precious stones.

Sterling silver rings with CZ or other artificial stones and costume jewelry etc are not worth much. You can buy them new for about £10 so don't set your expectations high

Exactly, you'll get offered less than peanuts by any established dealer, for small 925 items, so I don't go there.
I look at it more from a woman's eye (perhaps, if I may be so sexist :rotfl:) - sometimes we buy something just because it's pretty or relatively rare, as, say, lots of vintage 70s 925 pieces are, not for their value by weight or whatever.

When you say 'rings' in the last bit, I think you're underestimating the power of 'vintage', and vintage these days, starts at the 1980s generally.