Listing and selling jewellery

Below are some general dos and don'ts for listing jewellery, followed by specific information on listing jewellery on eBay.

Dos:
Determine whether the pearl, or metal is natural, laboratory-created, or imitation. It's very difficult for an untrained eye to determine whether jewellery is real or not; it's even harder for a person seeing an item via a photograph on the Internet. Please specify if the piece of jewellery is natural or not!

Provide the key measurements of the jewellery. Customers need to know how large the piece of jewellery is as well as its quality. Specify key markings (for example, the karat rating, and so on), the weight, and the quality grade.

Identify appropriate markings on jewellery. Provide registered trademarks (the name of the company that backs the jewellery). The trademark is next to the mark (the relevant measurement for the jewellery, for instance, 14 karat for gold). The company's name or trademark is important because this is the company that backs the jewellery and the mark. Providing the company's name or trademark on jewellery is required by law.

Disclose any treatment that has been done on the jewellery (such as lasering or colouring) as well as whether the change is permanent or temporary.

Disclose whether jewellery requires special care, and, if it does, describe that care. A piece of jewellery is a treasure, and customers need to know how to keep it beautiful and lasting!

Don'ts:
Do not misrepresent the content and value of the jewellery! If you do not know the specifications of your jewellery, find out! It will help you be a better seller and keep your customers happy.

Do not use common terms and descriptions unless they are 100% accurate! Be careful when describing your product. Common words that people use are often not accurate in terms of industry standards. For instance, using the word "gold" by itself means solid gold, 24K, nothing less.

Above all else, abide by the Golden Rule: treat customers as you would like to be treated yourself. Disclose all information about the jewellery you are selling that you would want disclosed to you! We want eBay to be a fun and safe place to shop, and we need your help in doing so!

Choosing a category:

There are many factors to consider when you list jewellery for sale. Jewellery can be listed as beads, loose gemstones, style of jewellery, or material of jewellery. If you are unsure of which category is best, do a search for jewellery similar to yours, and list your jewellery in the same category.

Giving your listing a title:

The title should be descriptive for the "searchers" and eye-catching for the "browsers". Provide distinguishing characteristics like size, quality, maker, style and country of origin. If you indicate that you have attached a picture, a colourfulicon will appear after your title. Many people prefer to bid on items that they can look at, so a picture can help you get more bids.

Composing your listing:

The more you can tell buyers about your jewellery, the better. It is helpful to include information about the jewellery's maker, year or period it was made, country of origin, attributes of the material, and so on. Give a full description of the jewellery—condition (cracks, chips, corroded, and so on), dimensions (length), colour, weight, as well as the details of the jewellery not fully evident in the picture.

Remember that condition is a subjective thing. One person's "excellent" is another person's "good." It is best to give a detailed description of the jewellery piece's imperfections, regardless of their magnitude. This includes all cracks, chips, dents, missing portions, and so on.

Include information on the preferred payment method and how much you are charging for transportation, handling, and insurance. If you decide to post a picture with your listing, it is helpful if the picture is in focus, without a distracting background, and close enough to see some of the jewellery's detail. Some people include several pictures including one of the entire piece, a close-up of one side, and another close-up of a special feature such as the jewellery's mark.

Completing your listing:

You can set the length of the auction (3, 5, or 7 days) and the minimum opening bid amount,. It's best to be realistic in setting the minimum opening bid so you don't discourage bidders, but be sure to set it at an amount you are comfortable with and really willing to sell your jewelery for.

Completing the transaction:

eBay will notify the seller and high bidder at the conclusion of the auction. You, the seller, will then contact the high bidder to arrange for payment and transportation of the jewellery. Typically, in your message, you will tell the high bidder which auction was won and request that payment in the amount of the high bid plus transportation and handling be sent to your address. Once you receive payment, you ship the jewellery to the address the buyer provides. You may also want to look at feedback the buyer has received before placing your bid. The comments can influence how you handle the transaction.

To ensure the buyer is satisfied, be honest and detailed in your auction description. If the buyer was prompt and courteous, give positive feedback so that other users will know this person is a good buyer to do business with!

Terms for listing or buying

For specific information on listing specific types of materials, click on the following links: diamonds; gemstones; gold; pearls; or platinum, silver, and other metals.

Black Pearl: Black Pearls can occur naturally or be man-made.

Bleaching: Bleaching lightens and whitens ivory and pearl.

Blue White: "Blue white" describes a diamond that under normal, north daylight shows a blue or bluish colour.

Brilliant: "Brilliant" describes a round diamond that has at least 32 facets plus the table above the girdle (the rim around the diamond) and at least 24 facets below.

Carat: The size of a diamond is represented by the carat. Each carat is equal to 100 points.

Coin Silver: The mark "coin silver" is used for compounds that contain 90 percent silver.

Corrosion Proof: A product is corrosion proof if the product is immune from rust and other forms of corrosion.

Corrosion Resistant: A product is corrosion resistant if the product is resistant to rust and other forms of corrosion.

Cultured Pearl: A cultured pearl is made by a mollusk, but with human intervention. An irritant is introduced into the shell, which causes a pearl to grow.

Diamond: A diamond is a natural mineral consisting of pure crystallised carbon.

Diffusion Treatment: Diffusion treatment adds colour to the surface of colourless gems; for some gems, the centre of the stone remains colourless.

Dyeing: Dyeing adds colour and improves colour uniformity in some gems.

Electroplated: Jewellery can be mechanically plated with gold in a variety of ways, including electroplated. Eventually, the gold plating wears away, but it depends on how often the item is worn and how thick the plating is.

Flawless: "Flawless" describes any jewellery that has no flaws, cracks, inclusions, carbon spots, clouds, internal lasering, or other blemishes or imperfections of any sort when examined by a skilled jeweler.

Fracture Filling: Fracture filling conceals cracks in diamonds by filling them with a foreign substance. The filling may not be permanent.

Full Cut: Diamonds described as "full cut" are round diamonds that have at least 32 facets plus the table above the girdle (the rim around the diamond) and at least 24 facets below.

Gem: A gem is a ruby, sapphire, emerald, topaz, or other industry product that possesses the beauty, symmetry, rarity, and value necessary for qualification of a gem.

Gemstone Treatments: Gemstone treatments refer to the way some gems are altered or treated to improve their appearance or durability. The effects of some treatments may lesson or change over time and some treated stones may require special care. Sometimes, enhancements affect the value of the stone.

Gemstone Enhancements: Gemstone enhancements refer to the way some gems are altered or treated to improve their appearance or durability. The effects of some treatments may lesson or change over time and some treated stones may require special care. Sometimes, enhancements affect the value of the stone.

Genuine: The word "genuine" is used to describe anything but a product that is manufactured or produced artificially.

Gold: "Gold" is used to describe any jewellery that is 24-karat gold.

Gold Electroplate: Gold electroplate describes jewellery that has a layer (at least .175 microns thick) of a minimum of 10-karat gold deposited on a base metal by an electrolytic process.

Gold Flashed: "Gold flashed" describes products that have an extremely thin electroplating of gold (less than .175 microns thick). This will wear away more quickly than gold plate, gold-filled, or gold electroplate.

Gold Washed: "Gold washed" describes products that have an extremely thin electroplating of gold (less than .175 microns thick). This will wear away more quickly than gold plate, gold-filled, or gold electroplate.

Gold Overlay: Gold overlay jewellery has a layer of at least 10K gold mechanically bonded to base metals.

Gold-filled: Gold-filled jewellery has a layer of at least 10K gold mechanically bonded to base metals.

Hand-made: An item is hand-made when the entire shaping and forming of the product is from raw materials and its creation was accomplished manually.

Hand-polished: An item is hand-polished when the entire finishing of the product is accomplished manually.

Heating: Heating can lighten, darken, or change the colour of some gems.

Imitation Diamonds: Imitation diamonds, such as cubic zirconia, resemble diamonds in appearance but are much less costly.

Imitation Pearls: Imitation pearls are man-made.

Imitation Stones: Imitation stones resemble natural stones in appearance, and may be glass, plastic, or less costly stones. Laboratory-created and imitation stones must be identified as such.

Impregnating: Impregnating some gems with colourless oils or wax masks a variety of imperfections, hides cracks, and improves colour.

Irradiating: Irradiating can add more colour to coloured diamonds and certain other stones.

Karat: The karat mark tells you what proportion of gold is mixed with other metals. Fourteen karat (14K) gold contains 14 parts of gold, mixed in throughout with 10 parts base metals.

Laboratory-created Stones: Laboratory-created stones are made in a laboratory. These stones are also referred to as laboratory-grown, (name of manufacturer)-created, or synthetic. Laboratory-created stones are identical to natural stones but are different in two basic ways:

• they are not as rare as natural gemstones and as such.
• they are generally less expensive.

Lasering: Lasering involves the use of a laser beam to improve the appearance of stones and gemstones that have black inclusions or spots. Lasering is permanent.

Mechanically Plated: Jewellery can be mechanically plated with gold in a variety of ways. Eventually, gold plating wears away, but it depends on how often the item is worn and how thick the plating is.

Natural Stones: Natural stones are stones found in nature.

Natural: "Natural" is used to describe anything except a product that is manufactured or produced artificially.

Noncorrosive: A product is noncorrosive if all parts of the product are immune from rust and other forms of corrosion during the life of the product.

Pearl: Natural or real pearls are made naturally by oysters and other mollusks.

Perfect: "Perfect" is used to describe any jewellery that has no flaws, cracks, inclusions, carbon spots, clouds, internal lasering, or other blemishes or imperfections of any sort when examined by a skilled jeweler.

Pewter: Pewter items are described and marked as such if they contain at least 90% tin.

Platinum: Platinum is a precious metal. It is usually mixed with other similar metals, known as the platinum group metals: iridium, palladium, ruthenium, rhodium, and osmium.

Quality Marks: Quality marks are any letters, figures, numerals, symbols, signs, words or terms, or any combination of the preceding, which have been placed on the product and which indicate the composition of the product.

Real: "Real" is used to describe anything except a product that is manufactured or produced artificially.

Rolled Gold Plate: Rolled gold plate is jewellery that has a layer of at least 10K gold mechanically bonded to base metals.

Rust Proof: A product is rust proof if all parts of the product are immune from rust and other forms of corrosion.

Rust Resistant: A product is rust resistant if all parts of the product are resistant to rust and other forms of corrosion.

Seed Pearl: Seed pearls are natural pearls that measure approximately two millimeters or less.

Silver: Silver or sterling silver describes a product that contains 92.5% silver.

Silverplate: Silverplate is used to describe a layer of silver, which is bonded to base metals.

Solid Gold: "Solid gold" refers to any karat gold if the inside of the item is not hollow.

Sterling Silver: Sterling silver describes a product that contains 92.5% silver.

Vermeil: Vermeil consists of a base of sterling silver coated or plated on the surface with gold or gold alloy of not less than 10K fineness.

Sources:

• All That Glitters...The Jive on jewellery, August 1998, the US Federal Trade Commission
• Guides for the jewellery, Precious Metals, and Pewter Industries, the US Federal Trade Commission
• In the Loupe: Advertising Diamonds, Gemstones, and Pearls, August 1998, the US Federal Trade Commission