Vintage Pearl Jewelry
Q: I am selling a bunch of vintage costume jewelry right now and it is doing
great! I aquired a trash bag full of the stuff and I really do'nt know much
about it. I put up a few auctions and have bene pleasantly surprised. An
unsigned necklace/bracelet set I have up right now is going for 17$ with
still a few days left! My ID is 'peanutbuttersandwich' if you want to see
how my stuff is doing. I have about 200 more items to list and it seems to
be pretty profitable so far.
Any comment?
A:Check Barnes & Noble.
I stupidly sold my copy of Fun Jewelry - which pictured
the items that I now know sell highest on eBay.
The first thing to do is look at all the pieces and
separate out anything with gold or silver markings,
and pieces with brand names on the back. Real
gold jewelry is generally marked, and even if it's
not, your eyes will be able to tell the difference
from plated pieces. If in doubt, keep everything
that may be "real" and take them to a jeweler.
Also keep any costume jewelry that has bakelite
or other bright plastics, figurals (animals, flags,
people, etc). Those are wildly popular. Glass
bead necklaces are good.
The remainder will be odd earrings, pieces with
worn-off plating, broken things. If there's a pair
of nifty earrings with screw-backs, they won't
sell unless you can convert them to pierced
(you can buy gold and silver replacements
at most jewelers).