categorised so much - there are lots of great pieces of music across the whole spectrum; I guess lots of people miss out just because they have preconceived notions about whether they like jazz, classical, pop etc.

As for jewelry; huge topic and I'm by no means an expert. We only sell new silver and gold pieces which carry a hallmark and maker's mark.

The second-hand/antique area requires you to know a whole lot about the metal quality and gem quality. So, I guess there's a huge risk in buying second-hand/from auctions and that may well affect the price. Another thing which affects the resale value is the scrap value of the silver/gold. I have attended local auctions in Glasgow where dealers would only buy at below scrap metal price for the goods - to give themselves a profit margin if they had to sell for scrap. (Unless, of course, they wanted to keep some upstart out of the game!) And then when you check second-hand jewelry stores, the resale value of ordinary pieces is nowhere near the original retail price. There is enough room between saleroom price and second-hand store price to give a good living; but you really need to know the market very well to spot the good opportunity. You also need the knowledge to test the quality of metal and stones.

I have seen occasions where manufacturers would use auction houses to turn over new stock which hasn't proved to be a good seller to retailers. But that tells you the design possibly may not be good enough for you to sell on .........and you could be left with it on the shelf for a long time.

Well, not sure if that's helpful to you or not. There's quite a lot to think about and it will no doubt make me revise some of our purchasing decisions as well!

Margaret