Hi Margaret!

> 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.

I agree, I like a wide range of music styles too.... Jazz is actually one of my favorite styles too, but I really love to listen to it live.... :)

> 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!)

Thanks Margaret, this is great information.... If I do go ahead and try jewelry out, this seems like a very safe strategy. If you know (or have a good idea) of the scrap metal value, it gives you a very good upper limit which you'll pay in order to at least be able to break even (in the worst case scenario)....

I realize it is definitely a "specialist" area, though, so if I go ahead I'll have to gain some expertise or somehow find a jewelry expert to partner with....

One of the reasons jewelry interests me, though, is because a small amount (by weight) of jewelry can have a very high value. Its portability makes it convenient, though I expect that many other "traders" also find that appealing too, so I expect that the second-hand jewelry market could be very competitive....

> 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.

Yes, thanks Margaret, this is really good advice....

> 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.

Yes, thanks for the warning!

> 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!

I found that VERY helpful, Margaret, thanks!

So far, apart from speaking with you about this, I've mainly only had the chance to speak to an expert gemmologist.... He really knows his gemstones, and their value. Talking to him was very interesting, but the main problem with gemstones is I expect that gemstones (by themselves) could be hard to resell.... And that was his real expertise, identifying and valuing the pure gemstones (cut or uncut)....

However, once gems or precious metals are made into jewelry, it becomes a saleable item, but I don't really understand the market well enough yet to go into it.... My "guess" is that specialist auction-houses might be the best place to resell them if you don't have your own store, but I still don't really know for sure.... I think I will check this out further, though.... :)

Thanks Margaret! I'm really enjoying being a "trader," every trade is different and it can be quite interesting.... So far I've mainly focused on computers, and only just recently bought the whole stock of a music CD store (with the intent to resell it all), but I still might eventually add jewelry to my repertoire too, once I understand jewelry better.... :)

Dien