Selling Vintage Costume Jewelry?

Hi A.-

This is kind of odd...but I used to live in NY. You are not far from Ithaca...a very trendy yet quaint college town...(at least it WAS some years ago)...I would consider taking a 'road trip' and check out some vintage shops there to get an idea of the value...You might be quite surprised! And some shop owners can perhaps recommend something...

In any case...it is a beautiful drive...and treat yourself to a nice meal...and/or stop by a winery (or three!!)

Worst case...you will have had a nice day trip!

Best Luck!
Michele/cat

I love vintage costume jewelry, I buy it and sell it as well. There is a huge market for it, especially broken pieces because many jewelry designers such as myself will reuse the pieces in modern assemblage jewelry. If they are worth something, it's worth getting them appraised. Look at the backs for stamps, like Coro and such is a popular brand. You can even go to the library and there are tons of books that help you figure out relative maker and worth of pieces, or you can go to etsy.com or ebay.com and look for similar pieces to see what the going rate and market value of the item is.

Here are good places to see what era and types of pieces you are dealing with:
http://www.vintagecostumejewels.com/
http://www.letsgetvintage.com/

Absolutely! YES! HAVE IT APPRAISED! Of cpurse it depends on the condition just like anything else but some of the high quality stuff is extremely well made and cleans up wonderfully. I know at least 3 people who found old costume jewlery in their parents houses (including myself) from 1940s on up, (Monet was one of the better quality manufacturers of costume jewels)saved the best pieces for memories and sold the rest and made $500 on sales! Another sold them individually piece by piece (or set by set) on Etsy.com on the web. She signed up with them and has her own little store selling nice costume jewlery that was her mother's. It is VERY lucrative right now! GO FOR IT DEAR! ALL Vintage stuff like vases, nick-nacks, clothing, jewelry, costume jewelry and even furniture is HOT. A large part of the market is the young adults in their early 20s and 30s. Do NOT throw the stuff away! Go for it and God Bless! There are books you can buy also (take a ride to Barnes and Noble to find one or go online and search for ...How to appraise the value of your mother's old costume jewelry, or something like that, read people's reviews on the book and pick the best one you can find, then DIGEST it so you know what you have and you canot be taken by a charleton. You may have 50 dollars worth or you may have hundreds depending on the makers. Sincerely yours, J.

I know some stuff can be VERY valuable, like those chunky plasticy bracelets, I forget the name for them. Worth the research!

Have it appraised. & even if it turns out to not be expensive stuff you can still sell them. In fashion right now the "in" stuff is from the 50, 60, & 70s! If you have any teenage or twentysomething neicesn daughters, or friends' daughters you could either let them go thru the jewelery & let them pick out stuff they like & either give it to them or sell it to them!!

Updated

Have it appraised. & even if it turns out to not be expensive stuff you can still sell them. In fashion right now the "in" stuff is from the 50, 60, & 70s! If you have any teenage or twentysomething nieces, daughters, or friends' daughters you could either let them go thru the jewelery & let them pick out stuff they like & either give it to them or sell it to them!!

Updated

Have it appraised. & even if it turns out to not be expensive stuff you can still sell them. In fashion right now the "in" stuff is from the 50, 60, & 70s! If you have any teenage or twentysomething nieces, daughters, or friends' daughters you could either let them go thru the jewelery & let them pick out stuff they like & either give it to them or sell it to them!!

Updated

Have it appraised. & even if it turns out to not be expensive stuff you can still sell them. In fashion right now the "in" stuff is from the 50, 60, & 70s! If you have any teenage or twentysomething nieces, daughters, or friends' daughters you could either let them go thru the jewelery & let them pick out stuff they like & either give it to them or sell it to them!!

you could sell it on etsy!