Buying Jewelry on eBay

Buying expensive pieces of jewelry itself proves to be quite a task at hand, let alone buying jewelry on online auction sites like eBay. Use these three tips to protect yourself when purchasing jewelry online: picture, feedback, policies.

– Picture: consider the listing only if its picture clearly shows every single detail. If not, simply move along. Jewelry is extremely hard to shoot. Good pictures on the listing indicate a seller who is in for the long run and thinks it worth it to invest in proper equipment or even a professional photographer. This indicates a professional attitude. Also look for clear, well-though out descriptions of the pieces of jewelry – which can also be considered when deciding on the legitimacy of the seller and the jewelry.

– Buying diamonds / precious gemstones: first look for a scanned laboratory certificate in the listing of the jewelry. Look for authorities such as the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), American Gem Society (AGS) and the European Gemological Laboratories (EGL).

– Feedback – carefully read through the seller’s feedback and individual comments left by purchases in order to gauge whether you would consider doing business with this seller or not. Keep in mind that any small suspicion is a clear indication that you should simply move onto the next listing.

– PowerSeller – it is important that you check if the seller is considered a PowerSeller by eBay. The auction website’s criteria for this are quite high. This is a clear indication towards deciding if the seller is an honest businessman.

– Policies – go through the seller’s policies and his return policy. Determine on how easy it will be to get your money back if you are not happy with your purchase.