Worthy

What: Sell gems, jewelry and watches

Commissions & Fees: Fees are set on a sliding scale; flat $150 for items that sell for $750 or less; 20% of the sales price for items that sell for up to $5,000; the commissions drop as low as 5% for more expensive items. (The full commission schedule here)

Husl$core: $$$

Review: Worthy markets itself is a great place for the divorced and jilted to sell expensive engagement and wedding ring via auction. However, because many of the site’s buyers appear to be jewelers and jewelry designers, the site may do better at selling the stone in your ring, rather than the ring itself. Indeed, one of the consistent complaints that sellers have is that the site will ask whether they can take the stone out of your jewelry to have it appraised. The site typically DOES NOT replace the stone in the setting. So do not approve removal of your stone unless you think the setting has no value. (Some old estate jewelry might fall into this category, where the stone itself is valuable but the setting is hopelessly out of date.) However, if the setting is classic or beautiful, know that Worthy can have your jewelry appraised without removing the stones.

Sellers generally either love or hate this site. It appears that the haters have one of two complaints: They removed the stone and didn’t put it back; or the estimated value they were originally given was far higher than the value estimated once the jewelry was sent in. In some cases, the site has responded to the value complaints by politely explaining that sellers don’t always describe their items accurately (understandably, since sellers are not jewelers). For instance, a seller might describe a ring as having a 1.5 carat diamond, when the main diamond was smaller but the total carat weight of all the diamonds in the ring added to 1.5 carats, the second being worth considerably less than the first. Worthy pays for shipping and insurance on your piece and will return it if you don’t like the price they expect (or get) at auction, as long as you set a minimum price. And the site appears to be responsive to consumer complaints, resolving almost all of those posted with the BBB. Our advice: Check with a few local jewelers before sending an item to Worthy. Many provide a nearly identical service at roughly the same cost. Amazon is also a good place to sell expensive jewelry.

What their users say: (From the Better Business Bureau)

I called these people and inquired about their service. I gave the man specifications of my jewelry, from appraisals, and he gave me rather elevated valuations of what I could get fr the pieces. I agreed to send them in. Upon arrival they told me that the pieces would be evaluated and a new optimal price generated. I was also asked to sign an agreement saying that I absolved them of all damages due to them taking the jewelry apart (which was mandatory as they really just sell the stones and not the intact jewelry). They assured me that they would take great care. First, the valuations came out much lower than what was given by phone. They had the information from the appraisals, so there should have been no discrepancy. When they went to ‘auction’, I was expected to sell the pieces for literally pennies on the dollar, and give them a 20% commission for doing so. I demurred and hey sent the jewelry back. When I received it back, one diamond ring had a substantially altered stone, which now has a large chip out of the top . Among the pieces was a high end necklace of tanzanite and diamonds. The ‘chain’ was a series of basket set tanzanite stones, set in white gold and accented with diamonds. The ‘chain’ was 24″ long. When I got it back, the ‘chain’ was now only 20″ long. The salesperson had remarked that the piece was beautiful and I said something about the chain being a series of gemstones and not just a chain and, because it was so long, I had thought of taking some out of the length and making a bracelet with it. I should have shut my mouth as apparently that is what they did. The original appraisal has the number of tanzanite stones and it would be a simple matter to compare the piece as it is now to the appraisal but I let it go. The now – cloudy center stone of my diamond ring, and the rather large chip out of it are another matter but still, I have no proof, except for the original appraisal. Not only did I need the money and was looking forward to the prices quoted, but when I declined their pennies on the dollar ‘offer’ and got the jewelry back, it was altered. what I received back was not what I sent in. I now cannot sell the diamond ring. Be very wary and take pictures before you send your jewelry in. The people are nice but it’s not a good idea to trust them.

When my husband and I separated, he wanted me to buy him out of our house. I couldn’t bear the thought of losing my home, so I decided to sell my ring to help offset the costs. My jeweler suggested Craig’s List. After only being contacted by scammers, I was left frustrated and scared, so I decided to do some more research. That’s when I found Worthy. I had never heard of them or any company that performs the same service, so sending them my ring was a true leap of faith. They exceeded my expectations! I had been offered a certain amount by a local jeweler, and when my auction was over, the final price was slightly less than that. I asked Worthy to please send the ring back. The next day, they called me to say they had gone back to the winning bidder and asked them to match the local jeweler’s price, which the bidder did. I really wish I had know about them in the beginning and didn’t have to feel that sending them my ring was a ‘leap of faith’. Everyone at Worthy was helpful and, even more importantly, kind during a time when women find themselves very vulnerable and afraid. I would highly recommend Worthy!

I am absolutely horrified that the BBB can give this company an A+ rating. The only reason I trusted them was the BBB rating which I regret. I recently sent a piece of jewelry to them with the intention of selling it. They provided an initial estimate of the value at $9,862 which agreed with my appraisal and grading paperwork. They requested permission to unmount the stone in order to obtain a GIA grading certificate which I granted. After several days I received an email “Upon our arrival inspection, our gemologists found that this stone has a cavity (a tiny hole) on the surface.” which is not true and even their paperwork does not say it. They then proceeded to send my ring to International Gemological Information NOT GIA as they had said when I agreed to send my ring. A couple days later they came back with a value of the ring at $1,300. When I reviewed the paperwork I found that IGI did not provide a grading report at all. They sent an Identification Report which clearly stated it was for Identification not grading. The report even indicated “Grading as mounting permits”. The report said nothing about a “cavity” which if that was true they surely would have mentioned it in their report if IGI was reputable. At that point I notified them that I wanted my ring returned and I wanted it insured for the value $9,862 because I had documentation proving that value and I rejected their “Identification Report” as an accurate valuation of the ring. Unfortunately I had to demand the return of the ring several times over the next few days before they actually acknowledged that it would be returned. I gave them specific instructions not to ship the ring unless it was insured for $9,862 and I even offered to pay for the insurance if they refused. They sent several emails assuring me the ring would be insured for $9,862. I requested a copy of the insurance certificate before it was sent but they did not provide one. Thankfully the ring did arrive safely and appears to be OK but included in the package was a packing list that indicated an insured value of $1,685 although they never did prove that it was insured at all.

I would avoid Worthy. I was enticed to spend my time and send them a wedding set for auction based on their recent online response valuing the main diamond in the set in a certain range (and not even considering the 18k gold bands and channel diamonds in the setting). The GIA certificate Worthy obtained and my original GIA certificate from 20 years ago were consistent. Then, when it was time to put the set up for bid today, Worthy’s sales associate recommended a sale price that was significantly less than their original estimate two months ago of the resale value of the 1.4 carat princess cut diamond alone. From this, I get a very strong impression that they are just into selling the jewelry to their list of retail clients irregardless of what the merchandise is truly worth and to the financial disadvantage of the sellers. I told the associate that I will not accept a bid that is lower than about 40% of what I paid for the set and she said it would never sell for that amount. I expect I will get the wedding set back from Worthy and sell it myself. That’s fine, but Worthy should not create false expectations by giving estimates online that are not in line with what they truly expect that they will be able to sell a ring for to their own customer base of buyers. It seems to me to be like a bait and switch deal here.

Josh R****** helped me out throughout the process of selling a very nice solitaire diamond wedding ring. He was courteous, got back to me quickly the few times I had a question. I would recommend Worthy Inc. for anyone wanting to sell nice jewelry. This company took care of everything…with permission from me, they unmounted it, professionally cleaned it, professionally photographed it, and submitted it to auction. They grades the diamond before the auction also. I got more money than what I anticipated. Thanks so much Josh.

Wow! This was the best auction experience I’ve ever had. I put my rings in a box, put the ***** label on and dropped it in a box. They kept me up to date on what was going on and asked me questions along the way to make sure that I understood what was going on. If ever I find myself in need of selling anymore jewelry, I will use Worthy.

I worked with Worthy about two weeks ago to sell my wedding and engagement rings from a previous marriage. The experience was very easy and stress free. Worthy handled everything for me and gave me a minimum even though my ring didn’t sell for as much as I had hoped for. I really loved doing business with them. They were courteous and professional and really top notch!!

This company is s huge rip off. They valued my ring that my husband paid almost 10k for only 10 years ago. They offer 225.00. I am not the only one with this experience. They have no **** diwn commenting on the site as well as removing the negative comments to trick more customers. This is on the line of a scam even. But not a company to waste your time to try to sell your ring. Plus the turn around time is more like 2 weeks and I aspect my diamonds may have been taken out and I gave my ring being looked at now. Do not use this company!!!!!