did i get a good deal or did i just get ripped off?

Question

i just bought a necklace with 12.75 ctw mother of pearl and cubic zirconia in sterling silver for 19 dollars. i dont know much about jewelry or mother of pearl but the auction site i bought it from said its sold for as much as 449$. im aware that those prices arent really right but i thought i was getting a good deal then i went and tried to look up mother of pearl and it doesnt look like its worth that much. if you know anything about jewelry please give me your opinions. thank you sorry so long

Answer 1

Though I think the price may be a bit exaggerratted, that is still a good deal. A 10 kt Mother of Pearl necklace runs for about $130 and I've seen sterling silver cuffs with M.of P. for about a hundred dollars so it sounds as though you made a decent grab. Mother of pearl itself isn't uncommon really. Try doing a search for Nacre, which is it's given name. You did get a good deal, CZ or not.

Answer 2

Yes, $449 is a bit high, but you have to remember that the price includes all of the ridiculous mark-ups that you find in retail jewelry stores. And you didn't say what kind of metal the necklace is, which can drastically increase, or decrease, the value of an item. In addition, the size and quality of the stones and mother of pearl will determine the retail cost of the necklace.

I think you paid about what the necklace is actually worth. So yes, you got a good deal, but not a great one. $19 is about average for a costume jewelry necklace.

Answer 3

To find out the best deal on something it’s best to research first before you buy that way you aren't stuck with something that you don’t want.

Another thing is if you find some on line that looks valuable and you want to know it’s actual worth is to get it appraised on line in a eBay work shop before you buy it.

http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?forumID=93&threadID=32854

Another way is to call up your local jewelry store to see how much they charge for appraisals and get it appraised after you buy it. In this case since it’s not a diamond ring you could search online and read up on it. Here’s a few sites

http://www.afgen.com/mother_of_pearl.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nacre


My last suggestion is that you could try this out because it looks like it will cost you a little and maybe you ask if others have tried this out? You could also join a online community that talks about jewerly

http://www.pricescope.com/idealbb/view.asp?topicID=9250
http://www.online-jewelry-appraisals.com/sales/

Most importantly if you really like it then you have something nice to wear with an outfit that you pick to go with it.

Cubic Zirconia's aren't really worth any thing as far as I know. They look like diamonds and they aren't. Mother of Pearls I don't know all that much about. If the jewerly you bought is good quality then for under $20 it's not bad unless you were expecting something more for that amount?

Answer 4

take the 430$ that you saved, and hire an attorney to get back the 19 dollars