Vintage Cash Cow

[uncomfortablydumb60]

I'm a bit short atm and thought I'd sell some rings I don't wear
one 18k heavy weight white gold band
9ct white gold Tanzanite ring
solid silver bracelet.
They've offered £64!!!
The gold band alone was valued at £200, 5 years ago!
Cheeky fuckers
Please make loved ones aware as there's a TV ad on at the moment with a pensioner singing their praises.

OP, it’s tragic what the second hand value of rings is. My DH sold his gold wedding ring from his first marriage - got £11 for it!! (He just said if he didn’t sell it, then it would be gathering dust in a drawer). You might do better to sell your rings at auction, but there’s no guarantee, and you’d have to pay the seller’s premium. Sadly, what things cost to buy and what they are worth to sell are two very different things.

You would be better off going to an independent jewellers and getting the items valued.
A few years back when the price of gold was high I got a good price for my jewellery. The jeweller told me which pieces he could sell as they were and which ones he would use the stones and melt the gold from.

Yes, I will definitely go somewhere independent There are a few places in Bath, I'm 10 miles away.

If there is a jewellers near you they may buy the rings for the gold value. Weigh the wedding band on a kitchen scale to get an idea of the value. This is one gold dealer’s prices today. You usually need photo ID and they can offer a bank transfer or cash/

I’m sorry but I think someone’s trying to rip you off… the second hand sorry vintage jeweller near me sells not particularly chunky 9ct yellow or rose gold chains for up to £500 as an example, not looked at the rings I admit. I was looking at chains there but found Ernest Jones a bit more affordable etc.

Thank you, yes I will do and great idea to weigh them!
Apparently the price of gold is high atm
I'm not desperate for the money, but it's more out of principle now
i replied to their Valuation and asked for a breakdown out of interest and someone will call me tomorrow.
Scrolled through reviews on Trust pilot after I added mine, and this is a common occurrence.

Their business model is ready cash for your unwanted jewellery. Like all these kinds of things, you won't get the full value. They are offering a solution for people who want a quick sale for minimal effort. They need to be able to sell on or melt down and sell at a profit.

All these companies are the same - it's quick money for your stuff. If you want the proper value, you need to put the effort in to get it valued etc.

Get more money on ebay

@uncomfortablydumb60 if you get over to Bristol try Kemps in Westbury on Trym. They've been in existence for over 100 years.

Thank you My DS lives in Bristol anyway so I'll take them when I'm next over
The valuation of £200 was from a. Independent jeweller.. I paid £50 on eBay!

Be careful of valuations , because , for example , an insurance valuation will be very different to a selling valuation. My understanding from jewellers is that they don't value any stones, just weight of the silver or gold. I took a Georgian silver toast rack ( more solder than silver) into my local jewellers earlier this year and was delighted with just over £100. I sent a box of vintage items to vintage cash cow eg rusty mecca o, broken Pelham puppets, a couple of 1980 small cameras. So just bits. I think i was also offered £64 - that was fine.

As if anyone would send a Rolleiflex or Hasselblad (high end cameras) to VCC as shown the TV adverts! Their valuation reputation might suggest that the seller may be offered a two-figure for each!

They really are scamming bastards
i never did have my rings returned as “ our CCTV clearly shows them being wrapped, boxed an sealed before posting”
My Postman examined the box and No sign of tampering so, someone lied and it want me.
Thats correct, they don’t value stones.
The quote you’re given is scrap value
I imagine them all opened and thrown on a big pile!
it does concern me that some older people desperate to pay their electricity bill but too proud to ask for help sends their late DH hard fought for war medals

I think of VCC as a place to pass on things that it would be difficult to sell elsewhere or all in one go. Probs wouldn't risk anything of real value

Yeah i got £22 for a massive box of stuff tbf it wasent my stuff it was my fil belongings when my dh,cleared out the house after he died but I didn't rate them at all.

They are just robbers! I was offered £443 for a load of stuff including 3 diamond rings! At least dick Turpin wore a mask!

No company that offers pretty much instant cash on the basis this one does it ever going to give you full value. They have a margin they want to make to cover the free postage, quick turnaround and quick payment and make a profit. Their business model is aimed at those people desperate for cash and those people who are not motivated to try to sell things themselves or shop around to get the best deal. Secondhand jewellery generally doesn't hold it's retail value. What did you expect? They give you the option to turn down their offer and send the stuff back to you at no cost if you're not happy.

They are a rip off company, offered me just £30 for my things, jewellery, two smart phones, Beatles collection, coins etc

I know this is an old thread thats been resurrected, but they are always going to give a lower value than if you sold things more selectively. They are aimed at people who want to get rid of a lot of stuff quickly and easily. I got paid just under 800 quid for the box I sent to them. Yes I could have got more selling items to collectors individually, but I was happy to take a lower amount for the ease. I was v surprised by my offer,it was more than double what id anticipated

I think it's abundantly clear from the (very, very many) TV adverts what their model is. They're aiming at people who have 'old junk' that they don't see much value in, and so anything they can get - as well as the extra space - is a delightful bonus. They're definitely not aiming at the discerning seller of valuable items who wants to realise anything approaching the true value. They're essentially a house clearance company except they don't do house visits.

Also, the fact that they accept almost anything is telling; when they stress about there being no hassle in going to different dealers, that's their clear way of telling you that you won't get anywhere near the prices that you would if you did go to specialist jewellers and dealers.

One thing that puzzles me is when they go on about your box being insured up to £10K... but until they've received and valued it (and which 'values' will they go on - the open market one or their own?), how could you possibly know or prove what the true value is to make a claim, if it should go missing on its way to them?

Also, this is by the by, but that woman they have at the end of the adverts speaks like she's being forced to read a script at gunpoint after being awake for 4 days solid! Moreover, if you do the maths about how much experience they say their valuers have (not forgetting that they can easily know the true value very well without necessarily offering to pay anywhere near it) with how many boxes they claim they receive a day (into which you can put hundreds of items, as they say), that's either far too few valuers to be able to make a reasoned valuation or very little experience when spread over lots of valuers. It's like the magazine cover splashes that scream "We lost 28 stone!!!" and then you discover inside that that's the combined total for 63 people!

That company is for the random junk you might get some money for

not for jewellery! You need to go to someone who buys gold.

I'm also a bit perplexed by their claim that they don't throw anything away and find a new home for everything. Surely some of the stuff they receive must be only fit for landfill?

They don't even give much of a guide as to what they do and don't want, they pretty much invite everything; there must be people regularly sending them utterly worthless rubbish as well as all the decent stuff.

They have a detailed booklet, lots of info on their website and a required conversation before you send anything. Actually very useful.

Surely places like this are actually aimed at burglars and pickpockets wanting drug money but they can’t outright say that in the ads? It’s free money for people who didn’t buy the stuff in the first place. Cash for gold places do zero checks on where you actually got the stuff from, they just scan your ID which isn’t a deterrent as everyone knows the police don’t follow up on theft anymore. These places are all basically fences operating in the open.