SHERMAN SALES STILL HOT .. AT LEAST ON EBAY!

Tonight, in my other blog at THE VINTAGE JEWELRY BLOGGER, I got talking about how difficult those selling designer vintage jewelry are finding sales lately. After all, this is the time of year that sales of glitzy rhinestones start going through the roof as everyone brings out the glittery adornments for those festive get-togethers. Yet, I'm finding many of my sales associates are struggling to get sales, so much so that some are selling off huge lots of lovingly collected designer vintage jewelry on ebay, meaning they often get $5 - $10 a piece that way for items that might have cost them 10 times that.

But that doesn't seem to apply to Sherman Jewelry, at least not if you go by sales on eBay lately. Take that rigid cuff bracelet set shown here. Just for the heck of it, I took a look at recently completed sales, beginning with the highest, and that set above came at the top of the list. It sold for $922.65!! I tell you, I'm floored every time I see designer vintage jewelry which after all, doesn't use real gemstones or precious metals, fetching prices like this! Why I just sold an incredible diamond/sapphire 14k gold necklace recently appraised at over $4400 CAD to a lady in Greece for $900 US. Now that I understand. We're talking diamonds and sapphires, not crystals and gold plate! And yet, that's the value of Sherman for some people: it's more valuable than gold, silver, diamonds and gemstones.

And that's why the message of this post is that Sherman sales are still hot. Even when other designer vintage is suffering some setbacks, Sherman isn't. And what's selling? As always, bracelets, especially cuff bracelets like the one above. Secondly, sets. Sherman collectors want sets i.e. necklaces with earrings, brooches with earrings, or better yet, full parures i.e. those having necklace, earrings, brooch and bracelet. Of course, those are the hardest to find.

That's why my mission for the balance of this year and over 2009, will be to acquire as many Sherman sets as I can find and afford. Those readers who haven't visited my SHOP AT RUBY LANE may not yet have seen this incredible faux alexandrite 3-piece parure below:


That's the same set in both photos. Being faux alexandrite, it's blue/green/mauve in one photo and fully mauve in the other. This set is magnificent, with semi-rigid bracelet, earrings and a most unusual brooch to round out the parure. Click the photos above to see more views in our SHOP AT RUBY LANE.

We have some other recently added, exquisite necklace/earring sets in that shop as well. Why not slip over now and take a look around. Some are even on "Clearance" right now so you can pick yourself up a bargain. As temps cool down, one thing is certain: Sherman is still hot!

INTERESTED IN BUYING SHERMAN & OTHER DESIGNER VINTAGE & GOLD JEWELRY

I'm keeping today's blog short as I have way too much to do, but this post was prompted by having someone contact me yesterday asking for advice about selling Sherman jewellery i.e. how much could they get etc. etc. As usual, this is such a difficult question to answer as so many factors are involved:

1) what is the condition of the set, front and back i.e. wear to plating, loose or replaced stones, repairs if any?

2) what color is it? Is it one of the popular ones ie. siam red, fuschia, purple?

3) is it a single piece, 2-piece set, 3-piece set

4) is it an original set and not a marriage of similar pieces

5) is it signed "Sherman" on all pieces

6) is the design a common one or rarely seen?

These are all the considerations a buyer will make. But there's more. Selling a Sherman or any designer piece and what you'll get for it, depends on the buyer. Why do buyers want Sherman? Are they collectors, wearers or sellers? A collector might be willing to buy your Sherman for more money than a seller will. A seller always has to keep cost in mind. If they pay too much, they may not be able to recoup their investment. If they cater to a wealthy area of a city where folks are prepared to pay more, that seller can take a bigger risk on buying from you. If the seller regularly displays and sells at shows, they can generally get more for a piece than someone who doesn't. All these factors will be a part of what a seller will offer you as opposed to what a collector might pay for your designer vintage jewellery.

In the end, of course, it's your decision to accept what a buyer offers you. If this piece has been in the family for some time and didn't cost you anything to start with as it was handed down or was a gift or whatever, then you will most likely to be happy to accept a reasonable offer ... and you should. If it's a piece that you paid a lot for, then obviously you need to recoup your investment. In that case, scour the net. Visit sites like ebay and see what comparable pieces are selling for. Search for sites selling Sherman Jewellery and see what price is being asked. Bear one thing in mind: a seller can ask what they like. It doesn't mean they'll get it LOL! Many a time I've sold a Sherman for a mere $10 profit. Other times I get lucky and make double what I paid. It always comes back to the buyer and what they feel a piece is worth to them.

And on that note, since more people are contacting me lately asking if I'm interested in buying their Shermans, the answer is a resounding "YES!". I'm always keen to buy Shermans in good to excellent condition. If you can send me some photos, I'll tell you what I'm prepared to pay. I don't lowball but I do have to always keep in mind what I think I can get for the piece. After all, I'm in business to make a profit, even if it's only a small one. If you'd like me to look at what you have, whether it's Sherman, Weiss, Kramer, Juliana, D&E, Schreiner, Miriam Haskell, Antique, Victorian, Art Deco or gold of any vintage, contact me either via MY SHOP AT RUBY LANE or my sites at SHERMAN JEWELLERY SHOWCASE or VINTAGE JEWELRY SHOWCASE.

WOULD YOU PAY THIS MUCH FOR THIS SHERMAN?

There's a Sherman choker currently listed on eBay with a "buy it now" price I find a little hard to believe. You can take a look at it HERE. The reason I'm having trouble with the seller's asking price of $275 CAD or best offer is that I am selling the exact same Sherman choker shown on the right from my SHOP AT RUBY LANE for only $95 including Free Insured Shipping! So which one of us is missing something here? Am I, in my usual way, asking too little for a Sherman or is that eBay seller asking too much?

You know I'm finding it harder and harder to price Shermans these days. When it comes to the Siam red Shermans, you know the price is going to be sky-high, whether you're trying to win it on ebay or just trying to buy one. And I sometimes think that each such auction just pumps the prices of Shermans up and up so that sooner or later, like the stock market, there'll be a bubble and when it bursts, watch out for the fallout!

Everyday new people are writing to me asking about Shermans. They're in love with the designer, want to collect but like anything one collects, you still have to be careful to not overpay. Maybe it won't matter today if all you're doing is collecting, but if for some reason, tomorrow you have to sell a piece, it sure can hurt if you overpaid in the first place. I had that experience just recently when I listed the lovely book piece necklace shown below on Ebay and foolishly started

the bidding at $9.95. Never did I dream that the most anyone would bid for this beauty was $37. To my horror, I watched myself lose over $60 on this one because I had obviously overpaid it when I bought it. It was my first Sherman purchase and I was thrilled to later find it listed in Valerie Hammond's "All that Glitters" book. Valerie put a price on it of $195 - $225. I congratulated myself for buying it for only $110. Later, I listed it on my site at SHERMAN JEWELLERY SHOWCASE and also in MY SHOP AT RUBY LANE. Months went by and no-one bought it. I kept dropping the price till it was listed at what I'd paid and still no takers. So I sent it to eBay. The rest is history.

I'll never understand why a lovely necklace like that garnered so few bids. I'll never understand why a Sherman authority valued it for twice what I paid and 5 times what my winning bidder paid. But there's a moral in all this: when you're buying Sherman or any collectible designer vintage jewelry, shop around. Get savvy before you start buying up. Watch ebay auctions. Visit websites selling Shermans. Compare prices. Only then will you know whether you would or should pay this or that for a particular Sherman.

NEW ADDITIONS TO OUR SHERMAN JEWELLERY SHOWCASE

We've had a huge run on the jewelry we have for sale in our SHERMAN JEWELLERY SHOWCASE and in OUR SHOP AT RUBY LANE over the past few weeks and suddenly I find my stock seriously depleted. Now mind you, that's not a complaint, but it's suddenly put the heat on me to get some more Shermans pronto and unfortunately, I haven't seen too many lately that I'd want to invest in.

But I have managed to score a few more lovely pieces and want to invite you to take a look at them at THIS LINK. I haven't even had time to upload some of these to our Ruby Lane shop or set prices on others but I'll be getting around to it next week.

In the meantime, I just have to tell you about that magnificent set shown in the photo above. I've often found that too many Shermans out there have the same design but in different colors. So it sure was nice to acquire this incredible set with what I call its "overlap" design. Just how different is that! I've never seen one like this and we snapped it up as fast as we could. You can see more photos of it in OUR SHOP AT RUBY LANE. However, if you think this is one you'd like to have, the bad news for you is it's already sold!! Yes, this was our second fastest sale and it went to the same lady who snapped up that red glass crystal parure that was our fastest sale about 2 weeks ago. This is one lady who knows what she wants and acts on it. Truly, that's the way to go when you find a piece that you know is unique and worth collecting. If you don't act quickly, you can bet while you're thinking "should I or shouldn't I?" someone else is putting through their order.

So sorry it's too late for you to buy this gem but check out THIS LINK to see what else is new and available and contact us via our SHOP AT RUBY LANE or the CONTACT LINK at SHERMAN JEWELLERY SHOWCASE before someone else does!

SHERMANS ON AUCTION AT EBAY THIS WEEK

I've given up! Well at least for now. I've given trying to score Siam red Sherman jewelry at Ebay auctions. I watched another set this week. This time it was the necklace/earring demi shown on the left. I bid all the way to $351.99 and was the high bidder till the last 3 seconds when it went for $356.99. That does it for me. These Siam red Shermans are just going through the roof! So I've given up trying to get one for now. But it's okay because I've been buying up a storm of vintage designer jewelry lately and my Visa account is taking a beating. So maybe it's just as well.



So on that note, because I need some dollars to pay some bills, I've got a couple more pieces of my beloved Shermans up for auction myself this week and want to tell you about them. They could be gone by the time you read this as they finish on Thursday night, October 9. The bidding has already opened on the gorgeous blue aurora borealis brooch/earring set shown on the right. If you click the photo, you can go straight to the auction. This set is pristine! All the stones are original and clear and glitter like crazy. The back of both the earrings and the brooch is shiny silver and looks as if it were never worn. Definitely one you will be happy to add to your Sherman collection.


The outstanding two-tone green demi above is my other ebay auction this week. This one's a real beauty and the colors are lovely with the light green contrasting the dark green pear-shaped drops in the necklace and earrings. I've started the bidding at $149. Ebayers hate that. They want all the auctions to start at $9.99 but I made the mistake a couple of weeks back of putting up 4 of my Shermans, including a book piece valued at $225 in Valerie Hammond's book "All that Glitters" with the bidding starting at $9.99 and wanted to die when the auction had ended. The winning bid was $37!! I paid $110 for that piece 2 years ago! Now that really hurts. Guess it's been too long since I last sold on ebay and I've forgotten how it can really work against you, especially after you pay ebay and PayPal fees. So with that thought, I've decided to take my chances that no-one will bid. But someone will. Someone will see that to get a gorgeous Sherman demi for $149 is almost stealing it. Maybe you should go look and read more. Good luck!

SIAM RED 3-PIECE PARURE ELUDES ME AGAIN!

Wow...what a busy few days it's been for me. I think the Christmas shopping has begun, despite the terrible mess in the stock market and all that stuff. We've been so busy with sales in our SHOP AT RUBY LANE and on our SHERMAN JEWELLERY SHOWCASE site that I haven't had any time to get over here to post! Not that I'm complaining of course: I've sold 3 Shermans this past week, along with some lovely vintage gold pieces.

But there's one danger when I have a good selling week: I immediately start looking at what else I can buy and add to our line. And it was with that in mind that I got fixated on winning the ebay auction for that gorgeous Siam red Sherman 3-piece parure in the photo. I've been wanting to acquire one of these for the longest time. It would have rounded out my Sherman collection beautifully. But despite my decision to go for broke and spend more on this piece than I've ever spent on a Sherman, I failed! My disappointment was acute, especially since at 15 seconds before the auction closed, I was the highest bidder at $751.99. That's such a heap of money for me. Well darn, someone else could afford it better than I could I guess. They won it for $761.99!

So I find myself wondering if I'll ever be able to get my hands on a Siam Red Sherman. Oh sure, I guess if I shell out a fortune, I will. But in the meantime, I'll have to sell a lot more of what I currently have, though I must confess that stock is dropping quickly right now. But I do have a new piece for you today and while it's not Siam red, it's a beauty!

This glorious 6.5 inch Sherman bracelet of clear swarovski crystals is absolutely dazzling with its sparkle and is now available from our Ruby Lane Shop for only $165 including insured shipping in the US and Canada. Click the photo above to learn more about it and see lots more photos. It's 3/4" wide and I've never seen an old Sherman bracelet where the stones are still so crystal clear...just another kudo to Sherman for the fact that he was known to use only the best swarovski crystals in his jewelry. That is certainly evident here.

If you could use a gorgeous bracelet to set off your gown on New Year's eve, you can't go wrong with this one at this price. You'll light up the room more than any lights will. Check it out now!