ParanormalPI’s Guide to Buying Sterling Silver Jewelry on eBay

ParanormalPI’s Guide to Buying Sterling Silver Jewelry on eBay     Obviously sterling silver isn’t going to cost as much as gold or platinum jewelry, but there is a huge difference between true sterling jewelry which can last years and plated jewelry that will come apart leaving marks on your skin and turning ugly within weeks. A lot people want cute pieces to wear and they’re either allergic to gold, don’t want to spend a fortune on one fun piece, or if they’re like me, they simply like the look of silver over gold. The problem is a lot of people, especially on sites like eBay, simply advertise their jewelry as “silver”, not plated, not sterling, just silver and that’s where accidents can happen. I have bought my fair share of crap jewelry thinking it was sterling silver; sometimes it was just my not paying attention to the terms used in the listing, but other times it was due to a lack of information in a listing and my negligence to obtain it.
     My goal with this guide is to help you be able to identify real sterling silver jewelry so that you don’t over pay for a piece of crap and you don’t end up embarrassed when your finger, arm, or neck starts to turn green from crappy fake silver.

What is Sterling Silver?:
      Sterling silver items are made up of 92.5% silver and 7.5% of other metals, although copper is the most common addition. Adding the outside metals helps to strengthen the silver so it remains more durable for a longer period of time. The above standard for sterling silver has actually been around for thousands of years and was made popular in the U.S. about 150 years ago by the Tiffany Co.
     Sadly the term “sterling silver” is used and abused way too often buy eBay sellers and more and more people are shelling out money for jewelry that’s not authentic sterling silver. Not all silver is sterling and this concept seems to be lost in eBay land. True sterling silver has to be a minimum of 925 percent silver out of 1,000. As mentioned before, the other 75 percent will be of other metals such as nickel or copper; if a silver item is any less than .925 than it’s not truly sterling silver.
 
Identifying Sterling Silver:
      Although sterling silver is considerably cheaper than gold, platinum, or titanium jewelry, it is still more expensive than your cheap, plated, costume jewelry that you can find for .99 out of China. If the seller is claiming to be selling sterling silver, but is selling it for dirt cheap that is something be weary of.
     The most common way to identify sterling silver is with it’s marking or hallmark. The number .925 is on most sterling silver although some companies only write “sterling”. Some companies will only write “ster” or “stg”, I’m guessing due to limited space, and then some will put both “sterling” and the number “.925”. Older sterling silver and/or sterling silver that was made outside of the U.S. may also have a specific hallmark (image), you can look online for a list of those hallmarks.
     Once you have possession of the silver I’ve heard and found true through my own experience, that smelling it can help you identify if it’s authentic or not. Plated jewelry will have a real metal smell too it, sort of like a copper penny. From what I understand, neither sterling silver nor gold have a smell to them.

Identifying Silver plated:
     The most common mix up is between sterling silver and silver “plated” jewelry, but it’s a big difference. I’ve even seen people trying to advertise jewelry as “sterling silver plated” and there’s no such thing, it’s one or the other, and odds are it’s plated.
      Silver plated jewelry is crappy metal, usually copper, that is simply dipped in silver. They cover enough to make the ring look pretty until it’s sold, but within a couple weeks of being worn the crappy metal starts to bleed through. This leads to ugly jewelry, green or brown marks on your skin, and for me itchy and irritated skin!

Identifying Fine Silver:
     Fine Silver sounds like a fancy name for a high end silver, but the realty is it’s actually too soft of a silver to even make jewelry out of. Fine silver is made up of 99.9% pure silver which makes it very hard to work with and makes it very prone to nicks, dings, and other imperfections. Luckily there really isn’t a threat of your advertised sterling silver ending up being fine silver.

Other Types of Silver:
     There are definitely other types of silver out on the market, but sterling, plated, and fine are really the most prominent, other types are rarer.

So How Do You Buy Sterling Silver on eBay?:
     The first thing I’d do is check out the feedback and rating for the seller. If you see a lot of feedback complaining about the quality or the authenticity of the silver I would stay away.
     Don’t simply trust a listing that says “Sterling Silver”; look for physical proof within pictures. Look for the identifying marks listed above. If the listing claims to be sterling silver, yet there’s not any pictures to show proof, then either move on to someone else or email the seller asking for proof pictures.
     Unmarked sterling silver does exist, but not really on jewelry. Jewelry that’s sterling silver should be marked as so. You should be highly skeptical of any piece of “sterling silver” jewelry that’s not properly marked.
     Sadly there are people actually faking hallmarks and adding .925 stamps to jewelry that is not authentic sterling silver. There are even people posting pictures of authentic sterling silver and then shipping out junk. Many of these fakes come from over seas like in China and they are priced at crazy low prices. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
     The unfortunate reality is buying sterling silver over the internet, especially through a site like eBay is always risky, but if you go with an established seller with a high rating and good track record and you do your homework and look for as much proof as possible, then you are more likely to get a great piece at a fair price instead of a crap piece at an awesome price.