If you asked the average citizen how to sell stolen jewelry without getting caught, they would say, “don’t do it”. They would also say, “even if you do it, you’d get caught”. Perhaps, they are wrong but they can’t be right.
It will only be too hard to sell stolen jewelry if you contact the wrong store licensed to buy used items. Even if you go to the wrong store, you want to give them the benefit of the doubt since they can be very suspicious.
Generally, you can sell stolen jewelry online, at swap meets, in parking lots, hotels, and even back alleys. And if you lose your guard, the average used item buyer will call the police. You will be forced to say how you got the jewelry.
In this publication, however, you will learn to sell the stolen jewelry, known as “hot item” in the street.
Is jewelry traceable if stolen?
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Well, unless there is some sort of tag, stolen jewelry is not traceable. The police are not even interested, especially if the value of the jewelry is not worth their time.
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Even if the police trace jewelry they believe is stolen, they have to be able to prove it. This includes knowing where it was stolen from. And if the original owner has no proof, any investigation is thwarted.
Meanwhile, you need to be really good at shoplifting, or say, know how to pickpocket the wrist watch, necklace or whatever and not get caught.
How to sell stolen jewelry without getting caught
Understand that this hot item – stolen jewelry – will not sell like any ordinary item. Follow the steps below to sell your stolen jewelry:
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Create a fake ID
Unless you get in touch with a street citizen who is aware you have stolen jewelry, you need a fake ID. You might have to clone another person’s ID.
The average used item store will look you up using an online service that provides information on your criminal history. So, if you have any criminal record, the jewelry is a red flag to them.
You do not use just any fake ID because the tool they use can verify the info, even if not perfectly.
The stores do this because they are required in some states to hold any item they take in and make a report to the police. In some states, they have to keep an item like used diamonds for 30 days before it can be sold.
If the secondhand store looks like they are busting you, they will request the jewelry identification. Make the excuse that you left it in the car and never come back.
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Melt the jewelry
If the jewelry is unique, you want to melt it. You may not be able to go to the swap meet and pawnshop unless you melt it right away.
Forget how movies portray pawnshops as places for selling hot items like any legitimate item. Pawnshops today are highly regulated, so taking unique jewelry there for sale could be walking yourself into a mess.
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Find a buyer or hot spot
You can sell the stolen jewelry at any hot spot or to any hot item buyer who knows how to go about selling it for a higher value.
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Hot spots on the street are really good places for exchanging stolen items like jewelry for cash. These areas are all around you. If none is nearby, then you want to leave town, this even keeps you more anonymous.
Secondhand dealers in the Jewelry District are also notorious for buying stolen jewelry.
You want to sell the item cheaper than its actual value. You want someone willing to spend $1,000 on a $6,000 bracelet for quick cash.
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Sell the jewelry as an inheritance
If you decide to sell the stolen jewelry at a secondhand store, sell them as an inheritance for scrap out of town.
Some swap meet and secondhand dealers vendors may know that the jewelry is stolen but they are going to buy it anyway. Moreover, the law does not require the store to ask how you came across the jewelry.
Some secondhand jewelry buyers, such as pawn shops, and others need a special license. They will ask for your identification and, perhaps, your thumbprint. They will jot down a detailed description of the jewelry and any serial numbers, which they upload to the statewide database for flagging stolen items.
If the stolen jewelry has no serial numbers on it, there is no way the store can determine if the jewelry is stolen, so they may just go ahead and buy it.
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Sell them slow and scattered
To avoid getting caught selling stolen jewelry, sell them slow and scattered around. This means if you have a bag of stolen diamonds, you sell them in pieces across different neighborhoods, especially if the precious metal has been melted.
The more jewelry you have, the more time you need to scatter and sell them. This is the most secure way, compared to selling in bulk or at once. You never know, you could be trading with an undercover cop, so only a piece may not have you convicted.
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Expect lowballing
If you can avoid anything, it won’t be lowballing, especially if you a platform like Craigslist to find a buyer. This reminds me: the original owner of the jewelry will search Craigslist for it if the design is unique.
The truth is that it is fairly easy to move jewelry. You do not expect a fair deal on the street, since your stolen $1,000 watch will probably sell for just $200 to $300 on a good day.
Can pawnshop know you have stolen jewelry?
A pawnshop may be able to tell that you possess stolen jewelry. I have worked in the pawnshop for over 20 years, so I have experience. The pawnshop stereotype created by Hollywood is not true anymore. Pawnshops have upgraded a lot, and are becoming more retail friendly.
Take a walk into any big chain pawnshop and see for yourself that it is not exactly as notorious as Hollywood paints it. While working at the pawn store, I could tell if items like jewelry are stolen. Even though I weed out the ones I believe are stolen, I could still buy them if the seller’s answers to my questions about the jewelry are convincing and consistent. I’m not in their heads, so I cannot be too sure.
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If the customer says, “I want this jewelry sale off the books,” then I know it would have been stolen. Some “holier than thou” pawn stores will tell you to get lost, or even call the police on you.
In some states, a pawnshop must report whatever they take through police database systems such as BWIrapid and Leadsonline. And if the police seize the stolen jewelry, the pawnshop is at a loss, so they do not just overlook your suspicious items.
You can see that going into certain pawn shops today will be surrendering the stolen jewelry. And if you presented your ID or completed the fingerprints, you are going to get caught.
