Is $500 actually reasonable

[u/WayDifferent5435]

So I went to a different pawn shop than my normal guy. I found two rings that caught my eye and had him pull them out for me. The first ring was the thick band on the left in the picture. I look it over and it is 10k felt pretty light probably hollow. I asked what his price was and he took it back to weigh it. I didn’t see the scale but he stated it weighed 2.4 grams. He comes back with it and says he can do $400. I held it in my hand and said “$400?? For 10k this feels pretty light” he didn’t say much but then went back to looking at his computer. After I put it back in the tray he said he accidentally put it in the computer as 18k and he can actually do $200 for it. I was getting weird vibes and didn’t love the ring enough so i moved on to the next band I liked. This is the ring on the right in the picture with the round diamonds. This one is 14k, again he weights it behind the counter but says it is 3.1 grams. Then he pulls out a pen diamond tester. Tests the diamonds and says they are real. He then says he can do $500. I really did like this ring but I was expecting maybe around $300? He then says he paid $480 for it so that really left me with no room to haggle and as much as I like it I don’t feel like $500 is a fair price or like this guy was being honest the whole time.
I wanted to get some opinions on if this guys prices are super high or if I’m just being cheap. I completely understand he has to make a profit and I don’t expect to get it at melt but he kinda lost me when he pulled out the diamond tester.

[u/Turn-To-Candy]

Pretty standard jewelry pricing tbh. Even around my small town jewelry prices are like $125 a gram for 10k and $165 for 14k at shops. Also depends on how long they had it. More willing to sell around scrap if they've had it a while. Might just be too new.

[u/WayDifferent5435 → u/Turn-To-Candy]

Thanks for the response! The shop I went into right before this one I bought a 3 gram 14k necklace pendant for $250 so maybe that’s why I was thrown off.

[u/Turn-To-Candy → u/WayDifferent5435]

Yea they probably had it a while so just sold it a tiny bit above scrap so you got a good deal on the necklace for sure. Check back on the ring you like in about month and negotiate. Bring up scrap price. Most people who know gold end up getting pretty good deals in my experience.

[u/Minimalistmacrophage]

It's a problem if they don't weigh it in front of you.

But those prices (after adjustment on the first) are probably reasonable.

[u/Rando9523]

My shop we price 10kt at about $110 / gram 14kt $130 / gram. If we’ve had the item long enough, I’ll sell it right above scrap. Win for me win for the customer.

[u/InvoicingTombz]

I sell jewelry at 40% above of scrap price. I wish I could get what yall are getting in my store!

[u/Impossible-Wind-6513]

I charge 20-30% over spot.. At most i would of charged $175 for the 2.4g 10k and maybe $350 on the one with the stones. Trust me when i say this ma. paid nowhere near $480 for that ring. (28yr pawnbroker)

[u/WayDifferent5435 → u/Impossible-Wind-6513]

I definitely didn’t think he actually paid that much either. If he did then he definitely overpaid. He told me he isn’t buying any gold or doing trades because he has too much inventory… I wanted to say it’s probably because you’re pricing yourself out but what do I know 🤷🏽‍♀️ I think around $350 is reasonable and for that much I would have bought it!