Jewelry Web site turns pain into profit

Pinehurst native Elizabeth Rothbeind started the company to help people sell bling left behind after a breakup.

“You can buy jewelry, sell jewelry, melt jewelry and you can blog about jewelry life … anything you want,” she said.

Rothbeind recently graduated from business school in Florida. She got the idea for EX-cessories.com when she and a friend were torn about what to do with jewelry left behind after a bad breakup.

That was their light bulb moment.

“We can make money off of this! What are we doing?” she recalled thinking.

Here’s how the site works. Customers go through their jewelry boxes and fish out bling from former beaus or find jewelry they don't wear. From there, they can list the items themselves or send it to EX-cessories.com and have them do the work.

The goal is to turn pain into profit.

“Sometimes when the past is lingering and staring at you in a drawer, it can be upsetting,” Rothbeind said.

One of Rothbeind’s first clients was her aunt who sold a pair of earrings from an admirer.

“Well, they just sat in my jewelry box. But I have to admit, when I would open my jewelry box and look at them, I’d be kind of like, ‘Oh, gosh,’” said Susan Levine.

Levine said she donated her profits to charity, but most customers use the site as an easy way to pocket some cash or buy jewelry at a discount price.

Rothbeind said she doesn’t just have female customers – the men are profiting, too, by selling rings and other baubles returned to them after breakups.

As for Rothbeind, she sold her own old jewelry quickly.

“Move forward (and) put the past behind,” she said.

The site recommends that customers sell items at 30 to 40 percent below original retail value. Depending on the price of the item, customers may be required to get an appraisal.

EX-cessories.com earns a commission depending on the sale price of the jewelry.