People arrive assuming these are the same transaction with different names. They are not, and picking the wrong one is a mistake that is difficult to reverse in one direction and easy in the other.
Side by side.
You get
- Selling outright
- The full agreed amount
- Collateral loan
- A loan against the item
The item
- Selling outright
- Ours, permanently
- Collateral loan
- Held safely, yours to redeem
Reversible
- Selling outright
- No
- Collateral loan
- Yes, by repaying
Credit check
- Selling outright
- None
- Collateral loan
- None
Affects your credit
- Selling outright
- No
- Collateral loan
- No
If plans change
- Selling outright
- The piece is gone
- Collateral loan
- The piece is still there
Do you want it back?
That is genuinely most of the decision. Everything else follows from it.
- If you would be relieved to see it go, sell it. You will release more and you will not be paying to keep an option you do not want.
- If it was your grandmother's, borrow against it. The extra you would get from selling is not worth what you would feel about it later.
- If you are unsure, borrow against it. Uncertainty is exactly what the option is for, and you can always sell later.
- If you need the largest amount possible and the piece means nothing to you, sell it.
The one thing we would say plainly: do not sell something with real sentimental weight to solve a short-term problem. That is the decision people come back and regret, and a loan exists precisely so you do not have to make it.
The mechanics.
- 01
We evaluate the piece
Metal tested, stones checked, the piece assessed as a whole. The same examination either way, and it is free.
- 02
You are told the terms before anything is signed
The amount, the term, and what it costs, in writing and explained out loud. Ask anything you want at this stage.
- 03
The item is stored securely
It stays insured and in the safe. It is not worn, not sold, and not going anywhere while the loan is current.
- 04
You repay and collect it
Come in, settle the loan, take the piece home. If you cannot repay, talk to us before the term ends rather than after.
If a loan is not repaid, the item covers the debt and that is the end of it. Nothing further is owed and nothing is reported anywhere. That is the structural difference between this and unsecured borrowing, and for some situations it is the whole reason to choose it.
Start with the evaluation.
You cannot sensibly choose between two numbers you have not been told. Bring the piece in, find out what it is and what it is worth, and then decide. There is no charge and no obligation to do anything at all.