I’d been engaged for three months. After a tough day at work, I came home to find that my fiancée and all her belongings were gone. Well, almost everything was gone. That beautiful diamond engagement ring was sitting on the coffee table looking up at me as if to say “so, what’s next?”

I was devastated: The love of my life (or so I thought) was gone forever, and I was just crushed. How would I even start to recover?

Time to Move On

I thought a great way to move on was to sell the diamond engagement ring that I had scrimped and saved for. So I took it back to the retailer I had bought it from. I assumed I would get a “haircut” off the price, but at least receive a decent offer. That’s when I got my second shock.

Don’t Buy Retail or Try to Sell to Retailers

The offer was staggeringly low. It turns out jewelers mark up rings two or three times over their wholesale cost. That $10,000 ring probably cost the jeweler $3,500. And that’s just about what I was offered. Rather than get mad I decided to break even—and that’s when I launched I Do Now I Don’t.

Great Reasons to Sell that Diamond Engagement Ring

After my heartbreak, I wanted to start fresh. That’s one reason to sell. But every day we welcome new sellers who have a dozen different reasons why they’re ready to sell a piece of jewelry.

• It could be a stunning diamond necklace that is simply too fancy to wear out on the town without big-time security.
• Or the bracelet that came from Aunt Mildred, but looks as if it were commissioned by Morticia.
• It might be pair of earrings, meaningful at the time, that have now lain untouched in a bedside drawer for 17 years.

Great Reasons to Buy

On I Do Now I Don’t you’ll find great jewelry and terrific prices. Diamond rings and jewelry that range from $500 to $50,000 and even higher. All are amazing buys. Why? Because so many of the pieces come directly from individual sellers motivated to make a sale.

And that attracts buyers looking for something different, and perhaps a deal, too.

A Happy Ending

Maybe you’re wondering what happened. Was I scarred for life by my broken engagement? Not at all. I got to launch an amazing business that connects people every day and has landed me on Rachael Ray, CNN and Whoopi Goldberg. And here’s the best part: I am pleased to report that I was married in August—to the real love of my life!

For more stories about people who have turned a broken engagement or divorce into a new beginning, click here.