Combination Retailing System For Appraising Precious Stones And Metals And Dispensing Gift Cards, Coupons And The Like

A computer implemented method for appraising an item;

• the item having at least one constituent selected from the group consisting of a precious stone, a semi-precious stone, a precious metal, and a semi-precious metal;
• the method comprising steps:
• using a kiosk to physically receive the item from a seller;
• the kiosk having an input device, an output device, a slot, a shipping carton dispenser, and a shipping label dispenser;
• appraising the item within the kiosk;
• wherein appraising the item includes:
• (1) determining a composition of the item using an evaluating device;
• and
• (2) associating an exchange value with the item using data obtained by the evaluating device and market data obtained over a network;
• using the shipping carton dispenser to dispense a shipping carton for shipping the item to a depository;
• using the shipping label dispenser to dispense a fold-under label to be adhered to the carton;
• using the output device to print indicia on the fold-under label;
• and
• using the slot to dispense a transaction card for the seller.

A computer implemented method for appraising an item;

• the item having at least one constituent selected from the group consisting of a precious stone, a semi-precious stone, a precious metal, and a semi-precious metal;
• the method comprising steps:
• using a kiosk to physically receive the item from a seller;
• the kiosk having an input device, an output device, a slot, a shipping carton dispenser, and a shipping label dispenser;
• allowing the seller to use at least one of the input device and the output device to select a time period;
• appraising the item within the kiosk;
• wherein appraising the item includes:
• (1) determining a composition of the item using an evaluating device;
• and
• (2) associating an exchange value with the item using data obtained by the evaluating device and market data obtained over a network;
• using the shipping carton dispenser to dispense a shipping carton for shipping the item to a depository;
• using the shipping label dispenser to dispense a label to be adhered to the carton;
• using the output device to print indicia on the label;
• and
• using the slot to dispense a transaction card for the seller.