Q: I own a jewellery store. We offer our customers a ‘trade-in’ service where they bring their old jewellery to us, we evaluate it and determine its worth, and then the customer takes jewellery of their choice to the value of the jewellery that was traded-in.
Is it correct to deal in this manner? If not, how should we conduct the deal?
A: If the exchanges are the same, such as gold for gold, then the deal has to be concluded on the spot and the weight of both have to be the same. If the weight is not the same then it will be riba.
If the exchanges are different, such as silver for gold, then the deal has to be concluded on the spot, but it is permissible for the weights to be different. If the exchanges are the same but the exchange which is less in weight has an addition to it such as a diamond (e.g. a 6 gram diamond studded gold ring in exchange of a 8 gram gold bangle) then this will also be permissible.
And Allah Ta’ala (الله تعالى) knows best.
Answered by:
Mufti Ebrahim Salejee (Isipingo Beach)