subject: Sell Your Gold Safely [print this page] We've all seen the commercials about selling gold. And they all sound so great that they pay so much for old gold.
There are some things to consider when you want to sell your gold. There are companies out there that pay you less than 40% of what the going rate of gold is!
The TV companies admit that they pay less then your traditional jewelers. It really depends on the quality of your product and how much you are selling.
Premium pieces with high-quality craftsmanship are most definitely worth shopping around to jewelers, while a handful of broken chains and earrings are far more convenient to ship off to places that make everything easy for you.
But are you getting what your gold is worth? It takes research to determine if you are getting top dollar for your gold.
I think that there are some valid points that the public has about selling their gold and the legitimacy of it. You never know where you'll get the best price for your gold; until you've made yourself knowledgeable and shopped around.
As Consumer Reports indicated, you must realize the kind of gold you have. To discover this, it is important to understand how the Karat system works.
To measure Karat, visualize a scale of 1 to 24. 24 is the top; 24K has 24 parts gold. It is 100% pure gold.
In comparison, 14K indicates that there are 14 parts gold and 10 parts of some other alloy (14+10=24). So, 14 out of 24 parts is gold.
That means that your 14K gold ring is 58.33% gold and 41.67% some other alloy. If you're selling the ring for scrap, the gold buyer is only interested in paying you for the part that is real gold.
Here's a table of Karats:
22K = 91.66% gold
20K = 83.33% gold
18K = 75% gold
14K = 58.33% gold
10K = 41.66% gold
Example: a 10K ring, weighing 10 grams will contain 4.166 grams of gold. Also, be realistic. You may have a piece of jewelry that has a lot of sentimental value, but not a lot of cash value.
Be informed, be realistic and shop around; that's the only way you'll know who will pay the most for it based on actual value.
If you can sell your item to the refinery, you definitely should. The problem is that most refineries I called won't deal with the public directly.
They sometimes say that you have to be a wholesale buyer or have a jeweler's license. I've even heard of some saying that you have to be in some kind of jeweler's association, or they won't deal with you.
I did a lot of research before I sold my grandma's old jewelry, and I think I got a good deal. They were nice when I called and explained the whole process.
They even had their prices posted on their website, so I had a pretty good idea of what I was going to get paid. I already knew how much it all weighed because I went by the post office and put it on their postal scale in the lobby.
Most of the stuff I sold them looked like it came straight out of the Civil War. It was dirty, some pieces broken, and they didn't care one bit.
My check was for over $1600, and I got it in just a few days. The guy there who processed my order sent me a handful of his business cards with my check, and I feel good about passing them out to friends.
Finding companies that pay you top dollar and deliver customer service that makes you feel good can be the best thing you do when selling your gold.
