How To Get The Most Cash For Gold

Posted on December 16, 2009 by admin

The world is facing an economic crisis now. There are many people who find it hard to find the money necessary for everyday living. Many people need money to eat, pay their rent or mortgage and to live.  Whether they come from rich or poor families, there are people who need immediate cash and with the price of gold being at a near all time high many people are selling their unwanted, broken or out of style gold jewelry for cash.

I have been in the business of buying precious metals for just over  a decade.  When I started pretty much the only competition were the Pawn Shops who generally paid the very least they could, people who tend to use pawn shops tend to be of a desperate nature, when you want to sell gold jewelry for cash the worst time to do so is when you’re in hurry, if you’re in dire need of money unscrupulous gold buyers will sense this and try and low ball you as much as they can. During the last decade the price of gold has fluctuated greatly and recently hit an all time high of just over $1,275.00 U.S. per ounce.  This combined with the poor economy has led to a glut of start up scrap gold buyers, many of whom are trying to make a quick buck off of the poor circumstances of others.

I’ve been in this business a long time and come across people from all walks of life, rich, middle class and some lower class.  Surprisingly enough the majority of the people I buy from are just average people looking to sell gold for cash, I don’t deal with stolen merchandise, travel to skeptical or dangerous areas and in general have a pleasant clientele that simply want to get a fair price for their unwanted items.

The reason people sell their unwanted gold jewelry, silverware, coins etc. varies, some need the funds to pay off bills or live, some sell their items to go shopping, some are selling the items of deceased family members, many have accumulated a variety of items they no longer wear and could use the cash for other purposes that suit their present needs.  Of course many of my clients are women and usually have items from previous boyfriends or husbands they no longer need.

Finding A Gold Buyer

If you do a search online for ‘gold jewelry buyer’ ‘sell my jewelry’ or ‘gold buyer’ etc you will see an onslaught of websites all offering you the supposed best price for your items.  I’m amazed, it seems like every week if not everyday there are new sites offering to buy your gold scrap, everyone’s a gold buyer these days.

Finding A Gold Buyer – Tips

Here’s some points to keep in mind when deciding to dealing with a company and avoiding the increasing number of cash for gold scams.

1.  Do they have a phone number so you can speak to a real person?  I’m often amazed at how many of these online dealers don’t even provide you with the ability to speak to them and they expect you to blindly send them your items. My company does offer a shipping service where you ship us your items for pricing but we always encourage you to give us a call ahead of time if for no other reason then your peace of mind.

2.  Do they have a physical location of office where you can meet them in person if you choose?  We offer our Mail in Service, Book an appointment at our office service and our We travel to you service.

3.  Do they list their prices on their website?  Again I’m amazed how many companies do not list their payment prices, they only say ‘we pay the most’, hmmm sounds a little fishy to me.  We list and update our prices daily so you know the exact price you can expect to get per gram for your things.  Pretty much all jewelry will be purchase as ‘scrap’ and as such you are looking for their listed scrap gold prices, what this means is you are being paid for the actual gold content of your items not a percentage of it’s retail value.

4.  Watch out for companies that will list their prices in DWT or Pennyweight, you see, 1 DWT or Pennyweight = 1.55 grams, some companies will list the payment prices in DWT or Pennyweight to make their prices seem high, we list our prices in both grams and DWT so you can easily compare.  Companies that list in only Dwt/Pennyweight will list this fact in very small print.

5. You can also do a search online search for ‘selling gold jewelry’ or ‘ sell gold jewelry’ and see what others experience’s have been for companies you’re thinking of dealing with.

Jewelry Stores

10 years ago very few jewelry stores purchased used or old gold jewelry, today it’s the norm, this can be good or bad depending on who you go to see.  Like any business there are reputable and not so reputable owners, this applies to jewelry stores as well, if you have a good relationship with a jeweler he may offer you a fair price for your things, still, it’s best to shop around for prices.

How Does It Work When Selling Gold Jewelry?

When you sell your jewelry your price will be determined by two factors, it weight (usually measured in grams).  So if you have a 10 gram 10 karat gold chain and the gold buyer is paying $9.05 per gram for 10k you will receive $90.50 for your chain.

As the karat goes up so does the price, for example here is a list of what we’re currently paying for gold jewelry: (Remember: 1 Dwt or Pennyweight = 1.55 grams)

9 karat $8.10/gram or $12.56/dwt
10 karat $9.05 /gram or $14.02/dwt
14 karat $12.70 /gram or $19.65/dwt
Dental Gold $14.05/gram or $21.77dwt
18 karat $17.45/gram or $27.05/dwt
22 karat $22.05 /gram or $35.10/dwt
24 karat $23.25 /gram or $37.12/dwt

Selling Gold Bullion: We pay 92.5% of spot price, so if gold’s spot price is $1,000.00 we would pay you $925.00 for your 1 ounce bar, .999 fine coin, wafer etc.

Different Kinds Of Gold You Can Sell For Cash

There are many kinds of precious metals that people want to sell for cash.  They want to  cash for their gold. These items include:

  • Gold Jewelry

  • Gold Chains

  • Gold Necklaces

  • Gold Rings

  • Gold Wedding Bands

  • Old Class Rings

  • Gold Earrings ( pairs or singles )

  • Gold Pendants

  • Dental Gold

  • Solid Gold Watches

  • Gold Bracelets

  • Tangled Chains

  • Gold Bangles

  • Scrap Gold (gold jewelry in any condition, referred to as broken gold)

  • Gold Coins

  • Gold Bars , all sizes.

You can sell any kind of gold, platinum or silver for cash.  Depending on your needs you may want to sell the items outright or if it’s a temporary cash bridge you may want to borrow against their value in the form of a loan through a pawn broker.

When you use a pawn broker your item acts as collateral for the loan, you need to keep up your payments or the broker has the right to sell your item outright.

Reasons People Sell Their Things:

They are in dire need of the money. They want immediate cash.  The gold jewelry may no longer have sentimental value as in the case of divorce. Dental gold normally comes from elderly people who are getting dental replacements.

A lot of gold jewelry is sold when given as gifts, usually when a boyfriend/girlfriend break up.  Estate jewelry is sold in the event of a death and the inheritance holds no sentiment instead the family member would prefer cash.  A lot of gold jewelry goes out of style, is broken, there may only be one odd earring etc. In these cases people would prefer to sell the jewelry for cash, perhaps pay off some bills, take a trip or purchase something for themselves or their home.

Conclusion:

Whatever your reason for wanting to get cash for your gold make sure you’re dealing with a reputable company or dealer, speak to them on the phone first, ask their payment rates per gram I.e What do you pay for 10k, 14k, 18k etc.

Many people in this business are pushy and disrespectful, these people are out for a quick buck and usually are not paying you a very good rate.  Deal with someone who is friendly and will openly tell you his/her rates.

Good luck in selling your unwanted gold.

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How To Sell Dental Gold For The Best Prices

Posted on August 14, 2011 by admin

With the rising price of gold these days it’s no wonder people are looking at getting cash for dental gold. Over the last year I have had an influx of inquiries from people  who are interested in selling gold fillings, bridges and crowns as well as calls from many dentists who are interested in selling their pile of old dental gold scrap.

Remember gold is gold and it is worth money, if you are having any dental work removed that contains gold do not leave it in your dentists office unless he/she is compensating you properly for the gold you’re leaving with him. You’ve paid for it when you had the work done originally and you may as well re-cooperate some of your money back.

Here are some typical questions from our clients:

Question: I have 2 gold teeth both with enamel attached. Would like to get a valuation for selling these gold teeth Please advise. Thank you

Answer: The price your gold teeth would fetch depends greatly on their weight less the enamel and/or tooth matter.  Two teeth could weigh anywhere from 4 to 15 grams and we are currently paying $21.85 per gram for yellow dental gold.

To get an idea on their weight I can tell you a quarter weighs 5 grams, hold the gold teeth in one hand and the corresponding amount of quarters in the other until they feel about even. Many clients have been surprisingly accurate using this method.

 

Removing Enamel and Tooth Matter From Gold Teeth:

If you care to try to remove the enamel yourself to get a better idea of the actual gold weight you could get a hammer and a thick piece of plastic or cardboard.  Set the teeth on a hard surface like a basement concrete floor. Place the plastic or cardboard over the teeth and hit them with the hammer, the enamel should disintegrate into a powder, this will leave you with mostly dental gold.
Note: Always use the proper safety equipment such as safety glasses when doing this.

 

What Is Dental Gold?

Well, dental gold has been used for centuries in dental restoration in the form or gold teeth, gold fillings, crowns, bridges and dentures.  For various hygiene and medical oral reasons people need to have this dental work removed.  The best kind of dental from a buyers perspective is a deep rich yellow color that is untarnished and feels heavy in your hand.

 

How To Sell Dental Gold

Selling your dental gold is the same process as selling any other kind of scrap gold, not all gold buyers purchase dental gold but most do, the problem is most will try to low ball people selling their scrap dental gold.  There are dental gold buyers that specialize in buying strictly dental gold alloys and amalgams but they usually deal strictly with dental offices, denturists and the like.

The key is to do some comparison shopping, any company that states that they purchase dental gold should list their current scrap dental gold prices on their websites or you should be able to give them a call and ask what they are currently paying per gram for yellow dental gold.  Deal with a company that will answer your questions, sounds reliable and pays a decent rate, if they do not want to give you pricing per gram ahead of time I would avoid them all together.  Also, when dealing with dental gold scrap stay away from pawn shops and they will likely be some of the lowest paying.

 

Dental Gold Purity

Dental gold karat can vary, it used to be that only yellow dental gold was used in the past but for astetic reasons different alloys have been used in more modern types so the ‘rich yellow’ color of gold doesn’t stand out as much.  That being said yellow dental gold can range from 30% actual gold content to 100% gold content, that being 7k all the way to 24k but the most common karat of yellow dental gold is right in the range of 16k or 66.5% dental gold purity, that is what I base my prices on when buying yellow dental gold.

 

Conclusion

The business of dental gold recycling has become big business over the last couple years with the price of gold heading higher it will only increase. As a result more and more companies will start buying dental gold.  Click here if you’re interested in learning more about dental gold alloys and how to buy and sell them.

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Where To Sell A Platinum Ring

Posted on July 24, 2011 by admin

Platinum is a precious metal with many uses, from jewelry, medical and laboratory devices, coins, bullion to catalytic converters.  A diverse metal with an equally diverse amount of inquiries, unfortunately when it comes to platinum wedding ring sets we get a large number of inquiries from people who wish to sell their platinum rings and bands from failed marriages and engagements.

Below are some typical questions I get on a regular basis and I will provide you with some straight forward information on selling your platinum  jewelry below.

Q:  I have a ring that I have  had for a while that my ex gave it to me it is hallmarked pt950 I do believe it is platinum it weighs about the size of a quarter and has one small diamond in it my question is is it worth selling ?

A: Yes, from the information you’ve provided you ring is platinum,  Pt 950 is one of several platinum jewelry hallmarks, the ’950′ portion of the hallmark means that your ring is 950/1000 pure platinum or 95% platinum.  We purchase platinum jewelry and today (July 12th, 2011) we are currently paying $33.55 per gram for 950 platinum jewelry.  If your ring weighs the same as a quarter which would be 5 grams we would pay $167.75 for your ring.  As for the diamond, typically if it is a very small diamond it has little value unless the stone happens to be of excellent quality, meaning at least VS grade.

Q: Hello, I have a $2500 platinum engagement band. How much would you give me for it?

A: Hello Cory, the price your band would fetch would depend greatly on it’s weight, typically platinum bands weigh anywhere from 5 to 20 grams, we are currently paying $32.55 per gram for platinum jewelry so it would be anywhere from $162.75 to $651.00.To get a rough idea on what you band weighs, I can tell you a quarter weighs 5 grams so if you put the band in one hand and a quarter or quarters in the other until they feel about the same you will get a rough idea on it’s weight.  Unfortunately the retails price of jewelry is marked up 10-20 the value of the actual precious metal.

Selling A Platinum Ring

When it comes to selling platinum jewelry I find that people have different reactions, if the item is something like a platinum wedding ring or band both men and women are just happy to sell it as scrap and receive whatever value it is at the time, this is likely because they wish to rid themselves of the memory assoicated with the item.  Other may have significantly more valuable items, for instance I recently purchase a heavy platinum chain for a younger fellow who have come into some legal problems, it weighed just over 125 grams and I was able to offer him just under $4500.00 for the chain. Now lets look at the different options available and where to sell a platinum ring.

 

1. Cash For Gold Companies: When you’re selling jewelry you have a few options, you are likely aware of the may Cash For Gold businesses around these days, literally 100′s seemed to have popped up when the economy went south, some of them are good legitimate businesses offering a valuable service and some are fly by nighters looking to make a quick buck.   Any decent company will be happy to provide you with a quote ahead of time and if they have a website they will list their prices in plain view without any confusing terms.  The majority of these businesses are in the scrap metal business and will either be melting the item down themselves to sell to a larger refinery or they purchase used jewelry and resell the jewelry itself to larger refineries to be melted down.  Compare what different companies are paying and phone  at least three that look the best to you,  if they don’t have a phone number where you can speak to someone in person I would pass on them.

2. Pawn Shops: Pawn shops used to be one of the only options around until about 10-15 years ago if you were looking to sell your old jewelry, this is the worst place you could go to sell your platinum ring or band, as an example I am currently paying $24.55 for 14k gold jewelry, the local pawn shops in the area I do business are paying $12-$15 per gram, they realize that most people coming to them tend to be either desperate or have not taken the time to educate themselves on how to get the most cash for their jewelry and in turn try to pay as little as possible.

3. Jewelers: It used to be that most jewelers didn’t buy used jewelry but more and more you’ll see jewelers with signs in their windows saying ‘We Buy Gold Jewelry For Cash’ or something similar.  Most jewelers are in between, what I mean is they pay mediocre prices but some do pay decently you just need to get a quote from them and compare.

4. Selling Privately: Likely the most you will get when selling platinum ring is selling it privately, unfortunately this can prove to be difficult particularly if it is a platinum diamond rings.  The reason being that a lot of people have a stigma about buying used jewelry for a loved one and many are looking for a particular size and style, so you really have to find the right person to match your item.  I’m not saying it is impossible but it may prove difficult, I know this because I purchase a lot of used jewelry and when people have tried to sell their items privately many of them come to me after they have given up.

 

Understanding How Scrap Platinum Jewelry Prices Work

First of all platinum scrap prices are fairly easy to work out and are greatly determined by the price of platinum per ounce on any given day.  The second thing you need to realize is that platinum jewelry is not usually 100% pure platinum, there are a few different hallmarks you should be aware of that determine the amount of platinum in your item namely: Pt 850 (85% platinum), Pt 900 (90% platinum), Pt 950 (95% platinum), you will also see other hallmarks for platinum such as 850, 900, 950 etc.

So let’s say the platinum spot price per ounce is $1,500.00 and you have a platinum ring that weighs 10 grams.  There is 31.1 grams in one troy ounce of platinum so 10 divided by 31.1 = .32 of an ounce.  Now let’s say  your jewelry is 90% platinum, you  would times .32 of an ounce  x .90 = .28 of an ounce of actual platinum.  Now you need to remember that the average consumer will not be able to deal directly with a major refinery to sell a small amount of jewelry so you will likely be going through a cash for gold company, any company needs to make a profit, you objective is to find the company that will pay you most, myself, I pay 80% of the actual spot price, so you have .28 of an ounce of platinum at today’s rate of $1,500.00 per ounce, 1500 x .28  = $420.00 on the spot market, I would pay you 80% of that which would be $336.00.  So the platinum price per gram that your item would fetch would be $33.60

Conclusion

When you sell platinum jewelry reselling your item privately will likely fetch you the most money but will be difficult, time consuming and may take a long period of time to complete the sale. If you want to sell your ring quickly and easily find a precious metal buyer that lists their prices and is transparent in their dealings, avoid pawn shops and ‘gimmicky’ advertisers on television.  I hope this information gives you a good overview of your options on how to sell a platinum ring, band or any jewelry and how prices are determined when dealing with a fair company.

If you have questions on precious metals or jewelry or are interested in a quote on your items please use our contact form and I will get back you in a timely manner.

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