Scrap gold prices are determined by the gold price any given day. Gold prices, often referred to as spot or spot price are set daily by the London Bullion Market Association. Spot prices refer to gold bullion which are .999 fine or 99.9% purity, these are typically gold bars and wafers, fine gold coins etc from recognized refineries around the world and must be marked as such on the item.
The price you can expect to get for scrap is not the same as bullion. The scrap gold price you can expect to get from gold jewelry, dust, findings and shaving etc varies depending on who you are selling your items to. Don’t expect to get spot or bullion prices for your things, scrap is exactly that, they are items that need to be melted and assayed and further refined and recycled into usable gold. Generally speaking you should be able to get 75 to 80% of spot price for your things.
The Modern Day Gold Rush
Hard hit by the world wide recession many resourceful individuals are finding creative solutions to their money woes. With cutbacks in every field, most families have felt the pinch or know someone who is out of work or seriously downsized. Less income or the fear of less creates a ‘make-do’ attitude. Home purchases are postponed, vacations deferred, and season tickets for everything from soccer to the opera are replaced with single tickets.
For many the solution to this dilemma is as close as a forgotten shoe box full of old cuff links, coins or earrings on the top shelf of a closet, or a cluttered tangle of gold chains and necklaces in their bedroom drawer. They may unknowingly be walking past a source of extra money dozens of time every day. Items that can be converted from gold to cash may be right at hand.
Soaring gold prices are the result of today’s economic crunch. The price of gold has skyrocketed worldwide. Investors are turning from the volatility of fluctuating stocks and bonds to the stability of gold. Wary of the unpredictability of the markets, they are moving back to investment basics by simply buying gold. Gold is a commodity in demand.
While most people don’t have bars of gold bullion in their closet or shoe box, or rare gold coins in their drawers, they often own several pieces of gold that can be recycled at a profit.
A simple home test to determine if an item contains gold is to hold a magnet near it. Gold will neither attract nor repel a magnet. Since some other metals, such a copper are also not magnetic, gold items must be further evaluated by acid testing.
Gold purity can be tested and the spot gold price can be obtained from a wide variety of sources both off and online. Remember, when you’re selling scrap gold you can’t expect to get the equivalent spot price, if you do some research and investigation you should be able to get 70-80% of the actual gold value, buyers need to make a profit as well. Gold items can be inspected and weighed in your presence if you are near a buyer, or mailed in by secure post for appraisal. Assessments can also be made in your home or other location of our choice. Payment is immediate from reputable buyers.
Due to current poor economic conditions and the number of people turning their unwanted gold jewelry into cash prices are high and sellers are frequently surprised at the worth of an old, forgotten bracelet, necklace, watch or pair of earrings. Gold is measured in Karat weight. Higher karat, such as 18K means the object has less alloys mixed with the gold, hence is more pure than something of lesser karat.
Gold is weighed on a jewellers scale by Pennyweight (DWT) or grams. I Pennyweight or DWT equals 1.55 grams. Recent gold prices included $19.55 per gram (30.30 DWT) for 18K gold. Since gold is a heavy metal, selling unwanted pieces of jewelry or coins at scrap gold prices can be very lucrative.
Getting The Most When Selling Gold Jewelry
Getting the most value for your unwanted jewelry and the like has been made easier and more confusing at the same time with the advent of the internet. There has been a huge increase in online gold buyer in the recent years.
To get the best price for your scrap you can simply do a search online for gold buyers in your area, a reputable buyer will list their prices on their websites. Simply comparing online prices you will be able to see who is paying the best rate for your items. To make sure you’re getting fair market value and you’re dealing with a reputable buyer you should also verify their company, make sure if you’re shipping your items you speak to a representative before hand, if they don’t list a contact number on their website I would find another buyer.
Another important point you should know before selling your items is their weight and karat, to determine the weight of your items here are a few ideas, if you’re shipping your items have them weighed at the post office in grams ahead of time, postal scales are quite accurate and will give you a good idea of their weight.
Look for the hallmark of each piece, different karats fetch different prices, the higher the karat the higher price per gram you should be paid.
Now that you know the karat of your items, the weight in grams of your items and the price per gram you expect to paid for your items you will now be able to determine how much you can expect to be paid for your unwanted gold jewelry. Getting the most cash for gold is a simple formula, if a buyer tries to tell you otherwise he’s likely trying to pull the wool over your eyes, deal with someone who answers all your questions and is able to provide you with a firm price ahead of time. Gold isn’t’ the only thing in demand these days, scrap silver and platinum are also in high demand, if you need a little extra cash it could be as close and grandma’s only silverware, most young people these days don’t want to clean is anyways! Good luck sell your items!