Gold is a valuable commodity that has been treasured for centuries and as gold value has gone from $300/toz in 1999 to over $1900/toz, now is a good time to take advantage of the price increase. If you have old jewelry, coins, or other scrap gold, even dental gold, this is a good time to sell it. Working with a reputable dealer is crucial when selling gold. Before you sell those things that have sat in a box for the last 10 years, it's important to find an honest dealer who will pay a fair price.
This first thing to do is to go to the trusty review sites on-line. There is nothing better to keep a great business around than sharing your personal experience and recommendation on Yelp, Google and other review sites. Check out what their customers are saying and avoid anyone with several 1-star ratings (recognize that some competitors will post fake bad reviews, so check to see if they are a real client by looking at other reviews made by the same author).
Along with 5-star customer reviews, look for dealers who have been in the business for a long time and are members of professional organizations like the Better Business Bureau. Avoid dealers who offer to buy your gold without examining it first, who won’t explain the valuation process or who pressure you to sell quickly.
The next thing to do when selling gold is to look up its current market value from a reputable site like KitCo.com. This will tell you the going rate for one Troy Oz in all the precious metals categories including gold, silver, platinum, palladium and rhodium. This is the world basis to determine what precious metal items are worth and it will help you know if you’re getting a fair price. Keep in mind that the value of gold fluctuates by the second, just like the stock market, so be sure to check the current price before you sell or ask your dealer to pull it up for you.
In order to translate the current spot price of gold into value for your jewelry, you must know the percentage gold, or karat content, of your pieces. Most jewelry will be hallmarked with it's karat content, ie: 10K, 14k, 18k, etc. You may also see the hallmarks in the percentage form, namely 417, 585, 750 (10k = 417 or 41.7%, etc.) Some hallmarks are worn down over the years, or, in the case of rings, can be cut out upon resizing, so if you are not sure if your item is costume jewelry or not, bring it to the dealer and they can test it for gold content. If you know the weight of each piece and it's karat content, you can calculate the gold value (*see our article , “Jewelry Hallmarks - Understanding Gold Value”).
Finally, cleaning your gold items before selling them is not necessary at all. Not only do you have better things to do with your time, cleaning gold doesn’t change its value, only the commodity market can do that. Jewelry value is much more fluent and is heavily influenced by style. Even though it was once the height of fashion to have a gold nugget bracelet or an omega collar, the world has changed and just like you don’t wear that piece anymore, today’s modern men and women are not looking in the second-hand market to buy them. The best thing to do in preparation for selling jewelry is to separate tangled chains and grouping your pieces by karat content. This will facilitate faster sorting and a quicker visit with the gold dealer.
In conclusion, selling gold can be a profitable venture if done correctly. By finding a reputable dealer, researching the current market value, understanding hallmarks and separating your jewelry by karat content, you can ensure that you get the best value for your gold items.
The process of estate liquidation can be an emotionally and logistically daunting task for families. Whether it is due to the passing of a loved one or the need to downsize, family estate liquidation involves the sale and distribution of assets accumulated over a lifetime. However, the challenges encountered during this process can often strain […]
