7 Important Tips For Selling Old Gold Jewelry
Selling old and broken gold jewelry is a great way to get some extra cash. Thousands of people are attending gold parties, where groups gather together to have their old gold jewelry appraised. A buyer then purchases the items and the party-goers are paid on the spot. But you have to be careful at these parties. In most cases, you aren't getting as much money as you could if you went to another gold buyer. In order to have the best experience and receive the most money possible when you sell gold jewelry, consider these important tips:
1. Evaluate Each Piece Before You Sell It
Most people start by digging through their personal jewelry box to find gold pieces to sell. Instead of doing something impulsive like dumping the whole draw of gold into a bag and handing it over to the buyer, you should examine each and every piece. You don't want to sell gold items that have an emotional value, because you'll regret it. At the same time, if it's an expensive piece that you'll get a lot of money for, the emotional attachment may not matter so much. This is why most people opt to sell things like:
- Broken necklaces
- Chipped pendants
- Bracelets with a clasp that no longer operates properly
- Earrings with a missing pair
2. Know The Karats
Most gold jewelry isn't made of pure gold, but a mixture of gold and other metal alloys. Gold is measured in Karats. One karat equals 1/24 of pure gold. The higher the number of gold karats, the higher the gold content is. The most popular gold karats are 10k, 14k, 18k, and 24k. 24k gold is pure gold. If a ring is stamped as 14k, it means that it's made with 14 parts gold and 10 parts of other types of metal. In the United States, the law states that all gold sold must be stamped with an indication as to how much gold is in them. This way, you can look at any piece of gold jewelry and quickly find out how many karats it has. It's important for you to understand karats because the higher the karat of an item you are selling, the more money you'll get for it.
3. Separate The Karats
When selling several gold pieces at the same time, separate the items by karat. This is because 10k gold is worth much less than 18k or 24k gold. If everything is weighed together with the same base price, you won't receive the right amount of money. This is a common practice at gold parties, and with buyers who are looking to scam customers.
4. Get An Appraisal
To make sure you're getting a good price for the gold you're selling, you need to know how much your gold is worth. The best way to do this is to take the items to a local jeweler and have them appraised. You can also check the current value of gold online. Gold prices fluctuate just like the stock market. When you know the value of the old gold jewelry you're selling, you can easily spot a buyer who's offering a price that's too low.
5. Document The Items
It's essential that you protect yourself against fraud and loss when selling gold jewelry. The best way to do this is by photographing your gold jewelry before you take it out of your home. Write a detailed description of each piece to go along with its picture. For very expensive items, get them appraised and save the appraisal documents. If you are mailing your gold jewelry to a buyer, familiarize yourself with their reimbursement policy in the event the package is lost in the postal system.
6. Understand The Troy Ounce
The weight of your old gold jewelry plays an important role in its value. Gold is measured in Troy ounces. For comparison, U.S. scales measure 28 grams per ounce, but gold is measured at 31.1 grams per Troy ounce. Some buyers will use pennyweights to measure a Troy ounce, and other buyers use grams. Don't sell your gold to a buyer that weighs your items with pennyweights and then pays you by the gram. They're trying to be sneaky by paying you less money for more gold.
7. Look For The Right Buyer
Don't sell gold to just any buyer. It's important that you shop around for a buyer who will pay you the most money for your old gold jewelry. Look for a buyer with a good reputation with the Better Business Bureau, a membership with the Jewelers of America, and most importantly, make sure the person has a license to buy gold jewelry in your state.
If you take these 7 tips into consideration when you're ready to sell your old and broken gold jewelry, then you'll have no trouble getting the best price and a fair deal. You may even find out that you like selling gold jewelry and you could start a new hobby of going yard-sailing to buy gold jewelry cheap and then sell it for a profit. Find out more here.