Where to Sell Gold

It is always smart to compare before you finally sell your precious items and while you have a lot of alternatives, but all of them have their drawbacks and sweet spots, and whatever way you choose, you have to compromise either on price, or on the convenience.

“We Buy Gold” shops

Depending on your neighborhood, these stores probably offer the lowest prices, and chances are they might bargain if you show them you’re not inclined to sell cheap, but keep an eye on the scale.

Pawn shops, on the other hand, are in the business for as long as humankind exists. They will thoroughly test your gold for authenticity and give their price. The benefits of the pawn shops are you can usually buy your items back, even though you will pay a higher price. Reputable pawn shops are located conveniently, but sometimes you have to travel to some dubious neighborhoods, so make sure you take someone to accompany you, especially if you carry a lot of jewelry.

Jewelers

Jewelry stores generally offer more than “we buy gold” stores, but make sure to ask how they pay because sometimes they pay in store credit. As a rule, you will get the most for your money at a local coin or jeweler shop, and statistics shows that jewelry stores offer up to 70% of the gold’s value. Another advantage of the jewelry shop is they can offer more for a finely crafted jewelry, instead of estimating the price of gold in scrap value. The only drawback here is you must bargain sometimes. The rule of thumb is to watch out for offers that only last until the moment you walk out the door. If a manager offers you something like that, walk away. Even if you visit again the next day, the dealer will still want to buy from you. Either way, you simply must shop around because gold prices vary from day to day substantially.

Antique gold dealers

Reputable market dealers in the antiquity business are likely to offer the best price for your gold, if you qualify. Besides being efficient in testing for karats, they also offer hassle-free procedure without wasting your time. Statistics shows that the antique market dealers tend to offer up to 80% of the gold’s true value.

Mail-away dealers

Online and TV advertising, suggesting you can sell, Cash for Gold easily draw in thousands of sellers looking to earn some extra cash during the times of recession. The procedure is quite simple and straightforward – you mail your gold and receive your check by mail. The benefits are obvious – you get a prepaid envelope to mail your gold, and after a while you get your check mailed to you. Be attentive and read the fine print. Sometimes, in case you’re not happy with the price, you may face paying a very high rate to have your gold items mailed back to you. Another drawback is the price – you usually get 11% to 29% of the scrap value of the gold. The reason is online dealers have to pay for advertisement, mailing, evaluation and as a result, they have a high expense rate.

As far as gold parties and hotel gold buys are concerned, we suggest you pass on these options since there are high chances might you get the lowest value for you gold at the hosted parties, while hotel gold buys are plagued by scammers.