Selling Scrap Gold Safely
1:35 AM
Since gold is near record highs once again, it might be time for you to think about selling some of that scrap gold you have laying around the house. I'm sure you would love to make some extra cash in this trying economic time and be able to pay off your debts. If you want to learn how you can do this safely without getting ripped off by middlemen or not-so-honest gold refiners continue reading.
Before you do anything you need to understand a few key points that will allow you to sell your gold without getting ripped off. Some of the best advice that I can give to you is to make sure that you research the companies that you will be dealing with. You have to do this if you want any chance at working with a legitimate refiner that will actually give you top dollar for your gold.
How long have they been buying gold? It should be at least 10 years or more. It's not that all new gold refiners are scammers but it is a lot safer to assume that a company that has been in business for ten years doesn't make a habit out of ripping off their customers. If that were the case there would be plenty of complaints built up that you could find with a simple search of the company name in Google.
Check the companies' website, their policies for buying and selling of gold and their address. Is it an actual physical address? Post office boxes should throw up the red flag to you. You want a real brick and mortar site if possible. If the company is nearby see if you can visit the refinery or business office.
Do they offer a telephone number to answer your questions? Give them a call and see how they treat their customers. Be careful not to give into any high pressure sales pitch before knowing what you will actually be getting for your gold. This is a good time to see what their first offer might be.
Once you check out the company, make sure you know the actual current value of gold on the open market. The price of gold changes daily so you may not have the current price on the day that you contact the gold refiner but that is ok the price usually doesn't fluctuate that much day to day. The formula for figuring out how much different karat's of gold is worth can be found all over the internet and there are even some calculator's available.
After finding your company and your gold's value, the next step is to find out what they will offer you. Some times you can get an offer over the phone but most of the time you will have to actually send in your gold first. This is because they have to check the karats and weight of your items before you can get an accurate price.
Ninety percent of the actual value is a good selling price for you if you can manage to find a refiner that offers a price as good as that. Really anything above eighty percent is a decent offer and you should take it if you don't find any higher than that.
A good tip for avoiding con artists is making a point of avoiding gold refiners that don't own their own refinery. Not only is it a good way to avoid scammers, but you can also get a lot more cash for you gold this way. The alternative is selling to gold dealers which in turn sell to gold refiners but they have to turn a profit so you make less on your sale.
Finally, check and make sure that your gold is insured in route to the company. A legitimate company should provide this for you but if it doesn't cover the true value of your gold, just call them up and try to work out a deal.
Follow this advice and you will be well on your way to selling scrap gold safely and easily. Just make sure that you do your due diligence and research thoroughly and you can avoid getting ripped off by one of the many con artists out there.
Before you do anything you need to understand a few key points that will allow you to sell your gold without getting ripped off. Some of the best advice that I can give to you is to make sure that you research the companies that you will be dealing with. You have to do this if you want any chance at working with a legitimate refiner that will actually give you top dollar for your gold.
How long have they been buying gold? It should be at least 10 years or more. It's not that all new gold refiners are scammers but it is a lot safer to assume that a company that has been in business for ten years doesn't make a habit out of ripping off their customers. If that were the case there would be plenty of complaints built up that you could find with a simple search of the company name in Google.
Check the companies' website, their policies for buying and selling of gold and their address. Is it an actual physical address? Post office boxes should throw up the red flag to you. You want a real brick and mortar site if possible. If the company is nearby see if you can visit the refinery or business office.
Do they offer a telephone number to answer your questions? Give them a call and see how they treat their customers. Be careful not to give into any high pressure sales pitch before knowing what you will actually be getting for your gold. This is a good time to see what their first offer might be.
Once you check out the company, make sure you know the actual current value of gold on the open market. The price of gold changes daily so you may not have the current price on the day that you contact the gold refiner but that is ok the price usually doesn't fluctuate that much day to day. The formula for figuring out how much different karat's of gold is worth can be found all over the internet and there are even some calculator's available.
After finding your company and your gold's value, the next step is to find out what they will offer you. Some times you can get an offer over the phone but most of the time you will have to actually send in your gold first. This is because they have to check the karats and weight of your items before you can get an accurate price.
Ninety percent of the actual value is a good selling price for you if you can manage to find a refiner that offers a price as good as that. Really anything above eighty percent is a decent offer and you should take it if you don't find any higher than that.
A good tip for avoiding con artists is making a point of avoiding gold refiners that don't own their own refinery. Not only is it a good way to avoid scammers, but you can also get a lot more cash for you gold this way. The alternative is selling to gold dealers which in turn sell to gold refiners but they have to turn a profit so you make less on your sale.
Finally, check and make sure that your gold is insured in route to the company. A legitimate company should provide this for you but if it doesn't cover the true value of your gold, just call them up and try to work out a deal.
Follow this advice and you will be well on your way to selling scrap gold safely and easily. Just make sure that you do your due diligence and research thoroughly and you can avoid getting ripped off by one of the many con artists out there.
About the Author:
Jack runs a website where he shows people how to sell gold by selling all sorts of scrap gold. If you want to learn how to sell gold jewelry and many other useful tips relating to selling gold, visit his site.
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