Getting a Fair Price When Selling Your Unwanted Gold and Silver

by Gina Blitstein · 0 comments

How much of what you own brings value and joy to your life — and how much of it sits, neglected or forgotten in some box, collecting dust?

Sometimes a good decluttering can lead to the discovery of some items of value to others, presenting an opportunity to turn your surplus or unwanted items into some extra cash. If you’ve ever had a garage sale to sell off unwanted items, you know it’s true that “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”

Now that you’re thinking about your unused or unwanted items, direct your attention to your jewelry box: way down to the bottom where the broken and ‘way out of style’ items have sunk. Anything gold or silver down there? If so, you’ve got another opportunity to turn more of your clutter into cash.

There is a market for your unwanted gold and silver. Although there are various places to sell your gold and silver, you probably became aware that you could make some money selling it from the ubiquitous TV advertisements. Sounds like a great an opportunity to get money for something that is currently bringing no value or joy to your life.

You can sell intact jewelry or broken pieces of gold and silver jewelry. Like any monetary transaction, it’s best to go into it with your eyes wide open. Here are some basic considerations when selling gold and silver:

Where can you sell your gold and silver?

  • Refiners: These are the online outfits to which you mail your gold and silver directly and they send a check for the amount they deem the metals are worth.
  • In-person gold buyers: These are independent appraisers who are invited to “gold parties” where folks bring their unwanted gold and silver to trade for cash.
  • Jewelers: They can either weigh your gold and silver to pay you by the ounce of raw material or they may be interested in purchasing the pieces intact for their artistry, which may add to their value.
  • Pawn shops: Pawn shops have jewelry experts on staff who can appraise your pieces for their raw or resale value.
  • Online auctions (like eBay): Choose this route if you want to be certain you’ll get a particular price for your gold and silver because you can set the minimum selling price.

How do you know that you’re getting a fair deal?

It takes a little research on your part to ensure that you’re getting what your precious metals are worth. It’s recommended that you start by having your gold and silver weighed and/or appraised at two separate, independent jewelers.

Once you have a basic idea of what your metals are worth, you are prepared to decide whether you want to sell for scrap or resale and estimate what constitutes a fair offer.

For scrap (broken bits and mismatched jewelry that will be melted down):

  1. Gold and silver are commodities and as such their value changes continually.
  2. Multiply the weight of your metals by that per-ounce value.
  3. Calculate 70% to 90% of that amount as a fair return.

For resale (as a piece of jewelry as-is), half the appraised value is considered a fair price.

How do you know when to sell?

Should you sell your gold and silver now or hold onto it, in hopes its value may rise? It depends upon how anxious you are to get some value out of what’s sitting in your jewelry box.

How much extra money is sitting in your jewelry box?

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