Tips for Selling Your Old Gold Jewelry
Selling our old gold jewelry is something many of us are thinking about more and more. The price of gold is at an all time, record high (currently more than $1,300 an ounce!) but at the same time, our finances are under severe pressure because of the economy. The question isn’t whether we should sell or not; it really is a question of how to get the most value out of the transaction and do it safely and conveniently.
Finding a Buyer
There are plenty of buyers waiting to hear from you, however as the price of gold has soared, the dealer market has become populated with numerous outfits offering “top dollar”.
Who do you trust to get the best price?
There are three main categories of gold buyer – refiners; jewelers; and third party broker operations.
You always should look to sell to a refiner because they are the ones who will ultimately buy your old gold. A jeweler may buy them at a decent price to sell on as intact pieces, or they may refine the gold themselves for use in making new jewelry, however it is just as likely that they will be selling on to a refiner themselves too. Third party brokers will be selling on to refiners as well and what this all means is that if you are dealing with someone between you and the refining operation than you are losing part of the value in your gold to that middle man.
Cut out the middle man and deal direct with a refiner.
All That Glitters is Not Gold – Look Out for Diamonds and Jewels
Your gold jewelry will contain other valuable items and metals, such as diamonds, rubies, pearls and sapphires. There may be other metals aside from gold which are valuable too; however you need to be careful because the dealer may only be offering you a price for the gold (and not the rest of the valuable stuff!).
Make sure you get a price which includes diamonds and such; where there is no price offered, you should arrange to have these valuable items removed before you sell them to the gold merchant and look to dispose of them elsewhere. This way you maximize your money and profits from the transaction.
Timing – Should You Wait to Sell?
The price of gold has increased dramatically in the last two years because of the economic climate. When recessions occur, institutions and national governments buy gold in increasing volumes as a hedge against inflation. This drives the price upwards until the recession starts to end and the recovery starts. When recovery signs start showing, gold is sold in huge quantities to raise the money to buy back into the stock markets. Selling such huge quantities of gold means the price falls, and it falls very fast; it can be so quick that it is an overnight collapse.
This means that now is the best time to take your profits because the recession has ended and recovery is starting to appear. It is therefore only a matter of time before the top price you can get for your gold disappears.
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