If I want to sell my gold, what should I know? It’s a question that many owners of the precious metal often ask. If you’re unfamiliar with how to sell gold, here are a few things you need to keep in mind.

For instance, if you want to sell gold jewelry, it’s not always a good idea to try selling the unwanted pieces as scrap. When you’re selling items for scrap value, the value is based on the metal alone and not the historical value or quality of the jewelry piece. So often times when you have jewelry made from gold to sell, you could wind up losing as much as half of what you’d get if you were to sell it for its retail value.

However, not every jewelry piece will have a good enough retail value, such as a plain wedding band or simple chain necklace, and it would be better off being sold for its scrap value.

But even when you’re armed with this knowledge, you should still have a good idea of what your gold items are worth. You could easily have the items appraised if you know they‘re antique, but if the item isn’t worth as much as the appraisal fee, you could end up losing money.

If you have scrap gold to sell, an appraiser is usually unnecessary since the price is generally based on the melt down value of the item. Based on the current market value of gold, the gold buyer will buy your scrap gold at some percentage of the current market value of gold. (Dealers usually quote their prices in either ounces or grams. A troy ounce has 31.1 grams.)

Once the weight of your scrap gold items is determined, the dealer will then base what he’ll pay you on the going rate also known as spot price for gold and take a portion of the total price for their own profit before giving you a final quote. Generally a fair buyer will take no more than 30% of the total price and some may even take as little as 10%. Anything more than 20 or 30% should have you selling your valuables elsewhere.

One of the best places for selling unwanted gold are jewelry stores since they’ll likely give you up to 80% of the market value if your pieces are in good shape. Pawnshops are often not the best places to sell gold for cash since they don’t always offer a very fair price and are generally only interested in buying very low and selling high.

And finally, always remove jewels and other pieces that aren’t gold if you’re planning to scrap any jewelry. Businesses who buy scrap gold won’t give you any more for your jewelry items than what their metal value is worth, so you might as well make some extra money selling the jewels and non-gold items to another buyer.

Now that we’ve answered the question of, ‘If I want to sell my gold, what should I know,’ remember, to do your homework.

Your dwindling bank account may have you thinking about selling gold jewelry. The high value of gold tempts many people to sell scrap gold. That old ring in the jewelry box starts looking like a million bucks. You can rest assured that the old ring in your jewelry box is not worth a million bucks. So don’t assume you’ll get rich by selling scrap gold.

You have to decide if you want to sell your gold jewelry as jewelry or scrap gold. Selling jewelry for its weight in gold probably won’t get you a lot of money. Consider the price you paid for the piece. A $500 ring might bring in $100 or less as scrap gold.

This is because the ring will be valued based only on its gold content. The craftsmanship or antique value of the ring is unimportant. The ring could have a diamond in it, but it doesn’t matter.

When you realize the small amount of money you’ll get, you might decide selling your gold item is not a good idea. If you ring has a high resale value as a piece of jewelry, sell it that way. It’s possible that you can get more by selling the ring than by selling it for scrap gold. This is certainly true if the ring is an antique.

You should also keep in mind that some jewelry has absolutely no resale value. Class rings, plain wedding bands and rings that are in bad shape are difficult to sell. Those items are probably best used for a scrap gold sale.

You’ll probably want to get your jewelry appraised first. Search online and in your local phone books for appraisers. Most of them charge a fee for their services, so be prepared to part with some money. 

Find an appraiser you can afford and make an appointment. When you go to the appointment, make sure to take all the gold you want to sell.

The following items can be sold if they are made from real gold:

- Bracelets
- Rings
- Earrings
- Necklaces
- Cufflinks
- Charms
- Miscellaneous Knickknacks

If you don’t want to visit an appraiser, ask a jeweler for help. They can weigh your gold and give you a value based on its weight. However, that’s not the actual amount you’ll get for scraping the gold item.

Whoever buys your gold will take at least 10 percent or more off its true value. This is so they can resell the piece and make a profit.

When you’re selling gold jewelry, a collector is the only person who might pay the actual value of your jewelry. However, you’d have to have a rare or valuable piece to attract a collector’s attention. You should try to find a local buyer before looking outside of your city.

If you can’t find a local buyer, carefully research nonlocal buyers before doing business with them. There are people who will scam you out of your gold. Taking time to perform research will pay off in the end.

“I want to sell my scrap gold, but I don’t know how to get started.” If you’re looking for a way to make some extra money, and if you’re like most of us, you may be wondering just how do you get started. Well, here’s how to sell scrap gold.

When you’re trying to sell gold, the first thing you want to do is your homework. Most gold items that are generally scrapped include broken or bent gold jewelry, old wedding bands from previous marriages, or other simple rings that wouldn’t be of much value on their own, damaged or defective gold coins, dental pieces, single earrings, nuggets, wire, watches and some electronics.

Your next step will be to separate your items. The easiest way to do this is to separate them into piles of 10k, 14k and 18k. If you’re not sure how to determine a 10k piece from an 18k piece, you can generally find it engraved somewhere on the item if it’s real gold.

Next, remove anything that is not made of the precious metal, but may be of value to another buyer such as jewels or stones. Doing this will also help give you a good idea of how much the gold pieces will really weigh so you’ll have a good idea of their worth.

Now you should weight your scrap gold so you have an idea of their worth. You’ll want to use a digital scale in order to know the exact amount you have. Weighing your items will also give you the reassurance that the buyer of your items won’t try to cheat you out of money from the weigh-in.

Next, you’ll want to call around your hometown to find out what businesses buy and sell gold locally and ask them how much they‘re willing to pay for what you have.

If you can’t find anyone to sell your gold to in your area, you could try placing a classified ad in your local newspaper to let potential gold buyers know what you’re selling. Just make sure you keep track of your items’ value on the market so you know their exact worth before you accept just any offer that comes your way.

Another great option that you could use to sell scrap gold is to go to an online buyer who specializes in kits, which generally includes a prepaid envelope and sometimes documents that let you to write out a description of every item you are sending to them. Keep in mind that not every online buyer is trustworthy, so do your research before you go with just anyone.

Finally, always keep in mind that the price of gold will change on a daily basis. So before you close the deal, try to get the price you were quoted in writing before you hand over your items and tell them. “I want to sell my scrap gold.” Otherwise, you may find yourself ending up with a lot less than you had anticipated.

Gold has fascinated man since the beginning of time. Heaven’s streets are supposedly paved with gold and wars have been fought over it.

In today’s tough economic times, you might find that you want to sell gold in your possession to pay a mortgage or car payment – or even finance that vacation you never seem to have the money for.

Selling gold has never been easier. Online sites can point you to step-by-step instructions on how to sell scrap gold, including selecting the best method and price.

Many of us have old gold jewelry from defunct relationships that we just don’t wear or want anymore. Why not sell that old gold and do something you really want or need with the cash?

Scrap gold isn’t only found in jewelry. Other places to look are:

Gold bullion and gold coins; gold flake; gold dust and sweeps; dental crowns and bridgework; gold screen or mesh; gold shot and solder; gold sponge; polishing and buffing dust; nuggets; computer mother boards; old cell phones; gold plated connectors.

As you can see, there are many more places to look for gold than simply your jewelry box. And, it doesn’t matter what condition the gold is in – it can be restored and reused. Virtually all of the gold that has ever been mined is still around because it lasts forever.

After you’ve completed your hunt for gold, call a local gold dealer or look online for information about how to get a gold-selling kit. You’ll fill out the form describing the gold (be sure to make a photo copy of the form before sending it), place it in the envelope and take or send it to the gold dealer.

The dealer will probably pay you 10 to 20 per cent less than the current price of gold – that’s a fee for the handling, assessment and processing of the gold. Price varies from merchant to merchant, so do your research to find out what’s the best price you can get before you sell your gold.

Selling unwanted gold can get you back on a more secure financial track and may be a path you’ve never thought of before. You can even have fun while you’re doing it and invite family, friends and neighbors to a festive gold selling party.

There’s lots of information online about how to get your party together and it can be profitable and fun for all.

Remember that the price of gold changes from day to day as the market fluctuates, so when you’re ready and want to sell gold, make sure you know what the going rate is.

When you make contact with a local gold dealer or an online website, you should get an information kit that will tell you all you need to know about how to sell scrap gold.

Then, you can make an educated decision about how and when you want to sell gold – and get the best price you can for your efforts.

If you want to sell gold coins, you need to learn all you can about them. There’s more to selling gold coins than simply dropping them off somewhere. You could do that, but you wouldn’t get your money’s worth. Collectors love gold coins. They’ll pay top dollar for any coin they want bad enough. But you have to also know the value of your own collection.

Are your coins valuable because they are rare? Or are your coins only worth their weight in gold? You need to answer those questions before you try to sell your gold. Being uninformed leaves you open to scammer who might try to rip you off.

Examine your collection carefully. Take the coins out and look at each one. Use identifying marks and dates to search for information online.

For example, do you have an 1850 gold coin missing the words “In God We Trust”? It could possibly be a rare coin known as a Type One Double Eagle.

Do you have another version of the coin with “In God We Trust” included, but the value of the coin is listed as “Twenty D”? That sounds like a Type Two Double Eagle coin, one of which sold at auction for more than $200,000.

As you can see, it pays to know what your collection is worth. You could end up accepting $5,000 for a $50,000 coin.

Gold coins in general are highly prized by dealers and collectors. The coins were used just like any other form of money up until 1933. During that time, the American government decided to take the gold coins out of circulation.

They were then melted down into gold bars. That’s why gold coins from this time period are so valuable. Since most of them were melted down, it’s very difficult to find any. And people who own them hold on to them tight.

If you have a rare coin, you definitely want to get all you can for it. Once again, you’ll only know it’s rare if you do your research. You might actually decide you don’t want to sell. Your coin will only increase in value as it gets older.

If you decide to sell your gold coin, search for a collector or a dealer who sells to collectors. You could also consider a pawn shop, but they will not be willing to pay as much as a dealer or collector. What you need is someone who recognizes the true value of what you have.

A dealer or collector will pay an amount closer to the true value of your collection. For them, it’s more about the true value of the coin and not just the scrap gold.

A collector won’t be thinking about how they are going to turn around and sell the coin for profit. A dealer will know they can get a fair asking price from a collector.

There’s a lot more to learn about how to sell gold coins. Do your research before you let a good thing get away.

If you’re planning to sell gold scrap, or any other type of precious metal for that matter, I can very well guarantee it’s not just as simple as walking up to a business and telling them your items are for sale.

And there is definitely a whole lot more to selling gold as I quickly learned from a friend of my father’s who scraps metals for a living.

First of all, you need to know what type of precious metal you have. It’s all too easy to be fooled by a material thanks to today’s technology and a manufacturer’s need to make as much money as possible, especially with the economy‘s current state.

One of the easiest ways to tell if  you own the real deal or not is by the simple “k” mark that is engraved somewhere on the item.

The “k” marking which stands for “karat” tells a buyer that the piece is indeed real. In addition to the “k” symbol you should also see a number that will indicate how solid of a piece it is, as in 10k, 14k and 18k. The higher the number, the more the item will be worth.

However, just because your items are real gold, doesn’t mean you should cash in on selling your gold just yet. And if you do, you may be disappointed to learn that the face value of your items could be worth far more than its metal content.

So before you take the plunge and sell your gold piece, ask the coin shop owner if your gold coins are worth more for it’s age or ask the antique dealer if that necklace is old and has a higher retail value.

The next step you should take before you sell gold is to strip anything that isn’t made from the precious metal (like diamonds or other gemstones) since most businesses won’t give you anymore for the other materials. What they will do however is remove those extra pieces anyway and profit from them, so why not cash in on them yourself?

And as far as scrapping items, don’t limit yourself just to jewelry or coins. Many items that people never dream can be scrapped are actually accepted by businesses as long as the piece is made from gold.

Items that may be scrapped include dental crowns and bridgework, individual earrings, gold nuggets, wire, watches and even some electronics.

And if you find that you have a lot of scrap gold that you want to sell, you may want to consider weighing them with a digital scale if possible.

Weighing your items lets you know how much you have and will assure that your buyer won’t pull a fast one on you when it comes to exactly how much you have offer.

Once you have an idea of how much gold you have to sell, you’ll want to call around to local buyers in the area who specialize in buying and selling scrap gold and ask them how much they would be willing to pay for your items.

If there are no local buyers in your area, you may want to consider an online business that buy and sell gold scrap through the mail.

Just be sure to use caution when dealing with these types of businesses by making sure that you take photographs and make photocopies of everything you receive from them to make sure there are no misunderstandings.

Selling gold online is one of the many ways you can make some money from your unwanted gold items. And while it may not be one of the fastest ways, it is one of the easiest for many individuals who want to cash in on the recent gold rush using several resources available on the world wide web.

A great place to start is by using an auction site like Ebay. With Ebay you can auction off coins, jewelry, spoons, gold nuggets and even gold bars. Ebay lets you set your own price and payment specifications as well as shipping and handling fees if you want to.

And one of the biggest advantages of using an online auction site is that once you’ve set your price, you may even discover that your bidders will pay more for your items by the time the auction ends. Just remember that you will need to pay set up fees for the auction itself and even if your item doesn’t sell, you will still need to pay those fees.

Another great resource to sell gold to are businesses who specialize in buying gold by mail. These types of businesses will often send a mailing envelope that contains everything you need to itemize and send your scrap gold items to them. In addition, most will even pay for the shipping and insurance fees for your pieces.

Then, all you need to do is fill out the required information and send it back along with the items. The company will then weigh the gold pieces and send you a check for their value. Just be aware that once you receive the check and cash it, there’s no turning back.

Forums and groups that have an interest in the precious metal are another great way to sell your gold pieces. Most of these types of sites have free membership and will allow you to post to their site as long as it pertains to the subject matter.

Just be sure you are following their guidelines when you post and never spam the members, otherwise you’ll find yourself booted from the site.

Online classifieds can become another way for you to sell gold for cash. Most online classifieds are free to post to. A great example of this is Craigslist.

Craigslist allows you to post an ad for free to any area you choose. However, as with any classified ad, you’ll want to use caution with the information you give out since not every buyer will be legit.

And speaking of legit, when it comes to dealing with any business or individual online, never sell to a website or buyer who seems suspicious. If there’s no information on the company whatsoever, then chances are they’re going to run with your valuables.

And if an individual your dealing with seems pushy or isn’t willing to do things your way, then it’s a very good idea to find another buyer.

Yes, selling gold online can be a lot easier than face to face, but you also need to be willing to take the steps necessary to assure that you don’t get the bad end of the deal either.

Selling old gold may seem easy enough for anyone who wants to cash in on the current gold rush, but before you rush into your hasty decision, there are a few things you should consider.

A few years ago my father-in-law had some gold coins to sell. They were not only made of the precious metal, but had also aged in value over the years. And because at that time the price of gold was skyrocketing, he decided to cash his gold coins in.

However, what he discovered from the coin dealer was that his coins were worth far more for the collector’s  value than for the meltdown scrap gold value. So of course he sold them for the coin collectors valuation.

But, if it hadn’t been for the coin dealer’s knowledge of their real worth, my father-in-law might have gotten less of a deal on his valuable coins instead of what he did get for them.

And although you don’t always need a coin dealer to tell you the collectible value of a coin, it’s not always as easy trying to find the value of a piece of jewelry or other antique valuables that are made from the precious metal.

Instead, you’ll need to do your homework if you want to sell gold and make as much money as possible doing it. There are many great resources available to help you get started no matter what type of item you may have in your possession that is made from gold.

You already know you can visit a coin dealer to find out the value of your coins, but where can you go when you want to sell gold jewelry that has aged over the years?

Well, there are a few options that you can try. You can take your pieces to a jeweler who specializes in old gold jewelry or you can take them to an antique dealer who can just as easily assess the value of your pieces.

You should be aware however, that not everyone is willing to tell you how much your items are worth without charging a fee. And of course having your pieces appraised isn’t always the cheapest route to go.

So if you can’t afford to hire an appraiser, you could head to your local library or bookstore and look for a book that may tell you the value of your pieces. However, you may be limited to the amount of information you can get on your items in question if no one has published a book on the subject yet.

Or you could take advantage of all that the Internet has to offer and search for more information about your piece to find out whether it would be worth cashing in for its antique value or if you’re better off cashing in at the gold scrap value with its going rate of around $1100 per an ounce right now for the gold content alone.

Of course instead of selling old gold, you could always just keep it and pass the valuables down to your children if you can afford to do so.

If you want to sell gold, you probably already know that right now is probably the best time to do so at $1,100 per ounce, but even with the prices at an all time high, you may be thinking your only decent option for cashing in on this booming gold business is your local pawn shop – especially if you live in a small community.

Pawnbrokers are not the only businesses where you can sell gold locally, however. Jewelry stores are now jumping in on the booming gold buying business by offering to buy up your gold jewelry and some are even willing to purchase pieces that are broken as they are re-selling them as scrap gold to refiners.

Yet, jewelry shops aren’t the only businesses buying up gold. Stay-at-home moms are discovering a great way to earn some extra income for their family by hosting a gold selling party. These types of parties offer you a way to sell gold and have fun while doing it by way of hosting or attending one.

Keep in mind however that gold jewelry is not the only items that will be purchased, but also gold coins and any other items that contain gold.

If you decide to host a party, you may need to pay some out of pocket expenses for a hosting kit as well as hire an appraiser (unless you have a third party sponsor) and supply food and drinks to your guests.

Local auction houses may be a great way to sell your gold if  you have a lot of it or other items to add to the auction. However, auctions are also a risk since you may not get as much as you want from your items and they don‘t always attract the right buyers who are willing to purchase your old gold items.

Your local newspaper is another good way to find an interested buyer for your used gold. You can take advantage of your newspaper in two different ways by either looking through the classified ads to find a buyer for free or place an ad for your items for a variable fee.

Your local newspaper isn’t the only way to post an ad, however. Many local businesses around your community are often willing to allow you to post a for sale ad on a bulletin board and even front door or window. However, you should only offer a phone number and never an address on your ad for obvious safety reasons.

Your friends and family are another great source when it comes to selling your gold and may know of resources that you hadn’t thought of. They may also be willing to buy your gold, or know someone who would be interested in buying them.

But, even with all of the resources that are available to you locally, not everyone or every business is legit. The most important way to find out if a buyer is taking advantage of you or not when you want to sell gold is by checking with the better business bureau to see if they are listed.

However the BBB won’t be able to tell you if a private individual is trustworthy and not every business will be listed. So to be extra safe, make sure you take photos of your items and copy any paperwork involved before the big sale.

Many individuals are asking the question, “Where can I sell gold”, and they’re certainly not alone. With the continued steady rise in the price of gold and the economy continuing to falter, a lot of people are cashing in their old scrap gold.

Even so, not every business that buys gold is willing to give you the best deal out there and of course not all of them are reputable either.

So before you get taken to the cleaners, one of the first things you should always do when dealing with any company is check with the Better Business Bureau just to make sure that they’re worth selling to.

However, you do need to keep in mind that not every good or bad business will even be listed with the Better Business Bureau, so always do your homework.

Of course doing your homework shouldn’t just be left to a background check of the business. One of the first places many people run to when they have something of value to sell is a pawnshop.

Pawnshops are actually not always the best place to sell gold to and should be the last place you consider if you want to make top dollar for your gold items. Pawnbrokers are more about loaning money than anything else and most of the money they loan never gets paid back, so it’s a risk for them to buy and sell gold for cash and rarely give their customers a break.

One of the best places however to sell your scrap gold to is sometimes a jewelry store. The only downfall to a store like this is that sometimes they’ll only purchase jewelry that’s in good condition or easily repairable.

So if you have anything other than jewelry you may have to sell your gold pieces elsewhere. But, if you’ve got the right stuff, chances are you’ll at least get 70% of the going rate, minus their take of fees.

One of the biggest businesses when it comes to buying and selling scrap gold are online businesses who offer you the convenience of dealing through the mail.

For the most part, if the business has a good reputation it should be safe enough to send your gold items through the mail, however if something happens in between the time you send the package and the time they receive it, you may not find it to be such a good deal after all.

Still, most businesses are willing to pay for insurance, shipping any other fees that are necessary to ship your goods, but if you have a lot of gold to sell the insurance may not cover it. And then keep in mind once you receive the check and cash it in, there’s no changing your mind.

If you want to sell gold that is in fairly excellent shape, you could turn to brokerage firms you may be willing to invest in what you have. Or if you live in a bigger city such as Las Vegas, trade and jewelry shows are both great options that you may want to consider as well.

Of course if you’re still asking that very same question of, “Where can I sell gold”, you may find that research is your best option if you’re looking for a particular way to get rid of your old gold.