The signs are everywhere – and you can’t surf the net or watch TV without seeing an ad for “cash for gold.” But you wonder about the value of your gold, right? Will I get a good deal? Is it time to sell? Is this stuff worth anything and can I make any money from selling it?There are just a few easy steps to ensure you’re getting the best deal. Follow these and you can be relatively sure you’re getting a good deal.These days, gold is very near it’s highest recorded prices. If you sell today, you may make a lot of money. But the truth is, nobody knows for sure when prices will go up or down. In reality, the best plan is to find an honest gold dealer in your area and develop a working relationship with them so that when and if you decide to sell your gold, you can be relatively sure you’re getting a good deal.The first part of the process is to know the gold price per gram for that day. That information is available by using this calculation, or going to Kitco.com. You also need to know the karat weight of the gold. Use the following calculation: But remember the dealer is going to TAKE SOME PROFIT FROM THIS AMOUNT!Spot price of gold (spot)/31.1 x .417 (for 10K) equals price per grams
Spot price of gold (spot)/31.1 x .585 (for 14K) equals price per grams.
Spot price of gold (spot)/31.1 x .750 (for 18K) equals price per gramsOnce you find the spot price from Kitco.com, you have a good starting point. If you do the math, you’ll know how much your gold is worth. Most local gold dealers or pawn shops won’t tell you what your gold is worth. They’ll tell you what they’ll pay. You’ll need to do this research on your own.Once you have the value of the gold, you’ll need to approach a dealer. Most dealers will pay you for the “melt value” of your gold. The melt value of gold is the value of gold as figured above, minus the dealer’s profit. The “melt value” by the gram is available on KITCO.COM or other websites. And if you have a lot of gold to sell, you should expect to get closer to melt than if you have just a necklace or a ring.The third thing you should do is visit more than one dealer. You need to visit several dealers to see who gives you the best offer before you sell. Use Yelp or Google to get reviews of dealers in the area and choose a couple that are close. If you don’t visit or call a few places, you won’t be getting the best deal.The gold dealer will separate the gold into groups of purity. All 10K will be in one pile, 14K in another and each will be weighed and assessed separately.Make sure the dealer writes down your totals in each pile or bring a notepad yourself and write down each item in that weight pile. This way, you can be assured that nothing is forgotten or overlooked.Additionally, have the clerk weigh a penny on the scale. Pennies with a mint date before 1983 weigh 3 grams, while pennies minted after 1983 weigh 2.5 grams. Have the clerk weigh a penny to ensure their scale is accurate. If it’s not, leave immediately.
Spot price of gold (spot)/31.1 x .585 (for 14K) equals price per grams.
Spot price of gold (spot)/31.1 x .750 (for 18K) equals price per gramsOnce you find the spot price from Kitco.com, you have a good starting point. If you do the math, you’ll know how much your gold is worth. Most local gold dealers or pawn shops won’t tell you what your gold is worth. They’ll tell you what they’ll pay. You’ll need to do this research on your own.Once you have the value of the gold, you’ll need to approach a dealer. Most dealers will pay you for the “melt value” of your gold. The melt value of gold is the value of gold as figured above, minus the dealer’s profit. The “melt value” by the gram is available on KITCO.COM or other websites. And if you have a lot of gold to sell, you should expect to get closer to melt than if you have just a necklace or a ring.The third thing you should do is visit more than one dealer. You need to visit several dealers to see who gives you the best offer before you sell. Use Yelp or Google to get reviews of dealers in the area and choose a couple that are close. If you don’t visit or call a few places, you won’t be getting the best deal.The gold dealer will separate the gold into groups of purity. All 10K will be in one pile, 14K in another and each will be weighed and assessed separately.Make sure the dealer writes down your totals in each pile or bring a notepad yourself and write down each item in that weight pile. This way, you can be assured that nothing is forgotten or overlooked.Additionally, have the clerk weigh a penny on the scale. Pennies with a mint date before 1983 weigh 3 grams, while pennies minted after 1983 weigh 2.5 grams. Have the clerk weigh a penny to ensure their scale is accurate. If it’s not, leave immediately.
To review, there are several steps to take when selling your gold:
- You must know the gold price that day and the type of gold you have.
- You need to know the weight of the gold.
- You have to know the dealer and know that his scales are accurate.
So now you’re ready to sell you’re gold. If you have questions, you can drop by Houston Gold Merchants to sell your gold. If we won’t buy it, we’ll tell you what your best option is and when you leave our store, you’ll have an accurate value for your scrap gold, and you’ll know you were dealt with honestly.