WOW - I just sold my old gold........

[lecach]

so it sounds like GF isn't a great deal. That's a shame - I sent in two shipments to them and could have made about double elsewhere I guess.

My Mom and I are going to one of those gold buyers at a hotel tomorrow. At least I know what others are paying in pennyweight now so I can compare. Thanks for the info.

 

[ab2008]

Do you know if any of them take 9ct? My old broken gold is from England and they start at 9 and don't do 10. Thanks.

 

[klfrech]

Not sure of the answer to your question.

USGB is definitely a better deal than GF. The question is whether or not you can do better at a local jeweler. I'm beginning to think the answer to that is "no."

 

[Karlzmom]

There are 20 pennyweights in an ounce and I multiply 20 times the price quoted on their site. It came to just undr $250 per ounce.

While pure gold is $900 per ounce and I was looking at the 14 and 18karat prices, and pure gold is 24k, well, the price still is outrageously low.

These companies are making a mint.

You would be well served to find a jeweler who actually makes/designs his own pieces and ask if he'll use your own gold to make a new piece. I did that once and I still wear it all the time and know that it's made from all my broken jewelry as well as my pre-engagement ring diamond.

Yes, the companies do make money on the transaction, they are a business after all...but it not like a person really can buy gold as $900 per ounce. The cited $900 is the "spot price" from the index. All dealers then work from the "spot" to calculate what the actual price they will buy or sell at will be. For example, if you were buying gold, you'd have to pay "X dollars over spot", and then you can shop to find who will sell it the closest to spot...which can vary greatly based on the form its in [coins, which can vary based on the coin, bullion, jewlery, etc.] Jewlery is always the most expensive way to buy, as the price reflects the labor etc.

When selling, you are looking at selling "X dollars under spot" which again can vary greatly.

 

[Shmily1]

I'm glad to come back here before I sent my gold off on Monday!! I'm calling USGB on Monday!! I know that GF pays 10% extra to disboard members but still!!!

 

[umaangel00]

I am a little leary sending my jewelery off to these 2 sites. Are they really safe?

 

[klfrech]

I'm sending mine off Monday as well. Good luck! How much are you selling? Have you had it weighed locally yet?

 

[lecach]

Anyone ever sold to one of those companies at a hotel? We're going to one tomorrow to see what they say.

 

[umaangel00]

Anyone ever sold to one of those companies at a hotel? We're going to one tomorrow to see what they say.

I work for a bank and I can't tell you how many people have called me after attending one of these because the check bounced. No way to contact them either because they travel and now they have your gold. I would suggest going through one of the 2 websites mentioned here if they are legit.

 

[klfrech]

Lots of rave reviews if you want to read back through 140 pages worth. It appears that USGB pays much more than GF.

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

I don't remember hearing anything good about those traveling gold buyers, in fact I remember a news story on tv over the summer warning people about them.

I used USGB and my check was over 2K (this was in May 08). This was for junk IMHO because its no good to me if its just sitting in my jewelry box collecting dust. I know somebody had suggested making your gold into another piece of jewelery, but for me...I was/am already overloaded, I need another piece of jewelry like another hole in my head. I had no issues with security of my items when they were sent. USGB videotapes the opening of your package and the weighing of your items. I was not leery at all of sending my stuff because I felt secure knowing that they were an actual physical business in NYC (close enough to me anyway) and not just some guy buying gold from his house with an internet website set up. USGB is also a member in good standing with the Better Business Bureau. I did my checking on this place as I would not send that value of items to somebody blindly, so I do understand being hesitant. If you feel more comfortable going with a local jeweler, that is fine, but you probably won't get nearly as much for your items. I would send to USGB or someone like them again in a heartbeat if I had more things to get rid of. I recall going with USGB only because they paid more, even with that 10% Dis offer that Goldfellows was offering. I believe Goldfellows was good if you only had a small amount to sell, then it was a better deal with them.

 

[Mary2e]

I'm not sure that I'm can do much better than USGB. They are paying $23.69 per pennyweight for 14K. That is significantly more than any of my local jewelers. My DH went to a couple of others this afternoon and all quoted him roughly $15.00-$16.00 per pennyweight.

It may be better, but it's still, IMHO, a poor deal.

I see you are in NJ. I travel quite a bit to NJ to visit family. Have you had better success selling your gold in NJ?

I wouldn't sell it at these prices, or at any price. My preference would be, as I said above, take it to a jeweler who could melt it into a custom piece for me.

 

[Mary2e]

Yes, the companies do make money on the transaction, they are a business after all...but it not like a person really can buy gold as $900 per ounce.

Sure you can buy gold at or very near spot. A good example would be to buy a solid gold coin.

The cited $900 is the "spot price" from the index. All dealers then work from the "spot" to calculate what the actual price they will buy or sell at will be. For example, if you were buying gold, you'd have to pay "X dollars over spot", and then you can shop to find who will sell it the closest to spot...which can vary greatly based on the form its in [coins, which can vary based on the coin, bullion, jewlery, etc.] Jewlery is always the most expensive way to buy, as the price reflects the labor etc.

When selling, you are looking at selling "X dollars under spot" which again can vary greatly.

The crux of the matter here is that they are paying a small fraction for gold that they're going to melt down and sell at the spot rate. I don't begrudge them running a business, but it's my business to watch out for my money, and that includes not selling something for a small fraction of what it's worth.

These companies are taking advantage of a high gold price as well as a falling economy. Like I said, it's a business, and more power to them if they can get away with it.

 

[umaangel00]

Not sure how much I will be able to get. I have 3 rings (with stones but they are all lab created (fake)). All of them are only 10k gold. Do you know if you don't like their price if they will give you your rings back?

 

[Shmily1]

I have a wedding set as well as some jewelry that was salvaged out of my house fire years ago. I'm not sure what I was thinking keeping it, but I guess if I get money for it, it was worth lugging it around. It's not much because back then, a lot of my jewelry was Avon and not 14Kt!!

Does anyone know if the pretty stiff bracelets made of the gold wire with beads on them are real or not? I bought the first time I carried DS18 and DD17 to WDW but it was in the fire too and certainly not suitable to wear now.

 

[klfrech]

It's worthless to me if it is sitting in my jewelry box. I'm not interested in having any jewelry made. The few pieces I've kept have extreme sentimental value to me. I'm not a big jewelry fan, therefore the stuff I don't wear serves no purpose to me.

I'd rather take the proceeds and fund a fabulous vacation that will provide lasting memories for my family. Just different priorities, that's all.

 

[ZanneMarie]

Anyone ever sold to one of those companies at a hotel? We're going to one tomorrow to see what they say.

I did go to one of those. I researched the company hosting the event prior to attending. It seemed to check out prior to the event and once there I got a decent 'vibe'. I did also research gold prices prior to going and had an idea of how much I should be getting. I did not accept their initial offers and managed to get them to go up but a bit (I think $200). I had no problem cashing the check either. All in all I had a good experience but I would not go in blind with out chekcing things out throughly ahead of time. I did post about my experience somewhere earlier in this thread (I think it was in April of '08).

 

[Mary2e]

It's worthless to me if it is sitting in my jewelry box. I'm not interested in having any jewelry made. The few pieces I've kept have extreme sentimental value to me. I'm not a big jewelry fan, therefore the stuff I don't wear serves no purpose to me.

I'd rather take the proceeds and fund a fabulous vacation that will provide lasting memories for my family. Just different priorities, that's all.

How about this idea......... If the jewelery isn't broken, just not wanted, why don't you figure out how much it weighs and then try to sell it on ebay for a bit more than what they're offering you. You simply never know what someone might want to buy.

Funding a vacation is great! As a matter of fact I often sell extra stuff, certificates, whatever, that I have collected from traveling and use that money for my Disney fixes. I'm also careful about knowing what the market/going price is. As a matter of fact, I have a small pile of stuff that I'm about to get rid of just in time for my upcoming trip

 

[jenseib]

The thing is none of our jewelry gold is pure. So you won;t get the high dollar for it. It seems this is just not for you, and you seem really negative about the whole thing. Fine, but this is what others want to do and who cares. If I had junk gold I would too. I could care less about broken peices sitting around. In fact I kick myself for thrwoing in the garbage can several a few years ago when we moved. They could've brought me extra cash now. I also have no desire for more jewelry. I have a rich aunt who keeps giving me fine peices for every holiday and I keep having her return them, as I have so much now, and rarely have any reason to wear it. (I even told her twice not to buy me more and she still did) Hopefully she has caught on as the last few, I didn't get any. And selling broken jewelry on ebay would get you not much. I looked on line and it sells for what it's worth. You could get lucky, and you could try and see, but to me it wouldn't be worth my time. I doubt you will find anyone who will pay you a higher rate, unless you become a goldsmith?

 

[klfrech]

Previous poster--I'm so with you on this. I'm not sure why the flack about wanting to sell gold.