You are looking to sell your gold jewelry, but you don’t know who would buy it? Below we have listed the most common places where you can sell your gold jewelry.
Gold Dealers
Dealers buy gold in order to resell it to companies that melt the metal down.
Some gold dealers also operate as refineries and recycle the gold they buy in-house.
Selling to gold dealers is quick and straightforward. They will give you a price based on the karat and weight of your jewelry.
These buyers quote prices per gram or ounce of pure gold, so they are not interested in how beautifully your jewelry is designed or what brand it is.
Jewelry Stores
Many jewelry stores do not buy used jewelry. Generally, if a store is willing to make you a cash offer, it will be heavily discounted compared with retail prices for new items.
Jewelers are more likely to offer you a trade-in deal for your jewelry. This means that you can exchange your gold pieces for new jewelry from the store.
You will be given store credit, and if the new items you choose to buy from the store are more expensive, you will have to pay additional money on top of the credit amount.
Many jewelers prefer such noncash deals because each sale makes additional profit for the store. That’s why such offers are likely to be more generous in terms of value compared with cash deals.
Online Auction Websites
You can auction your gold jewelry online, and this option is most preferable if your pieces have some sort of collectible value or are unique in another way.
For example, antique gold jewelry is likely to be worth more to bidders than to gold dealers, who will only pay you a scrap-gold price.
If you want to give this option a try, there are a couple of things you could do to increase the likelihood that you get the best price possible:
First, have your gold jewelry appraised. A written appraisal contains a theoretical market price for the items evaluated. Such a document issued by a certified appraiser will help you argue for a higher price by backing your arguments as to the value of your jewelry.
Please note that it might not be worth it to have a gold item appraised if it’s a mass-produced piece of jewelry that is relatively cheap – you don’t want to buy an appraisal that costs about as much as the item itself.
Second, make sure your jewelry is clean and well maintained, as you will need to post pictures of it for potential bidders to see.
The pieces should be in good condition, so if there are any parts that need to be repaired, it would be best if they are taken care of before you offer the jewelry for sale.
Online Classifieds
You can also post sale offers for your jewelry on classifieds websites. Some of the rules that apply to auctions are valid here as well: Your gold jewelry should look presentable in any pictures you include with the ads.
Appraisals and certificates can help you here too, provided that the price you expect to get for the jewelry is high enough to justify the cost of obtaining them.
Pawnshops
Pawnshops are where people usually hock their items. However, many of these places also buy gold jewelry. The prices offered at a pawnshop are likely to be heavily discounted, though, and you may get a better offer from a gold dealer.
So, before going in, check the prices offered by a number of scrap gold traders to get an idea of what the market rates are, and if the pawnshop’s offer is significantly lower, don’t accept it.
