Selling Scrap Gold

**suki** · 03-04-2008, 11:17 AM

Yesterday gold reached a record price in the commodities exchange. With inflation, this is not as relatively high as it has been in the past, but it is at a very good price.

I have several pieces of old jewelry which I've intended to sale for scrap for some time. It seems now is the appropriate time to do so. I've been researching refineries online and have chosen the company I will send my scrap to. We'll see how it goes.

So today, I have a mission to go through my jewelry box and gather all the scrap gold. I have an old ring set that lost stone, broken necklace, some found jewelry that has no sentimental value and I do not wear, some other jewelry I purchased that is not in fashion and has no real meaning. All of these add up to an estimated 1/2 ounce of gold... I think.

I'll take pictures, make a list of the items and mail them to the refinery. When they receive them, they will contact me with a quote on the value. If I agree, they will pay me and process the gold. If I don't agree, they will return the scrap gold to me.

I'm anxious to see how it works out. I feel that if I'm ever going to sell this scrap, the time is now. I could get $400 or so for what I have. And, it's just sitting in a box right now.

**Ceashels** · 03-04-2008, 11:31 AM

Interesting idea. You might want to research the old ring setting that lost the stone before selling it. I have an old ring and the setting is worth more than the stones (low quality diamonds). Is there an estate dealer or jeweler that can take a look at it for you? It might be worth more than just the price of the gold value.

**suki** · 03-04-2008, 11:34 AM

I've checked these pieces for that value before. They are all scrap gold.

**suki** · 03-04-2008, 11:36 AM

That sounded more curt than I intended! No edit button either.

Thank you for the suggestion. Yes, it is an important consideration. But, really only if you intend to sell it for that value or use it as an heirloom. I had some of these pieces appraised in the past and they are really nothing special. This is why I consider them scrap.

**Snoopy** · 03-04-2008, 11:38 AM

Yeah, here it came over the radio yesterday.
The purchase by specialized shops here in Holland is at an all time high.
Everyone is doing that now it seems.
In the radio item I heard one man who handed in over a pound of scrap gold and got backl something like

10,000.

**frugal-fannie** · 03-04-2008, 11:51 AM

I am thinking of doing mine on ebay. You might get someone that likes the jewelry and will bid more. Check out the end of auction price for grams of gold. I purchased a gram scale for like 13.00 on ebay.

**suki** · 03-04-2008, 12:51 PM

Thanks for the suggestion.

I've not had a whole lot of luck with EBay in the past and as I said, many of these pieces are broken jewelry or nothing special. The only reason I've held onto them is to someday either create a new piece of jewelry or sell as scrap. I'm really not that in to jewelry and it's worth more as scrap. I still have several very special and valuable pieces of jewelry I will hold on to. But this is the single gold earing left from llsing one, the crumpled gold chain I found on a sidewalk, etc. I really think the best value is selling it all as scrap. I've shown it to 2 jewelers and an appraiser in the past and all said it was best to either create a new piece or sell as scrap.

I agree anyone considering this should check all their options and research before making a decision.

**frugal-fannie** · 03-04-2008, 01:03 PM

Sorry I did not make myself clear, do a search for scrap gold on ebay I think they are paying higher than the refineries, add them to your watched list and you will see final bid price, people tend to get better prices if they list the grams.

**suki** · 03-04-2008, 02:59 PM

Thanks for the tip. The prices I saw were comparable to or a little less than the refinery I plan to use.

**Heluvsme** · 03-04-2008, 04:12 PM

Wow, the timing of this is weird, LOL!!

I actually sold some old gold yesterday!

I had several old bracelets---ones that were kinked up, some with broken links, etc. I had a necklace that had a missing link. An old class ring that I will never ever wear again and won't pass down because let's face it, would my daughter ever really want to wear my old class ring? LOL! I had a pair of earring with one missing stone in one earring, so obviously those won't be worn.

Long story short....they weighed them in troy ounces, I got $163. Only one item was 24kt, the rest were 14 kt.

A friend of mine got 3 $100 bills for her old chains and bracelets! All 24 kt gold though.

I went to a regular jewelry store in the mall, I called first to see if they were buying and yep, they were!

Not bad I thought!!

**sumdumsurfer** · 03-05-2008, 10:17 PM

Just a thought about the scrap gold...

Depending on how you feel about the state of the economy in this country, people are electing to hold onto their gold (and buy it off of Ebay).

If the dollar suffers massive devaluation due to inflation - as in wheelbarrows full of worthless paper money to buy groceries - then some scrap gold could help a person (or family) survive such a dark time.

Not that I'm saying we're heading there - but the government seems more concerned with keeping housing prices artifically high in the "bubble" areas and keeping banks and big business afloat - then they are with controlling inflation (which has been bad lately).

Think of keeping some of your scrap gold as an insurance policy (since these events do happen on occasion across the world, and we are not immune from those financial forces).

Sorry to be a pessimist - just my two cents.

Cheers,
sumdumsurfer

**suki** · 03-06-2008, 08:50 AM

Thanks for your two cents. It is something to consider.

**guest002** · 03-06-2008, 09:19 AM

Is pawn shops not a good place to sell scrap gold?

**M55FF** · 03-06-2008, 09:24 AM

I sold old jewlery last year to a pawn shop, they wont give you much. You would have better luck to put the jewlery on ebay to sell as jewlery, not scrap gold.
Even rings with missing stones can have value in the setting... much more so then to sell for scrap.

**suki** · 03-06-2008, 09:24 AM

I wouldn't think so.

I'm going with a refinery because unlike all the other options, I'm cutting out the middle people who also want to make some money off the scrap gold. I'm supposed to get 94% of the commodities price for gold for the amount of pure gold contained in my scrap. That's the best deal I've found.

I understand the concern about inflation and the dollar. I've some more valuable pieces I'll keep for that purpose. But, I've decided to proceed with selling what I have as scrap.

A pawn broker would want to resale it to a refinery and make money... so you would get less than dealing directly with a refinery. I've a feeling the Ebay folks are similar. They want to make money off of it as well.