Does Anyone have Any Experience with

**Milly** · 12-27-2008, 11:37 AM

selling gold or silver?

I've seen those ads on TV where you send in your old items and they send you a check. It sounds like a scam to me, but I could be wrong.

I ask because we have a small number of gold and sterling items that are serving no useful purpose. My parents (children of the Great Depression that they were) always told me that one of the best ways to live frugally was to take what you have and turn it into what you need. I don't need the gold, but I could use the cash.

any good suggestions for unloading it?

**MandiDawn** · 01-02-2009, 05:20 PM

I dont' have any experience with this, but I think I remember hearing on tv that some of those places were scams.
I would think that if you could find a jewerly store around that bought gold it would be a better way to go. I know where I live (a small town) there are 2 places (long time, family owned) jewerly shops that adtervise they buy gold.
I've been thinking aobut doing it myself.

**claimsgirl66** · 01-02-2009, 05:26 PM

My mom took several smaller, unused pieces to a local jeweler and sold them. They had no real sentimental value and were just cluttering her room. I would look for a local place first.

**MommyBliss** · 01-02-2009, 05:50 PM

I would go with a local jeweler.

**ladytoysdream** · 01-02-2009, 06:02 PM

A short while ago, we had a local buyer set up at a hotel to buy scrap gold and silver. There was a big ad in the newspaper is how I found out about it.
You go there with your stuff, wait your turn, and they weigh it in front of you, etc. You can turn down their offer on any part of your pile.
Then they pay you in cash. I walked out with $ 55.00 that day.
One thing I thought was cool that I sold was a spoon

I wouldn't send my stuff anywhere through the mail. In person, or don't do it.

**AmyBoz** · 01-02-2009, 07:44 PM

Go to your local jeweler. My friend does this all the time.

My sister-in-law is actually having a party next weekend with the "Gold Guy" who buys gold. He's on the up and up, but I wouldn't send my stuff in through the mail to an unknown person.

**Missy** · 01-02-2009, 07:49 PM

don't send in anything. Go to a coin dealer or a jeweler that buys gold/silver. Right now I didn't get much for my silver, but i did get a haul on my gold.

**Mom23boys** · 01-02-2009, 11:06 PM

A while back, someone on here mentioned they had sent in some gold jewerly and made some cash. I took a chance and sent my broken gold chains in to the same company and made $46. I was surprised to even get that much for them.

Here is the link to the site if you want to check them out.
http://www.midwestrefineries.com/

You might try your local jeweler to see what they would offer. They may give you more. I didn't have a local jeweler to take mine to, so sending it in worked best for me.

**spyzvixxen** · 01-02-2009, 11:08 PM

I would not trust throwing my gold into the mailbox. What if there are dishonest postal workers who recognize the envelope? Or am I just paranoid?

**fixer** · 01-02-2009, 11:42 PM

Around here there are pawn shops who buy gold and silver.

**Natalie** · 01-03-2009, 09:24 AM

Besides, once you part with your goods, they don't have to send you anything. They'll likely get it, and they could deny it came. It's your word against theirs once you let it out of your possession.

**FrugalMomof3** · 01-03-2009, 09:57 AM

I would also go with a local jeweler that's for sure. If I had cash in hand before I mailed then that would be a different story.

**Milly** · 01-08-2009, 10:39 PM

I thought you might be interested in how this turned out.

After reading all your good advice, I decided to sell locally. As fate would have it, my husband caught an ad in the Sunday paper for an outfit called "Treasure Hunter's Roadshow". You bring your stuff and they tell you what they'll offer for it. Then you accept their offer or go your merry way.

I had done my homework, figured out the troy ounce weight of everything we had and multiplied that by the price of gold & silver on the stock market today. I think I came up with a pretty reliable figure and knew fairly well what the stuff was worth.

At any rate, today was a good weather day, so we took ourselves off to Fort Wayne. We had to wait a while, but we chatted with the people around us and the wait flew by. One of the ladies next to us told a horror story about sending off some gold scrap to one of the companies I was asking you guys about and she ending up declining their offer and asked that they return her items.

That was last spring. She's still waiting for her stuff to show up!!!!

So you were right.

We DID accept the THR's offer, since it seemed fair: about half the value of the stock market quotes from today.

We caught up with the horror story lady in the parking lot and she said she'd accepted their offer, too.

I hate to be so long-winded, but it was such an interesting experience I thought I'd share it. Not to mention that some of you might be thinking about this yourselves.

Now, we just have to wait and see if their check bounces!!

**shadowfax** · 01-08-2009, 11:13 PM

glad to see this post. I had been wondering about those mail in adds. Just did not seem like a good idea. But there is a place right by my work that has a sign near where I work for a place that buys sometimes.