What does it say when you do a google search using the terms cash for gold and you get as many results about fraud, rip-offs, and scams as you do for precious metals dealers? Entire web sites devoted to crooks and con men who want your “scrap gold” ought to tell you something.
In the first place, there is no such thing as “scrap gold,” “junk gold,” or “used gold” which is somehow worth less than new gold. Gold is gold, and a scam is a scam.
Right now, there is one very prominent Cash for Gold outfit that is advertising a 20% increase in their payout for a limited time. Kinda makes you wonder just what they were basing their payout on before this current promotion. So, a few facts . . .
Gold is a commodity, and the companies that are buying jewelry, coins, bars, antiques, etc. are only interested in gold, the commodity. They don’t care how old the gold is, nor are they concerned with the workmanship, or whether it came from Tiffany or Wal-Mart. They buy gold to melt it down—end of story.
So, how does one determine the value of that gold bracelet you found in your sweater drawer? The answer is that ONE does not. The price of any commodity is set by the global commodities markets, and that’s just as true for gold as it is for soybeans. That said, anyone in the business of buying gold who does not base their offer on that day’s price in the spot gold market—the only arbiter for what gold is worth—is not engaging in fair trade.
“But isn’t the price of gold dependent on whether it’s 10, 12, 14, or 18 carat gold?” you ask.
NO! Those measures tell you how much of that ring or bracelet is not gold. The actual quantity of pure gold in the item is easily ascertained by any of a number of bona fide assay methods which can determine the precise weight of pure (24 carat) gold.
SUGGESTION: If you are thinking about selling some gold you have, instead of typing in the search term Cash for Gold, try Precious Metals Analysis. It will likely be the difference between finding out what your gold is actually worth in the gold market, and what it is worth to some guy whose expertise is based on how many consumers he has scammed this week.