3 Strategies For Selling Gold
If you have gold, you can always be sure that you have something that can be exchanged for cash if you need it. However, not all gold pieces have the same value, and the cash that different places are offering for the same gold can vary quite a bit. If you find yourself in need of cash and ready to get rid of some gold you're not using, it's important to know how to get the most cash for the gold you have. Take a look at some strategies that can help.
Separate by Karats
The purity of gold is measured in karats. 24-karat gold is the purest gold, and it's common for many types of jewelry to be made with less pure gold, such as 18-karat or 14-karat gold. Pure gold is very soft, so pieces made with lower purity gold may stand up better to frequent use. Most jewelry is marked with its karat measurement, but there are gold-testing kits that you can use to determine the karat if you have pieces that you can't find markings for.
Naturally, the purer the gold, the higher the price you can get for your gold. However, many people find that they have multiple gold pieces of different karats. It's important to separate out the different karats when you go to a pawn shop to sell your gold. Sometimes shops will offer to weigh all your gold together and give you one offer for it, but that appraisal will typically be based on the value of the lowest karat pieces. You'll get a better deal by getting separate offers for lower and higher karat pieces.
Know the Value of Gold
So, you know that gold is worth money, and that pure gold is worth more than less pure gold. But how much money is pure gold worth? That's a question that has more than one answer. The price of gold fluctuates all the time, and some days it's worth more than other days. To know if you're being offered a fair price, it helps to know what gold is worth at the moment. Luckily, it's easy to look up the current value of gold.
Of course, you shouldn't expect a pawn shop to offer you the maximum amount that gold is worth on that day. After all, they're acting as middle men, taking on the risk of buying your gold, which they then have to melt down or sell for a profit. However, knowing what gold is worth when you want to sell it can give you a place to start from – and keep in mind that it's always a good negotiating tactic to ask for a high price first.
Understand the Scale
There are a few different ways to measure gold. It can be weighed in traditional grams or in pennyweights, which equal a little more than a gram and a half. Knowing the difference and making sure of which measurement the shop you're visiting is using is important to making sure that you're getting a fair price for your gold.
Gold prices are typically listed in grams, but you can use an online calculator to covert grams to pennyweights so that you know what your gold is worth in either measurement.
When you understand gold purity, know the value of gold, and learn how to calculate the value of different measurements of gold, you're ready to get some quotes on your gold. Be sure to visit several shops so that you have different offers to evaluate before making a decision.