Showing posts with label get the best gold price. Show all posts
Showing posts with label get the best gold price. Show all posts

Monday, July 9, 2012

Get the best price for gold


Valuing your scrap gold for selling.

gold values by weight
The TV and the internet is awash with adverts offering to buy your old gold but most people have no idea what to sell or even what it is worth.

Some of these gold companies are less than scrupulous and many people have been ripped off. Unless you are careful, it is very easy to make costly mistakes so the seller needs to beware.

Before you sell any gold for scrap value, you need to know exactly what you have, i.e. the carat value and the weight.

The easiest way to do this yourself, is to first check the hallmark (use a hallmark guide), assess the carat value, and weigh the gold on scales.

Most UK gold is nine carat – only 37.5 % pure gold and will be accordingly marked

Check these first!
  • 375 on the hallmark.
  • 18 carat gold contains 75% gold so will be marked 750.
  • 24-carat gold is exceedingly rare because it is too soft for jewellery. This is usually marked 999 or thereabouts.
You also need to check the makers mark because some gold hallmarks add value to the price of the gold.

If you are weighing your gold yourself, you need accurate scales. Kitchen scales are not precise enough because they need to accurately measure 1/100 of a gram.

buy gold and jewellery scales here

However, these types of scales are not expensive and will be a worthwhile investment, especially if you have a lot of broken jewellery.

Remember that gold items weighing under a gram, such as earring butterflies do not have to carry a hallmark but will still add to the price.

So what sort of gold can you sell? 

Broken jewellery , broken chains , singleton gold earrings, butterfly backs - worth approximately £2.00, odd cuff links, unfashionable gold jewellery you hate, presents from exes stuck in your drawer, broken brooches.

Old gold teeth that you may have had replaced or the wedding ring from your ex. The list is endless.

When you sell gold for scrap, make sure that it is worthless in its original form. Anything with antique or intrinsic value will probably fetch much better prices than the scrap value.

Make sure you weigh your scrap gold accurately and document the purity value. Perhaps put 18carat in one plastic bag, and 9 carat in another.

If you are sending it to a postal gold buyer, photograph it so that you have an accurate record of what was sent and send it by recorded delivery in a padded envelope.

Although some of the better quality postal gold dealers may offer a good return, you need to have accurate proof of the weight. There have been many examples of underweight valuations.

The reputable postal gold dealer will always give you a quote before they proceed with melting your gold and sending your payment.

Some of the better postal gold buyers offer a good return and price for used gold that exceeds what you may expect to get from a local jeweller, so this may be something to look into.


buy a jewelers loupe glass