Valuing your scrap gold for selling.
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.
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.
