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CONSUMER ALERT! Selling Gold? Read this First.
Everything You Need to Know About Selling Gold Online
With the price of gold at an all-time high, Americans everywhere are seeking relief from the slowing economy by exchanging their old, broken or unwanted gold jewelry for cash. Selling gold (and other precious metals) online seems easier than ever recently – many companies are advertising on TV & radio, the Internet, and in print – and they’re all claiming to offer the ‘Highest Prices’ for your gold. But they can’t all be offering the highest price, right? Here are two true stories of people who were taken in by companies using deceptive marketing techniques.
Gary S. (Sedona, AZ) sent his gold to one of the top online buyers and received a lot less then he expected. “For a 14K gold bracelet that I was offered $75, $85, and $90 for on Craigslist I received a whopping $4.73!” Another consumer, David R. (Miami, FL), sent his jewelry to the same leading online gold buyer, waited two weeks and received nothing. When David called the company to speak with a representative about his late payment they called him “a liar” — claiming he “never even sent the package in.”
Unfortunately, these stories are fairly common when dealing with certain high-profile buyers. In today’s competitive gold-buying market a number of websites boast false information and employ deceptive marketing techniques to gain consumer confidence. This article will help you sift through the nonsense and so you can make smarter, well-informed decisions about who to sell your gold to before it’s too late.
Here is some useful information that will help you find a reliable Gold, Silver or Platinum Buyer that will pay you a FAIR PRICE and offers with a FAST TURNAROUND.
How To Be A Smart Seller
Be a smart seller by doing your homework before you choose a company to sell to. Don’t be gullible and automatically take it for granted that everything you read is true. Here are some things you can do to follow-up on a company:
- Check the company out with a simple call to your nearest Better Business Bureau or visit them online here and search the website or Parental company’s name. See how many complaints they have and look at their overall Satisfaction Level.
- You can also search for information about any company on Google or Yahoo! Just type the company’s name in the search bar along with the word “complaint” or “scam.” Or visit some of the sites listed below to see if consumers have logged any grievances about your prospective company:
Complaints Board
Consumer Affairs
- Compare the Prices they are offering. Many websites offer pricing information up front. See that the company’s claims are true. If they’re offering “5% More Than The Competition” check out their competitors and see if the numbers add up.
- Make certain that the company offers FREE shipping for your property and that your items will be pre-insured for at least $100.
- Also, make sure that the company guarantees to accept their check back and return your property in the event that you’re not satisfied with the price they pay you.
- Carefully read through each company’s website, examine their policies and promises and if you have any questions, contact them before you mail off your precious metal items.
Yes! There are scammers out there. Don’t be taken-in by one.
Understanding the Types of Online Gold-Buyers
- TRUSTED BUYERS – The preferred kind if buyer has been in the business prior to the current boom in Gold, Silver & Platinum prices. The company has no or very few complaints with the Better Business Bureau and plenty of Testimonials from Satisfied Sellers. They are professionals in every way.
- UN-TRUSTED BUYERS - There are the many relative newcomers who have sprung-up on the Internet in response to the big increase in gold, silver and platinum prices. Many of these are also legitimate business enterprises, but there are always a few who are less than ethical in the ways that they function. A lot of these businesses are merely brokers who purchase your material outright after deducting their commission fees. These companies pay less and are irresponsible and not trustworthy.
How Do Buyers Work?
Almost all buyers of Gold, Silver and Platinum follow essentially the same process. They receive your property, assay each piece, consult the market ‘spot’ price for that day and calculate the value. The value, of course, depends upon the percentage of precious metal actually in each piece by weight. For example, 24K gold has a higher percentage than 14K gold and 10K gold has less than 14K.
Once this is done, the property is held long enough to ensure the seller (you) is satisfied with the offer. After that like metals are melted down and poured into ingots and bars by the refinery. Some buyers own their own refineries; this doesn’t necessarily allow them to offer sellers a higher price considering they have the overhead costs of running a refinery to pay for. Then again, companies who sell to refineries must pay a percentage to the refinery for processing the material. Either way, it boils down to which company offers you the higher price.
The buyer must, of course make a profit on what he buys. He does this by charging a small commission, which earns him a profit and covers the costs associated with handling, assaying, postage and insurance. Competition in the market place encourages legitimacy because much new business comes from referrals, not advertising.
Pricing Depends Upon the Market Price
Gold, Silver and Platinum are commodities just like Copper, Soybeans and other things. However, they are considered PRECIOUS METALS. Precious metals are much rarer than standard commodities so the price is higher. This is the basic principal of available supply vs. consumer demand. Precious metals follow a general rule: the weaker the dollar, the stronger the price. This is true because it is logically assumed that precious metals have an intrinsic value that is more dependable than paper money. In earlier times, in fact, US money was backed by an equal value in gold (gold certificates) and then later by silver (silver certificates). Today, it is backed mainly by the stability and guarantees of the US government.
The Market Price Varies Each Day
The Price of Gold (Spot Gold Price) can vary quite widely during the course of a single day. The chart below is an example:
Here, you can see that the gold price varied between $754.00/Ounce and $765.85/Ounce during a six hour period during one trading day. It varies even more widely over longer periods as shown in the chart below:
In the second chart, the price varies widely during a one month period. It began at $835.00/Ounce and ended up at $765.85 30-days later. There were also short-term peaks during the month.
Even at these levels, gold is higher than it has been for decades and long-term projections anticipate more increases between now and late 2009. There has never been a better time to sell unwanted and broken gold, silver & platinum jewelry, coins, chains and even sterling silver flatware. In the period between the late 1880s and early 1900s, gold was priced at just $35.00/Ounce.
Short Term Prices Are Hard To Predict
Looking at the charts above makes it clear that predicting the price of gold or other precious metals is hard to predict by the day or by the hour in a given day. There are just too many variables to consider. However, from the seller’s perspective, it is wise to assume that anytime is a good time right now while the average market price/ounce for precious metals remains high.
Be Safe, Be Secure, Be Smart!
Since there are unscrupulous individuals out there who won’t hesitate to accept your property and then resell it without paying you, it pays to be smart and do your homework before you mail out anything. We’ve already touched on this in the previous section about Being a Smart Seller. However, there are other things you should consider as well. These include:
Insurance Coverage Under Your Homeowner’s Policy
In addition to the postage-paid and insured mailer that you will get from the buyer of your precious metal items, you might also check with whoever insures your property where you live. If your policy has a ‘floater’ that covers things like jewelry, cash, antiques, etc at home, find out if that property is still covered during mailing. Although the mailer insurance from the buyer you select may suffice, it doesn’t hurt to know that your own insurance also provides coverage.
Photograph Your Items Too
You most likely own a film or digital camera. Use it to photograph all the unwanted or broken precious-metal items you are sending to the buyer. Simply lay all the items out and take a few shots. Some people write-up an item-by-item list showing what each piece is, what it’s made of and the Karat indication stamped or engraved on the item. (Almost all jewelry pieces have a Karat marking (e.g. 18K, 24K, 10K, etc) on them somewhere, frequently inside a ring, on the back or on a clasp).
In Case You Don’t Know What Items Are Real
There are occasions when a gold or silver item just isn’t marked and you may wonder if they are real or not. No worries. The legitimate buyers of precious metals will tell you and return anything that isn’t. If they are real gold, silver or platinum, you will be paid for them.
As already stated, spot market prices for precious metals fluctuate within a given day, week, month or year. Nevertheless, due to our current weak dollar and economic problems, they are at all-time highs. Plainly stated, this means that there has never been a better time to convert your broken or unwanted gold, silver and platinum items into hard cash.
Take a look at the chart below which shows the price of gold over the past five years alone. It tells the entire story at a glance:
The chart above shows that the price for gold in January, 2004 as around $350.00/Ounce. By January, 2008, the price was just under $1,000/Ounce.
Then there was a dip to $765.90/Ounce in July of 2008. Some experts feel that this dip is temporary; others disagree and feel one should sell now rather than bet on a return to the pre-dip price. We agree! Overall, the 5-year trend has been steadily upward.
Silver and Platinum have had similar trends. As of today, the spot market prices for gold, silver and palladium were (Given as price per Ounce):
Silver $10.70
Platinum $1,168.00
Palladium $233.00
A few years ago silver was down to less than $4.00/Ounce, today it is $10.70 and Platinum is a huge $1,168/Ounce. So check those old silver coins and especially any platinum items.
We Can Recommend a Few Trusted Online Buyers:
In preparing this tutorial, TruthAboutGold.Com researched some of the popular online buyer of gold, silver and Platinum in terms of:
- Complaints from the Better Business Bureau
- Seller Testimonials
- Time from Receipt of Property to Payment
- Postage-Paid Insured Mailers
- Prices Paid for Gold, Silver & Platinum
- Responsiveness to Customer Inquiries
Here are a few Trusted, Reliable Buyers:
BrokenGoldUSA
These sites offer fair pricing, fast, reliable service and honest, ethical treatment.
