Combine a tarnished economy, high gold prices and tons of advertising and you’ve got the makings of a new gold rush: gold rushing from the hands of those who have it to those who buy it.
“People are in a bad situation. They’re finding jewelry that they don’t wear anymore, broken jewelry, something they may have inherited from their family, and it’s coming in. A lot of it is coming in.”
-Richard L. Scheinman, Pawn Shop Manager
But before you part with the family jewels, know this: the price you get for your gold will vary wildly depending on who you sell it to.
We recently did a test with one 18 carat gold chain. First we divided it into equal parts.
We took it to a local pawn shop, where they weighed each part, tested it and verified it was 18 carat.
Then we took three identical pieces and sent them to three internet dealers: Cash4Gold.com, TurnGold2Cash.com, and GoldKit.com.
How much should we expect to get? Well, here’s what Cash4Gold.com told us when we did their story back in 2008:
“You could see prices anywhere from 50% of spot to 80% of spot based on how much again that you’re sending in.”
-Howie Mofshin, Cash4Gold.com
Based on that, each of our pieces of the gold necklace should be worth about $50 when we mail them in… And that’s what the pawn shop said they’d give us.
But our online offers? $37 from TurnGold2Cash.com, $11 from Cash4Gold.com, and from GoldKit.com? A measly $5.
Bottom line? It’s ridiculous to send your gold to any company that’s not going to give you the best deal. So the more you need the money, the more careful you need to be.
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