Selling Gold By Mail Doesn’t Pay

By Money Talks News

May 25, 2009 2:12 pm

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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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  • I would strongly suggest checking out the Jazz Jewelers before selling gold or silver to ANYONE. I did a great deal of research, online and offline, and learned a lot about this business. I found that the JAZZ JEWELERS paid more than anyone else I could find.
  • I would strongly suggest checking out the Jazz Jewelers before selling gold or silver to ANYONE. I did a great deal of research, online and offline, and learned a lot about this business. I checked pawn shops, jewelers, "gold parties", hotel "buying events as well as the online buyers, including the "as seen on tv" guys. I found that the JAZZ JEWELERS paid more than anyone else I could find. http://sellgoldtampa.com I I can recommend them 100%
  • Matt
    Wow as I viewed this story an ad above the video was for cash4gold.com. Kinda being a hypocrite by accepting advertising for a company you know is ripping people off, or is this your way of ripping them off :) haha
  • Don't get cheated,There are open cases for Cash4Gold on the Better Business Bureau website of people saying that they sent their gold and Cash4Gold claims they never received it. There was one claim that I read of someone sending in a ring appraised at over $2000 and they were sent a check from Cash4Gold for about $60 or something crazy like that.
  • Cash4Gold rips people off. It pays you only a fraction of what your gold is actually worth. You'd be much better off just taking it to a jeweler.
  • You have to shop around and do your homework to get the best price for your gold jewelry. i would go to 3 stores and get prices. Read all of the reviews on the jewelry stores! then and only then will you find the top price for gold in your area.
  • I would have to disagree...there are some very reputable companies out there. However there are several scamming companies so I guess it depends on the company you work with!
  • The big companies have a guarantee, so if you aren't satisfied you have a right to get your stuff back. A good trick is to haggle with them to maximize your payout, especially if what you sent in is just junk.
  • What was the weight, and or the spot price, of your sample worth. What was the real percentage that you got compared tot he 50 to 80% Howie Mofshin promises. Would be surprising to see it lower than 15%
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