WARNING! Don’t Even THINK Of Selling Scrap Gold Until You Ask Gold Buyers These 7 Revealing Questions
If your jewelry is intact and in excellent condition, you’ll get the most cash if you get 2-3 bids from local upscale jewelers or antique dealers. Pawn shops are not known for their trustworthiness, and will lowball their offer.
But what if your bracelet is broken or you’ve lost 1 valuable earring? What if you have an old class ring, or even dental gold?
It’s not likely you’ll find interested buyers on Ebay or Craigslist for these type of items.
But if they’re made of precious metal like gold, platinum, or silver, you still have something of value.
Besides, there’s an easier way to get cash for them than hassling with a listing on an auction site, or paying for a classified ad. You don’t have to photograph your gold piece in an appealing way, or arrange face to face meetings with buyers.
Where To Sell Your Jewelry
The absolute best solution is to find someone who can restore its value. They can process your gold or silver item back into gold or silver bars, to be used in manufacturing.
This will be a refinery in the business of purifying and recovering precious metals. They have special licenses and the machinery to do this.
These refineries can be found online, which is better for you because you’ll be taking out the middleman, and getting the very best scrap gold price.
But be careful!
A lot of unscrupulous gold buyers/middleman companies have popped up online. They’ll give you a bare minimum cash offer to you, so they can turn around and sell to a refinery for profit.
Here are 5 easy steps to safely selling gold to an online company:
Step #1
Know true market value of your gold and silver! Goldprice.org gives you the daily market value of gold, platinum, and silver.
Step #2
Check your yellow pages under “Gold” and “Jewelry”, to find local gold buyers. Take your piece to at least 2 for a comparison with an online company’s offer.
Step #3
Screen the online scrap gold company you’re thinking of dealing with! This step is so important, that I’ve listed 7 Screening Questions for online scrap gold buyers below.
Step #4
Once you’ve used the 7 Screening Questions to pick the best company, request their PRE-PAID INSURED shipping envelope.
Step #5
Either accept their offer and get cash, or reject their offer and get your items back.
Here’s The 7 Revealing Questions:
Question #1
(TIP: By asking this easiest question first, you’ll eliminate a lot of online companies, so you won’t waste your time asking the other 6!)
What’s their physical address?
Federal law requires precious metal buyers to have a physical address. If their address isn’t listed on their About page or Contact Us page, or if it’s just PO Box, move on!
Question #2
What’s their shipping method and insurance amount for your items?
It’s best not to call the company with this question to get a verbal answer. READ THE FINE PRINT. Look for their Terms & Conditions link, or their Frequently Asked Questions page.
The very best online gold buyers will PREPAY for FedEx’s Overnight Declared Value Exception program. This FedEx shipping is the most secure shipping option for your valuables.
FedEx will insure your package up to $25,000. Other shipping methods will only insure up to $100. The insurance amount will be based on your estimated declared value before shipping.
Question #3
What’s their payment policy?
This is your most important question, because when you’re selling gold you want the most cash possible! The answer to this question is also best determined by READING THE FINE PRINT.
DON’T do business if anywhere in the fine print it says that when you ship to them, you’ve automatically agreed to accept their cut-rate offer!
Also, be careful about their direct deposit policy. With a lot of gold buyers, if you choose this payment option, their fine print says this will waive your rights to reject their (lowball) offer and have your items returned.
Can you believe it?
These shady companies want you to agree to their policy of automatically mailing you a check without checking with you first. Believe me, if you do, you’ll be shocked at how low their offer is.
And to add insult to injury, the catch in their fine print, is that you need to contact them within 10 DAYS to reject their offer and have your valuables returned.
BUT then you find out this 10 day return period starts from when their check is dated. And they’ve used STALL TACTICS getting the check to you in enough time to get your items back!
Trustworthy companies will not send you an automatic payment. They’ll evaluate your items and contact you FIRST with their offer.
If you like their offer, you now tell them how you want your cash:
- A check in the mail
- Paypal immediately
- Or direct deposit within 24 hours
If you don’t like their offer, they’ll pay to insure and FedEx Overnight your items back to you.
OK savvy gold seller, you’ve gotten this far, and have probably eliminated most online companies with Questions 1-3. Now it’s time to pick up the phone to screen the survivors.
Question #4
Does a real live person answer the phone during business hours?
Or will you get tangled up in their voice mail system for half an hour?
Don’t waste your time! If this is how they treat a potential new customer, how will they treat you after you’ve sent them your valuables?
Question #5
Now that you actually have a live Customer Service Rep on the phone, it’s time to ask,
What’s your State License Number?
Phone their state’s Department of Consumer Affairs to verify that they’re legitimate.
Question #6
Ask not only how long they’ve been in business, but how long they’ve been in the gold buying business.
This is essential with all the fly-by-night companies out there.
Question #7
What’s your security policy to protect my valuables while they’re at your facility?
FedEx will take care of tracking your scrap gold while it’s being shipped. But how does this company track so they always know exactly where your items are while they’re processing it?
That’s it.
If you just follow these easy steps, you can feel safe and worry-free about selling scrap gold & silver items to a gold buyer that you found online.
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