Are you hoping to turn some of your jewelry into cash? As a pawn shop in Murray, Kentucky, we’ve got a lot of experience in the process. We understand that for your peace of mind and financial security, you’re going to want to know how to protect yourself against being scammed.
There are several steps you can take to prepare yourself for negotiating with gold buyers. To ensure that you make the most out of your money, here are some ways you can prepare yourself:
Karat measures the purity of your gold. Pure gold registers as 24 karats and is so soft that it can be bitten into! If you are planning to sell gold jewelry, then it wise to know that it is very likely that your item has been mixed with other metals—thus lowering its gold purity.
There are plenty of tests you can take at home. You can check by placing a magnet against the gold item and lower it slowly until it almost touches the material. If you feel that the magnet is being drawn or pulled downward, then your product is not pure.
Another way to check is to just inspect the surface because gold items are usually stamped with a mark that indicates its type. If it has a “GF” or “HGP” stamp, then the item is gold-plated. A pure gold piece will have “24K” markings. These stamps are usually found inside the band of a ring or underneath the clasp of a necklace.
However, it is important to use these stamps alongside other indicators of authenticity because some stamps can be faked!
The value of gold changes on a regular basis. Like stocks, it is publicly traded and has a market value. Fortunately, it is easy to check the price of gold online; you can use this figure to determine an estimated price for your gold jewelry.
There are many factors that determine the price of gold—this includes inflation, central bank reserves, and demand for jewelry around the world.
When you are pawning gold jewelry, you need to know the difference between selling your piece with all its gold parts scrapped and melted down and selling it as a whole.
There are several ways to measure the scrap gold value of your piece by yourself, with the use of online calculators. You can also have it appraised by a professional.
Gold is usually weighed in traditional grams, otherwise known as pennyweights—which comes to about 1.555 grams each. In ounces, gold is measured in Troy.
It’s important to know this because you may come across gold buyers who will try weighing your gold in pennyweights, passing it off as grams, and shortening the sale price. Since pennyweights are heavier than traditional grams, you would be on the losing end of the deal!
The best way to safeguard yourself against this scenario is to weigh your own gold at home using a high-quality scale. You can then make all the conversions to pennyweights and Troy as needed so that you have an idea of how much to expect before you approach a gold buyer.
When you are already at the buyer’s, make sure that their scale is in full view so you can watch them appraise your gold.
You need to remember to keep all of your gold pieces separated according to karat. If you are not critical about this stage, some gold buyers may try to take advantage of you and weigh all your gold together, giving an appraisal based on the value of your lowest karat.
If you have a mix of 24-karat gold and 12-karat gold, this is a massive loss for you. That’s why you need to know the karat value of all the gold items you have in your inventory.
Conclusion
It can be difficult to sell gold items because there are many concepts that you have to familiarize yourself with before finding a buyer. You need to know the value of your items and find a reliable buyer to transact with as well. That’s why when you are thinking of pawning your gold, you need to have someone you can trust to guide you through the process!
Are you looking for a place to sell your gold in Owensboro, KY? River City Pawn Shop is the pawnshop you need! We offer instant cash offers so you can get the finances you need in a pinch. We are willing to buy almost anything from you—provided that it is in good condition, of course. Visit us today and see how we can help!
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