Is this for realz?

February 6, 2009 1:42 PM

Going to a Gold Party tonight. Help me make the most of my bamboo hoop earrings...

I'm going to a gold party and want to know as many details as possible on how this works before I go. I have a good bit of "old" gold and I want to be sure I don't get taken. Anybody know how this works? I have no details other than to bring my unwanted jewelry. Any tips appreciated!

posted by pearlybob to work & money (9 comments total)

Read this and this. Even keeping in mind that the author has his or her own agenda, it's still pretty damning.
posted by amarynth at 1:49 PM on February 6

Gold Party? Never heard of them before but one of the first hits on Google seems to suggest they're mostly scams.
posted by otherwordlyglow at 1:51 PM on February 6

I did a quick google search (as I had no idea what a gold party was). From what I'm able to understand, there's a jeweler's scale and some kind of sensor to determine the weight and purity of the gold you bring. The appraiser then assigns your gold a value and if you agree to it, you sell at that price.

Whether or not the appraisal is accurate appears highly subjective. That's where the possibility of being scammed is highest, I think. That, and if there's any liquor to impair your judgment, you might agree to a lesser value than your gold is actually worth.

One article briefly mentioned talking to a different appraiser before you attend, just to have some estimated values on hand for comparison. In the event of old gold coins or antiques, you might be better off talking to a collector in case the items are worth more than just the weight of gold.

All in all, I think it's pretty obvious that you're not going to get full value for your gold jewelry. The buyer has to turn around and convert that gold into something, after all.
posted by CancerMan at 2:01 PM on February 6

Honestly? Don't go. When people are out spending money and going out of their way to get you to sell them your intrinsically valuable commodity, it's because they're out to rip you off. Research a local jeweler with a community history and a good reputation, research the price of gold and have a sense of the ballpark of what you have (you might want to double check with something like this) after you get a weight). The anecdotal stories going around suggest people routinely losing hundreds to thousands of dollars from what a jewelery store with an honest percentage, in some cases even a pawn-shop, would offer.
posted by nanojath at 2:11 PM on February 6

Reference Cash4Gold.
posted by rhizome at 2:38 PM on February 6

Here is a legitimate a NYT article for some background. I would not listen for even one second to the opinions in a blog post of a brick-and-mortar jeweler who has clear financial reason to dissuade people from trading valuable jewelry in a private setting and cutting out the middleman.

The key is whether the dealer that is attending your particular party is reputable. Get the name and background info of the person you will be dealing, from the person who is hosting your party, and then do some reputation checking online. Weigh your own earrings on a kitchen or postal or jeweler's scale before you go to the party, so that you can double-check his scale on-site. Call around to a couple of gold buyers in your area and ask what they are paying right now, so you can see what constitutes a fair price.

You might even go to a local dealer with the items that you are thinking of taking to the party, and ask for a scratch test or digital test on your gold (which tests the purity) and ask him to make you an offer on the lot. Keep that offer in mind, and then go to your party. If the party dealer can't give you a better price than your local guy, then simply pass. You are under no obligation to sell to the dealer at the party.


The rest of you whose answer consisted of "I've never heard of a 'gold party' but Google says it's a scam"? You are really not helping here. AskMe askers are specifically invited to check Google before coming here. I think it's rude of you to think that you're better equipped to enter a search term into Google than the Asker. Believe it or not, "I've never heard of [Topic Being Asked About]" is exactly the metric that should tip you to step away from the comment box. Have a look at this MetaTalk if you aren't sure why you're just adding noise.
posted by pineapple at 3:01 PM on February 6 [3 favorites]

Some more background on gold parties and what to expect:

"'Gold parties': like a pawn shop, with wine" - Seattle Times, Oct 2008

The FAQ page from the MyGoldParty.com site, the company that essentially launched the idea of private scrap-gold events hosted in someone's home. That page answers a lot of questions for prospective reps -- but if you learn that your event is a MyGoldParty event, you'll get a better idea of what to expect.
posted by pineapple at 3:18 PM on February 6

pineapple: People bring their life experience here. One of the things I know from my life experience is that I am better equipped than some to search for something obvious on google. Also just because a poster hasn't heard the exact combination of words "Gold Party" doesn't mean she's ill-equipped to understand the idea and ponder out loud some of the ways it might be scammy. OP said "I don't want to get taken" so answers of the form "Sounds like you're being set up to be taken and here's why/how" are entirely appropriate, I think. Also, your advice of weighing before you go and checking prices is also good (but perhaps no less obvious than searching google?)
posted by fritley at 6:00 PM on February 6

Hi all, thanks for the tips, just for the record, I had googled and had already read pretty extensively about it. I was looking more for personal experiences but I don't think I made that clear in my question. I know these parties are pretty new and I was hoping to find someone who had been to one and what their opinion was. I asked the question quickly, only had 2 hours till the party, and I didn't word it very well.

As a followup, I did go. I used Nanojath's scale that he/she sent and had an approximate idea of what I should get before I went. I walked away with $900, within the range of what I had been expecting. So although I'm sure there are scams out there, my experience was a pretty good one. Maybe I could have broken a thousand with my stuff but I would have had to shop it around and its been sitting in my drawer for years so I wasn't going to give it too much effort. The money I got for the effort I put in was a good trade!

Thanks again for the advice.
posted by pearlybob at 6:27 AM on February 7