Reputable purchaser of gold in San Francisco?
February 12, 2014 9:24 AM Subscribe
I'm looking for recommendations of places to sell gold for the value of the metal (not for the value of the design or jewelry). I don't have a car, so if out of the city proper, I would need it to be BARTable, since renting a car would decrease the net value of the transaction. I don't need the world's highest price -- I just don't want to get screwed. Any thoughts?
For clarity, this is 18k yellow gold that is jewelry for piercings I no longer wear. I have a little pile of it, and I'd like to trade it for cold hard cash.
For clarity, this is 18k yellow gold that is jewelry for piercings I no longer wear. I have a little pile of it, and I'd like to trade it for cold hard cash.
It's all just math. NO place that buys gold is buying it for the design or jewelry, they ALL want it for the value, by weight, and nothing more.
Find out what the going price for gold is today. $1294.95 per oz.
Now, all gold is alloyed with another metal, so it's only the GOLD part that they want,
Here's a calculator.
So if you have 10 grams of 18k gold, the exact exchange would be $312.00. Of course the buyer will offer less, but at least you have a basis for comparison.
You can shop it around, all jewelers and pawn shops will buy gold. Or you can sell it on the Internet.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 9:47 AM on February 12, 2014
Find out what the going price for gold is today. $1294.95 per oz.
Now, all gold is alloyed with another metal, so it's only the GOLD part that they want,
Here's a calculator.
So if you have 10 grams of 18k gold, the exact exchange would be $312.00. Of course the buyer will offer less, but at least you have a basis for comparison.
You can shop it around, all jewelers and pawn shops will buy gold. Or you can sell it on the Internet.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 9:47 AM on February 12, 2014
yeah a refinery is a good idea.. or a quick google search tells me there's a place in sf called pacific precious metals that sounds like what you're looking for. you want a shop that does coin dealing and precious metals, not a place that does cash for gold.
posted by euphoria066 at 9:47 AM on February 12, 2014
posted by euphoria066 at 9:47 AM on February 12, 2014
Response by poster: For clarity, I appreciate hearing from those with firsthand experience. I do get the mechanics & economics. Just looking for thoughts on non-swindlers. Thanks!
posted by janey47 at 9:56 AM on February 12, 2014
posted by janey47 at 9:56 AM on February 12, 2014
I have firsthand experience with Midwest Refineries. They pay far more than any brick-and-mortar I've seen, and they cut a check quickly.
Ruthless Bunny is right. Gold is a commodity with a clearly defined value, so the surefire way to avoid swindlers is to know what you have before going in. This means no matter what you do, whether you send it to Midwest Refineries or take it somewhere in person, you should weigh it yourself (most kitchen scales that handle grams should get you close enough) and calculate what the gold content is worth. Failing to do this is like selling your car to a used-car lot on your friend's recommendation without ever looking up the bluebook value yourself.
posted by payoto at 10:29 AM on February 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
Ruthless Bunny is right. Gold is a commodity with a clearly defined value, so the surefire way to avoid swindlers is to know what you have before going in. This means no matter what you do, whether you send it to Midwest Refineries or take it somewhere in person, you should weigh it yourself (most kitchen scales that handle grams should get you close enough) and calculate what the gold content is worth. Failing to do this is like selling your car to a used-car lot on your friend's recommendation without ever looking up the bluebook value yourself.
posted by payoto at 10:29 AM on February 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Not to threadsit, and thank you both for the Midwest Refineries recommendation, but even they say that all gold is alloyed so even if I weigh my jewelry, there is a fair likelihood that I won't be able to simply multiply the weight times the spot price times a fair percentage and come up with an accurate estimate, and the weight/alloy issue is where I assume swindlers would create arbitrage. Looks like I'll be sending it to Midwest Refineries, so thank you all!
posted by janey47 at 11:41 AM on February 12, 2014
posted by janey47 at 11:41 AM on February 12, 2014
but even they say that all gold is alloyed so even if I weigh my jewelry, there is a fair likelihood that I won't be able to simply multiply the weight times the spot price times a fair percentage and come up with an accurate estimate
You already know the alloy: 18 karat!
18k means 18 parts gold out of 24 total. 18 / 24 = 0.75, so you've got 75% gold by weight.
The calculation for the full melt value is then:
(Weight in grams / 31.1) * 0.75 * Spot price of gold
Remember that the spot price is in troy ounces, so make sure to weigh in grams.
posted by clorox at 6:06 PM on February 12, 2014
You already know the alloy: 18 karat!
18k means 18 parts gold out of 24 total. 18 / 24 = 0.75, so you've got 75% gold by weight.
The calculation for the full melt value is then:
(Weight in grams / 31.1) * 0.75 * Spot price of gold
Remember that the spot price is in troy ounces, so make sure to weigh in grams.
posted by clorox at 6:06 PM on February 12, 2014
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by doctord at 9:42 AM on February 12, 2014 [2 favorites]