Guide To Selling Scrap Gold For Cash

When I think of selling scrap gold I tend to think of the process of dismantling electronic devices and printed circuit boards to retrieve the gold hidden away inside, or perhaps removing gold plating.

If you have a large quantity of this type of scrap gold you will need to find a precious metal recovery specialist. If you are lucky there may be other components that they can extract some value from also.

However if your idea of selling scrap gold is broken jewellery, odd earrings, dental fittings and even gold teeth then there are many options available to you.

There appear to be more and more companies every day fighting over your unwanted trinkets and theoretically this ought to be good for the seller.

Public awareness of the price of gold has doubtless been raised by the apparently unending stream of gold buying commercials that are plaguing our tv ad breaks at the moment.

Before you start packaging up your gold and posting it off to the company with the most recognisable celebrity, it's advisable to calculate the value of your scrap gold. This gives you the advantage of knowing whether or not any offer you receive is fair. A number of gold buyers are known to make the initial offer low and only increase it when the valuation is questioned. You can learn more about valuing your gold in the simple guide on our website.

In summary, you'll want to split the gold into groups based on the purity. (9ct, 18ct, 24ct, etc) and weigh each individual group separately. Most jewellery in the UK is hallmarked somewhere unobtrusive, if there is no hallmark it might be worth checking with a jeweller before sending anything away, or you can buy fairly inexpensive gold testing kits. Obviously you want to use the most accurate scales you can gain access to.

Always remember to check the value of the insurance that the Gold Buying companies put on their gold packs. If you estimate your jewellery is worth more, ask for additional insurance at the post office.

Knowing the value of your gold before you despatch it to your gold buyer of choice gives you the confidence to haggle if you do not agree with their initial valuation. Many postal gold companies will not give you any indication of the price they will offer you (apart from the obligatory "we pay more" claims and guarantees). Be prepared to haggle with these people, often the initial valuation is not the maximum they are prepared to pay, they are simply chancing their arm so to speak. If you are not comfortable haggling stick to the companies that either display their prices on their website, or will give you a verbal quotation before you send your gold off.

You can always sell your scrap gold to a local buyer, a jeweller or pawnbroker for example. It may be prudent to give them a call before you start carting your valuables around town, they will undoubtedly give you a price per gram/oz that they'd be willing to pay that you can compare with some of the better online services. If they are competitive you may get the added bonus of actually receiving cash rather than waiting for a cheque or bank transfer.