High price of gold

[pomtzu]

With the price of gold going thru the roof, now might be a good time to go thru that jewelry box and gather up the broken chains or bracelets, the one surviving earring, rings with missing stones, or just pieces you hate and will never wear again, and cash them in.

I had a couple of bracelets to go to the jeweler for repair, so I decided to gather the junk gold and take it along and see what I might be able to get for it. I had several bracelets, a couple of rings, some mismatched earrings and a couple of chains - really not much at all, and all unwearable - and I figured I might get a couple of hundred tops for all of it. Nope - I got $527. Boy was I shocked! Easy money, and now I can put it into my car for the brake calipers I need, and had been holding off getting the work done. I'd really like to have used that to buy a laptop that I've been wanting, but I guess the car wins.

If you think you might do this, stay away from these "cash for gold" places, since they'll rip you off. Even most pawn shops that advertise that they buy scrap gold, do the same. Most any jeweler will give you an honest deal and more for your gold than these other places will.

[Karen]

Definitely a good idea to go with an established business, one you can check the Better Business Bureau about, and that cares for its reputation in the community than going to one of those fly-by-night places that appear in the mall for a few weeks, or take over an empty storefront for a month then disappear!

Congrats, I am sure your car will be much nice to drive with new calipers, and you can worry less!

[kitten645]

I've been thinking about this myself. I don't wear jewelry at all. It's all I can do to get out of the house with matching shoes! I've got some gold that I keep strictly for sentimental purposes. I know I'll never wear my high school class ring again. I have no children so my nieces won't have any use for a monogrammed ring of mine. I plan on being cremated so it's not like I'm taking anything with me. I just feel like I might regret it later. I just haven't gotten to that place yet where I can part with it.
Thanks for the advice. I may reconsider.

[pomtzu]

I've been thinking about this myself. I don't wear jewelry at all. It's all I can do to get out of the house with matching shoes! I've got some gold that I keep strictly for sentimental purposes. I know I'll never wear my high school class ring again. I have no children so my nieces won't have any use for a monogrammed ring of mine. I plan on being cremated so it's not like I'm taking anything with me. I just feel like I might regret it later. I just haven't gotten to that place yet where I can part with it.
Thanks for the advice. I may reconsider.

Definitely don't get rid of anything that has sentimental value, because you probably will regret it later. All my scrap gold was just that - scrap. Broken and not worth fixing, meaningless or mismatched pieces, etc - definitely nothing with any sentiment attached.

[kaycountrygal]

Great idea!! I recently took some odds and ends to a jeweler in nearby town also and was stunned when he said $720 for my assortment. This was in Dec 2011 and price was $1616 oz that day; it's gone up since then. I did not sell and havent yet. I'm waiting for the price to go even higher. I also plan to check with a couple more jewelers in the area before I eventually sell.

I did get an internet site from him that I check out each day to see what the price is.
I hope this shows up right. The site is: http://mobile.nwtmint.com/

Kay in NC

[smokey the elder]

It doesn't take much to get to 1/3 or 1/2 a troy ounce. I think it's best to go to a jeweler, and am glad you had success selling your old gold.

[pomtzu]

It doesn't take much to get to 1/3 or 1/2 a troy ounce. I think it's best to go to a jeweler, and am glad you had success selling your old gold.

Depends on the carat weight of the piece. A 10K piece has a lot less gold than an 18K piece. I had a mixture of 10 & 14, so I was pleased with the amount I received for it. I was going to hold off, but with my luck, prices would start to drop again. My father was in watch and jewelry repair, and I can remember him complaining when gold was $75 per ounce!