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It has never been easier to sell gold. But with increased ease of market access comes increased risk.
You have to know where to go to sell your gold and not get burned.
Before you go out and sell your gold at the first opportunity, do your research. The three major factors that you should consider before you sell your gold are price, convenience, and safety.
What to do Before You Sell Your Gold
First, shop around before you choose where to sell gold. Take your gold to reputable pawn shops and jewelers to get appraisals and estimates. This should give you a solid base price before you go sell your gold online. Go to at least three or four establishments to compare prices. Head to the National Pawnbrokers Association website to find the nearest pawnbroker to you.
Beware of transient, pop-up gold buyers. They may come through town, collecting all the gold jewelry and gold coins they can get their hands on, and leave the sellers un- or underpaid. Many will offer prices well below legitimate appraisal values.
When it comes to selling your gold online, ready the terms and conditions carefully and browse several buyers before moving forward with any transactions. Sell Gold HQ is a great resource for online gold sellers.
Gold Seller Beware: Pay Close Attention to the Sellers and the Scales
Ask potential buyers for their credentials. Legitimate buyers should be licensed by the state. They are also required by law to ask you for your identity. These protocols exist to reduce the sale of stolen property and money laundering efforts. If the buyer does not ask for these credentials, walk away.
Before selling your gold for scrap, make sure you can’t get a better price for it in its current form.
Gold and silver coins generally retain value through resale. Sovereign coins are recognized legal tender so they can be resold relatively easily. Higher liquidity also results in higher resale value. The retail market for gold coins is generally quite active – more so than bars or jewelry – so there is almost always a buyer.
Selling gold and silver bars can provide a good return. They generally have a high resale value, especially if they come with a seal from a reputable mint. These seals confer lower risk to bullion bar purchases.
Selling gold and silver jewelry generally provides lower resale value compared to gold coins or gold bars. Most jewelry today includes an alloy, so a refiner has to melt it down and refine it. This additional labor translates to lower resale prices when you sell your gold jewelry.
How to Sell Your Gold Online
Selling your gold online is one of the safest methods of selling gold. Online dealers have business systems in place as well as proven track records. On the whole, online gold buyers typically offer better prices than local coin shops. Operating expense for online entities are generally lower so they can pass down overhead savings to better offers for gold sellers.
You can sell your gold on eBay, but buyers generally won’t offer you what you might expect form an authorized dealer. Buyers on markets like eBay are wary of frauds. Online markets like goldsilver.com provide a platform for safer and fairer gold and silver transactions.
When you sell your gold to an online dealer, you can generally make an agreement with quantity and price over the phone. You should receive an order number, a packing slip, and an address to ship the goods to. Once you safely ship the goods, they will inspect and verify the items. finally, they will issue your payment. Online dealers will typically send a check or send a bank wire transfer.
If you are looking for some fast cash, a local dealer is your best bet. You may just have to compromise by taking a lower bid price. Just walk in knowing the lowest amount you are willing to accept for your gold.
