If you’re looking to sell gold jewellery, read this comprehensive guide and you will have all the information you need at your disposal in order to make an informed choice about what you want to do and your best options to do it.
GOLD JEWELLERY – PURITY
Gold jewellery is most commonly made from 9 or 18 carat gold because 24 carat is often too soft to be used. Put simply, the higher the gold content, the higher the value of your gold.
- 24 carat gold is almost 100% pure – 24 parts out of 24 parts gold
- 18 carat gold is 75% pure – 18 parts gold, 25% hardening agent, such as zinc, copper or silver
- 9 carat gold is 37.5% pure, 9 parts gold, 62.5% hardening agent
CURRENT GOLD PRICE
At the time of writing (February 2013), the price of gold is hovering around £33 / €38.50 per gram. Gold is traditionally measured in troy ounces and one troy ounce equals 31.1g.
WHY DO YOU WANT TO SELL GOLD JEWELLERY?
Gold jewellery comes in myriad forms –
- Gold rings
- Gold necklaces
- Gold earrings
- Gold bracelets
If you look hard enough, you’ve probably got a whole host of broken or forgotten gold jewellery that can be converted quickly and easily into cash and buyers aren’t necessarily looking for the items themselves, they are usually looking at the weight of gold and your items will be valued on that basis. The more gold jewellery you have, the more it’s worth.
Finance – Selling gold jewellery is a quick and easy way to earn money for whatever reasons you need it for. Online and High Street buyers will offer you instant quotes for your gold but it’s worth noting that the price you are likely to get from selling your gold jewellery for cash will probably be a little lower than the current trading price, so the key is to shop around until you’re happy.
Fashion – Gold jewellery comes in and out of fashion the same way clothes and hairstyles do and you may have a jewellery box full of gold that you no longer wear so why not realise its value and make some money?
Inheritance – It’s usual for gold jewellery to be passed down through a Will and if you find you have rare, vintage or antique gold jewellery, it can often be worth much more than simply the value of the metal.
HOW TO SELL GOLD JEWELLERY
Be Prepared
- As we’ve said, buyers will usually value your gold based on the weight of the metal so it’s worth weighing what you have and having an idea of the current price of gold. That way, you’ll know if the price you’re being offered is within the ballpark of being acceptable.
- The purity of the gold determines its value. 18 carat gold jewellery is worth more than 9 carat gold jewellery because it has twice the gold content. Make sure you know how pure your items are – this can usually be determined by looking at the hallmark.
- Have your items valued by an independent jeweller and have all the documentation to hand. Your buyer will refer to these for verification.
- If you decide to sell your gold jewellery online, the photos need to be clear and detailed.
Selling Gold Jewellery at Auction
- Selling jewellery at an auction may be unpredictable and carries a certain amount of risk but it’s popular with people who have large amounts of high value items to sell.
- Remember, when the auctioneer’s gavel hits, the sale is complete and final. The pro is that you have achieved your objective – selling your gold jewellery – but the con is that if you’re not happy with the final price, there’s little that can be done.
- Auctions are a good way of gauging the market value of an item. However, when the bidding gets competitive, it can often mean an item sells for an artificially inflated price which is usually far higher than its actual value.
- Make sure that you choose an appropriate auction house for your items. An empty auction room or one with buyers who aren’t interested in your gold can mean a low sale price or no sale at all.
- Remember, there will usually be a fee charged by the auction house to sell your goods.
Selling Gold Jewellery Online
You can hardly open a newspaper or switch on a TV without seeing literally hundreds of adverts for companies who will ‘buy your gold for cash’ or offer ‘instant quotes and fast cash for your gold’. Some are reputable and will offer you fair rates, but some aren’t and will prey on your ignorance of the intricacies of the gold and bullion market to offer you extremely low prices.
This is where you should spend time researching the companies, reading testimonials and independent reviews and making sure that whatever route you choose, it’s the right choice.
- Transparent, free and industry-acclaimed websites like 62days.com offer you a fast and hassle-free way to sell your gold jewellery.
- Quotes and collections are completely free with 62days, and you can rest easy knowing you are backed by TRUSTe, the internet’s leading online privacy provider.
- You also have the safety net of being able to buy your gold jewellery back for the same price you sold it for within 62 days of the sale. There are no hidden handling charges or stealth costs of any kind.
- Upload a photograph of your jewellery and we’ll send you a free quote which you can agree to or refuse as you wish.
- As 62days.com is an internet business, we have very low fixed costs so we can give our customers extremely competitive prices for your gold jewellery and other valuables.
- We only use 100% secure, trusted payment methods such as PayPal, Google Checkout, Neteller, Moneybookers or we can pay you straight into your bank account.
- Your items are collected and delivered by FedEx and are fully insured while in transit between you and us.
When you’re researching the different ways to sell your gold jewellery online, remember that peer-to-peer sites can often make you feel like you’re playing ‘sell gold jewellery’ games and can be risky so be wary of issues surrounding payments, security, communication and delivery.
OTHER WAYS TO SELL YOUR GOLD JEWELLERY
High Street Pawnbrokers – Pawning jewellery is becoming more and more common, whether you’re looking for a short-term cash boost or if you simply want to get rid of it.
Pawnbrokers will offer you a set-term loan secured by your gold jewellery, after which time you can either buy it back (at a traditionally high interest rate) or keep the money and the jewellery becomes the property of the pawnbroker.
Antique Dealers – How old is your jewellery? Could it be considered antique? An antique dealer will value your gold jewellery and may offer to buy it themselves. Additionally, they may even offer to help you find buyers interested in what you have to sell.
As with every method of selling gold jewellery, it all depends on the quality and saleability of what you have.
WHAT YOU SHOULD DO NOW
If you’ve decided what you’d like to do, the sale process can commence. If you’d like to see how much you could get for your gold jewellery instantly with an expert quotation from 62days, simply upload your item now for a quick, free online quote.