Gold is hugely popular since the economy began to tank. Many people are going with gold for safeguarding wealth, but not every person knows how to do that properly. Use the following article to get the most value out of your gold, or show you how to buy gold at good prices.
Do not sell your gold without first knowing what it is currently worth. If you decide to sell your gold, pieces with different karat values should be weighed and valued separately. Stay away from selling high-end jewelry pieces because they have more value.
Get a good education in precious metal pricing before you try to buy or sell gold. There are fluctuations in the prices of these metals every day, and you will want to know the current price. Also be ready to pay increasingly higher percentages above melt values for any gold pieces that are fractional. These include 1/10, 1/2 and 1/4 ounce pieces.
Be aware that it is possible to sell anything with a gold content to gold dealers. From broken jewelry to gold fillings, it can all be sold. The purity doesn’t even have to be 100%. The items can be gold-plated or made of an alloy containing gold. They won’t be worth as much but you can still get money for them.
Don’t sell to entities that are not licensed by the state to buy gold. Licensed buyers are much more reputable, and then you can stop worrying. Remember that you have hundreds of options available, so do not be pressured into doing business with the first company to make an offer.
Think about GoldMoney and other such services when you want to buy gold. It’s akin to opening up a bank account but with gold instead. You set up an account, deposit your funds, and you’re assigned some gold at a price that prevails to your account. Of course, you won’t actually have the gold. It will stay in the bank, but you can cash it in, portion it or even redeem it to receive one-kilogram bars of gold bullion.
Know exactly what you have. Even though the item looks like gold, it may not have much value. Some jewelry is a composite of a number of different metals. This may lower the price. This applies to gold plated items as well. If you aren’t sure what you’ve got, you should get it appraised before you sell it.
An inexpensive and simple way to see if an item is gold is with a regular household magnet. Gold and other precious metal will not be affected by a magnet, which means that they won’t stick to it at all. Sometimes the clasp of a piece is solid, however the rest will be plated. Using a magnet is an excellent way to find this out.
How does the seller know what the karat rating is? Many times the item will have a stamp. Other times, there is no way of knowing. Acid tests are simple ways to do this, so if the rep does this, they’re probably new to the business.
Always understand what you are signing. If you use any of the abundant mail-in gold buyers, study the fine print carefully before making the sale. In this way you can determine what percentage of your profits will go toward fees and commissions.
Check with the BBB before you sell gold to a dealer, jewelry store, gold buyer, etc. You will see if there were any complaints and be able to read reviews from consumers who have conducted business with them. Look at the complaints to see whether or not they were resolved. If there are a lot of complaints on their record with the BBB, move on to a different business.
Gold’s importance and popularity has reached impressive new highs in the aftermath of the financial collapse recently experienced worldwide. With the right information at hand it is possible for individuals of all economic strata to use gold as an effective safe harbor for their financial resources. Use this information to get the most from an investment in gold.
