Why the Local Pawn Shop is Not the Best Place to Sell Gold

Perhaps you’ve noticed the recent appearance of local pawn shops and jewelers who wish to compete with established Internet gold buyers. They’re promoting this in local newspapers and magazines, on the Internet and even on TV. This is clearly evidence that the record high market prices for gold, silver and platinum are having an impact just about everywhere.

Pawn Shops Can’t Pay You a High Price

A pawn shop makes its profit by loaning low amounts against pawned items, collecting the interest on that loan at redemption time or by ending up owning pawned items at a low price when the owner cannot redeem. And when it comes to one of the most popular pawned items-gold jewelry-these pieces end up being sold at a nice profit if not redeemed on time. It’s a completely different business than Internet gold buyers.

Internet Buyers can

Unlike pawn shops and local jewelers, Internet buyers of precious metals are only interested in the actual content of gold, silver or platinum. That’s because they melt down the settings and sell it in bulk to their sources. The creative efforts that went into designing jewelry have no value to them at all.

When you send in your gold property to an Internet buyer, it is immediately assayed to determine the weight and purity of the gold. Once that is done, they check the current spot market price for gold (a figure that constantly fluctuates with supply and demand) and calculate the total value of your items. Many of these companies will also pay you for diamonds of any size or color. The same process id used to value silver or platinum items.

Choose your Internet gold buyer with care

The current high price for gold has brought out a lot of new buyers who are eager for your business. And it’s not easy to decide which one is your best bet unless you do some checking. You also need to be careful because there are some out-and-out scams amidst the buyers.

Here are a few tips to help you make a good choice:

• Check each buyer for unresolved complaints on Internet websites and with the Better Business Bureau. If you find a lot of them, look elsewhere.

• Determine which buyers will pay you the highest percentage of your property’s total value at the time of assay. Ask of you must.

• The buyer should offer pre-paid insurance of up to $1,000 on the mailing envelope he sends you. FedEx shipping is the fastest and safest.

• Look for a buyer who offers ‘satisfaction guaranteed.’ This usually indicates that good customer service is important to them.

• Finally, make sure that the buyer offers to send back all your property at his expense if you are not satisfied with the amount you receive.

There are also buyer reviews websites that have done all the investigations for you that are well worth checking out if you’re short on time.

Good luck!

Source by Joe D Montes

Why the Local Pawn Shop is Not the Best Place to Sell Gold