How to Sell Scrap Gold

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: October 10, 2022 References

Selling your scrap gold is a great way to make extra money. Advertisements for people and companies who purchase scrap gold are everywhere. With so many options it can be difficult to know how to get the best price for your gold.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Evaluating the Gold Market

1
Research current gold prices. To ensure you get a fair price look at the standard market for gold. Seller can use the current gold price to negotiate a fair deal.
- Check the current price per ounce. The price of gold per ounce is now a fixture that is easily found on the Internet, in the newspaper, and through other sources.
- Evaluate nonphysical gold holdings. In some cases, it can be helpful to look at the values involved in nonphysical gold assets like stocks, funds or bonds to know whether to sell a piece of scrap gold.
2
Know if your gold is worth more as jewelry or melted. Before selling, the owner of an item needs to consider whether it is worth more as a coin, piece of jewelry, or as a lump of raw gold. Selling gold for scrap doesn't always make sense, and the only way to tell if it is a prudent decision is to figure out the market value of the crafted piece. You can get your gold appraised at a jewelry store to determine the worth as scrap gold and the worth as jewelry.^{[1]
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3
Determine the best time to sell your gold. The price of gold changes so it is important to consider when the right time is to sell your gold. You will want to sell your gold when the currency of your country is strong. If you want to sell your gold and the currency is doing well, then it is best not to hesitate. If you need quick cash, you can sell your gold even when the currency is not strong you just might not get the highest price you could.

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Selling Your Gold

1
Determine the purity of the gold. It is important to know the karat of your jewelry before you sell it to determine the price.
- Calculate the value of your gold. 10-karat gold is 42% gold, 14-karat gold is 58% gold, 18-karat gold is 75% gold. If you have 10-karat gold it is going to be worth 42% of the current market price of gold.
- If you are unsure of the karat of your gold you can purchase an acid test kit to test your gold. ^{[2]
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Weigh your gold. There are many ways to measure the weight of gold. Gold can be weighed in grams per ounce but most jewelers measure gold in grams per Troy ounce which is slightly different than grams per ounce.
- Some jewelers will even measure the gold in pennyweight per Troy ounce (1 pennyweight = 1.555 grams).^{[3]
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3
Get your jewelry ready to be sold. In order to get the best price, you should clean your jewelry before selling. Use a small amount of warm water and dish soap to clean your jewelry. Lightly scrub with a soft bristle toothbrush then let it air dry. You should also get your jewelry repaired before you sell it if you are not planning on selling it as scrap gold. ^{[4]
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4
Shop around. Don’t just sell your gold at the first place you find. Go to multiple locations to see if you can get the best price.
- You can sell your jewelry on websites such as eBay or Craigslist, to websites that purchase your jewelry when you mail it away, to local jewelry stores or pawn shops, or at gold parties.
- Check that the business you sell it to has a business license and is a member of a jewelry trade association. ^{[5]
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- You are more likely to get a better price and a safer transaction if you sell to local jewelry stores instead of mail away companies or at gold parties.
- Check the Better Business Bureau’s website for complaints against companies to see if they are reliable before you give them your gold. ^{[6]
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Bring your ID. Gold sellers are required to ask to see your ID. If they do not ask for your ID, they are not legitimate and you should sell your gold somewhere else. ^{[7]
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Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Avoiding Scams

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Be aware of measuring. Make sure you understand the unit that the jeweler is measuring the gold in. Make sure that the different karats are being weighed separately. Some jewelers will weigh all the jewelry together, instead of individually, to give you the lowest karat. If you see your jeweler doing this, stop them and insist they measure the pieces individually. ^{[8]
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Be careful of gold parties. It may sound fun to gather around with your friends and make money off of your gold but they can often be scams.
- Guests often sell their jewelry to the buyers who host the gold parties for you and your friends for much less than it is worth. (Often as much as 50% or less of what the jewelry is actually worth.)
- The buyers try to confuse you with weights. They sometimes will use a broken scale, be unclear about the unit of measurement, and tell you your gold is a lower karat than it is.
- The buyers might tell you the gold is for charity. Be careful about this because it is usually a lie. ^{[9]
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3
Know the terms of mail away services. The fine print of a mail away gold service is very important to read and understand.
- Make sure to send the items insured and that you get reimbursed. Know how long they keep the gold before melting it incase you change your mind and how many days you have to turn down their offer.
- Keep everything on file. Take photos of your jewelry and save all relevant paperwork just to be safe. ^{[10]
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4
Don’t sell your gold to rogue buyers. These are people who come to a town and advertise that they are buying gold for a great price. They set up a shop somewhere unreliable. They take the gold and then disappear after leaving people underpaid or unpaid. ^{[11]
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Community Q&A

Question

I have a 24 karat, 24 inch gold necklace weighing 89.5 grams. What would an approximate selling price be?

Community Answer

The value and what you will actually get are two different things. It would sell to a refiner for $3400. You would get paid $2500 if selling to a scrapper.
Question

How much do I get for my diamonds when selling my scrap gold that has diamonds in it?

Community Answer

Depending on the size of the stones anywhere from nothing to a few thousand dollars per carat. It depends on exactly what you have.
Question

How much can I get for a 14k white gold bracelet with diamond chips that weighs 38 grams?

Emma

Community Answer

In order to determine the value of your bracelet, you need to do some math. The first thing you need to do is take the karat of your gold and divide it by 24 (14/24 = .5833 in your case). Then, multiply that number by the price of gold per gram. The price of gold fluctuates, but if, for example, it is $50 per gram, that gives you about $30 per gram. Multiply the price per gram by the number of grams to find the value of the gold ($30 x 38 grams = $1,140). When you sell the bracelet, you will likely not be able to get the full value. You should also factor in the diamonds when you sell your bracelet.

Warnings

Sellers might try to trick you with the unit they use to weigh the gold.

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Don’t see to rogue buyers.

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Be careful selling your gold at gold parties.

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Use the Better Business Bureau’s website to see complaints.

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