anyone cashed in their old gold? (Boston, Newton: for sale, insurance, consignment)

[luvmyguys]

Thinking of taking advantage of the gold prices and cashing in some stuff I no longer wear. Curious if anyone has any recommendations for north of Boston or downtown Boston places to sell the gold. Don't want to spend all my profits on gas driving too far to cash in the gold!

[miu]

I scrapped some silver last month when it was $20 an ounce. This webpage will give you the daily market quotes: Live Market Quotes . Keep in mind that 14kt gold is only 50% purity or only half of a 14kt item is gold. Call around to see what shops are paying the most for scrap. They usually only pay out about 75% of the spot price. What happens is that what you want to sell them is not a very large amount. These shops will collect a large load of scrap before sending it off the big scrappers for smelting and processing into ingots of pure gold.

Sometimes, the gold scrap value even at these high prices are just a fraction of what was originally paid retail for the gold jewelry. And many times, a shop will buy it as scrap, then turn around and polish it up to sell to another retail customer. Therefore, sometimes, your gold jewelry is worth more as jewelry and not as scrap. So get some quotes. You might do better eBaying off your gold jewelry if it's nice quality stuff.

Also, get an accurate weight of what you want to scrap ahead of time. One suggestion is to go to a post office and ask them to weigh it on their digital scales. Then convert the weight from ounces to grams or whatever by using a site like this: >:: World Wide Metric ::< .

[haberstroh]

I know you were asking for places north or in the city. So this one might be out of your way. The store is called Crown Jewelers on Route 1 in Foxborough. It is on the left maybe a mile before the stadium. They advertise on the radio and that's why I went there. I did some spring cleaning and had a few broken chains, only one ear rings, pendants---all were kids things and not very much. But I did not want to throw it away and it was not good enough for charity. He gave me $27 on the spot. And I spent it on a haircut :-)
There was another costumer in front of me with a big heavy gold chain and he got $150 right away as well. I am sure we all sold for a loss....but for me it was better than throwing it away.
The store is well maintained and not shady. I did like the no-nonsense approach.
Good Luck

[miu]

Please make the effort to weigh your gold items ahead of time. And don't be afraid to ask for more than the shop offers you for your items. They usually start low. Especially if you are selling a wearable good looking piece of jewelry that has no damages to it. The shop isn't going to melt it down, they will just turn around and sell it for a profit.

Well, let me throw in another suggestion for a store to sell your silver or gold to. Steve's Antiques in Newton Lower Falls, near the intersection of Rte. 128 and Rte 9. I sold silver to the guy at the shop. On the items that he could resell for a profit, I got more than scrap value for them.

[tamiznluv]

Does anyone know of a reputable gold buyer around the Plymouth/South Shore area?

[miu]

I believe that most shops are very reputable to sell to. The important thing is to weigh your gold items ahead of time. Write down that number. Convert that number to grams. Then when you go to the shop, ask them to explain how they came up with the price they are offering you for your jewelry. And you don't have to accept their offer right away. You can tell the shop that you want to think about their offer. Then you go home and call up a couple of other jewelry or pawn shops and see what they are willing to pay for your gold jewelry.

Also, remember what you paid for the jewelry or go online and see how much it would cost to buy your jewelry new. If your gold jewelry is is good shape and the jewelry shop can sell it to another customer, don't be afraid to ask for more than they offer you.

Most shops will offer low in order to leave room for negotiation. Obviously, it is in their best interests to buy your gold cheap from you. Or look on eBay and see what comparable gold items are selling for there. Why not sell your jewelry on eBay? It's very easy. You need a good picture of your item, then you need to specify the dimensions and the weight of the item. And also the condition of it. Again, for the weight, go to your local post office when they are not busy. Ask them to weigh your jewelry on their scales. Write down the weights and you are all ready to go.

It's like buying a car, the more effort you make, the better the deal will be for you. And it really doesn't take much effort to sell your gold or silver properly. The shops buying gold are only looking out for themselves and they want to make a profit. Once you weigh your jewelry, then you can just call up a shop and ask how much they are paying per gram for 14kt gold jewelry. Then you ask them if they are willing to pay more for really nice gold jewelry. If they don't then go to them last. But if they are willing to consider paying more for nice jewelry, then go and push them on price. If you paid $500 for a necklace new and it's still in excellent like new condition, don't accept their first offer of a $100 for it. And double check to see if you have any higher karat gold jewelry like 18kt, because obviously it should sell for more. And make sure that any silver toned jewelry is not just sterling. It could be white gold or even platinum. Find a magnifying glass and look for the marks on the metal. It's really worth doing your homework.

[tamiznluv]

Thanks for your help, miu.

[miu]

It's just like selling your car or trading it in for a newer one. Do your research first. Don't be afraid to ask what you think that it's worth.

And remember that the more you ask for your car or jewelry, the slower it is to sell... unless it is something very special, rare or in amazing condition. And a shop needs to make a least some profit on the transaction in order to make it worth their while buying it from you. And they have overhead to pay. Employee salaries, rent, insurance and security systems. But if they can sell your item quickly and have a special customer in mind, they may pay you close to top dollar for your things.

Another thought is to bring your old jewelry into a shop that has something for sale that you want. Most shops will give you a higher trade in value than just buying it outright from you for cash. Maybe there is another piece of jewelry that you'd rather have or a nice watch. Again, don't accept the first offers they give you. It's not their job to look out for your best interests.

Also, check out out consigning your jewelry to that shop or a general consignment shop. Maybe walk in and first ask about consignments. Ask what they think they can sell your jewelry for. Then ask what percentage commission they will take when they sell it. 20%? 50%? Then based on what they tell you, then ask how much they would buy the jewelry outright from you. Obviously, the nicer the jewelry is in design and condition, the more you will get for it. Ask if they are willing to write down their offers and let you think about it overnight. If they won't write them down, then you take notes. But a reputable shop will stand by their offers. However they may not want to write the offers down on their stationary so you can shop their prices easily to another shop. And keep in mind that the gold scrap prices fluctuate daily. But refer to that kitco.com site that I posted to see the trends in market prices.

[miu]

I thought of another suggestion. lol. Before you talk to those shop owners, take a moment to try to remember how much you loved your old jewelry when you first bought it or got given it. Sure you are tired of it now, but there must have been some good reasons why you loved the jewelry in the first place and wanted to own it.

And those thoughts will help you sell your jewelry for more money than scrap. The jewelry store will most likely not be able to sell the jewelry for as much as you originally bought it for. And it will be a great value for the next owner.

Make sure though that none of your jewelry is a great antique piece or a signed designer piece. If you have anything special, it's worth having the experts at Skinners auction house look at it for free. Otherwise, most Ross Simon or Zales type stuff is pretty basic and not that exciting.

[GrammyS]

Anyone else looking to sell jewelry? Or have you done it? For an article I'm working on, I'd love to chat with you about it.

Just send me an email and I'll tell you more...

thanks!