Selling gold? Be wary (Houston, Austin: real estate, 2015, home) - Texas (TX) - City-Data Forum

soontobetexan · 07-22-2011, 03:21 PM

With the price of gold hovering around $1600 an ounce, I've observed a lot of activity of people getting rid of bracelets, rings, and so forth. You can do this at a pawn shop, gold dealer, jeweler, and, of course, at just about any HEB location.

Just a word to the wise ... the price they will pay you is going to vary tremendously, and chances are you are going to net nowhere near the value of your item.

I went to a location recently, having inherited a bunch of old cufflinks, money clips and tie pins, most of it 14k gold. The woman at the counter was very nice, explained how the process worked, that she would test each item in front of me, which she did, then weigh the items and give me a value. She explained that their operation had "an ace in the hole" because they own their own smelting operation in Houston, so they pay more than anyone else -- "usually, not less than 90 percent of the market price." That sounded good to me.

She weighs it up, and tells me she can write me a check on the spot for $8100.

That was a lot of money, but I'm not inclined to just take someone at their word, so I asked her to write the figure down along with the weight so I could go home and think about it. She wrote it on the back of a card.

I get home, notice that she only wrote the price, not the weight, so I call her, and she "can't remember" because she had done more transactions since. Despite the fact that it was all in a computer under my last name and DL.

So I go out and buy an Ohaus gram scale, weigh my items, find a gold calculator online (Google it, it's at the top), and come up with a weight and value of more than $13,500. The calculator figures the value based on carats ... 14k is so much percentage, 18k is more, etc.

She was offering me 60 percent of the value, not 90 percent. Think twice before you visit these places, and do your homework, folks. Hope that helps someone. They had a steady stream of customers at the one I was at.

Again, if you google it, you'll find a Today show report that recommends an online vendor that purports to pay 90 percent value ... I can't say whether they actually do or not, although they were by far the best that Today found in their blind testing, but you can find the link for yourself if you like.

Mike78613 · 07-22-2011, 10:34 PM

Put your gold in a the online "gold buyers" ziplock bag, mail it back to them free paid postage and you will see a huge amount of cash flow being sent back to you. Those are the most honest folks, yea the one's you never meet face2face!!

SickOfCalifornia · 07-23-2011, 10:37 PM

Here's a tip: don't sell your gold. $1,600/ounce will seem like a bargain sooner than you think.

StreetBAller85 · 07-24-2011, 01:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SickOfCalifornia

Here's a tip: don't sell your gold. $1,600/ounce will seem like a bargain sooner than you think.

^^^^ thats the truth right there. what my man Ron Paul said.

Bo · 07-24-2011, 02:57 PM

Was this experience at an Austin area gold buyback store, OP? You don't have to name the store, and since the TOS doesn't allow consumer complaints, it would be better if you didn't. I'm just asking to verify that this is a local issue, since your screen name implies you're not local.

Lovechild77 · 07-24-2011, 03:43 PM

@soontobetexan Thanks for the Heads Up! Good Advice on Selling Gold! I'm Lovin' this forum... especially the Austin Thread! If I have a Choice... I'd moved to Austin right quick! Hehe!

Great Research dude!

Gypsy616 · 07-24-2011, 04:20 PM

My mother has a friend in NY that is a jeweler and he was also telling us to be careful of these places. He had sent his daughter in with some gold once just to see what they would give for it and she was quoted a price that was 50 percent below what should have been offered.

He also said that some of the really shady dealers will tell you that what you have is not real gold and then they will offer to throw it away for you. They will throw it in the garbage right in front of you and then as soon as you are out of the door they will pull it out.

It's a shame that there are so many dishonest people!

soontobetexan · 07-24-2011, 08:47 PM

Yes, it was here in Austin. I should change the screename to TexanForAYear.

Lovechild77 · 07-25-2011, 01:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gypsy616

My mother has a friend in NY that is a jeweler and he was also telling us to be careful of these places. He had sent his daughter in with some gold once just to see what they would give for it and she was quoted a price that was 50 percent below what should have been offered.

He also said that some of the really shady dealers will tell you that what you have is not real gold and then they will offer to throw it away for you. They will throw it in the garbage right in front of you and then as soon as you are out of the door they will pull it out.

It's a shame that there are so many dishonest people!

Not cool! Thanks for the heads up!

slim2none · 07-25-2011, 05:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SickOfCalifornia

Here's a tip: don't sell your gold. $1,600/ounce will seem like a bargain sooner than you think.

Yes. We wouldn't want to miss out on this opportunity like we missed out on all that bargain real estate in early 2008.

Also buy plenty of tin foil to make protective head wear.