Selling Gold?

[graceful]

Not sure if I am posting this in the correct section but here goes.

What are your thoughts about selling off gold jewelry? I thought about it when gold was climbing, climbing. Read how people were selling their broken chains and mismatched earrings for $$$.

I did look in my jewelry box, etc. and didn't find anything broken, etc. A lot of my gold jewelry is 24k and nice. The lowest gold karat I wear is 18 karat. Anything lower than that, my skin itches. Although selling it would get $$$, but based on the craftmanship, buying something like it would cost more. Even if I didn't wear them anymore, I have 2 girls that I can pass them onto eventually. So, I wasn't tempted... then.

I received a LOT of gold when I got married about 14 years ago. Gold was maybe near the all time low then and relatives/family friends got me gold galore for the wedding. My Mom alone gave me like 10 gold "Dragon" bracelets. Those and others I will NEVER sell . They will go to my daughters and their daughters.

All the gold went until the bank safe deposit box after the wedding and hasn't been out since. And probably won't until my girls get married.

However, there were some heavy gold chains (for DH) and things like gold charms with Hello Kitty and Chinese characters, etc. that had intricate carvings and designs. Since everything is 24k, the workmanship has to be good. However, DH will never wear ANY jewelry, not even his wedding ring. And I really have no use for the Hello Kitty and Good Fortune charms and plaques. Sooooo, I'm seriously considering whether to bite the bullet and sell off some of this gold.

I read about US Goldbuyers being very reputable and giving excellent prices and DH actually works nearby so I can send him in during lunch. However, it would be sad for them to just melt everything down. Going to the shops in Chinatown to "hark" my wares, just isn't me and I don't have the time to do that.

BUT I figure gold is so high now, I should sell some of the stuff I have that I don't like and if the prices ever falls in the next decade or 2, I can always buy nicer pieces for my girls' wedding. But honestly, I think I will still have enough to pass on to them.

So, should I bite the bullet and sell off GOOD gold jewelry and not scraps?

[greenskeeper]

I wouldn't sell any gold. Can't print it out of thin air.

[disneysteve]

Here is how Dave Ramsey answered this question just the other day.

Let's say all of your unwanted gold is worth $300. If I were to hand you $300 cash today, would you use it to go out and buy gold? If not, why keep $300 worth of gold that you don't want or need?

Now I do often wonder when I hear all of these ads for places buying gold if jewelry is worth more as jewelry than it is worth in scrap gold value. I guess you'd have to search around a little to try and determine what your items are worth. Do a search on ebay for gold Hello Kitty charms, for example, and compare that to the scrap value. Also, go into a jewelry store and see what similar items sell for new, like the chains your husband has.

Also consider the convenience factor of walking into one place with all of your unwanted gold and walking out a few minutes later with a pocketful of cash. Maybe you could get more if you sold the items individually but that would involve a lot more time and effort.

[graceful]

Here is how Dave Ramsey answered this question just the other day.

Let's say all of your unwanted gold is worth $300. If I were to hand you $300 cash today, would you use it to go out and buy gold? If not, why keep $300 worth of gold that you don't want or need?

Now I do often wonder when I hear all of these ads for places buying gold if jewelry is worth more as jewelry than it is worth in scrap gold value. [B]I guess you'd have to search around a little to try and determine what your items are worth. Do a search on ebay for gold Hello Kitty charms, for example, and compare that to the scrap value. Also, go into a jewelry store and see what similar items sell for new, like the chains your husband has.

Also consider the convenience factor of walking into one place with all of your unwanted gold and walking out a few minutes later with a pocketful of cash. Maybe you could get more if you sold the items individually but that would involve a lot more time and effort.

That's exactly the effort I don't feel like expending - especially to try to figure out what the value is for the craftmanship part. LOL. But gold was in the $300 range when I got married. But at over $1300 an ounce, maybe it is worth at least selling for scrap. Part of my de-cluttering "stuff" kick. Cluttering up my bank account with money is the only clutter I don't mind to have. LOL.

[graceful]

Okay - I did a little snooping on ebay and similar 24K pieces were listed. One example is a gold pendant for $399 (BIN) at about 8 grams. A Hello Kitty pendant at 4 grams is listed for $199.

A troy ounce of gold is around 31.103 grams. So, she is asking about $1550 per troy ounce of gold. I think she has an actual store front and is selling on ebay. I think the high today was around $1380 per troy ounce. When you sell jewelry back to a store, they aren't going to give you the market price for the item anyway. What is the expected average discount?

I am not prepare to market and try to sell the gold jewelry myself at market prices. So, if the retail discounted price for the jewelry is greater than 10-15% than maybe it is better for me to sell as scrap gold?

Is my math correct?

$1550-$1380=$170
$170/$1550=10.97%
or is it $170/$1380=12.32%

[jpg7n16]

I am not prepare to market and try to sell the gold jewelry myself at market prices. So, if the retail discounted price for the jewelry is greater than 10-15% than maybe it is better for me to sell as scrap gold?

Is my math correct?

$1550-$1380=$170
$170/$1550=10.97%
or is it $170/$1380=12.32%

That all depends on which accountant you choose to ask


I would personally view it as the $170/1550= 10.97% discount

I would also think of it as "how much extra am I getting per hour of my time? is it worth it?"

Like DS said, it may take some effort. But if 3 hours of effort makes you $300 more, that's $100/hour for your time. Might be worth it, might not be.


Have you taken them to a jeweler to see what opinion they have on the matter? I'm not familiar with the process of getting it valued by gold content, etc.

[GREENBACK]

What's with the gold fascination nowadays? I wish I had bought some when it was $400 an ounce but it has gone way up since that point. I'd sell it all because I doubt it's not gonna go much higher at any point in our lifetimes. Take the money from the sale of the gold and invest it somewhere. It's not hard to get a much better investment return. Save some for your girls if you like but forget about holding on to it as an investment strategy. Scratch this if you have millions and can hold this stuff forever. Otherwise I'd sell it today.

[feh]

Personally, I don't understand why people keep jewelry they never wear. If I were in your shoes, I'd be selling.

[disneysteve]

Personally, I don't understand why people keep jewelry they never wear. If I were in your shoes, I'd be selling.

I think it is the same reason we keep a lot of stuff in our lives. We attach memories and significance to things. In my younger days, I always wore a neck chain or two. I still have the chains and a few charms, most of which were gifts. I haven't worn them for years and years, but still they sit in a little container on my dresser. Will I ever wear them again? Not likely. Should I sell them? Probably. Perhaps I should find out what they're worth. Maybe putting a dollar figure to them would convince me.

[EEinNJ]

If you need the cash to pay bills, etc., now is a good time to sell gold. My wife took her sister's old stuff to the jeweler last year and got her a nice $1K+ check.

But the reason gold is so high now is, it's considered BETTER than money in the bank, and it's been going up a lot more than your typical 0.5% MMA. The devaluation of the dollar and spectre of inflation is driving the price.

So if you don't "need" the money, hold onto the gold and consider yourself a diversified investor.

[disneysteve]

But the reason gold is so high now is, it's considered BETTER than money in the bank, and it's been going up a lot more than your typical 0.5% MMA. The devaluation of the dollar and spectre of inflation is driving the price.

So if you don't "need" the money, hold onto the gold and consider yourself a diversified investor.

I disagree. The reason the price is high is FEAR. As soon as the fear settles down, the price will fall. Now is the time to be selling, when the price is high. Remember, buy low, sell high. I think the folks buying in now will be disappointed. I think the folks holding on in hopes the price will just keep on climbing indefinitely will be disappointed. Bubbles are bubbles. Gold, real estate, tech stocks, whatever. It is all the same.

[GREENBACK]

Your right DS. This is a fool's gold market. Sell it now. Let others buy into this fallacy. Am I the only one who smells a rat with all these idiot's telling us to buy gold(they want to get rid of it). How come they weren't saying that when it was worth hundreds of dollars less per ounce. When(not if)the market fully recovers and the dollar becomes stable(it's gonna happen) the gold folks will disappear. It is about fear and simple impatience.

[tulog]

Gold is an inflation hedge against fiat currency. The purpose of gold as investment is only as an inflation hedge and a store of wealth, not as a growth investment.

The value of gold in jewelry is only the gold content that can be melted and resold. For this reason, gold bullion is a better store of value than most other forms of gold. Specifically, the 1oz Gold Krugerrand, 1oz American Gold Eagle, or 1oz Canadian Maple Leaf are the best liquid, investment grade gold bullion investments available. I have used Bullion Direct for buying and selling of gold and silver bullion coins.

A dealer will not pay any extra for intricate carvings or jewelry features, unless there is a specific buyer lined up. You could try to sell to an individual.

[tulog]

Your right DS. This is a fool's gold market. Sell it now. Let others buy into this fallacy. Am I the only one who smells a rat with all these idiot's telling us to buy gold(they want to get rid of it). How come they weren't saying that when it was worth hundreds of dollars less per ounce. When(not if)the market fully recovers and the dollar becomes stable(it's gonna happen) the gold folks will disappear. It is about fear and simple impatience.

Most of the gold market is not private individuals, but involves trading on spot and other markets composed on gold bullion dealers, wholesalers, and financial institutions. Most of these market participants will be involved with gold regardless of the performance of the dollar. The reason is that they do not care about the absolute value or stability of the dollar, because gold is being used by them specifically as a currency hedge suitable to market conditions.

[tulog]

Okay - I did a little snooping on ebay and similar 24K pieces were listed. One example is a gold pendant for $399 (BIN) at about 8 grams. A Hello Kitty pendant at 4 grams is listed for $199.

A troy ounce of gold is around 31.103 grams. So, she is asking about $1550 per troy ounce of gold. I think she has an actual store front and is selling on ebay. I think the high today was around $1380 per troy ounce. When you sell jewelry back to a store, they aren't going to give you the market price for the item anyway. What is the expected average discount?

I am not prepare to market and try to sell the gold jewelry myself at market prices. So, if the retail discounted price for the jewelry is greater than 10-15% than maybe it is better for me to sell as scrap gold?

Is my math correct?

$1550-$1380=$170
$170/$1550=10.97%
or is it $170/$1380=12.32%

Fractional gold - gold products consisting of less than 1oz gold will be priced above the spot price for gold. There are many reasons for this, but the important factor to remember is that fractional gold is not investment grade, and is not as liquid as 1oz bullion coins. In a market downturn, fractional gold becomes much more illiquid than other forms of gold.

Spreads - dealer spreads as a percentage paid between the buy and ask prices of a dealer are highest for fractional gold, lower for 1oz bullion coins, and lowest for bars of gold or silver in 100oz or higher sizes. Any gold in jewelry would be considered scrap/junk gold, and the most you could expect from a dealer would be the spot price of gold, but probably something under that amount because they will charge a spread.

You could try asking these questions over at goldismoney.info. Lots of knowledgeable gold folks there.