Tips for Working with Gold Buyers

With gold still bringing record high prices, many people are raising extra money by selling their outdated gold jewelry and gold chain. There are hundreds of gold buyers in the country, operating both locally and online. If you’re thinking of selling gold, there are a few things you should consider before you choose a gold buyer to work with.

Reputation

If you decide to work with gold buyers you find online, it’s important to learn all you can about them before shipping your gold off to them. Check out the reputation of any gold merchants you’re considering by doing an online search of their name and words like “complaints” or “scam.” Online consumers do post complaints about companies that provide poor service or cheat them, so if there’s a problem with a particular company of gold buyers, you’ll probably run across them.

Don’t stop with an online search, though. Check out the company’s profile with the Better Business Bureau to find out if there have been formal complaints lodged against them and if they have a reputation for making good on any complaints.

Get a Local Estimate

Before you send your gold off to an online gold buying company, take your jewelry, chains or other gold items to a local jeweler who buys gold to get an estimate. The jeweler will be able to give you a good idea of the weight of the gold in your piece and a baseline against which to judge the offer you get from online gold buyers.

Follow Instructions Exactly

Most online gold buyers follow the same general procedure. They’ll send you a postage paid envelope with forms to fill out. You return your gold items to them in the envelope with the forms. After they receive your items, they’ll estimate their worth and send you an offer for your gold. If the offer is acceptable to you, they’ll send you a check for the amount. If it’s not, they’ll return your gold items to you at their expense.

Selling gold you no longer want is a good way to get some extra cash for expenses or to put toward your future. Take the time to make sure you’re working with reputable gold buyers and make sure you get an estimate so you can compare the offer with a baseline value.