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 Replies: 32 / Views: 2,787 |
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Moderator
 United States
23491 Posts |
In the United States there are a lot of commercials on the Television channels offering Cash for Gold They offer prepaid shipping envelopes and they supposedly mail the sender a check for the value of their old gold jewelry. As collectors we know that jewelry comes in various grades of gold The purity of gold articles may be described in three ways: Karat, meaning parts of gold per 24. Percent, meaning parts of gold per 100 . Fineness, meaning parts of gold per 1,000 (European System) .  so sometime people are surprised at how little money they get back. This post is not to question the ethics of these companies nor to act as a warning to the unsuspecting. the question is What becomes of the Gold that these companies melt  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7123 Posts |
its re sold to the real buyers of Gold alloys , the guys who advertise pay a little and the guys that they sell it to pay a little more , what actually becomes of it depends on the K value , the higher K value may be refined to produce 24K gold and the lower K value may be re melted to make new findings and settings for new jewelry which of course is sold at a 3 to 600 percent mark up to the consumer .
every one wins but the ones who send the gold and the end users who purchase the gold in its new form .
I have found the best way to profit from old gold jewelry is to find a goldsmith who will trade work or completed jewelry , or a dealer who plays the old K gold market and trade for either silver or small AGE coins .
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1000 Posts |
Well I did not go through a infommercial, but I did send scrap gold jewelry to a refiner that is located in michigan (Midwest Refineries). I am happy with what they paid me for it. they gave me a detail inventory of 10kt, 14kt, 24kt etc. And it matched what I recorded before I sent. I would assume that after they refine the gold into bars or rounds, they sell it to jewelers and artisans, maybe dentists and industries that use gold in equipment and manufacturing, and investors who buy bars. Maybe |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3294 Posts |
I hate those commercials, especially the one they did for the Superbowl. I dislike their ethics. I have actually been tempted to have them send me one of those envelopes, and then mail them 5 lbs of gold painted lead shot just to gum up their works.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2602 Posts |
YES, those cash 4 gold commercials are being played heavily here in the South, too. I think this company is making a fortune, probably giving people 10-15% of what their gold is really worth. But they are marketing genuises.
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Valued Member
United States
124 Posts |
Yes those gold commercials are getting out of hand! They are on constantly here in the Midwest. Every pawnshop has a huge sign up on it as well. Now here is something strange, while out working last week I drove by a used car lot that had a 'we buy gold' sign up! Now you can sell your car and your gold in one easy transaction! |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3294 Posts |
Can you sell your used car and get paid in gold?
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Valued Member
United States
136 Posts |
They actually have a scam going where some who send in little get the actual value or close to it and then others do not. I think so they can keep the business going. So out of curiosity, I did this... I had some crap stuff that I didn't want (Broken or I didn't know if it was gold) and I sent it in. It wasn't worth going around to the shops; I knew it was definately less than 100 bucks and probably less than 50. I did get LESS than I thought I should but I know they have to make something.
What I sent in was:
1 small (kid size or small adult) black hills gold ring - pretty small and plain
1 cross with a small pearl in the center that I didn't know if it was a real or fake pearl (small; 10k)
1 mangled 10k or 14k (too mangled to determine) small size herringbone chain
several earing backs I didn't know if was real
1 14k ring band where my 1/4 carat diamond was missing
several pendants I didn't know if was real (the stones were but I popped them out for a craft project)
I got back 20.40 which I promptly lost the check.
What I learned:
1) I could have sold either the cross or the ring for 20 bucks each maybe and made double my money back
2) make sure you pop out any stones as they don't count and you lose them. Worse comes to worse you save all the stones and do a craft project out of them
3) only send in JUNK; by that I mean can't be fixed and don't send in so much that it might be advantagous to get quotes from pawn/jewelry shops
4) Make sure what you send you can afford to "lose". You never know if they actually got it or claim they didn't get it (seen that happen).
So basically, I'd send in just junk that can't be fixed and is not large in quantity. It's convenient that way and any money is better than throwing it in the trash.
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Valued Member
United States
136 Posts |
PS turned out the earring backs and the pendants were not gold. Still though, now after posting, I probably had retail over 100 bucks worth of jewelry (because the ring band alone was probably 50-100 bucks). So I defintely did not get retail or even close. they could reuse the ring and resell the other ring and cross by just polishing it up. I would imagine the chain (which probably retailed at 100 new was worth 20 bucks alone in gold). Oh well!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1840 Posts |
I saw a story about these guys on the news. The investigative reporter shopped some old jewelry around to New York jewelers. The jewelers offered between $700-1400 dollars for it. They then sent it off to Cash for Gold who offered $200. When the news folks refused this pittance, Cash for Gold instantly increased their offer to $400. I guess the moral of the story is to shop your local jewelers for the best deal.
As far as where it goes...I hear that many middlemen ship it off to India where there is a high demand for bullion.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
Obviously most here do not listen to Jay Leno. He has knocked that commercial many times. He made fun of the one that had a lady with a pile of Gold just sitting there.
The horror of all this is the fact that so many people are sending in items to them. Must be happening though. Think of the millions of dollars for those TV adds and who is paying for that. That TV add money is coming from the profits of what people send in to them. I would think many older people that have no idea that someone would take advantage of them send in a fortune in Gold, Silver, Platinum.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2520 Posts |
I personally wouldn't send anything to these guys. I've read so much negative on cash4gold out of Pompano Beach Fla, and how they conduct business. One persons article claimed they used to work there. She said that they always send out a check for about 1/3 of what they will pay. A few people yake it and are okay with it or don't bother complaining. those that do are given like 10 days to refuse the offer. The real kicker is that you can have the money directly deposited into your bank account. If you choose that option...you have to take what they give you! Happy or not with the results...because they refine the gold on location.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3098 Posts |
You know...   For the business reply envelope, you can send them a brick and they would have to pay for it. All you do is get a box (and I know we have them) fill it with bricks, tape the envelope on the box and then take it to the post office. Then, according the FCM prices and a 2 lb brick, they would have to pay around $20-25. I mean, they make so much money of off ripping people that I think they deserve it. Edited by wd1040
02/09/2009 10:57 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2520 Posts |
how sinister and/or diabolical!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
781 Posts |
i like the brick idea! I think i'll try it. just for _ _ _ _ _ and giggles.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3294 Posts |
At least spray paint it gold so that you can deny you attempted fraud. You are not a metallurgist right? How were you supposed to know it wasnt a real gold bar?
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Replies: 32 / Views: 2,787 |
Posted 02/06/2009 08:06 am
