If you have any gold jewellery lying around that you don’t wear – whether it’s scrap or a piece of antique jewellery – then you may be able to make a pretty penny by selling it.
Gold prices tend to jump if a recession is on the horizon, as the precious metal is often seen by investors as a ‘safe haven’ when stock markets are volatile. That is not to say this will always happen, and gold prices can also move up and down very quickly, so it’s worth checking how prices are faring before you sell.
You can find the ‘troy ounce’ price of gold on the Royal Mint website, and see how it’s moved over recent months and years, but bear in mind that this price is based on high purity physical gold in the form of bars or coins. The cost of gold jewellery can be very different to that of bullion, especially if any precious stones have been used, and will also depend on the carat of the gold, and the design and age of the jewellery.
Remember that selling gold jewellery works very differently to selling other possessions. You shouldn’t just list it on eBay, for example, or you risk getting far less for it than it’s actually worth.
This guide will take you through some of the ways you may be able to sell your gold jewellery, as well as potential rip-offs to watch out for.
Where to sell gold online
There are a variety of websites you can use to sell your gold and often the whole transaction can be agreed online. After settling on a price offered by the site, you simply send them your gold in the post and wait to receive the money.
Most of these websites will value your gold by its weight and carat, and won’t care whether it’s a decorative or antique item. If you think you have an intact piece of jewellery which might be of higher value because there is something special about it, you may want to get a valuation from a local auction house or jeweller, rather than selling it online.
Some gold traders recommend weighing your gold on a ‘trade-approved’ scale, such as one at the post office scale, for the most accurate weight in grams. Digital kitchen scales may not give you the most accurate results.
If you have a bog standard gold necklace or ring you want to sell, then most sites which buy gold jewellery based on weight will include their rates online and may even provide a calculator to help you arrive at a specific number. Remember that the price of gold tends to fluctuate, and you may be asked to post your gold the same day in order to guarantee the price you’ve been offered.
Bear in mind that most websites consider jewellery to be scrap metal, and value it accordingly – so this might be the ideal option if you are selling broken or incomplete jewellery, or other forms of scrap gold like wiring or dental gold.
The website Bullion By Post, Hatton Garden Metals, Gerrards and Cash for your Gold all buy scrap gold and silver jewellery. You can check how much gold is selling for by weight and carat each day on their respective websites, and use their calculators to arrive at specific prices. You can then contact them by phone (for Bullion By Post) or by submitting a form (for Cash for your Gold, Gerrards and Hatton Garden Metals) to receive an offer. Once they have received your metal in the post, they transfer the money to your account.
As with anything, you should compare quotes from multiple providers before you settle on one to sell through. Don’t just jump at the first price you’re offered, as this is what they’re usually counting on – being able to cite other quotes you’ve been given when on the phone with a dealer may even help you get a higher price. It’s also worth checking Trustpilot reviews for any given website or company to see if anyone has had any problems with selling to them.
Some websites, such as Cash4Gold, do not let you know exactly how much you’ll get until you’ve already posted your gold to them and they’ve valued it in person. They will then make you an offer, at which point you can either accept or say no and get your gold back. These services will often supply a padded pre-paid envelope or delivery bag to send your gold in, so you won’t be wasting money just by sending it to them, though you may still feel the hassle isn’t worth it.
Remember to take any precious stones out of your jewellery before weighing it or sending it off – these dealers are only buying the gold, and won’t pay for stones, no matter how valuable they are. If you have included a stone in your weight calculation, this will be deducted from the money you get. If you are selling jewellery with precious stones, again you may be better off getting it professionally valued by an auction house or local jeweller before selling.
Is it safe to send gold by post?
It’s best to err on the side of caution when sending valuables by post. If the website you are selling to does not offer pre-paid packaging themselves, Royal Mail’s “Special Delivery Guaranteed” service, in addition to tracking and signed delivery, provides financial cover up to £500, £1,000, or £2,500 depending on the level of coverage you opt for.
No matter how you send your jewellery, always use a tracked service with a good level of financial cover in case your package is lost, stolen or damaged. Use secure packaging, with bubble wrap to keep everything safe, and include your own contact details and return address, making sure they are clearly visible.
Selling gold at a jeweller’s
If you have a piece of gold jewellery that you suspect might be worth more as an antique than as scrap, then as mentioned it could be well worth going around a few local jewellery shops to see if they might be interested in buying it. They will value the item as a whole, including precious stones, quality, rarity and historical value, rather than purely by how much gold it contains.
You should try to go around multiple jewellers in order to obtain multiple valuations and offers – this way, you may be able to negotiate a higher price. It may also help you avoid underselling the item as you’ll have a better sense of the average sale price.
How to find out how many carats your gold has
When talking about gold, “carats” refer to how much of the gold alloy is actual gold compared to other metals mixed in. The maximum amount of carats gold can have is 24, and shows the item is “pure” gold as there are no other metals present.
When it comes to jewellery, your gold will likely have been mixed with other metals in order to make it sturdier. If you have a 14 carat ring, for example, then this means it is about 58% gold (roughly 14/24) while the rest consists of other metals. Bear in mind that “carats” means something completely different when talking about gemstones, so don’t get mixed up!
Dealers will check your gold in order to ascertain how many carats it has and make sure it matches what you tell them. This is why it’s vital to know the carat yourself if you’re selling online, as getting it wrong could mean that you receive much less than you expected or originally agreed on.
Most gold jewellery includes a carat marking somewhere that will tell you how many carats it has, expressed as a number followed by “ct” or “k”. This is generally found on the inside of a ring or bracelet, the edge of an earring, or the back of a charm or a clasp on a necklace.
Some older pieces may not have a carat marking, but this doesn’t make them fake or unsellable. You will simply need to have it tested professionally first, which a jeweller should be able to do for you.
Services to avoid
Given that gold is an expensive commodity, it’s no wonder that there are services that try to take advantage of people and buy their gold for much less than it’s really worth.
It’s usually best to avoid pawn shops for selling gold, whether as scrap or as jewellery. Pawn shops are mainly for getting a quick loan using your items as collateral, and even if you buy it back later you will have to pay interest on top. In terms of getting a fair valuation, you are only likely to receive about half of your gold’s actual value if you pawn it.
So-called “gold parties” have been popular in the past, but attending one is not likely to net you a good price for your gold. The idea is that guests show up with scrap gold to be valued by and sold to an expert in attendance. However, not only is there normally an attendance fee that comes out of any sales you make, but dealers at these parties are notorious for hugely undervaluing your gold by as much as 50%.
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