On Your Side: Selling Gold

DALLAS - From broken chains to stuff you just don’t wear anymore your gold is worth more now than ever. But the problem is that most people have no idea what their gold is worth.

FOX 4’s consumer reporter Steve Noviello enlisted the help of Dallas-based ifitsgolditssold.com to find out how to get top dollar when selling gold.

Owner Barry Adler put together five parcels of gold identical in karat and weight. At the time each was valued at about $182.

“If you went into a place or sent it in by mail and got $120 or $130 dollars you’re doing pretty good,” Adler said.

Mail-in companies like Cash 4 Gold, Broken Gold and Cash for Gold USA all promise maximum value for unwanted gold. But can consumers really cash in through the mail?

Cash for Gold USA, the company advertising a Better Business Bureau accreditation and a promise of a high payout, offered $51.77. That’s a mere 28 percent of the gold’s value.

The company could not be reached for comment. Also, the BBB said it is not actually accredited and has an F rating.

Next, Cash 4 Gold, the self-proclaimed first place buyer in the gold business, sent back a last placed offer of $48.60 or 26 percent of what it was worth. That offer was refused.

Broken Gold offered a lousy $20.04. Despite guaranteeing maximum value, it was only 11 percent of the value.

“That is somebody who is completely trying to rip you off. That is someone who is trying to take advantage of somebody and those kind of people should not be in the business,” Alder said.

After refusing Broken Gold’s offer, the company made a second offer of $110.11. A spokesman blamed the initial lowball on a math mistake.

Alder thinks it was something else. He said most mail-in companies will accept an offer refusal. However, they are hoping people instead just cash in the initial check.

“They’re a numbers game company that really relies on people who don’t call them in time or don’t know what the value of their gold is,” he said.

Payouts at two local pawn shops fared better. Cash America Pawn offered $110, about half the value of the parcel. Top Dollar Pawn originally offered $100. That offer was bumped up to $110 after some negations.

“Most people will offer you less than they are prepared to pay you because that’s the business we are in,” Alder said.

Finally, with the gold returned from Cash 4 Gold, Randy Stern at bookyourgoldpartydfw.com had his turn. His cash offer was a whopping 90 percent.

Stern’s business is mobile so there’s little overhead. And once he grabs the gold he melts it and makes new jewelry. He marks it up for retail and that’s how he makes his money.

“That’s basically full melt and it’s a very good deal,” he said.

But sellers beware, not all buyers do business like Stern.

Adler offered this advice. Know the value of the gold before selling. Bring it to a jeweler for appraisal and don’t be afraid to shop around to find the right buyer and the right price.