Many people get confused about the scrap gold selling process. There are certain things you should expect when selling scrap gold so you do not run into any surprises.

This list will help you understand how the process works, and why you get paid what you do for your scrap gold and jewelry.

Gold Jewelry can be Gold-Plated or Alloyed

Some pieces of jewelry have other metals mixed in, usually to make them cheaper to produce or to create a color or quality effect.

Some gold items can be gold-plated, but are made up of a much cheaper metal like steel. Other gold items can be alloyed with something else – Rose gold, for example, comes from alloying gold with copper and silver.

If your scrap gold is metal-plated or alloyed with another metal, then you should expect to get paid less for it than if it were all gold of the same weight.

Do Not Expect the Real Price of Gold

Too many people see the price of gold (currently around $940 per troy ounce), and they expect to get that for their scrap gold. Here is why you should not expect to get paid the real price of gold.

• A troy ounce is not equal to a regular ounce – Metals are measured in troy ounces, while other things, like grocery store items, are measure in avoirdupois ounces. 16 avoirdupois ounces are in one pound.

  Troy ounces are heavier than avoirdupois ounces, so it would require more of one item for a troy ounce to be equal to an avoirdupois ounce.

  To make it easy, we can use the metric system

  • One troy ounce = 31.1 grams
  • One avoirdupois ounce = 28.35 grams
• Gold Buyers Need to Make Money – It costs money to inspect your scrap gold, refine it into gold bars, and to get it certified. Refining costs alone can be about 10% of the price. The gold buyers need to make sure they can stay in business.

  It is true the price you get paid is based on the current price of gold, but always except 20-30% or more less than the current price of gold, depending on who you sell it to.

• The Price of Gold on the Market Can Drop Fast – Gold buyers take on all of the risk when buying your scrap gold. It is very possible to see the price of gold drop by 5% or more in a single day. Although it is not common, it can happen over a few days. A gold buyer can pretty much lose all of its profit after they have paid you for your scrap gold.

  Because of this, gold buyers have to factor in some risk when paying you, so it is another reason to never expect the current market price of gold.

OK, everything so far ensures that you will get less than the market price of gold. But could you be getting too little for your scrap gold?

3 Tips You Can Use to Maximize your Scrap Gold Price

Get Paid More When You Have More Scrap Gold – Scrap gold buyers work on a graduated pay-scale, so the more you have of one type of gold, the more you will get per gram. When selling scrap gold, always sell as much as you possibly can at once.

Have More than 1,000 Grams? Deal Direct! – If you have a large amount of scrap gold jewelry, you are better going direct with a gold buyer, and negotiating your price face to face.

When selling scrap gold, most people only sell about 50 grams, rarely more than 100 grams, so going direct is not something you have to worry about.

Negotiate Your Payment – Any reputable gold buyer will give you a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. If you are not satisfied when you receive your check (and even if you are), call up the gold buyer and try to negotiate a little more money for your scrap gold. If they give in, which shouldn’t be too difficult, you can see a few extra bucks for your scrap gold.

Gold is one of the most precious metals in the world. It has been used in jewelry making for several thousand years because of its high value and high malleability (ability to mold and bend into shapes). Gold doesn’t fade, rust, or corrode, and has a high resistance to tarnishing. Its luster makes it the most important metal in jewelry making.

How is gold purity measured?

Gold purity is measured in Karats, or for European measurement, in fineness. To understand Karats, you must know that gold can be alloyed with other metals. There are numerous reasons for alloying, whether its to make the gold stronger, or getting more metal to work with while using less gold (which is more expensive than most metals). Nothing less than 10-karat gold can be legally marked or sold as gold in the United States.

Pure gold is 24K(arat). Lower karats will tell you the percentage of pure gold used in the piece of jewelry. It’s simple math really. 18 K gold, divided by the 24 K (pure gold), is 75% pure gold. (18/24 = 75%). Use the chart below.

How do other metals change the color of gold?

Alloying gold with other metals has different effects, depending on the types of metals used. Alloying can strengthen the gold for jewelry, as well as change the color of it. The amount of color change will depend on the amount of other metals used in alloying.

• Yellow Gold – comes from alloying with Copper and Silver
• White Gold – comes from alloying with Nickel, Zinc, and Copper
• Green Gold – comes from alloying with Silver, Zinc, and Copper
• Rose Gold – comes from alloying with Copper and Silver