Gold prices plummeted on Wednesday morning, though even dropping by as much as $80 per ounce to $1,783, and shedding $150 in value over the past two days, gold is coming off a record high, and that means the tennis bracelet or gold coins you got for graduating from high school can be sold — and at a big profit.With the price of gold recently touching record highs, everyone wants to buy your old jewelry, but there are a few keys to getting the most out of your piece of the market.

The key is to know what you have (and its presumed value), know your buyer, and be realistic. Chances are good you can cut a good deal on your own gold sale. Let’s look at what you need to know to sell your little piece of the gold market….

6 Tips to Sell Your Gold

Paul Dockweiler: Right Place, Right Time

Hong Kong gold hits record high

Not only did the price of gold soar in 2009, but gold stocks (mining companies for example) and indexes gained upwards for 100%-200% over the past 52 weeks.

What is the Future for Gold Prices?

Are gold prices going to continue downwards, or will they reach $2,000 per ounce like some experts say? It depends on who you ask.

Many gold bulls say that the fundamentals are strong for even more record breaking gold prices in 2010. Some predict $1,400 an ounce, while others claim $2,000. In the most recent edition of Investor’s Digest of Canada, John Embry, Chief Investment Strategist at Sprott, wrote an article titled, “Expect gold to gain more than 30% this year.”

But gold had a bad month in January, losing 1.2%, and some say that trend will continue. Some call it a “gold bubble” which needs to implode eventually.

The stock market bubble in 2000 led governments to flood the financial system with liquidity to try and tame the collapse. But “easy-money” (low interest rates, printing more money) led to an even greater bubble for housing and credit, which collapsed during the past two years. The problem with “easy money” being used as a tool to fix these collapses becomes apparent when the purchasing power of “fiat” (paper) money erodes.

The gold price boom is a direct result of investors losing confidence in the integrity of these currencies, as well as obvious decline in their purchasing power. Gold has remained consistent over time for well over 5,000 years, and is considered a true safe haven from the unpredictability of paper money.

Source: GoldAlert.com

When the price goes up, you should get more money right? How do you predict the price of gold then?

The Price of Gold Rises When the Value of the Dollar Falls

It has been a long-standing truism that when the value of a dollar falls, the price of gold will rise. While this has been true for decades, this correlation has not been so predictable over the last year or two. Even when most experts are predicting a rise in gold price, it will fall just as easily. With current economic conditions – job loss, inflation, rising national debt, the gold price should be predictable, but it has not been that way.

The best way to predict a rise in gold price is when the Federal Reserve prints more money. An increased money supply means that each dollar will be worth less – meaning that it will take more dollars to equal an ounce of gold. But predicting these fluctuations is difficult, even for the experts that have dedicated their lives to trading.

The Current Price of Gold is Fairly Stable

The price for an ounce of gold has reached $1,000 recently, but it has not reached this level in the past few months even though the current economic climate says otherwise.

It is a safe bet to say that gold will remain between $900 and $1,000 for the immediate future. This means that when you sell your scrap gold, the cash you earn should not be too much different one week to the next. There is no point in waiting, especially if you need money now, unless you have significant amounts of gold to sell. If you have over an ounce, then analyzing the price changes will benefit you. But most people only sell scrap gold a few grams at a time.

Gold is a “Safe Haven”

Because the price of gold is so stable, it is seen as a “safe investment,” especially during times when the stock market fluctuates wildly. You could invest some money in gold when the price is low, and expect a marginal return in a few weeks or months. Generally, most stocks do not work like this so stock market investing is seen as “risky.”

Because of recent stock market conditions, many more people have invested in gold. The increased demand has raised the price of gold to the levels you see today.

So, When is the Best Time to Sell Gold?

As you can see, predicting the price of gold is not easy. Even the experts have trouble. Despite all of the ways you can predict how the price of gold will act, the last 12-18 months have shown that the gold price will do what it wants.

The best time to sell gold is when you need money! Whether it is right now, or next week, whenever you need money fast is the best time to sell scrap gold and jewelry. A $10 difference in the price of gold will not effect your cash for gold payout noticeably, so sell your gold when you need to!

Gold Prices dropped 3% from the start of the week to end up $921 to close out the week. Many people are wondering why the price of gold has been so unpredictable, despite economic hardships where gold prices usually flourish.

But current trends show that the price of gold is only set to rise. Many experts are still predicting a 4-digit gold price this year. Expect 6 months of volatility though.

From MiningWeekly

The gold price is expected to continue to trade with a high level of volatility in the next six months, and could top the psychologically four-digit market for “extended” periods of time, Australian equity researcher Resource Capital Research (RCR) suggested in a report this week.

From BullionVault.com

Pointing to the volume of new money being pumped into the world economy by national governments and central banks, “I certainly think gold will get above the $1030 high that it hit last year,” he added.

Here is a good analysis of why gold prices are set to soar this year. The excessive printing of money to “correct” the economic crisis will only lead to inflation, devaluing the dollar and other world currencies.

Gold Fields CEO, Nick Holland, says that gold is set to bounce back to a higher price, with $1,000 an ounce possible in 2009. Holland believes that the current market conditions resulted in a sell-down of everything, which has brought the price of gold down with it.

“But gold will regain its value relative to everything else, particularly as all the major currencies of the world are trading on negative real interest rates and inflation is picking up, which are all of the ingredients for a stronger gold price,” Holland told Mining Weekly Online.

Quote Source

While Holland has a vested interest in the price of gold, other experts are predicting rise in the price of gold, although not as high as Holland predicts. More conservative estimates predict the price of gold reaching around $800 in the coming weeks.

Check out gold price analysis video by Adam Hewison, President of INO.com, which predicts the price of gold making a comeback to around $800 in the near future.