15 mistakes to avoid when selling gold and silver

Today, gold is at over $ 1600 per ounce and silver at nearly $ 16 per ounce. It doesn’t take many ounces of silver to get into the hundreds of dollars, and it doesn’t take a lot of gold to get into the thousands of dollars. But I warn you: there are a lot of “Smoke and mirrors“you will face when selling your precious metals, and everything is designed to help the Buyer and not him Seller.

If you don’t know how the game is played, if you don’t know exactly what you have … before selling it… then you are an ideal candidate to be taken advantage of when you sell. Here are some things to know, and some things to own, before attempting to sell your precious metal treasures.

• Avoirdupois vs. Troy ounces: If you don’t understand the difference between the two and don’t know how to turn one into the other, you are probably being taken advantage of. Avoirdupois ounces They are bathroom scales or deli scales. Precious metals are weighed using Troy ounces, which are a totally different measure of weight. You better learn the difference.
• Ounces vs. Pennyweights vs grams: Every Troy ounce contains 20 Pennyweights (dead weight) or 31.1 Grams (gram). Some buyers use Grams to calculate the value, while others use Pennyweights. It will vary from store to store. And if you don’t understand how they work, and if you can’t convert one into the other, you will probably be taken advantage of at some point.
• Sterling silver fineness: You must understand the Sterling silver it is always 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% base metal. Never more nor less.
• Other silver fines: You should understand that some countries used a different silver standard than Pound sterling, such as 95%, 90%, 90%, 83.5%, or 80%. Each one is marked differently and it is necessary to understand how to identify the different marks and differentiate one from the other.
• Solid vs. Weighted British Pound: There is a big difference between Solid British Pound Y Weighted British Pound. Both metals contain 92.5% pure silver, but Weighted British Pound contains a heavy cement to help prevent the part from tipping over. And no one is going to pay you for the cement.
• Silver not plated: If you believe it German Silver, Alpaca silver, gold Sheffield Silver They are real silver, you would be wrong. And it could cost you.
• Gold fineness: If you don’t understand the difference between 10k, 14k and 18k gold, it could also cost you dearly. This is very basic, and with gold over $ 1,600 per ounce, a small miscalculation could cost you thousands.
• Other golds: If you don’t know the difference between Laminated gold, Gold plate, Gold fill, Vermeil Silver, gold Golden tone… it could also cost you a lot of money.
• Troy weight scale: If you don’t own a $ 15 precious metal scale, you won’t be able to properly weigh what you own and you won’t know exactly what you have.
• Precious Metals Test Kit: If you don’t own a $ 15 acid test kit that allows you to test and / or confirm the fineness of gold and silver, then you won’t be able to accurately confirm what you do or don’t have.
• Diamond tester: If you don’t have a $ 15 Diamond testerHow will you know if it is a real diamond or a fake paste? (Have you ever heard the story of the family who sold Mom’s $ 10,000 diamond ring for $ 10 because they thought it was costume jewelry?)
• Is the buyer’s scale accurate? Can you determine if the Buyer scale is set to a measure that favors them over you?
• Fake items of gold and sterling: Counterfeit US and foreign coins are made to look authentic, but they are not. And we are seeing an increasing number of fake jewelry items marked “Pound sterling“, or with false”10k, 14k, 18k“Brands of gold. Most have been made in China and imported here. Can you tell the difference?”
• Are the gemstones real or fake?? Can you tell the difference between real and fake gemstones? And the value of each one?
• Buyer reputation and longevity: Does the Buyer have extensive experience or have they recently opened? I would rather deal with someone who has been in business, in the same location, for a long period of time. You don’t stay in business for decades unless you treat people fairly.

Always remember this: Seller always wants as much as possible, while the Buyer you want to pay as little as possible. If you end up somewhere in the middle, you’re probably fine. But if you don’t understand the value of what you have … before selling it… they will probably take advantage of you. I need help to sell Jewels, Corners me Sterling silver? We can probably help. Call us at 215-264-4304 if you have any questions or need our help turning your treasures into cash.

HOW MUCH?: We were helping a Florida woman sell some sterling silver cutlery she had sent us. Before we sell it, we call it in with our calculated weight and estimated resale value. Her immediate response was that our weight didn’t match hers and it sounded too light. I asked him three questions

• Did you weigh it on a bathroom scale? Yes, it had.

• Did you weigh it while the cloth wrappers that protected the various pieces were still in place? Yes, it had.

• Did you weigh sterling handle knives at their full weight instead of just considering the weight of the hollow sterling handle? Yes, it had.

We take its weight, then subtract the weight of the cloth wrap and the weight of the Sterling knife, and convert it Avoirdupois weight a Troy ounces. and guess what? We were spot on. And I was finally happy.