How Many Of You Buy Jewelry

Banemorth

And if you do what % of spot do you pay?

I was thinking 80% on silver and 85% on gold is very fair since every pawn shop in my area seems to be offering 40% which is highway robbery.

Coulport

So what are you going to do with the stuff if you are paying more/the same as refineries? Wait till the prices go up? Or buy high and sell low and make it up in volume?

DorkGirl

Very rarely if ever.

Banemorth

<< <i>So what are you going to do with the stuff if you are paying more/the same as refineries? Wait till the prices go up? Or buy high and sell low and make it up in volume? >>



www.aragold.com

They pay 98% on gold and 90% on silver.

roadrunner

<< <i>So what are you going to do with the stuff if you are paying more/the same as refineries? Wait till the prices go up? Or buy high and sell low and make it up in volume? >>



You can sell it to my local guy at 94% as he pays more than all the B&M's in the area. He usually nets around 98% from his refiner.
But some refineries are working at max capacity and won't take on new customers, especially smaller accounts.

roadrunner

Banemorth

<< <i>

<< <i>So what are you going to do with the stuff if you are paying more/the same as refineries? Wait till the prices go up? Or buy high and sell low and make it up in volume? >>



You can sell it to my local guy at 94% as he pays more than all the B&M's in the area. He usually nets around 98% from his refiner.
But some refineries are working at max capacity and won't take on new customers, especially smaller accounts.

roadrunner >>



I've dealt a lot with ARA for coins and they've always been wonderful to me. Just trying to find a fair percentage to buy jewelry at.

Coulport

<< <i>

<< <i>So what are you going to do with the stuff if you are paying more/the same as refineries? Wait till the prices go up? Or buy high and sell low and make it up in volume? >>



www.aragold.com

They pay 98% on gold and 90% on silver. >>



I didn't see it on their site but how much weight do you have to submit to get those percentages?

I ask since a couple of refineries want 3 oz or more gold to pay that amount. Anything less then it drops to about 85%

dontippet

ARA Gold and Midwest Refineries do not have minimum quantities.

dontippet

<< <i>And if you do what % of spot do you pay?

I was thinking 80% on silver and 85% on gold is very fair since every pawn shop in my area seems to be offering 40% which is highway robbery. >>




I don't go above 71% on silver and 77% on gold, and even with these numbers, I still get burned every now and then.

You also need to make sure to test your sterling silver very closely for purity, and make sure you take into account any non-pm substances (stones, etc...).

Coulport

<< <i>ARA Gold and Midwest Refineries do not have minimum quantities. >>



Midwest has no minimum shipment requirements.
However, you may want to look into what they will pay on anything less than 3 oz.

Banemorth

<< <i>

<< <i>And if you do what % of spot do you pay?

I was thinking 80% on silver and 85% on gold is very fair since every pawn shop in my area seems to be offering 40% which is highway robbery. >>




I don't go above 71% on silver and 77% on gold, and even with these numbers, I still get burned every now and then.

You also need to make sure to test your sterling silver very closely for purity, and make sure you take into account any non-pm substances (stones, etc...). >>



Thank you so much! I suppose with daily market fluctuations, overhead (even though mine is minimal) and time invested 71% and 77% are pretty solid rates.

dontippet

<< <i>

<< <i>ARA Gold and Midwest Refineries do not have minimum quantities. >>



Midwest has no minimum shipment requirements.
However, you may want to look into what they will pay on anything less than 3 oz. >>



They pay the same percentage for less than 3 oz as they do for greater than 3 oz. The difference is that they pay outright based on average after melt weight loss and karat purity instead of melting down the gold and paying actual. In my opinion, I received higher amounts with smaller amounts that weren't melted down individually.

Amigo

I purchase Jewelry from the public.

Paying 94% is one way to go broke. I would estimate that over half the gold jewelry is less than the stated karat. Jewelry manufactured in this country is under fairly strict tolerance requirements in regards to gold content as relating to karat stamp. I can only assume that much of the jewelry has originated overseas. Perhaps some custom pieces are recycled gold a jeweler assumes was accurately stamped prior to his melt, and he simply completes his piece with stamping the karat and passing on the inaccuracy.

It's impossible to ascertain the karat when purchasing over the counter to any great degree of accuracy. I use both an electronic tester and acids. I consider them both to be an indication, certainly not accurate enough scientifically to be within 1 karat consistently. Each karat it's off translates to 4.16% less gold. I don't do enough business to justify spending $15,000 on an xray instrument.

In general, if you make one mistake on gold assesment per every 10 pieces you purchase, it has the pontential to wipe out all your profits out of all 10 pieces. I have never had a batch of gold assay out to the karat content I calculated it to be. Instead, I now keep my fingers crossed that the batch doesn't have any more than a 10% loss of gold, that's my standard of success.

There are a couple more reasons, but in general that is why I pay 70% AGW from the public. I pay 75% AGW to board members. On the otherhand, Stamped Sterling is much more dependable and I pay a higher ASW percentage, even though the refining costs are greater.

Banemorth

Wow Amigo thank you for that very informative post. I had no idea acid testing kits could be so inaccurate.

AUandAG

I buy it but will not pay those prices. I've learned, as many others have, over the years that some jewelry that
is marked whatever, is not actually accurate. Sterling for instance, will vary from .800 to .925 pure. And that is
all legal. Gold that is marked 14k can legally be anything above 12k. Unless it is marked 14kp (the p stands for
pure), I will not pay 14k prices. So, the pawn shops are maybe low but really not too far off.
Assaying and refining into bars of .999 whatever takes that 20% once you factor in your mailing costs and time.

bob

jdimmick

Good points made, as mentioned, you pay that close, you will be out of business fast!

I pay 75% on gold, and have just about everyone in town beat including many fine jewlery stores. I am careful, but do get a bad piece once in a while, and it can put a real hurting on a profit margin. A margin that tight, one bad piece and it will cost you dearly.