I have a good friend who sent her gold to an online company. Her sister did too, and they were both very happy with what they got. I'll ask her for details and let you know.

I am glad you asked this question, I was wondering about it as well. I think there is another called gold envelope that has recently been advertised and says they will beat anybody else or double your money.

Trin

I've heard that you only get a fraction of what your jewelry is worth. But it might be a good choice if you just want to get it over with. It's definitely the easy way, but don't expect full value.

Why would you deal with a stranger you don't know, and don't know if you can trust? Just take your gold to your regular jeweler.

Look, the price of gold is high now. Stop and think about that for just a second. What does that mean? That it's a good time to SELL, not a good time to BUY. Anyone buying gold now is going to be hard pressed to make much of a profit--if they give the person selling a reasonable price for their gold. UNLESS they're going to offer a lot less than the gold is really worth, then turn around and sell it at a premium.

Best idea--hang onto your gold, unless you don't have enough $$$ to put food on the table, and really think about this, AND do your own research into your options and whether or not you can trust them. But seriously, it's extremely suspicious when people in this market are so enthusiastic about buying your gold. If you truly think about the situation, I think you'll see what I mean.

Sadly, my jeweler is no longer in business. He took over his fathers business of 45 years, and could not make a living at it. I was so sorry to see him close.
With that being said, I am not sure how many towns big or small still have jewelers that they know. Seems like the mall jewelers have taken over where the good old jewelers of our day left off.

Trin

My sister used USGoldBuyers dot com. She was paid twice what our local jeweler offered her, but it was less than she had hoped for. They sent her a postage paid envelope and called her in a couple days telling her what they were offering. Check out their website if interested. I think even the Wall Street Journal had an article about them

I saw something on a news program the other night about them (and ones like them). They did not offer the highest prices by far. They took the same gold to several jewelers, then sent it off. Even after they asked for a higher price, it still wasn't as good as a local jeweler (but I think they were in NYC)

I saw a segment on one of the news shows (Inside Edition?) where they tested it out. They got some gold jewelry and had it appraised professionally (value=$1200) and then took it around to various gold buyers to see what they could get for it. Quotes ranged from $600 to $1400 from places they walked in to. Some places gave low offers and when they turned it down they upped the offer. Final offers from these places mostly came in at just under appraised value.
Cash4gold offered the least at I think $280.
I do remember it being less than 1/4 the appraised value.
I wouldn't send them anything. (YMMV)

Pooh Bear

Your pieces themselves may be worth more than the GOLD content which is all these places care about buying. My sister sold BROKEN chains, earrings that didn't have a match....rings missing their gems - NOT things a jeweler cares to buy. A jeweler who does melt their own gold and does custom work MIGHT buy such things, but I don't know what they would pay for it because their labor has to be figured into it to make a profit.

Here's a google page with cash4gold complaints, etc. Many jewelers and coin dealers buy gold by weight. You can take it to different stores and ask what they're willing to pay for it. In a down economy, it may be hard to get a good price for the jewelry style. DS sold a diamond ring recently. She took it to some local stores, who were willing to pay about 10% of the retail price, because they have too much stuff right now. She ended up selling it on Ebay for about 25% retail. It was a brand name jewelry store ring that was worn for a very short time.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cash4gold complaints on google

I think it was Oprah, not sure, but she had a person on her show talking about Red Swan. They had some people in the audience who they had send gold, etc to Red Swan and the people were happy with the outcome.

I may be wrong, but don't places like 'CashForGold' just pay by the weight of it? If that's the case you won't get fair market value for it.
I agree with Azzalea, Gold is something that rarely goes down in value so it's a good nest egg item to keep around. If you are ever in serious financial trouble you can usually sell Grandma's charm bracelet or what have you to a jeweler for a fair price.
Myself I wouldn't sell the family gold off at scrap metal weight prices, but that's just me.
I did have to sell a ring once years ago when I was struggling trying to make ends meet and raise my daughter. It was my mother's engagement ring, gold and 3 large diamonds - I got $1600 for it from a Payday loan place with the option of buying it back. I never did have the money to get it back, but it sure helped us out at the time. I hated to sell it, cried quite a few tears over it, but in the end realized food was worth more than some stones.
Everyone's situation is different, so if a couple of hundred dollars for some gold jewelry that you don't want or wear makes a difference in your life, then perhaps CashForGold or similar companies make sense.
If you don't have to sell it, I wouldn't recommend it.
Suzan J

I'd personally attempt ebay first.

Thanks for the input. I think I'll stay away from Cash4Gold at this point. I will however, see if I can get it appraised somewhere local just for the heck of it.

Financially, I don't NEED to sell my gold. And, I don't have any family members that I'd leave my valuables to (no kids either). Perhaps I'll just bag it up and keep it in the jewelry box for a rainy day.

PoohBear, I just saw that report tonight that you referred to.
It was evident that these firms are preying on people's ignorance and desperation.

If you don't needs the funds immediately, wait until you can get to a reputable jeweler to get your stuff appraised.
I'm sure when these outfits re-sell they'll charge premium prices.
Gold is near $900. an ounce right now.
Don't let yourself be ripped off.

Cream

Today's LA Times has an article on Cash4Gold:

Beneath Cash4Gold's shiny veneer, a dull reality
Its offers to buy jewelry, touted in a Super Bowl commercial, don't always translate into big bucks for customers. They have lodged hundreds of complaints that the company shortchanged them.
By David Sarno

February 6, 2009

Cash4Gold.com, the metal refinery that offers fast money to those who mail in baggies full of jewelry, has hit on a formula that would make 13th-century alchemists weep: It's found a way to turn desperation into gold.

And in this economy, that's a growth business. The Florida company ponied up enough bullion Sunday to buy 30 seconds of famously expensive Super Bowl airtime, capping an ascent from the basement of late-night "as seen on TV" marketing.

But Cash4Gold's jewelry exchange doesn't always translate into big bucks for its customers, who have lodged hundreds of complaints with the Better Business Bureau and the Florida attorney general's office, saying the company shortchanged them.

In one, New York resident Frank Poindexter complained to the attorney general that "he mailed in $150-$200 worth of gold," but "all he got back was a check for 15 cents."

Thomas Valle of Colorado said Cash4Gold sent him $16.61 for gold and diamonds that he believed were worth $300. Unsatisfied, Valley requested the prompt return of his jewelry, as per Cash4Gold's terms. "They have not done that, and it has been a month," he reported.

Cash4Gold Chief Executive Jeff Aronson said that those two complaints had been resolved and that the company stood by its satisfaction guarantee. He also said the company's website made it clear that trading in jewelry to have it melted down was "not always the right way for somebody to monetize."

The airwaves and Internet are filling up with quick-money schemes, not just Cash4Gold and its competitors -- Dollars4Gold, GoldKit and GoldPaq -- but simple ways to make thousands a week at home, or wring a profit from the depleted housing market.

But it's Cash4Gold, a 350-employee spinoff of Chicago-based Albar Precious Metal Refining, that has been able to buy its way into the cultural mainstream. Its Super Bowl commercial featured Ed McMahon and MC Hammer, faded celebrities known for their financial woes. Hammer, once a chart-topping rap artist, filed for bankruptcy protection in 1996, and last summer McMahon narrowly missed losing his Beverly Hills estate to foreclosure.

"Heeeeere's money!" McMahon intones, in a less-than-enthusiastic reference to his "Tonight Show" heyday. He and Hammer then heft a series of "gold" objects they've decided to unload. For Hammer, it's his gold records and a medallion embossed with his own face; for McMahon, now 85, it's a "golden hip replacement" and a solid gold toilet.

Cash4gold said traffic to its website multiplied by a factor of 10 in the wake of the ad.

But beneath the shiny veneer lies a dull reality: Cash4Gold is essentially a buyer of scrap metal. And scrap doesn't fetch much on the open market.

The Florida attorney general's office says it is examining nearly 60 complaints about Cash4Gold, including some from people who were disappointed by the amount of money they received in exchange for their jewelry.

Cash4Gold's literature says its appraisal quotes are "based upon the current price of gold." But the exact price it offers on a given day isn't revealed in its literature, on its website or by its customer service representatives.

An investigation conducted by the CBS program "Inside Edition" sent the company 23 pieces of gold that a jewelry expert had valued at close to $1,000. Cash4Gold sent a check for $209.81, an amount at which the expert scoffed.

The Better Business Bureau has processed 269 complaints nationwide about Cash4Gold in the last 36 months. The pattern of complaints, the bureau's website says, is similar to what the Florida attorney general's office describes: Consumers allege that "the company is not offering a fair value for the jewelry," and that they've had a hard time getting their materials returned.

Aronson, the CEO, said Cash4Gold provided a quick way for its customers to get some value from their jewelry.

But, he said, "there are ways for them to make more money sometimes by reselling to pawnshops and jewelers," and that was what might account for some of the grumbling.

Cash4Gold is not evaluating jewelry for its craftsmanship or resale value. Its website says the company pays "based solely on the weight and karat grade" of the items.

"If you have the ugliest piece of gold or the most beautiful piece of gold, to me it's the same thing," Aronson said.

He also said the company stood by its satisfaction guarantee, which promises to return items to customers who don't like the price they're offered.

"If they're not happy, let them have it back," Aronson said. "The problem is people get upset. They think it should be worth more, and it's not, and they get angry."

Aronson defended his company's track record, saying that 269 Better Business Bureau complaints in the last three years out of 700,000 customer transactions was commendable. "Tell me one company in the world that wouldn't die for that ratio," he said.

But Southwest Airlines Co., which serves 100 million passengers a year, had only 212 complaints in the same time period, according to the Better Business Bureau database.

Cash4Gold has tried on multiple occasions to pluck thorns from its side by pressuring bloggers who criticize its service.

Joe Laratro, a Florida-based Web consultant, wrote on his personal blog last week that he'd been employed by Cash4Gold for 11 months to run what he called "a Reputation Management campaign." In one instance, he reached out to a website whose unflattering review appeared among the first few Google search results for "Cash4Gold."

The owner of that site, Cockeyed.com, received an e-mail from Laratro in which he said Cash4Gold "would really like to make it worth your while to take it down or make it more positive."

"Is it worth a few thousand to take it down?" Laratro asked.

Instead of removing the post, Cockeyed owner Rob Cockerham posted Laratro's e-mail online.

A couple years ago I sold a handful of scrap gold jewelry (broken chains, rings with broken stones, single earrings) on eBay. I listed it as scrap and made almost what I had paid for the items new. I'd try eBay first.