1. Don’t be fooled by coupons or weekend hotel buyers. Why should you need a coupon to get 20% more? And what if you don’t have a coupon, do you not get paid fairly? Also be very wary of fly by night or weekend hotel buyers. They tend to offer customers very low prices for their items so they can pay for those expensive ads.
2. Make sure the gold buyer separates your items by the gold content. For example, 18k gold is worth considerably more than 10k gold, so they should be testing and separating your gold out to give you the best possible prices based on what type of gold you have.
3. Look for buyers that have knowledge of designer and antique jewelry. A Cartier bracelet or a vintage Art Deco ring can be worth much, much, more than just the gold value. A jeweler experienced with Antique and Estate jewelry will know this, but the average gold buyer may not.
4. Diamonds and colored stones can add value to your items. Small diamonds add value and larger stones should be evaluated on their own. High quality gemstones can be very valuable, but some semi-precious stones don’t have much value and weight needs to be deducted from the weight of the gold for these stones. A gemologist will be able to tell the difference and pay you accordingly.
5. Don’t feel intimidated to sell your items. Some buyers will say the offer is only good now to push you into selling your items at that moment. If you’re unsure about an offer or just want to get a second opinion the buyer should stand by their offer if you return later, as long as the daily gold market price is the same.
6. Lastly, check with friends and relatives to see who they would recommend. They can let you know dealers they have had good or bad experiences with. You can also check the local Better Business Bureau (BBB) to see gold and jewelry buyers in your area that are BBB rated.