Just checking in to say that I got your message but Mom is in hospital and got transferred to a hospital 45 minutes away. I'm on the run now but will check in later with info.

Oh my! I'm so sorry to hear that. If I had known, I wouldn't have bothered you. Sorry.

I hope Mom is ok...you, too! Don't worry about me, do what you have to do!

E

Golddust, I hope your MIL is okay. It's really hard having a family member with memory problems in the hospital. They can't represent themselves very well and you have to act as advocate. Only you and your family can recognize what is "normal" for her, whereas the hospital staff just see how she presents herself when she is ill. I can empathize because I had gone through that innumerable times with my mother during her hospital stays. It's not easy communicating to all the changes in staff. I hope she comes home soon.

If you can't mail it, you will have to do something local. If it is 14k, it is 58 1/2 % gold. 18 K is 75% gold. We send everything to D.H. Fell in Los Angeles. You could call them with questions about how the process works so you are armed with knowledge but they generally charge us about 12%.

Sorry you have to sell but now is a great time if you must.

Thanks, golddust. It's good to have the advice of someone in the business. I hope your m.i.l. can leave soon and return to the wonderful home you've made for her.

Thank you, Golddust.
How is Mom doing? Better, I hope. I really appreciate that you took the time to help me when you have so much going on. Really. I do.

I have a website that lets you pump in the numbers... how many karats, weight x current price of gold. I guess I needed to know how much the buyer will expect to take? The price of gold is very high right now, as you well know.

The economy is still a mess for some people and I'm worried that the buyers will take advantage of the fact that you really need the money...and you don't really know what you should be getting?

Anyway, thanks again.

E

A good website for this type of thing is silverrecyclers.com. You can calculate the price of gold, silver, coins, etc. A lot of the local gold stores that have sprung up everywhere take about 15-20% if I recall correctly. Sometimes you can actually do better at a jewelry store. I found I was able to sell it on ebay and make more than if I had sold to a gold store or jewelry store. (Even with all the ebay fees.) But, you have to be able to know the exact weight, and take some photos, etc. I would advise against selling at one of those gold parties. I did that with a few items and they take something like 30-40%. I seriously saw a few of the items up for sale later on their website for so much more than I got it was upsetting. They hadn't just melted them down at that point. (They were new and I was liquidating some of my late mother's inventory from her small jewelry business.) Anyway, I know you weren't asking for my opinion but just thought I'd give you some info I have. What I did was just call around, make up a weight if you have to, and then call and ask what they would give you for x kt and y weight. Sorry you find yourself in this situation. But, prices are high so hopefully you will do well.

Here is a link that might be useful: Silver Recyclers

Thanks for the help and the good wishes, too!

E