If you're going to do it, have your gold appraised at a few different places. DON'T sell it through a place like Cash4Gold.com -- it's a total ripoff, as a lot of people have found out. This is one example of how they try to give you much less than what your gold is worth.

Check your local Yellow Pages for gold dealers or old coin dealers. There are tupperware style parties now where you can sell your gold pieces. MIL 80+ yrs old sold some stuff that nobody wanted so it can't be too difficult.

Some local jewelry stores might also buy. At @ $972.60 an ounce and fluctuating constantly, I wouldn't even hazzard a guess what someone would get selling old pieces - minus the cuts taken for simply doing the transaction, etc.

But I agree - stay away from Cash4Gold and the likes; those are truly rip-offs waiting to happen.

When they offer you a price, you should ask how they calculated it. If it is fine jewelry in good condition, it should be worth a good deal more than the gold content. On the other hand, If you have, say, one fine gold earing because you lost the other one, then the offered price should reflect the current price of gold on the spot market, which you can check on the internet, less the cost of melting it down and some profit. So probably 2/3 the price of gold.

They should be able to tell you how much gold -- in ounces -- is in the thing you are selling. They should also tell you what they plan to do with it if you sell it to them. For example, a jewelry store may offer it for sale as "estate" jewelry, which is a polite word for "used." But if it is fine and still fashionable, it should be worth more than it would have fetched a few years ago because the price of gold has gone up.

Right now gold bullion is selling at something over $900 per ounce. If economic conditions continue to worsen, the price may climb to two or three times that. But it is not likely to decline by very much any time soon. So take your time and shop around for the best offer.

Thank you so much for all of your quick responses. Once again, it proved that we can really count on folks on this forum.

Selling jewelry is definitely new to me; it seems it is easier to sell a house. LOL. I will do as you have suggested. It never occur to me that people may like the pieces as "estate jewelry". All along I thought about selling them as scrap.

I have a jeweler that I have used for 6 or 7 years. They are great. I trust them. I recently inherited some jewelry -- especially some gold chains, etc. I took them over to my jeweler and I received a verbal value. If anything had been very valuable, I would have obtained a written appraisal for that piece. My jeweler brought out the scales, and weighed each piece, then gave me the weight and what the piece would be worth if purchased new.

Some of the pieces just had scrap value because of their condition. Others were fine to wear. Some of the pieces were worth nothing.

This jeweler will take pieces on consignment to sell. I have actually purchased one or two, and would certainly not hesitate to leave some there, if I wanted to sell anything. If I decide to sell off the gold, I would probably sell it there, or use it towards something that I wanted for myself.

I have several pieces of "estate jewelry" that I or my husband have purchased over the years. They are some of my favorites. There are many of us out there who would treasure the beautiful workmanship of the older pieces.

Oh, my jeweler is not one of those in the malls. This is a family run store that has about 4 locations. They are very honest, and I love to deal with them. I started using them because when we moved to the area, they donated to my daughter's high school auction, and I thought I would try them first for what I needed, as they have a store nearby. I haven't been disappointed.

You could also take the pieces to a pawn shop to sell-- or at least get a price. I have a couple of beautiful pieces that have been purchased at pawn shops. I don't go to the ones in sleazy areas, but more upscale areas. They will purchase your pieces outright to sell-- not just for scrap.

Good luck. I wish we could see the pieces.

I've no idea why they'd want to buy gold when the price is HIGH. The golden rule (pun intended) is "Buy LOW, sell HIGH!" Of course, reputable buyers can be found any time. But they're not the ones advertising on TV at 2 am with cheesy, low-budget ads!

The gold buyers aren't buying HIGH! They buy the gold for a fraction of it's value and resell it.

The gold buyers aren't buying HIGH! They buy the gold for a fraction of it's value and resell it.
And it is sad that the poor people, and the uninformed do indeed send their stuff in, only to get ripped off.

There are likely a lot of them out there like kimaesha, who 'mistakenly think' the cheesy folks advertising are giving them the maximum amount they could ever expect to get. They likely don't know that there are much better and more profitable places to sell any junk gold.

We're manufacturers of gold and silver jewelry products. We regularly refine and reclaim gold and silver as part of our family owned business. We use D. H. Fell, a company in City of Commerce, CA.

There are many refineries you can use that are reputable but this is our experience, being in the industry. You can expect to pay a $35.00 assay fee and approx. 4% of the value of the pure gold from the assay. You can receive payment either in metal or in cash. The process takes only days once they receive the refinery lot. You don't have to separate the metals. They will melt it into a bar, however big or small and assay it for the pure 24KT gold. We have found them to be totally honest and forthright over the twenty years we have used their services.

Just goggle them. You can talk to them. Don't send your jewelry away in just any envelope. There is a lot of companies that will take advantage of you. This company has been in business for 70 years.

Good luck! Our 27 YO business depends on these guys.