No matter how you plan to sell your gold, be it at a ‘gold party’, jewelry store, online or even simply at a shop that screams “we buy gold”. What you will be able to get for your gold will definitely be different from each venue that you try to sell your gold to. First and foremost you have to get your facts right. Doing your homework before you partake in any adventure that involves money is always a good option.
Knowing the karat of the gold that you intend to dispose of is a good starting point. Basically when the gold piece you have is stamped with 10 Karat or 10K what it actually means is that only 42% of the element in it is gold while the other 58 % is other metals which usually is disregarded in terms of value. The 10 karat gold stamp is followed by the 14K or 14 karat stamp or mark which basically implies that the item contains 58 % pure gold and the other 42 % is negligible.
This is followed by the 18 K or 18 karat gold mark which means that 75 % of the content of that piece is pure gold and the balance 25 % is not worth anything at all. From here you come to the 24 karat gold bit which as you might have guessed 99.999 % pure gold.
After getting you karat facts straight the next hurdle you have to contend with to obtain a fair price for gold is to improve on your mathematics. Learn to calculate! The process does not require you to be a rocket scientist as it only involves one formula which is if you have a 14 Karat gold piece, the value of it would be take the gold content (in this case 58 % ) and multiply with its weight. After getting that answer all you have to do is calculate that based on the market price of gold. Here is an example:
14-karat gold jewelry (weight: 1 ounce) – Market value = 1000 dollars / ounce (pure gold).the value of our gold would be 58 % of 1000 dollars which equals to 580 dollars. But remember you will not be getting the full amount as the gold buyer will be expecting to make a profit as well.
The gold buyer may offer you anywhere from 60 % to 80 % of that value depending on your bargaining skills. Often, the same goes when when you buy gold bullion bars, gold coins or other forms of gold, always ensure you are getting a good deal as close to the spot price of gold as possible.