Gold--A Seller's Market?

Thanks, Mr. H! That's all I can afford these days.

Something I vaguely recall reading years ago lead me to think that the diamond district is fairly good on ethics, but that may just be dealings amongst themselves. Shop around a bit, but I would be surprised if there is a lot of difference.

Do let me know how it comes out. I would be really interested.

I'd be interested in hearing what you learn too. Both BBB and I have lots of gold jewelry we no longer wear and these are probably some of the best gold prices we'll see in my lifetime.

I'm sure it won't surprise you when I tell you that I don't understand this table. 50 percent of what? I'm completely lost.

Feeling more than a little intimidated and unsure. I had no idea I was going to have to figure things out.

I found this chart at one buyer:

KARAT 1oz TO 3oz 3oz TO 25oz 25oz TO 50oz
10 K $465.37 $496.40 $506.74
14 K $652.86 $696.38 $710.89
18 K $837.00 $892.80 $911.40
22 K $1,022.26 $1,090.41 $1,113.12
24 K $1,104.84 $1,178.50 $1,203.05
DENTAL $743.26 $792.81 $809.32

I'm bewildered.

Found this chart at another place:

ITEM 0oz-5oz 5oz-50oz over 50oz
10KT $23.09 $24.56 $25.05
14KT $32.45 $34.52 $35.21
18KT $41.62 $44.28 $45.17
22KT $50.87 $54.12 $55.20
24KT $55.44 $58.98 $60.16
DENTAL $36.92 $39.28 $40.07

Bewildered.

I gotta go alone to do this? I'll have to wait until my eyeballs stop spinning around in my head. I'm usually not stoopid. I don't understand why I'm having so much trouble with this. Numbers do me in every time.

50% pure gold.

12 karat gold means 12 parts gold to 12 parts filler metal.

14 karat gold means 14 parts gold to 10 parts filler metal.

24 karat gold means pure gold; almost no filler metal.

Since the price for gold is based on 24 karat gold, you have to adjust the price to reflect how much gold is in your gold.

I really hope you don't. I composed a post earlier to ask that you be sure to take someone with you, but then erased it because I figured you'd feel hen-pecked.

But, since you brought it up...

I do wish you'd take someone with you, one, because you'd be a perfect target for any mugger watching the stores, and two, because I think you'll need a second person to help absorb and decipher what they say at the shop.

Butrfly, This is the diamond district. You can see some little old man walking down the street in nondescript clothing. He meets up with another little old man. The next thing you know, one lom takes a gnarly handkerchief from his pocket. Diamonds are wrapped in it. I don't think I'm a prime target for mugging, although you never know.

Having someone with me to listen and absorb. Definitely. Don't have anybody, though. I have some pondering to do. Don't want to waste a lot of time.

Gotta say that before I started this thread, I was interested and curious. Now I'm intimidated. But I will be extra cautious, except I'm not quite sure what I should be extra cautious of.

I'll shop around. I'll get an idea of the neighborhood of offers.

That's what I was talking about. I doubt the weight and quality are ever misrepresented. Still, you might be an outsider.

According to Google, 46.7 pennyweights is 2.56 ounces of gold. Assuming the bracelet is 14K, that makes for 1.5 ounces of pure gold. At today's gold price, that's worth $1,830—

• minus the gold dealer's cut,
• minus the cost of chemically converting your 14K gold into the alloy they trade on the spot market, and
• possibly minus sales tax. (I'm not sure about the tax.)

My guess—not to be confused with a prediction—is that you should be looking at a bottom line around $1,300–$1,500. That's as precise as I can get in good conscience.

PS: I'd phone some diamond-district stores before physically visiting them. Showing up communicates to a store that you already are semi-committed to selling to it, as opposed to its competition.

Thomas, You are a good kid. Of course, you knew that. Thanks for translating everything into English for me. Terms I can understand. I expect that the dealers get a bigger cut, but otherwise I think you're on target. I've already copied down several dealers--names addresses, and numbers. I'll let my fingers do the talking before I set out.

Roger, I appreciate your concern. I have to admit that when you suggested I was an outsider, I sat here alone in my apartment and laughed out loud. Sorry. You couldn't possibly know that I worked in that neighborhood for over 20 years. That my family, despite being blue collar through and through, consisted of avid jewelry nuts and were frequenting the stalls of the various exchanges for decades. I was about ten on my first visit. We had our own jeweler. My mother and aunt were always having something made or remade or reremade. Nothing ever extremely extravagant or wildly expensive. But a lotta stuff.

This is probably why I started out feeling so casual about the whole thing. I'm glad I started this thread. It wised me up. It's one thing to be buying something. A whole other thing to be the seller.
I'm wondering if the delis I used to eat in are still there. I'll find out.

You had me at "delis". If you decide you need protection on your way to the diamond district, lets go and find out together.

Aaargh. Just did some googling. The best deli recently moved. The other I can't find.

There might be other delis there, but I don't know them, and I can't find any in the right place.

Roger was right. I'm an outsider

Phooey. No delis, no protection. Don't worry, Thomas. I can manage on my own. Thanks for the offer.

The marketers price is usually based on the 50% rule for gold marketing (Its almost a standard among these scrap gypsies).

CASH YOU GET= (WT of GOLD ITEM in Tr oz)[this is done on a jewelers scale] X (50% usual cut) X KARAT PERCENTAGE)[ for you, 14K is 58%] X DAILY GOLD PRICE (Price per troy oz).

Your roughly gonna get about 39% of the market value for pure gold. (Its that ruthless).
1 Dont use these "mail in services"

2Seek out several; jewelers who pay a decent market percentage. These guys have always been there

3

3 would have been an apology for stating the obvious but fm never apologises.

Because I thought you and Roberta are both too pessimistic, I Googled for Gold buyers NYC, which yielded numerous hits in the Diamond District. At least three of them post the prices they pay on their websites. (One, and two, and three.) According to their tables---

• the going rate for 1.5 ounces of 14K gold is $32-34 per pennyweight.
• Multiply $34/pennyweight by Roberta's 46.7 pennyweights, and you get $1587.
• Subtract the sales tax, which is 4% state plus 4% local, and
• you get $1270--just below the range I gave Roberta at first.

There seems to be a substantial amount of variation, so it's good of Roberta to shop around.

Farmerman is right about one thing: there are ruthless dealers in the diamond district who pay much less than that, and which shall remain unlinked to. But Roberta is lucky to live in New York, where gold sellers compete for her business, and where at least some of them will pay her a fair price.

wow, good info Thomas. The only info I haqd was from one of those "mail it in sites" for gold buying. So, it looks like that the dealers are providing a fair return minus a service commission?

I havent sold any high school or college rings or any of the family stuff because I was convinced that all the dealers were just paying the 50% value.

WAAAAAIIIITTTT A MINUTE. Its 20 pw to an oz . That would make the gold at 650 bucks an oz not 1270. Thats about half and thats the number Ive been given for scrap gold.

In the meantime the spot price of gold is up $10.82 today, the S/dwt for 14K gold is up to 35.9956 for scrap metal, and the gold in your bracelet is now worth $1680.99

Two points:

1) I didn't say Roberta would be getting $1,270 per ounce. I said she'd be getting $1,270 for her bracelet, which weighs 2.5 ounces.

2) Roberta isn't selling pure gold. She's selling 14K (58%) gold. So of course dealers won't offer her more than 58% of the market price for pure gold. That's not ruthless, just arithmetics.

So we werent really far off. I had a 30% net and you had a 46% net.That 50% rule is about right then