BUYING AND SELLING YOUR GOLD

The price of precious metals rises and falls, but gold always retains some value. Because of its steady value and demand, gold is easy to buy and sell. Not only that, gold jewelry has a value beyond its status as a precious metal; gold jewelry also holds a market price from a design and fashion perspective. A piece from a well-known or in-demand designer could command value far beyond that of its precious metals.

Gold has been used to hedge against inflation and the volatility of the stock market for decades and is staple part of most investment portfolios, not to mention it looks great on your wrist or ring finger. Whether you are looking to make some quick cash by selling your gold or are interested in long term investing, gold is a great idea. Keep reading to learn what you need to know to make a smart purchase, and to get the most for your gold.

Selling

Before you explore the prospect of selling your
gold coins,
jewelry or bars keep in mind that pawnshops, jewelers and other brokers all determine the value of gold by its current open market value, which is always publicly available. This works to your advantage, as all parties involved will be working off the same baseline value.

Gold is priced per ounce and is bought and sold 24 hours a day, 7 days a week all over the world; this means that the value is constantly changing by the second. The price of gold is affected by everything from the value of the U.S. Dollar to reserves in foreign banks.

However, as a seller, it is not enough to know the current market value of gold. You should also know the weight your gold, as well as how pure your gold is. Armed with that information, you will know how much you can realistically expect for your gold, as your buyer will need to turn a profit on your items.

When it comes time to field offers for your gold, you should compare offers from multiple pawn shops. By simply visiting a pawn shop nearby who deals in gold on a daily basis you can get a good idea of how much money you will receive if you sell or pawn it.

Pawnshops vs. Jewelers vs. Online

Without a doubt, a pawn shop in your area is the best place to buy and sell gold, regardless if your gold is in the form of coins, jewelry or even gold bars. A pawn shop will be able to get you top dollar for even broken or out of date gold jewelry, as they may have it melted down and fashioned into something new, without passing on convenience charges or other such add-ons that you’d find at other places or at online buyers.

Additionally, if you have your items have sentimental value for you, a pawn shop, is the best choice if it’s something that you may like to retain, as you can repurchase it within the terms outlined in your agreement when you sell.

Assessing Golds Value

When determining the value of your gold there are several things to consider including Weight, Karat, Design and so forth. Getting the best price for your gold can be tricky so it helps to know what it is you truly have. See our Blog Getting The Best Price For Your Gold for additional details.

When Should You Sell Your Gold?

It sounds over-simplified, but it’s true: the best time to sell your gold is when you need a little extra cash on hand. Until you have sold your gold, you haven’t realized it’s real value, and you are vulnerable to the whims of the market for the time that you are holding on to it.

In other words, the best time to sell you gold is when you have a plan for the cash that you’ll receive for it. Be it to cover bills, to make other investments that may have a higher return, or simply to spend, the right time to sell is when it makes sense for your situation.

Regardless of what form your gold is in, be it a bar, necklace or chain, you have something of great worth that you can sell or pawn at a pawnshop. Give a pawn shop near you a call to find out what kind of value you may have lying around the house.

Buying

A significant bonus to buying your gold or gold jewelry at a pawn shop is that prices are typically much lower than retail for the exact same quality, usually 30% to 50% less. You are also dealing with brokers who are licensed and highly regulated, which means that buying your gold from a pawn shop is safe and reliable.

You should always buy your gold from a reputable business like ours. Your research should begin before you even set foot in a single shop. Go to the website of each pawn shop near you that you are considering buying from and read reviews about them across many sites.

While doing your due diligence, pay particular attention to reviews about shops that specialize in gold and jewelry. When you’ve narrowed down your list to a few shops, visit them in person before you are ready to begin working with them.

Keep in mind that gold items will vary from shop to shop; each piece is unique in its own way, so if you happen upon something that catches your eye or meets your needs, be sure to make an offer and be prepared to negotiate.

A reputable shop like ours will be willing to negotiate with knowledgeable and courteous customers. Consider paying in cash and/or having items to trade to get a great deal. Don’t be afraid to ask plenty of questions about a piece. We will be happy to work with you to settle on a price that satisfies everyone.

Buying and selling gold is a straightforward way to make quick cash and pick up an item that will steadily increase in value. Although the recent gold rush of 2011 may be behind us, pawn shops in your area are ready and able to offer you top dollar and give you the best deal, regardless if you are buying or selling gold.

As a profession, pawnbrokers have been in the gold business for centuries. Pawn shops like ours that serve the greater
Inland Empire, like in the Ontario, Upland, Chino, and Pomona areas, have been in the gold business for decades. We have a vested interest in keeping you happy and are hands down the fastest, safest and most advantageous way to turn your precious metal into cash in your pocket, or in helping you make a smart investment.

Finding the best pawn shop

Most people think all pawn shops are the same. Well aren’t they? Sure all Pawn Shops are indeed places of business where you can get a cash loan on a piece of jewelry or just about anything else of value or sell and buy all types of merchandise including tools, musical instruments and so on but not all pawn shops are the same.

HOW PAWN SHOP DIFFER

1. Customer Service

How customers are treated is one of the most common ways one pawn shop can be different from another. We have all been in a situation where we are at the store or a restaurant and the service is just terrible either the person just doesn’t seem to care about his or her job or they treat you as if you are bothering them or worse yet they are just plain rude, it creates an experience that we are quick to remember and slow to forgive. Customer service extends beyond the face to face visit of a local establishment as customer service over the phone is also extremely important and again who hasn’t had an awful experience with service over the phone being put on hold and forgotten or being transferred over and over only to explain yourself to the next “customer service rep” who is going to transfer you.

The Pawn Shop experience should be no different from the experience you have at any local establishment there are those that put a high emphasis on customer service and those that do not. A few things to really look for are:

A. Do they greet you and make eye contact as soon as possible, sometimes employees are just busy helping other customers and an immediate greeting can be difficult but as soon as they get a chance or as soon as they see you they should make you feel welcomed. Nothing worse than an employee or owner who simply does not even acknowledge you until you ask a question or otherwise accost them.

B. Do they value your business, this does not mean do they give you everything you want or pay more for an item than its worth it means that even if there was no business transaction at all you felt that you were treated fairly and that they appreciated, you giving them the opportunity to earn you as a long time customer.

C. Do they provide explanations or offer advice, sometimes you may have an item you wish to pawn that is not worth what you thought it was and you really want to understand why a pawn shop with good customer service will do their best to explain to you why the value is not there and perhaps even offer you some advice on how to better know the value of an item or where to get it professionally appraised.

So when it comes to customer service in the end if you do not care how you are treated then any pawn shop nearby that will take your item, give you a loan or has some merchandise you wish to buy will do, but if you are looking for a good experience, making a phone call before you come in may be a good idea.

2. Payouts on loans

You may think that all pawn shops will pay the same amount when they buy your item or loan you the same amount money on whatever it is you are pawning but that is not always the case. Some pawn shops have a larger customer base who go to a pawn shop to find good deals on used merchandise and so they may know they will be able to move that particular item faster than another pawn shop who has a smaller amount of customers who come in to buy things and sees the item as taking up space. Also some pawn shops look to build long lasting relationships with their customers and will offer a bit more than the competition to establish that relationship.

3. Items they will lend on

There are some pawn shops that just focus on Jewelry, Gold, Silver and precious stones like Diamonds or Emeralds and will not lend or buy anything else while others will have a little more of an extensive list that will include things like Electronics, Sports Equipment and Sporting Goods and then there are those pawn shops (like ours) that will lend on just about anything that has some value including Collectibles, Comic Books, Baseball Cards, Musical Instruments, dvd’s, Remote Controlled Cars and Boats, even Sunglasses.

So when it comes to answering the question “How do I find the best pawn shop near me?” you will find that the answer really depends on what it is you are looking to do buy, sell or get a pawn loan and on what is important to you Variety, Pay Outs, Service or Selection. A visit to the pawn shop can be great experience if you know what it is you want to do and you know that the pawn shop you are heading to can fulfill your needs.

Now that you have found the right Pawn Shop for you whats the next… Negotiating, negotiating with a pawn shop can be an art and there definitely some rules to follow to get the most for your money or your merchandise. For more information on how to negotiate with a pawn shop to get the best deals stay tuned to our blog page and read our post on negotiating with a Pawn Shop.