How to Sell Gold Jewelry in Rockford, Illinois

Rockford, Illinois, is a small town north of Chicago, settled quietly along the border between Illinois and Wisconsin. Rockford is most famous for being the hometown of the rock band Cheap Trick, and for being the setting of the 1970's television series “The Rockford Files.” Today, Rockford is making a new name for itself as a place where anyone with a little gold can make money by selling their gold jewelry. Even broken and damaged items are fetching handsome prices in today’s market. If you have gold that you would like to exchange for cash, keep reading to learn how to sell gold jewelry in Rockford, Illinois.

Things You'll Need

• Gold jewelry
• Digital scale

Instructions

1. Determine what the bare minimum value of your gold jewelry is. First check the current gold rates on Kitco.com (see Resources below). These rates reflect the spot price, represented by the "troy ounce," so divide the price shown by 31.103 to determine the spot price per gram. Then use a digital scale to weigh your gold jewelry. Once you know how many grams your jewelry weighs, multiply that amount by the spot price per gram to get the wholesale melt value of your gold. Do not accept a price lower than this under any circumstances.

2. Take your gold jewelry to one of the pawnshops in Rockford. Pawnshops are usually the first place that many people think of when they have something to sell and need quick cash. Pawnbrokers typically offer you low rates for your gold jewelry and require negotiation to get a decent rate, but it at least gives you a good idea of how much you can get for your gold. If the pawnshop fails to meet your price, tell them you’ll think it over and leave. That way you still have the option available, while being free to evaluate other opportunities. The main pawnshops to sell gold jewelry to in Rockford are Paymaster Pawn Shop at [phone], 7th Street Pawn & Gift at [phone], and Money Market Pawn at [phone].

3. Show your gold jewelry to the jewelers in Rockford, Illinois. Jewelers will usually offer to sell your gold on a consignment basis, meaning that you leave it in their store and they will collect a commission from you when it gets sold. If your gold jewelry is in very good condition, they may just buy it from you outright, polish it and put a price on it. It never hurts to check with a jeweler to see what offer they will make you. Some of the more respected jewelers in Rockford include Zavius Jewelers at [phone], Fred Meyer Jewelers at [phone], and Clodius & Co. at [phone] (see Resources below).

4. Carry a classified advertisement in the local newspaper. The classified section of the Rockford Register Star has a specific section where people can post items they have for sale. This is a great place to sell your gold jewelry, because anyone seeing the ad will be in Rockford and looking for something to buy. You may also want to consider placing classified ads in the Beloit Daily News and the Janesville Gazette, both of which are in neighboring towns right across the Illinois-Wisconsin border (see Resources below).

5. Consider placing a classified ad on the Craigslist website. Having an ad on Craigslist is exactly the same as having a classified ad in the newspaper, except it doesn’t cost you anything. There is a local page for Rockford, Illinois, on the Craigslist website, and that page has a section specifically for jewelry. Post an ad there to announce that you have gold jewelry to sell in Rockford, Illinois, and you may encounter the buyer you have been looking for (see Resources below).

Tips & Warnings

• If you can not find anyone willing to pay your price locally, you may want to consider putting your item up for bid on an online auction site such as eBay.com. Online auctions are a great selling tool because a much wider audience will be viewing the items you have for sale.

• Never send your gold to a mail order refiner, such as Cash4Gold.com. Unless you are sending a minimum of 310 g of gold, the rate you will be paid is about 5 percent of the melt value of the gold. If you can not beat that price somewhere else, then you are better off to not sell your gold at this time.

Resources

• Kitco Precious Metals
• Zavius Jewelers
• Fred Meyer Jeweler
• Rockford Register Star
• Craigslist Rockford Jewelry