How to Sell Gold Online Avoiding Scams

Times are tough and many people are trying to make extra money. Some are selling their jewelry to cover expenses, some are just trying to turn broken jewelry into cash.

Whatever your goal, this article will tell you how to sell gold online to get a good price without being cheated.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Determine if the gold is wearable or scrap.
   
   If you are selling broken jewelry, it is known as scrap and should be listed that way in online auctions with just the weight and percent gold information. By listing as scrap, you will eliminate the jewelry shoppers from your target audience.
   
   If it is wearable jewelry then you will want to research popular terms for the type of gold, "omega necklace" and other similar terms. Find your gold jewelry online at a few different sites and write down the terms that are used to describe your piece.

2. Do some research before you start online.
   
   Take your gold to three different jewelry and/or pawn shops for them to weigh the gold and offer you a price. The offers will probably differ widely based on the buyers interest and the price of gold for that day.

3. Understand how gold is priced.
   
   The formula for pricing gold is:
   (troy ounces) x (percent gold) x (price per ounce based on gold price index) = price of your gold. Look online for calculators that can help you with this information. The calculators do the conversions required to change from 14K to percent gold (58.3333). This means that with the calculator you are able to just read the imprint on the gold, weigh it on a gram scale and have it calculated. Remember to do this very close to the time that the gold is being sold because the variable that changes frequently in this equation is the Gold Price Index or, in other words, the going rate on the international gold market which can fluctuate daily.

4. Find a refinery that will buy scrap gold
   
   Search for gold refineries online. Get the names of a few and then start searching for their name plus "scam". This will take you into blogs were you are getting the real opinions of people who have used them to buy gold. People share the names of those refineries that they liked working with to sell gold and are liberal with sharing which refineries scammed them when selling their gold.

5. If you are proficient with an auction site, use this to broaden the market for your gold.
   
   Understand the site you are using.
   
   If you are selling on an auction site make sure that you are experienced with the site. Do at least 10 auctions so that you have mastered the site before you make the big investment of selling your gold.
   
   Use these safety tips before you auction your gold. The risk with auction sites is that you get scammed by the gold buyer. You can decrease this risk with these steps. Pay to get an appraisal from a reputable jeweler and scan the appraisal into the auction as an image. Always require Shipping Insurance when you set up the auction. Require buyer signature on delivery.
   
   Do you homework to investigate who is bidding on your auction. Google their information. Look at their feedback. Do they have a very high rating with no disputes? Are they an experienced gold jewelry or gold scrap buyer that is not cheating the sellers? Even one dispute on gold or jewelry purchasing can indicate trouble for you. Some of the trouble that buyers can inflict on the seller include disputing the weight of the scrap gold saying they received less than what was auctioned, returning the scrap gold with less than what was shipped to them. The auction sites usually defer to the buyer in disputes. All of these factors weigh into a good experience when selling your gold online.