Honest Tips for Selling your Gold and Silver

Beware of 'Rogue' Buyers. Beware doing business with transient gold dealers whom are also referred to as "rogue" buyers (also known as "hotel" or "pop-up" buyers). They arrive into town, run ads promising high prices, and set up shop, usually in a hotel ballroom or banquet space. After vacuuming up a city's worth of jewelry and coins, they disappear, sometimes leaving their victims underpaid. Before you sell gold--whether to a hotel buyer or to anybody else--check with the Better Business Bureau or do some research online to see if there are complaints against the buyer. 


Don't Mix Karats. Among the new places to sell your gold are Tupperware-like "gold parties", where a group of friends or neighbors meet to socialize and sell their gold in a home setting.  The company that organized the party gets its cut, and so does the host. At some parties, all jewelry is weighed together, regardless of its karat value, and sellers are paid according to the lowest karat value. Don't accept those terms. Separate your jewelry in advance, by karat, and make sure you are paid more for higher-karat items.  Please also keep in mind Texas State Law mandates the organizers of gold buying parties to acquire a temporary permit to conduct business of purchasing crafted precious metal items no later than 30 days of the planned event.

Keep an Eye on the Scale. While the accuracy of scales used by licensed jewelers, pawnshops, and precious metal dealers are verified periodically by the Texas Department of Agriculture, the same may not be true for scales used by hotel or house party buyers. (also gold buyers who are not registered and licensed by the State of Texas). We advise sellers to pay close attention to how their gold is being weighed: Jewelers value gold not by the ordinary ounce (28 grams) but by the Troy Ounce (31.1 grams). While some buyers pay according to the gram, others use a system called pennyweight: A pennyweight is equivalent to 1.555 grams. A seller needs to make sure he's not being weighed by pennyweight and paid by the gram, since that would allow the buyer to get more gold for less money.

Read the Fine Print. We advise sellers to compare terms and conditions carefully. Even when consumers use a legitimate site that buys gold online it is easy to make a costly mistake by not reading the fine print. For example, some websites offer free shipping to send in gold jewelry, but ridiculous shipping rates if the consumer declines the offer and wants their precious metal items to be returned.  Check the buyer's policy on reimbursement if they lose your gold. Many offer only limited liability.  The Post Office does lose packages on occasion and if you are sending in large amounts of gold, make sure that the company you are sending it to uses Registered Mailing or Insurance.

Check Credentials. Ask a potential buyer to show you his or her credentials: If they are legitimate, he or she will be licensed by the State to buy gold. He or She will also be required by law to ask you, the seller, to produce a driver's license, passport or some other form of government-issued identification. That requirement exists to frustrate money laundering and the sale of stolen property. If your buyer does not ask to see your ID, take your business elsewhere.

Texas Gold and Silver Buyers ALWAYS are up front about your weights and our payouts.  We always separate your items by karat and provide detailed summary of weights and karats that you have. Whether doing business with us or elsewhere, we want you to be informed and educated about the process of selling your Gold and Silver Jewelry, Scrap, Bullion, and Coins, so you are not taken advantage of. 



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