3 Great Places To Look For Gold To Sell

12 October 2022
 Categories: , Blog


When looking for ways to make extra income, there are numerous things you can sell. But some things will bring you more profit than others. Gold jewelry is one of these items you can sell for a great profit. You may have a few pieces lying around you no longer care for that will bring in extra income from a gold buyer, but there are other places to find gold jewelry. Here are a few places to look and how you can tell the good stuff from the fakes.

1. Yard Sales

You can sometimes find inexpensive gold jewelry at local yard sales. Many times the gold is mixed in with miscellaneous costume jewelry. Pricing at these locals can be extremely cheap, but if you purchase pieces that are not gold, you won't make a profit.

2. Estate Sales

Auction houses host estate sales to liquidate the content of homes. These homes are usually left behind by people who are no longer able to care for their belongings. The liquidation may be due to the owner's death, but often the owners may be going into a nursing home or requiring a higher level of care.

Because many estate sales represent elderly families, you can often find vintage gold jewelry. Estate sales may offer tag sales or the auctioneers will auction pieces to the highest bidder. Either way, you can find real gems at these sales.

3. Police Auctions

Many people do not realize that items seized by the police during investigations or arrests are sometimes never claimed by the owners. Auction houses contracted by the police auction these items to the highest bidder. 

Pricing at police auctions depends on the number of people bidding, but you can find bargains. You can locate police auctions by contacting your local police department or looking on their website for their auction listings.

Fortunately, you can conduct several quick tests to help you differentiate between real gold and gold-plated pieces. Using a simple magnet, weed out the gold-plated stuff. Real gold is not magnetic and will not stick to a magnet. You can throw anything that does stick back in the miscellaneous jewelry pile. 

Using an inexpensive eye loupe, look for markings on the tab of the chain. The tab is the small piece the clasp connects to. Look to see if it says 10, 14, or 18K.

On the other side of the tab, look to see if you can find a company's name, letters, or logo. If the tab says Italy, it usually means the piece has been imported into the country. These markings are usually indicators of real gold that gold buyers are willing to purchase. 

For more information about selling gold, contact a local company, like Nelson Estate Jewelers.


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