selling gold jewellery

"It's time to take the gold and being sold," said MC Hammer, American rapper promotion Cash4Gold, a Florida company that was promising to "hard cash" for British consumers who want to sell their gold jewelry. However, the company admitted this week that it is sometimes useful to customers only 20 percent of the market value of their gold. Other companies typically pay 90 percent.

As the price of the precious metal has broken through the $ 1000 per ounce mark (£ 608), consumers are bombarded with advertisements urging them to cash in unwanted jewelry. Bend examines how to capitalize on the Gold Rally, if you want to buy or sell.

Short sale

The price of gold is rising for seven years, and some experts say that the bars could soon test the record high of $ 1030.80 reached in March last year.

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The Bonanza asked the parties Tupperware-style gold, with gathering of people selling their jewelry and an influx of new companies such as positions in gold, and CashMyGold Ounces2Pounds.

Buying gold jewelry is a great company, with more than 35 tons of gold bars should be made of gold scrap in Britain for years. At current prices, it is worth about £ 700 million. Justin Pritchard of CashMyGold, said: "The gold is 21 percent more than this time last year - good news for consumers is now the ideal time for people to sell products that are broken or unwanted .. "

However, the figures in the industry warn that many companies are offering less than a quarter of the market value of precious metals. Cash4Gold told the fold, offering a 20 per cent and 85 per cent of market value.

Phil Williams, gold dealers, says his company, founded two years ago, was affected by the arrival of competitors. "Companies like Cash4Gold spend a fortune on advertising on television and in newspapers," he said. "Therefore, they have to offer customers a low -. often 40 percent or 50 percent of the market"

Companies buying gold admit they do not offer full price, but say they do not mislead consumers. To test their claim, Times Money asked some of the new acquisitions of gold, how much they would pay for an ounce of 24 carat gold, currently worth about £ 608, but this changes daily.

CashMyGold said it would pay up to 545 pounds - about 90 percent of market value - based on quality, weight and condition.

Or post said it would pay 520 pounds (85 percent), while Cash4Gold offers 367 pounds (60 percent). Meanwhile, gold traders, their price lists on its website, said it would pay 546 pounds (90 percent).

To receive the quoted prices is debatable. Basically, most companies do not all prices quoted on their websites, you do not get a price until you have your items sent in the mail and the operator has carried out an evaluation.

"Retailers can not promise to attract high careless or desperate sellers, but do not publish their prices online real - so people do not realize that they could be ripped off," Williams said.

Traditionally, gold has been purchased by jewelers High Street and pawnbrokers, and customers were able to reach up to 90 percent market value when they shop. But these new companies insist that customers based on their positions and wait for an assessment, they can accept or reject.

Frank Shepherd, from direct consumption, the board said that consumers have little recourse if their gold is lost in the mail or something else goes wrong. He says that sellers must ensure they have the right insurance before sending their gold and they think to pay increased compensation. It is also important to keep proof of deposit, he said.

"Remember, if you accept an offer that you will regret later, you have no right to change your mind later. Similarly it is a good idea to shop around when buying goods, it should also be to solicit bids from a number of buyers to ensure that you receive a price right. "

Buy long-term

If you were to invest in gold in the last seven years, you may think you have the Midas touch. However, the recent rally to continue, or soon will reduce the price?

Gold is generally considered a "safe haven" because it keeps its value during the economic crisis, and when the purchasing power of dollars or pounds is on the decline.

Adrian Ash, head of research at BullionVault.com, the gold dealer, gold is expected to increase another 13.5 percent this year, it takes $ 1,135 an ounce. He said: "Gold has an average of 22.5 percent year on year profit since 2004. Today it is 10 percent more than a few this summer, which correspond to the seasonal pattern typical of a strong increase from September. "

However, James Edgedale, JM Finn & Co, the investment manager, said: "Gold is now because demand for hedge funds, the demand for private investors and demand from the Far East. But it can be easily another.

"This is not the long-term store of value that people think it is -. He has no industrial use and does not provide income for investors seeking higher returns over a longer period, we prefer the shares of mining companies have exposure to gold and to produce a dividend yield. "

There are many ways to invest in gold bullion to buy exchange-traded commodities. But remember that it is always set in U.S. dollars, even if the value increases, British investors still lose money if the exchange rates move against them.

You can buy as little as 5 grams of online platforms as BullionVault.com, or in a retail store such as Baird & Co. If you buy gold bullion, will have to arrange the safe and secure. If you buy online, the bars are normally held for you in a safe.

Ben Yearsley, of Hargreaves Lansdown, the independent financial adviser, said the best way to invest is through exchange traded funds (ETFs), traded on the Exchange. Gold ETFs track the price of gold and traded in the same way that the actions of the company. It can be purchased through a broker, and incur much smaller than the managed funds.

Mr Yearsley said: "ETFs are cheap, easy to buy and sell, and track the gold price can be kept in a Sipp [self invested personal pensions] or a typical Isa costs are 0.49 percent ... "

If you want a more diversified investment fund, such as BlackRock Gold & General is 70 percent invested in shares of gold mines. The National Fund JPMorgan Natural Resources has recently increased investments in gold mining by 27 percent to 34 percent. They are more expensive than the ETF, with an annual rate of 1.5 percent and 1.75 percent.

Head Hatton Garden

A Road Bethnal Green in East London, instead of offering several shops to buy gold jewelry. I have a 9 carat gold bracelet and chain, and a 18-carat gold pendant, which weighs a total of 10.3g (photo above). The difference in the quotes that I receive is staggering, ranging from £ 7 to 81 lbs.

The first stop is the Attenborough Jewellers was founded in 1892. Director weighs jewelry and says that the scrap value of £ 82 and he will give me £ 64.85 - about 80 percent of its value. High Street chain Cash Converters offers £ 60 a game, when the store refuses money to buy a bracelet, but it gives me a chain "between £ 7 and £ 10" and pendant.

At this point, a window cleaner, said recently that he had "made a fortune" by selling their gold in a family shop in Hatton Garden, central London jewelry.

I went regularly to the west and reach the Do-Buy 925, where the director gives me the £ 81 the lot - by far the best offer.