Best Places to Sell Gold Near Me and Get Cash in 2024

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We’re walking you through the entire process so you know what to expect (and won’t get scammed) + where to sell gold to get the most money

Author: Kari Lorz, Certified Financial Education Instructor

Author: Kari Lorz – Certified Financial Education Instructor

It’s hard to know where to start when it comes to selling your gold. It seems to be a risky process, and you don’t want to get scammed. You’re worried about not getting the price your items are worth or being taken advantage of.

Don’t worry; we’ll walk you through the process for selling your gold, so you’ll know exactly how much your gold is worth on today’s market and where to get the best price for your gold jewelry.

where to sell gold near me and get cash

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Where to find the best place to sell gold near me?

Your best bet to find the best place to sell gold near me (you) is to research online. Look up local jewelers or gold exchange stores in your area and read the reviews. Look for complaints about price gouging, poor customer service, or other red flags that may indicate bad business practices.

You want to get the best price possible for your gold or platinum, so it pays to shop around for a reputable place.

But you landed here – because we’ve done most of the research for you for the closest places to sell gold to you. What I mean is from the comfort of your own home, aka on your couch. Yup, you may not at first of thinking selling your gold online, but you can often get a great price for it (and not step foot inside a sketchy pawn shop).

So first, we will go through the online options and then go through where you can sell your gold locally. Then you can pick the best option for you.

1. The best place to sell gold online – Cash for Gold USA

Cash for Gold is the most well know and established online gold buyer, as they have been doing it for over 15 years. They make it as easy for you as possible.

Here’s how it works…

  • Sign up for a free evaluation of your items. You’ll get a confirmation email, and you’ll send them a few pictures of your items.
  • They’ll send you an appraisal kit. It’s insured, so you can securely mail your valuables to them via USPS or FedEx.
  • Once your package arrives at the processing facility, their certified appraisers will determine the value and make you an offer.
  • You can accept their offer and get your payment via check or PayPal. Or you can decline their offer, and they’ll ship your items back to you for free.

Sell your diamond jewelry on Cash for Diamonds USA

They accept…

  • Earrings
  • Rings and class rings
  • Necklaces and pendants
  • Watches
  • Bracelets
  • Gold coins
  • Dental gold
  • Broken items
  • Electronic components such as gold circuit boards

Shipping your gold item can naturally be scary (what if it gets lost?), but Cash for Gold does everything possible to securely transport your items. You can track your items the entire way to the facility in their prepaid envelope. Plus, everything is insured up to $5,000, but you can get extra insurance for items up to $100,000.

People are very satisfied with their experiences as they have a 4.5-star rating on Trustpilot.

My review on selling gold online with Cash for Gold USA

I have a bunch of small unwanted gold pieces that I’ll never wear again, just random stuff collected over the years. So why not try it out and see how Cash for Gold works!

I’m selling…

  • Ring – 14k | 3 grams
  • Chain with Cross – 14k | 1 gram
  • Lavalier – 14k | 0 grams
  • Cross – 14k | 0 grams
  • Ring – 10k | 5 grams
  • Pin – unknown | 0 grams (this item kinda passed the magnet test, but kinda didn’t – See the FAQ section for more info)
  • Earings 1 – unknown gold | 0 grams
  • Earings 2 – unknown gold | 0 grams

Let’s figure out how much it’s worth (full description of this process down below in the “what is the value of your gold piece” section of the article).

For my pieces, I will figure out the value in 2 groups, a 14k group and a 10k group. The second group will contain all the unknown karat pieces as that’s the lowest karat.

  • 14 karat items – 5 grams total weight = 2.915 grams of pure gold x $63.92 (today’s gold price in grams) = $186.32 estimated value.
  • 10 karat items – 7 grams total weight = 2.919 grams of pure gold x $63.92 (today’s gold price in grams) = $186.58

$186.32 for 14k pieces + $186.58 for 10k pieces = $372.90

But, this is a possibility that the value could be lower, as the gold stamps on the bottom of some of the pieces were too small to read, so the stamp could say “fake,” who knows? Those are the “unknown” pieces mentioned above.

Also, they will offer me lower as they need to make a profit (as this is a business, they’re not doing it out of kindness). So with a value of $373 (if it is all gold), I expect to get an offer of about 20% less. That’s just a guess.

Here’s how the process went when selling my gold to Cash for Gold…

  1. I signed up for an appraisal kit to be sent via (FedEx) on Saturday mid-day. I received my appraisal kit on Wednesday.
  2. Per their email request, I sent them a picture of what I was sending in and an estimate of what I hoped to get from the pieces. I was 100% honest and gave them $373 for the value.
  3. I mailed my package (via FedEx) on Friday (two days later), and I included the 10% bump bonus coupon (for sending in your items within seven days). See the picture of the mailing kit, and you’ll see the coupon.
  4. I got an email two days later that they received my package and would get me an offer in one day, but just four hours later, they emailed me with an offer.
  5. Truth be told, it was less than I had hoped (but I felt a little guilty about selling a few pieces anyway), so I declined the offer, and they sent me a confirmation email one day later that they were sending my items back to me via FedEx. I got my items back seven days later.

Even though I didn’t sell my pieces to them, I thought the process was very easy, and there was great communication as you got emails throughout the whole process letting you know what was happening.

If I had something that I didn’t mind letting go of (I felt guilty after mailing my pieces in), then I would use this service as it was so easy.

Other places to sell gold online

2. Helzberg Diamonds

Helzberg Diamonds has a Gold Purchase Program to exchange your gold and platinum jewelry for cash. You can mail in your items (insured up to $500), and you’ll get a tracking number to see its location, plus a video of the unboxed and weighing of the item. The process is very similar to other locations; just request a mailing kit, ship it off, and then you can accept or refuse their offer. They’ll mail it back to you for free if you don’t accept their price.

3. Kay Jewelers

Kay Jewelers has over 1,100 stores and is part of the even bigger Signet Jeweler company. Signet also operates Jared and Zales Diamond stores as well as a few smaller regional chains.

At Kay Jewelers, you can sign up to be a part of their gold buy-back program; then they’ll send you an envelope for you to ship your gold (and platinum) jewelry to them. They clean it, inspect it, weigh it, and make you an offer. You can accept their offer or turn them down, and they’ll ship it back to you for free. If you accept, they pay you via check or with a Kay’s Jewelry gift card.

They buy jewelry made of gold (10K, 14K, 18K, 22K, or 24K gold) or anything made of platinum 900 or 950. They do not accept new jewelry, gold coins, bullion, bars, or ingots.

4. Shane Co.

The Shane Co. has stores nationwide, so you’ve probably heard their commercials on the radio. “I guarantee it!” Their oddly funny commercials get them remembered for bridal sets, but did you know they also buy back gold jewelry? They accept gold, platinum, and silver jewelry.

You can book an appointment to go into one of their store locations to sell your items, or you can mail them in. If you do go into a store location, you can accept their offer and get paid right there on the spot.

To ship your items, you fill out a form to tell them about your piece and request a prepaid FedEx shipping label, and they’ll email it to you right then. Once they receive your items, they’ll call you with an offer; if you accept, they’ll mail the check to you; if you decline, they’ll back your items free of charge.

Where to sell gold in person

5. Local jewelry stores

You may have some of the stores listed above in your town, as most are chain stores. But you may find some independently owned jewelry stores that buy back gold. Just look up “jewelry stores near me” and see what pops up.

Selling your old gold jewelry to a jewelry store may require an appointment (depending on how much you have), so be prepared to wait until they have time (if they’re already helping a customer) or come back later.

Click the green button below to find jewelry stores near me (you).

6. Pawn shops

You can always try your luck at local pawn shops. Not all pawn shops buy gold, but many do. You may have to call a few places to see who buys what. For example, some stores may only buy gold jewelry, while others may take scrap gold or dental gold.

Be sure to shop around in your area, as some places may be better than others when it comes to offering fair prices. The price for gold changes daily, so you want to be sure you’re getting current pricing offers.

At pawn shops, you can either pawn it or sell it to them outright. When you pawn an item, you’re getting a short-term loan for the item, with the intent to come back and pay off the loan to get your piece back. We walk you through the entire process of getting money from a pawn shop, so be sure to check it out.

Click the green button below to pawn shops near me (you).

7. Gold exchange stores

You can always go to a gold exchange store (some locations also take diamond jewelry). These are usually small, independently owned stores, so you’ll be talking with very experienced people. They deal just in precious metals in all forms, so they know the business.

If they don’t buy all metals, they can point you to a silver buyer or a platinum buyer that they recommend.

Gold exchange stores have specific scales that measure the weight of the gold; then they will make you an offer based on that information, the karat, and the daily price of gold.

Click the green button below to find a gold exchange store near me (you).

8. Coin Dealers

If you have gold coins to sell (or silver), you should absolutely check out a coin dealer. As this type of gold item may be worth more than just the gold. If it’s a rare coin, you could score big time! These are usually antique coins, but you can buy newly minted coins as well.

JM Bullion is well respected in the industry for both buying and selling gold coins (in addition to other gold items). They were on the Fortune 500 list of fastest growing precious metal sites a few years back and continue to be a leader in online sales.

You can reach out to them if you feel you have a valuable coin. You can use their online “sell to us” tool, where you lock in a price right there, or you can call them for a consultation.

Once they receive your item in the mail, they inspect it to verify the authenticity, and then you receive payment in 1-3 business days.

9. Scrap yards

While many household items do contain gold, such as circuit boards, wiring, etc. And metal scrappers may run across it from time to time. I don’t suggest selling your gold to a scrap yard.

While you can make a lot of money scrapping metal and selling to yards, I’d take the gold items to a gold exchange store as that is their specialty.

Common types of gold to sell

  • Gold jewelry – rings, bracelets, necklaces, pins, etc.
  • Gold bullion – high-purity gold, usually in the form of gold bars, gold coins, and gold ingots
  • Scrap gold – gold circuit boards, wires, misc gold scrap, etc.
  • Dental gold – gold crowns

When deciding what to sell, especially when it comes to jewelry, you want to make sure you’re ready to let it go. You don’t want to sell a family heirloom just because you need cash; you’ll regret it later. But it’s safe to say you can sell pieces you never liked or are broken.

What actually matters when you’re selling gold

When you’re selling gold, only two things matter to the gold buyer: the weight of the item and the purity of the gold. It doesn’t have to be pretty; they aren’t buying it for that reason. Unlike when you’re selling old jewelry, so it doesn’t matter how it looks, as it will most likely be melted down.

What matters is the karat of the gold (purity level). There’s 24 karat gold (100% pure), 18 karat, 14 karat, and 10 karat, which is only 41% gold.

While it may seem odd to sell your items online, it’s growing in popularity. Let’s go through a few options.

How gold prices work

When you sell jewelry, you’re selling the value of the gold + stones + design. But when you’re selling gold, all places care about is the type of gold and the weight. They will then turn around and sell it to a gold refiner, who will melt it down.

Different types of gold are worth different amounts. You’ve heard the term 24-karat gold, but do you know what that means and how it impacts the value of the gold?

“Pure gold is soft and is usually alloyed with other metals, such as silver, copper, platinum or palladium, to increase its strength. Gold alloys are used to make jewelry, decorative items, dental fillings, and coins. The amount of gold in an alloy is measured with a unit called a karat. One karat is equal to one part in twenty-four, so an 18-karat gold ring contains 18 parts pure gold and 6 parts alloy material.” (source)

The higher the karat number, the more pure gold it has, and the higher the price.

Every market experiences volatility (when speaking of it as an investment), including the precious metals market. Like any asset class, precious metals, including gold, may see prices rise and fall in the short term. Yet, over the long term, gold holds its value fairly well.

Gold prices are influenced by supply & demand, as well as market speculation and inflation. Several banks and oversight committees set gold prices, and chair members. Specifically, Comex in the US overseas it. (It’s a vast and complex system; we won’t dive into everything. Just know that prices can go up and down but remain fairly stable compared to other assets).

How much is gold worth per ounce?

Currently, gold is worth $1,1995 per ounce, or $63.92 per gram. (as of early May 2023)

What is the value of your gold piece?

If you know what karat of gold you have, you can figure out how much it’s worth in a few steps. You’ll need a digital scale (a food scale works, not a bathroom scale).

Step One: Weigh your gold

Grab your scale and weigh your pieces in the grams measuring unit. Here’s one of my necklaces. As you can see, this very common, lightweight chain with a small cross hardly weighs anything – 1 gram. But here’s a ring that weighs 3 grams.

Sell gold near me - weighing your gold items

Step Two: Figure out how much “gold” you have

So, how do you determine the purity of gold jewelry? Many items will be marked with a very small stamp that indicates the karat value of the item. You’ll need bright light and a magnifying glass to see it.

  • 24 karat gold = 100% gold
  • 18 karat gold = 75% gold
  • 14 karat gold = 58.3% gold
  • 10 karat gold = 41.7% gold

(I know this is hard to read; my apologies for the bad camera skills. Both pieces are 14k.

For example, let’s say you have a 14-karat gold chain. You weigh it, and it weighs 10 grams (this is a bigger chain).

Remember that the 14-karat gold is actually only 58.3% pure gold. So, you can multiply 20 grams by 0.583, resulting in 5.83 grams of pure gold.

Step Three: Figure out your item’s value

Okay, so your necklace contains roughly 5.83 grams of gold. Next, you’ll want to check the current price of gold in grams.

gold price chart

Today, as I’m checking my necklace, gold is trading at almost $64 per gram, then the value of the gold in your necklace is approximately $373

pure gold weight in grams x price = gold value of the item

–> 5.83 grams x $64 price per gram = $373

Tips for Selling Gold Jewelry

  1. Don’t act impulsively- be sure you’re willing to part with your item (especially if it was jewelry given to you). You don’t want to sell an item only to make up with your ex and then be sad that you let it go.
  2. Know what you have – know the karat and the item’s weight.
  3. Find a reputable buyer – go online to Cash for Gold USA, or look at reviews of local jewelry or gold exchange stores.
  4. Shop around – call a few places and ask them the price that they’re buying gold for today and how they pay – via check, cash, PayPal, etc.
  5. Know the price of gold – check for today’s prices – this site lists grams and oz figures.
  6. Avoid scams when selling gold online – don’t Google online gold buyers and use some obscure site just because they say they pay more. If you’re mailing your gold, you want to be 100% the place is legitimate.
  7. Understand the business – Yes, you’re selling gold, but the businesses you’re selling to won’t give you the full value of the gold, as they need to make a profit (that’s why they’re in business). So they’ll offer a bit less than the gold is worth to make the profit they need. But that doesn’t mean you should expect a bottom-of-the-barrel offer.

FAQs about selling gold near me

Should I have an appraisal done before trying to sell my gold?

If you’re unsure of your karat of gold, you can take it to a jewelry store to find out what it is. But usually, a full appraisal isn’t necessary.

What is the minimum price you should get for your gold?

Be sure you know the current price, and don’t accept an offer considerably lower. Yes, you should expect it to be below the gold price, but not by a huge amount.

How can you tell if gold is real?

You should always look for a stamp on the item, that will tell you. The lowest “real gold” is considered is 10 karat, which is 41.7% gold.

If you can’t find a stamp, lay in a bowl of water. If it floats, it’s fake.

Or you can do the vinegar test. This is where you put a few drops of white vinegar on the piece. If, after 15 minutes, it has changed color, then it’s fake.

Also, look at the edges of the piece. Gold is very soft, and if the piece is discolored (usually around the edges), then you’ll know it’s gold-plated.

If you have a magnet, you can grab it. Real gold isn’t magnetic.

Do I need to worry about scale accuracy?

I’d look at online reviews of places before going there. If people have a bad experience, they usually let everyone know about it. Thanks social media!

What is the gold spot price?

In simple terms, spot price gold refers to the current price of gold at a specific time. It serves as a standard price worldwide for the buying and selling of one ounce of gold.

How is gold bullion different from other forms of gold?

The term “gold” encompasses many forms and purity levels of gold.

While Bullion is gold and silver that is officially recognized as being at least 99.5% and 99.9% pure and is in the form of bars or ingots. Governments and central banks frequently keep bullion as a reserve asset.

Will a jeweler buy my gold?

A jewelry buyer might, give some local places a call and ask them if they buy gold and at what price.

Are Premier Gold Parties a good way to sell my gold?

No. Nope. And a hard pass. Instead, you should go to a reputable dealer.

At the end of the day

Selling gold can be an intimidating process if you’ve never done it before. But with the right tips and resources, it’s easier to make sure you get what you’re owed for your gold.

After reading this post, you now know where to find reputable buyers in your area, how to assess the worth of your gold according to certain factors, and how to secure a good price no matter which option you choose.

Trying to figure out where to sell gold near me (you) shouldn’t keep you from cleaning out your jewelry box; do it today, as we’ve lined everything up for you!

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