Times are hard… especially in Los Angeles where the unemployment rate is over 12%. The number of people seeking government assistance through Medicare, housing relief, and food stamps has sky-rocketed as the economic recovery has sputtered. Prior to reaching the point of qualifying for these various programs, people drain their checking, savings, and retirement accounts just to get by on a day-by-day basis. Once those assets are depleted, people are often left with only the tangible property they own. Thus, pawn shops and consignment stores for clothing, furniture, and jewelry have thrived in an otherwise rough economy.
Many people are trying to unload their goods, especially gold, which has recently shot up in value. In a low-demand economy, it’s a buyer’s market. For that reason, many scams have proliferated on the Internet for cash for gold. If you are a seller, it definitely pays to do your homework!
There are many companies offering cash for gold in Los Angeles locally in various jewelry re-sale stores and nationally through the Internet. You will usually get less money from local companies when the local economy is bad, because there will be a lot of people trying to sell their gold, thus creating an excess in supply in a low-demand market. A national company, however, has the benefit of reaching gold buyers and sellers across many markets. The economy is not great nationally, but it’s much worse in California, and specifically in Los Angeles. For this reason, try to sell your gold to a reputable national gold buyer. There are many gold buyers around, but few that are reputable. I personally recommend Cash for Gold USA. It has an A rating with the Better Business Bureau (BBB), indicating good standing notably within its complaint resolution department for a business of its size.
The Better Business Bureau is an indispensable tool at your disposal as a gold seller seeking a reputable gold buyer. The BBB’s grading system reflects a number of factors including the complaint history of the particular business, the type of business, the length of time the business has operated, background information, known licensing and governmental actions, and advertising issues. The website features customer reviews, a complaints summary, and complaint resolution details. You definitely want to know who is reputable and who is not before mailing away your valuable gold jewelry!
Before you send your gold jewelry to any company on the Internet for cash, make sure to do the following:
Know what you have—the karats, ounces, metals, and stones. Get your gold appraised by a reputable jeweler. Make sure to ask for the current resale price.
- Check a site that has a cash for gold calculator. This site has a converter for ounces of gold to currency yield.
- Check E-bay and Craigslist to see the prices of similar items to yours, so that you can be realistic as to the return in cash you expect.
- Look up multiple companies offering cash for gold in Los Angeles and nationally. Generally speaking, national gold buyers will be your best bet because they will be able to offer better prices than your local pawn shop because of supply and demand issues.
- Verify that the business is trustworthy via the Better Business Bureau (BBB). Make sure the company has more than just a phone number and post office box. There should be an actual office location and customer service department.
- Document your transactions thoroughly! Take pictures of the items you are sending, and make sure to track your packages.
Doing all of the above will help to prevent the loss of your gold assets. In these hard times, extra cash from the old gold earrings you never wear could certainly help out in a pinch. Just try not to get pinched in the process!
