Cash for Gold shops. Do they offer a decent price?

Archeron

Hey all,
Sorry if this is the wrong forum, but I was just wondering if anybody has used those cash for gold shops.
I have an 18 carat gold ring that I bought in Africa about 10 years ago whch cost me 600 Irish pounds, and I was wondering, do they just offer a token value, or could I expect to be offered anything near what I paid for it? At the time, gold in South Africa cost a fraction of what it did in Ireland, so by Irish standards, the ring should be worth at least €1000 by todays standards.

I know feck all about gold though, and at the time there was a major more money than sense issue
Any advice welcome!
Thanks

Bogger77

Archeron wrote: »

Hey all,
Sorry if this is the wrong forum, but I was just wondering if anybody has used those cash for gold shops.
I have an 18 carat gold ring that I bought in Africa about 10 years ago whch cost me 600 Irish pounds, and I was wondering, do they just offer a token value, or could I expect to be offered anything near what I paid for it? At the time, gold in South Africa cost a fraction of what it did in Ireland, so by Irish standards, the ring should be worth at least €1000 by todays standards.

I know feck all about gold though, and at the time there was a major more money than sense issue
Any advice welcome!
Thanks

you will not get even close to market value, 10% max, is what people say.

a local goldsmith/jeweler might give a more favorable price

kc66

I would say if you paid £600 in Africa 10 years ago it would be worth an awful lot more than €1k.

Archeron

kc66 wrote: »

I would say if you paid £600 in Africa 10 years ago it would be worth an awful lot more than €1k.

Cool, thanks for that. I'm useless with this kind of thing.

x in the city

gold has gone up in value...

alot


it could be worth 1k to 2k, ask a specialist, them cash for gold boots reek of scam artists hidden behind boxes.

Dymo

They buy the gold value, the problem is when people buy rings they are also paying for the design of the ring and the gold.

Archeron

Dymo wrote: »

They buy the gold value, the problem is when people buy rings they are also paying for the design of the ring and the gold.

Very true, this one was custom made for me, and about a week after I bought it I realized it was really really tacky, and I've never worn it since. I'm wearing it today for fear of losing it, and about 4 people have said it was gack. No accounting for poor taste!

Nody

Archeron wrote: »

Cool, thanks for that. I'm useless with this kind of thing.

They pay you for the raw value of the gold; if the ring was 50 pounds gold cost and 550 pounds design/labour/mark up the only part they will bother to consider is the 50 pounds worth of gold. Keep that in mind.

foggy_lad

Archeron wrote: »

Hey all,
Sorry if this is the wrong forum, but I was just wondering if anybody has used those cash for gold shops.
I have an 18 carat gold ring that I bought in Africa about 10 years ago whch cost me 600 Irish pounds, and I was wondering, do they just offer a token value, or could I expect to be offered anything near what I paid for it? At the time, gold in South Africa cost a fraction of what it did in Ireland, so by Irish standards, the ring should be worth at least €1000 by todays standards.

I know feck all about gold though, and at the time there was a major more money than sense issue
Any advice welcome!
Thanks

They pay for weight of gold only so it does not matter if you have a priceless artifact or 9carat gold sovereign ring off the markets, they will only give a fraction of what it is worth to you. they are the same type of operation as the !buy your phone for cash! and "buy your car for cash" companies in the UK.

You would probably get more in a pawn shop or from a good local goldsmith

Storm_rages

Or an Auction house...

Archeron

Thanks for the replies all. I found a few places in the square in tallaght, and offers ranged from 90 to 150 quid, so I sold it for 150. Nowhere near the worth, but at least I can afford petrol next week. Definitely an idea to shop around, that was a big difference in offers.

Cheers indeed!

TheDriver

those outlets look the dodgiest places I have ever seen, wouldn't enquiry about trading in my socks never mind gold.
They are relying on people like OP strapped for cash and willing to sell their toes for anything

Our man in Havana

They are popular with the hoody wearing brigade that have loads of stuff to fence ahem sell.

the groutch

they'll pay you approx €10 per gram of weight for 18ct gold, so for a ring it'll probably be €70-€80

dave1982

I know a fella bought a ring in NY 4 years ago 24K white gold in a closing down sale.800 dollars reduced from 2100 dollars.Got a cert stating the price.

He was in Ballincollig few months ago and seen a stall so we asked the rep.He weighed it checked it offered 60 euro.

Kintarō Hattori

Archeron wrote: »

Thanks for the replies all. I found a few places in the square in tallaght, and offers ranged from 90 to 150 quid, so I sold it for 150. Nowhere near the worth, but at least I can afford petrol next week. Definitely an idea to shop around, that was a big difference in offers.

Cheers indeed!

Aww, I wanted to see a picture as you mentioned it was really horrible!

helenfz

<SNIP>

Fey!

OP; scrap prices bear no relation to retail prices or to stock exchange/commodities prices. The gold has to be reprocessed, and everyone along the line wants to score a profit.

The cash-for-gold places must be making fortunes going on the number of full page newspaper ads and television ads they have.

The price you got will have been based on the weight of the ring less the weight of any stones, etc. For 18kt, you would probably have gotten €13-14 per gram.

dave1982 wrote: »

I know a fella bought a ring in NY 4 years ago 24K white gold in a closing down sale.800 dollars reduced from 2100 dollars.Got a cert stating the price.

He was in Ballincollig few months ago and seen a stall so we asked the rep.He weighed it checked it offered 60 euro.

24kt gold is pure gold, and is too soft to use in jewellery. Highest it probably would have been is 22kt, and there is a good chance that it was 18kt as it needs to be mixed for white gold.

What did the guy in Ballincollig say it was, and what marks are on the inside of the ring?

A lot of people seem to think that their jewellery is 24kt gold, and are amazed when it's tested and it isn't (even though it'll be convention marked to show what it is but they just can't read it!)