How to avoid getting lowballed when you sell jewelry or scrap gold.
Selling scrap gold is simple in principle — weight × purity × spot price — but it’s also a transaction where buyers have far more experience than sellers. A little preparation goes a long way toward getting a fair price.
Weigh your item, find its karat stamp, and run it through the Gold Calculator or Silver Calculator using today’s spot price. Walking in with a number in mind is the single biggest protection against a lowball offer.
Buyers need to cover refining costs and profit margin, so expect an offer below 100% of melt value — commonly somewhere in the range of 70–90% from a reputable buyer, though this varies. An offer far below that range, especially under 50%, is worth questioning or comparing elsewhere.
Prices and buy percentages vary meaningfully between pawn shops, dedicated gold buyers, jewelers, and mail-in refiners. Getting two or three quotes — even informally — puts real competitive pressure on the offer you accept.
A legitimate buyer should be comfortable weighing and testing your item in front of you and explaining how they arrived at their offer.
Branded, antique, or well-crafted pieces sometimes sell for more to a collector or on the resale market than as scrap. It’s worth a quick search before melting anything down.
It varies by buyer and item, but reputable dealers commonly pay somewhere around 70-90% of melt value. Offers well below that are worth comparing against other buyers.
It won't change the gold content or value, since scrap is priced by weight and purity, not appearance — but it can make it easier for a buyer to inspect and test the piece.