Cash for Gold Scams

On a daily basis we are bombarded with questions about selling scrap gold.  Since GoldFeverProspecting.com is a gold nugget dealer and mining equipment retailer we do not deal in jewelry or scrap gold - we only buy and sell natural placer gold.  However, we do know well from countless horror stories related to us by customers over the years, that almost all of the Cash for Gold guys are either shady or outright crooks.  The prices offered are almost always well below fair market value and the shenanigans they pull are reprehensible.

interesting info here:
10 Confessions Of A Cash4Gold Employee

Some quick gold selling tips:  know what you have before selling.  If you don't know the total weight or karat purity of your gold take it to a custom jeweler to have it tested - or even a pawn shop.  You may need to pretend you are interested in selling for them to do an acid test on it.  Resist the temptation to sell instantly and shop around first.  It will usually gain you 20 or more percent.

Test your gold at home

Scales for gold and jewelry


Check sites like www.kitco.com to see where the current melt price is for gold.  The $ quoted will be for 24 karat so your scrap gold will of course be less.

Contact gold refiners directly.   You can find a listing of refiners at www.icmj.com.  Contact at least 2 or 3 to compare.  Some will have minimum quantity requirements for refining.  Some wil charge a flat fee and others may charge a percentage of gold recovered.

Did you know?  Placer gold is never 24k  - that is a man made product after refining.  California gold nuggets often run 20-22k, Australian 22-23k, Alaska 18k or worse sometimes.  Most American jewelry falls in the range of 10k to 18k gold. Jewelry is some Asian or middle eastern countries can have higher karat on average.  A 14 karat ring is less than 60% pure gold.

24 k       100% purity

22 k      91.7%

20 k     83.2%

18 k       75%

16 k      66.6%

14 k      58.3%

12 k       50%

10 k      41.7%

8 k       33.3%

Did you know?  Scrap gold buyers do not pay you for any jewels or precious stones contained in your old jewelry.  If you have a gemstone of real value pull it out from the setting and keep it or take it to a real jewelry appraiser.

Did you know most mall jewelry stores work on margins of 200-300% or more.  Ever wonder how they run those 50-75% off sales all the time. Well now you know.

Did you know our gold nugget margins are only 5-15% usually?  We don't play games - we make our money on volume of sales and hopefully lots of repeat business.


If you have natural placer gold you want to sell at a fair price contact us:  Sell Your Placer Gold  We understand the market for natural gold nuggets and can also accommodate consignment sales for higher end pieces.

We don't refine scrap jewelry directly but have trusted contacts - if you have scrap jewelry you want to sell let us know and we will put you in touch with a trustworthy refiner.


As always, use common sense when selling your gold- don't take the first offer and try to shop around thoroughly.  You be surprised how many people make one phone call or click one link only.