Gold Shilling

Georgia Makitalo of Bloomington loved her gold jewelry, but the glitter dimmed when she sold some of her broken pieces. “Getting $400 from
the Gold Guys is a lot of money, but I think I paid close to $4,000 originally,” she said.

When she realized the loss she was taking, it changed her spending habits. “Gold jewelry is a vanity thing,” she said. “It’s not the investment people think.” The only pieces she buys noware ones that appeal to her artistic side.

As gold closed at a high of $1,118 per ounce last week, anyone who sees advertisements claiming “we pay top prices” might assume they’re going to walk away rich. Not likely. There might be enough money for holiday gifts or a car payment, but anyone hoping to make more than
they paid a few years ago is dreaming.

Such disappointment is showing up at the Better Business Bureau. In
2008, the BBB received three complaints on gold, mostly about coins,
said Barb Grieman, vice president of the BBB of Minnesota and North
Dakota. So far in 2009, 16 complaints have been registered. “Many of these people are novices who haven’t done their homework on gold,” Grieman said. “They can’t figure out why they’re not getting top dollar, but it may be that they spent too much on the gold in the first place.”

What sellers aren’t taking into account is the cost of doing business, said Jerry Ehrenwald, president of the International Gemological Institute in New York. The retail price includes workmanship and overhead in addition to the cost of the gold. Essentially a seller is getting the wholesale price, says the Better Business Bureau.

To get the most money — you guessed it—shop around. Some experts say gold parties, mail-order companies, and temporary sales in hotels offer subpar values, but if you know what your gold weighs and what they’re paying per gram or pennyweight, you’ll be able to make an informed decision. In a report in its November issue, Consumer Reports received values between $7.60 and $20.59 at Cash4Gold.com, GoldPaq.comand GoldKit.com for new gold chains and pendants purchased for $175. At jewelry stores, pawnshop and coin dealers, Consumer Reports received $25 to $50.

Market price for gold is based on its purity. Most gold jewelry is 10, 14 or 18 karats, which is about 42, 58 or 75 percent gold, respectively. Unless the gold is stamped, a buyer will not usually be able to determine its purity without an acid test. The price paid if the gold is sold for scrap (most jewelry is) is based on the purity of the gold and the weight. The weight is expressed in grams or pennyweights, which
is a metric measure of 20 pennyweights in a troy ounce.

For our price comparison, I gathered amen’swedding band that outlasted the marriage, a damaged 18K gold charm, an 18-inch necklace missing a clasp, a men’s class ring from 1976, and an American Eagle
1995 $50 1-ounce coin. I took the pieces to five dealers on Nov. 9 and 10 when gold prices were at $1,100 per ounce. The lowest price paid for all five pieces was $1,264 by the Gold Guys at Mall of America. The highest price was $1,677 at Grove Coin in Woodbury, but the total was
skewed by the higher coin value. Without the coin, Wixon Jewelers in Bloomington paid the highest on each of the four items.

In a Star Tribune price comparison earlier this year, Gold Guys paid the highest. Eight months later they paid the lowest. Shops can change the amount they pay for gold. Paul Runze of Grove Coin in Woodbury said that he recently raised the price he pays to compete with Gloria’s Jewelry in St. Paul.

Despite Makitalo’s disappointment when she sold her gold, she put a positive spin on it. She put the $400 toward a trip to to Cocoa Beach, Fla., to surprise her husband. “He’d always wanted to see the NASA
space center and now we have a wonderful memory for the rest of our lives, instead of gold pieces sitting in a drawer.”

BEFORE YOU RUSH OUT
• Have pieces that aren’t marked for gold content (10 or 14-karat, for
example) tested. It’s generally free and only takes a minute.

• Know the weight of your gold pieces before shopping them
around.Some places might pay top dollar but fudge on the weight. If
you’re only taking it to one place, ask the buyer to weigh the pieces
in front of you.

• Sell broken or mismatched pieces for scrap, but high-end,unusual
or antique jewelry is better off sold to a jeweler,eBay, Craig’s List or a
local auction.

•Check www.kitco.com for prices and discussion.

• Check a company’s reliability report atwww.thefirstbbb.org or call
651-699-1111.

• Save time by calling around to askwhat a retailer is paying that
day per gramor pennyweight for 14-karat gold (or 10K or 18K depending
on the piece). If they won’t say,go elsewhere. Inmycomparison
Nov. 9-10, pennyweight prices ranged from $16 at Gold Guys to
$25 at Wixon for 14-karat gold.

• Get more money by taking niche pieces to a specialist. For example,
you’ll probably get more money for coins at a coin dealer than a
pawnshop.Take antique jewelry to a jeweler, not a scrap dealer..