Should You Get Cash For Gold?
After seeing the Cash4Gold.com commercial with MC Hammer and Ed McMahon on the Super Bowl, I've seen Cash4Gold Instant Cash for Gold offers numerous times on various Comcast cable television stations. My initial reaction to the ads was why would anyone want to attempt to get cash for gold watches and gold jewelry by sending it through the mail? My next thought was how do people using Cash4Gold get a good deal? As someone who makes a living from an ad supported publication, I pay a great deal of attention to advertising in all mediums, much to the annoyance of my wife and her preference to skip commercials.
It seems likely the timing of the commercials is due to the lousy state of the U.S. economy, but I can also see scenarios where you might simply want to sell your gold jewelry without the hassle of taking it to a pawn shop or trying your hand at an ebay jewelry auction. Maybe you're a guy who bought some jewelry for a girlfriend and she gave it back when you broke up - it's not like you can just pass it on to the next girl you meet. I've used a similar service, cellforcash.com, to get some money for old cell phones. I didn't get the same price for my cell phones I'd have gotten if I sold my cell phones on ebay, but I also didn't have the hassle of dealing with managing the auction, shipping the phone, and then waiting to see if the person on the other end was actually happy with it. Cash4Gold seems like the same convenience for gold items, with a similar trade off cash for convenience.
How do you maximize your return when selling your cash for gold?
The best way to maximize your return with Cash4Gold.com is to read the fine print. When you send in jewelry, their terms and conditions state:
"Except for small diamonds, prices for Jewelry are based solely on the weight of your Jewelry and karat grade contained in your Jewelry, not on its potential value if resold intact."
What that means to me is if you have precious stones in a jewelry piece, you don't get paid for them by Cash4Gold, so you either need to accept that or find another way to sell your jewelry. They recommend theestatebuyer.com as an alternative for fine jewelry with precious stones, however, Cash4Gold doesn't forward your stuff, you have to send it to the right place. Knowing where to sell your stuff makes all the difference in getting the best price.
Another thing to keep in mind is by sending in your jewelry, you are agreeing to sell it for whatever price Cash4Gold determines. In some cases, you might be better off to have them assess your gold before you commit to selling. To do this, according to their terms and conditions, you have to request the quote in writing or by phone at the time you send in your gold. You also have 12 days to send the check back and request your jewelry back, but it seems more proactive to get a quote before you have them send a check rather than jumping through hoops if you change your mind.