It would appear that dodgy gold buyers aren’t confined to the U.K., with a report in the U.S. looking at how much the “cash for gold” companies offer compared with other buyers:
The cash-for-gold companies paid 11 to 29 percent of the day’s market price for gold; the other venues, about 35 to 70 percent.
It’s no surprise that we’ve experienced similar problems over this side of the pond, as a lot of the companies that have popped up are actually based in the U.S. (with Money4Gold being one example), with much of your gold eventually being sent to the U.S. to be melted down.
Lifehacker suggests using this calculator to get an idea of the value of your gold – remember, when you’re selling gold in this way, it’s done purely on its quality and weight, not on how old it might be or how it looks.
