All That’s Gold

While having a gold party is a simple, straightforward, and fun way to make money, it’s still a relatively new home party concept. So if you’re new to the process, just how do you make the most of your party? Read on to discover our six steps to gold party success!

1.      To Get it Right: Over Invite

Remember that even in the best possible weather conditions or on days when your friends and family are normally available, somehow, someway, a regret call or two will come in on party day. That’s why All That’s Gold encourages hosts and hostesses to over invite guests. How many guests should you invite? That’s up you to your preferences and venue. But according to our research, although some of the most financially successful parties have included only a few people, it’s often more lucrative to shoot for 10-20 guests or more. Here, the old phrase “the more the merrier” couldn’t be more applicable. After all, the more people to sell gold at your party the more you stand to earn. So to galvanize your earning power, pad your guest list with a few extra names to even out any last minute regrets.

2.     Turn it Up

Gold buyers will take the gold buying seriously – but there’s no need for a strict, studious tone in your home or party venue. Put the party in gold party by turning on your favorite tunes. From time to time, when the buyers are deeply involved in their work and your guests are just as engaged, the silence can become noticeably loud. That bit of background music, whether it’s Mozart or Mariah  will lend that extra something to put your guests at ease while they await their consultation.

3.     Let Them Know They Can Come and Go

We’re all so busy today. As much as we want to be there in support of our friends and family, sometimes penciling in a chunk of time for a purse or makeup party is a real sacrifice. But a gold party is different. There is no scheduled series of events and your guests do not have to stay from start to finish. For the busy soccer mom that can pop in after work but needs to leave promptly to pick up the boys and drop off the girls, a consultation can be a quick, in-and-out session. Assure your guest that she may be the first (or taken care of as soon as she arrives) and that you will make arrangements with the gold buyers to expedite her session.

4.     Snack Up

Everybody likes goodies! Dish up your favorite snacks throughout your party rooms or venue to keep waiting guests munching and mingling. What to serve? That depends upon your time and tastes. Hosts and hostesses have served up spreads as simple as chips and cookies to fancy cheeses, quiche, dessert truffles, and wine. Now, while you want to treat your guests to the best, times are tight and by having a party, you’re trying to make money, not to break the bank on a buffet. Some companies, such as Gold Party US,  will give you a snack bonus to offset the party treats.

5.     Have a Twosome or Threesome

Two or three events at your party, that is! While it’s not essential to your party’s success, some hosts and hostesses have enjoyed the fun (and added cash) of blending parties. For example, in addition inviting to gold buyers, one hostess had her sister set up her popular candle line while another guest set up a table of famous-name makeup. What makes it work? First, it occupies your guests. While participants await their gold session, they’re busy at other tables. Second, given more choices, more guests are apt to attend. Granted, blended parties can get complicated and the hostess may never have a moment to sit down to sell her own gold until long after all the guests have headed home. But it can be a blast, too.

6.   Encourage Community but Ensure Privacy

Part of the fun of a gold party rests in wacky tales, sentimental journeys, and the grand total given to the guest seated before that heap of gold. Often, crowds will develop around the gold buying tables laughing, asking questions, and enjoying the experience. But on occasion, you may encounter a guest that finds the huddle distressing. They may wish to sell an item given to them by someone present at the party. They may want to keep their payment private. And candidly, some guests, embarrassed by what little they think they have, may decide not to attend party.

Reassure these guests that their privacy and dignity will be held in esteem by making special arrangements. For example, you might ask that guest to arrive early (or stay late) for a private session with a gold buyer. Some hosts and hostesses keep the entire event private by setting the gold buyers up in one room and holding the party in another. Remind your guests that they don’t need to own the gold of great rulers and kings – even a single ring or necklace is worth their time and your effort.

These are just a few of our favorite tricks of the trade. What’s made your gold party a success? All That’s Gold welcomes your input, ideas, and tips!

Something as simple as googling “Gold Party” can be a scary thing nowadays. The words scam, fraud, and cheating are tossed around like so many pixels without consideration as to what this actually means.

And then there’s you:

You’ve got some gold, or maybe you want to host a party, but with everyone tearing down everyone else, you’re not sure where to start.

“So-and-so is paying in grams! They’re obviously trying to cheat you!”
“Company X is offering bonuses for taking store credit! They’re a big scam!”
“This place has rigged scales! They’re giving you pennyweight payments for gram readings! That’s fraud!”

Even a seasoned gold expert wouldn’t blame you for running away in fear or tearing your hair out. What these people may not understand, or don’t care about is that gold-buying is a business. As a business, people are expecting to make a profit from buying your gold from you and either using it themselves, or more commonly selling it to a refiner.

How much profit is entirely dependent on the gold-buying operation. They also have to use that money to cover the hostess bonuses, referral bonuses, pay for equipment and travel, and refiner fees among other things. The ones that are attached to other businesses such as jewelry stores and pawn shops may be able to give you a bit more by using the overhead from their brick-and-mortar businesses to pay for the equipment and fees instead. On the other hand, some may take even more out of your value to pay for struggling stores during this economy crisis.

But there is a light at the end of the long, dark tunnel. If you make sure that whatever company that you use is licensed to deal in precious metals, you can be assured that there is a strict set of rules that they are required to follow. Scales have to be calibrated and inspected, and fraud is not likely to happen if a real business is at stake.

It’s always a good idea to ask your gold party representative if they are licensed, bonded and insured to be sure that you know exactly where your gold is going and how it will be handled. Everyone can claim to be a gold buyer, but as such they need to understand that there are taxes, laws, and ordinances that they need to pay attention to in every location that a party is held. Some cities require all gold that is purchased to be logged and reported within 24 hours of the party.

Some people take out all stones or deduct the “weight” of the stones from the gold before they buy it. This is tricky as many of the smaller gemstones barely register on the scales and shouldn’t be deducted at all. Gold Party US weighs the gold with the stones and pays the whole amount. If you wouldn’t like to keep the stones, they can always use them in other jewelry or feature them in the aquarium at the brick-and-mortar store. If you would like to keep them, they take them out at the party after weighing or they remove them at the store and mail them back to you via USPS Registered Mail.

Before anything else happens, shop around. Talk with actual gold party consultants. Find out their process. If they aren’t open and honest with you, thank them for their time and look elsewhere. Just don’t ever expect anyone to tell you what they’re paying versus spot price. Even though gold buying is a business, not many people will openly declare “oh, we only pay 30-40% of what the gold is actually worth” even though that’s what the low-end (and possibly fraudulent) gold buyer pays. Think about it, 10% goes to the hostess, probably 10% goes to the consultant, 5% to the referral, equipment, gas, overhead…. At most, any gold buyer can probably only pay 60-70% of the gold value.

What makes this even scarier is that many jewelry stores and pawn shops offer the same prices at gold parties that they do in their stores, even though there is no consultant bonus, hostess bonus, or travel expenses- mainly just equipment. If you sell to a jewelry store or pawn shop that also offers gold parties, ask them if their rate is the same for both. You should expect to get more in the store.

Here at All That’s Gold, we don’t expect to make friends with the people that are doing bad business for their gold parties. We hope to educate gold sellers so that they know what to expect in any situation that they may part with their gold jewelry. If you have any questions about gold, gold parties, selling your gold, or anything along those lines, please feel free to drop us a comment or an email. You can also learn a lot more at the Gold Party US website.

…that’s a good question.

You’ve been thinking about selling it.

It has been coiled up in the back of your jewelry box for years: that old, kinked, gold chain that gathers more dust than it does compliments. Maybe you’ve considered having the knots removed and the clasp fixed. But even then, you wonder if you’ll ever wear it again, because frankly, many seasons (and maybe a few Presidents) have come and gone since the last time you wore the necklace. Still, it’s gold… Isn’t that a good enough reason to hold on to it?

Well, that depends.

Is the piece sentimental? Any thoughtful gold buyer will pause a moment and suggest that you reconsider letting go of jewelry that you’re not physically “letting go of” at the time of sale. For instance, if you arrive at the gold party wearing the ring, tell a misty-eyed tale of the day grandpa gave you the teddy bear charm that’s still in your clutch, or pull the locket away when your gold buyer is ready to examine it, you may have something there that is too special to sell. Perhaps what you have is a personal keepsake or an heirloom. In that case, the answer to the question is typically “not to sell.”

But if you are holding on to outdated, unloved jewelry simply because it was an expensive gift, a one-time status symbol, or because you think it’s more valuable retained than traded in for cash, please consider this: How valuable is an out-of-style, broken necklace (or unwanted gift from ex, that single earring, your unworn school ring…) if it’s tucked away, dusty, and forgotten? Just what is that gold doing for you today?

Of course it may be said that the style will return and you’ll fish out that necklace to wear once again. Trends tend to repeat and some of us save outmoded styles with the hopes that they’ll garner en vogue status once more. There’s no denying that currently, we’re in the midst of an early ’80s style revival. But how many of us kept – and are now wearing – those same legwarmers or skinny ties we rocked in 1982? Even when a style returns, it’s often a good thing to treat ourselves to its updated version. The same is true with gold jewelry.

One necklace type (withheld to respect those that still enjoy it) is among the most frequently presented gold items traded for cash today. The culprit, popular in the ’70s, easily kinks, sometimes catches on hair or a fuzzy sweater, and invariably winds up doing more time in a jewelry box than it does on the neck. Yet as gold sellers gaze upon these items, they often utter the same words… “I wonder if I’ll want to wear it again.”

In response to that, here’s another good question: “When was the last time you wore it?”

Unyieldingly, the twisted, kinked up chain is relinquished on the spot as the seller continues counting backward over the decades and recognizing that if it hasn’t been worn in five, ten, twenty-years or more, it’s not likely to be worn again anytime soon. In tandem, the gold seller realizes that the value no longer rests in what SHE might do with the gold someday, but what the GOLD can do for her today.

That gold can pay bills. It can help with a car payment, put groceries in the cupboard, or go toward her son’s soccer tournament. Or, she can choose to replace that outmoded look for a spectacularly fresh, new necklace that she can appreciate every day. Imagine what your unloved gold can do for you.

By selling your old and unwanted gold during these tough times, you’ll make your gold work for you today. And the extra bonus is that by cleaning out your jewelry or trinket box, you’ll make more room for new things in your life – and room for those special keepsakes, too!

Now that’s value, without question.

Whether it’s in a store, jewelry kiosk in the mall, gold party, or a shady-looking stall at the local flea market, you should never let your guard down when it comes to selling your gold. If someone is offering to buy it, they may have ulterior motives.

If you follow these tips, you are far more likely to have a safe transaction that benefits both you and your gold buyer:

-First, be aware of what you have in your hands.
You may offer 3 rings, 2 bracelets, a gob of balled-up necklaces and 4 mis-matched earrings for an estimate and only get back 2 rings, 1 bracelet, a smaller gob of necklaces, and 2 mis-matched earrings after you decline the quote you were given. The person buying your gold should never have to take it out of your sight.  Gold-evaluating equipment has become so small that you could fit it all into a small purse. Unless there are large diamonds, stones, or strange metals that aren’t gold, your gold buyer should keep it in plain sight at all times. If there ARE large diamonds or other stones in the gold you’re offering up for sale, make sure you only take those to a trusted jeweler.

-Second, weigh in.
Find out if your gold buyer is offering in pennyweights (dwt) or grams. Then make sure to see the gold scale to be certain the scale itself is zeroed out and on the right weight measurement. You should see a little dwt or gm on the screen. Some gold buyers claim that anyone offering pennyweights is trying to cheat you. This is NOT so! A pennyweight is about 1.555 grams. To best evaluate your offer, if it is in grams, multiply by 1.555, if in pennyweights, divide. How close two different-weight offers are to each other is VERY telling.  One buyer may be offering $7.50 for a gram of 14kt gold, and another may be offering $13.00 for a pennyweight of the same. Which is better? 7.5 x 1.555 is about $11.66, so the pennyweight would be the better offer.

-Shop around, but shop smart!
If you get one offer down the street for $500, and another offer a half-hour away for $515, is it really worth it? You have to pay for the gas and waste 40 minutes of your life for $15 extra. Get in-house quotes rather than phone quotes. This is a lot more efficient than trying to weigh and evaluate your own jewelry. Leave that to the professionals. They are trained to find out if your necklace is pure gold, gold-filled, gold-plated, or faux gold. You may think that huge herringbone necklace is pure 18kt, but it just might actually be 10kt gold-filled. It’s better to get quotes in person. That way you can see if each buyer can identify the same “fakes” or if any will even go to the extra effort to use a gold tester on any “unknowns”.  This brings us to

-Get the right prices.
Rather than ask “what are you paying for 2 grams of 10kt gold”, you should ask “What’s your spot price on gold and do you pay in pennyweights or grams?” If you can get it out of them, feel free to find out their rate for particular karats (ie $7.00 for a gram of 14kt), but don’t be discouraged if some places will not give out that kind of information over the phone. Trade secrets are called “secrets” for a reason. If they won’t give you a rate quote over the phone, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re paying the least, usually the opposite, in fact. So many people are buying gold right now that they are always trying to top each other, and that includes secretly shopping the competition.

-Don’t expect retail.
Buying gold is a business. And as such, gold buyers are trying to make a profit, small as it may be. Not to mention that gold buying is for purposes of scrap. You may have an appraisal of that men’s wedding band, but it will be highly unlikely that you will be offered that much. Retail and appraisal prices include labor, design, manufacturer markup, and other added costs. Scrap and spot prices are for gold as it is with no frills, work, or maintenance. They want your gold to sell to a refiner to melt it down to gold pellets to make into new gold. Some gold buyers can cut costs (and put more money in YOUR hands) by using the gold for their own purposes. You’ll typically only find this in jewelry stores that offer in-house design and repair. They can melt the gold themselves for their own jewelry and avoid refiner fees.

-Be careful accepting cash!!!
Some gold buyers offer CASH ON THE SPOT at their gold parties. The average gold party (for one company, GoldPartyUS.com) takes in around $3,000 to $5,000 each party, on average, sometimes even more than $10,000! Now think of yourself as a gold buyer, would YOU be comfortable coming into the house of someone you’ve never met with that much cash on you? Gold Party US pays with checks from a national bank chain, and this is probably the safest route. You’ll still get your money (I doubt a national bank chain would fail to pay you), but you also get the safety of knowing that there is a paper trail to prove that you legally sold your gold to a reliable source. Cash payments can be shifty, meaning that the gold is bought for purposes other than legal business, and cash payments can sometimes mean that your gold buyer is trying to dodge the taxes on that income by not providing a paper trail.

-Don’t expect anonymity.
Buying gold legally requires buyers to collect specific information from gold sellers in most US states. This may include driver’s license numbers, full names and addresses, even thumb prints! This is for two main reasons: to continue the paper trail to prove that the gold was legally bought and sold by a reliable source, and also to prevent the sale of stolen gold by giving law enforcement means to track any gold sales, should a criminal case arise. Rest assured that most reliable gold buyers will NEVER share your information with anyone but the police, and even then only in the case of a report of stolen gold. If you haven’t done anything wrong, there’s no wrong that will come to you. If a gold buyer does NOT collect this information from you, run far and run fast away from that gold buyer (and you may even want to think about reporting them to the police because a crime may be happening at that very moment!)

Secrecy, fraud, identity theft, misdirection, robbery, lies, cheating……

An underground drug smuggling operation or one of many “companies” offering to buy your gold at the highest price at a gold party?

You might be surprised.

But all is not as bleak on the Gold Party circuit as it sometimes seems. While there is more than a fair share of groups that will lie, cheat, and steal to get you to host one of their famous “Gold Parties”, there are also more than plenty who are honest, fair, and not out to cheat the lay man out of his gold for next to nothing disguised as a great deal.

Keep an eye on this blog at All That’s Gold for more tips, tricks, and ways to keep you and your gold safe, or to part with it at what is truly a fair market price.