All That’s Gold

The majority of the companies or individuals offering gold parties pay far less than independent jewelers for several reasons. First, they have to pay the hostess 10%. Second, the gold buyer attending the party gets 10%. Third, travel, food and advertising expenses are incurred versus an independent jeweler who has people walking in the door to sell gold. At a minimum, gold parties are at a 20 -25% disadvantage to a brick and mortar jeweler from the very beginning.  Another reason gold party companies pay much less is errors made by their gold buyers. In most cases at every party some items are purchased at gold prices but are not really gold. This is because of lack of training or proper testing equipment in a home.

At Gold Party US, we pride ourselves on exceptional training practices. A gold consultant has a minimum of five parties with a veteran consultant to avoid mistakes. Even with extensive training, mistakes are made, but are minimal and we do not have increase profits by paying less in order to cover these errors.

My Gold Party gold consultants pay approximately $650 for a training manual and testing equipment and are sent out with no formal training whatsoever. Can you image reading a thin manual on how to buy gold with no hands-on training? This is their business model which did catapult them as the largest gold party company in the US with approximately 1,000 consultants with very little knowledge buying gold.

Sorting and testing gold is not rocket science. With the proper equipment, tips and hands-on training, our consultants have more knowledge than most employees in jewelry stores.

As we grow we learn. At Gold Party US, we are proud of the fact that if our consultant is not 100% sure of the quality of gold at a home party, the consultant can send the item to our home office where a host of laboratory equipment is used to verify the content. There is no cost to the consumer and it is a great protection for both the client and us. Within 24-hours, the client is issued a check for their gold . All thier other gold is paid for on the spot before the party ends.

My Gold Party consultants use their own funds and checkbooks to buy gold. That means 1,000 people are potentially writing NSF checks. In our three year history of gold parties, not one check has ever bounced — not one! We are diligent in getting all of our consultants to stay in daily contact when parties are booked and completed to be sure not one check is missed or overlooked. Our checks are also backed by a line of credit with Bank of America.

At Gold Party US, we have strict guidelines on how much is to be paid for gold. It varies daily and mirrors the gold market established on the daily New York Spot Price. There is a standard we set and our consultants do not have the option to pay less to earn more like the My Gold Party consultants have. Since they are using their personal money, most pay far less to earn more than the traditional 10% which has be a standard we set from the beginning.  Some of our gold consultants have earned over $1,000 per night at the 10% rate. Most parties though are in the $2,000 – $3,000 range giving the consultant $200 – $300. If the party has more than one consultant (which we highly encourage), the ten percent is split between them. There have been gold parties which only generate a couple hundred dollars. Unfortunately our consultants may only earn $20 – $30 that night with no ability to adjust the rate in order to make up the difference.

At gold parties hosted by www.goldpartyus.com, we have trained our consultants with acid and several other tests versus the electronic testers some companies rely on. When we started out, we used these electronic testers, but there were too many false readings and the machines did not last long. Our tests take more time, but it is worth the accuracy.

Everywhere you turn, people are buying gold. TV , radio, pawnshops, jewelers, hotel rooms, check cashing stores, malls etc… It is an unregulated industry which grew out of gold prices soaring as the economy was crashing. It is truly unfortunate some take advantage of others in these tough times.

Some pay per pennyweight, others per gram. All claim they pay the most (how is that possible?). There are few that advertise a high price per gram only to find out they adjusted their scales or claim the gold has less quality than it truly is therefore lower their advertised rate.

The bottom line is this: If you have gold, shop around! Don’t believe those advertising claims; you have to feel comfortable and confident about the person making you an offer whether you are at a gold party or in a store. We pay a good and fair price, Are we always the highest? No we are not. However in most cases we are, but not all. Different regions are more competitive than others.  At a Gold Party US gold party, you will get a good offer and straight forward advice, no gimmicks or games.

I wish “Inside Edition” would have targeted our company, Gold Party US, as they would have been treated to a professional, knowledgeable and friendly staff that would have made a much higher competitive offer without the claim some gold was under-karated to pay less. We only have 40 gold consultants around the country, but these 40 have more expertise than our competitors 1,000 combined. “Inside Edition” was looking for a negative story and found one. On second thought, perhaps our company would not have been newsworthy to them as we run a very tight ship and are honest with our customers.

Every industry has “bad apples.” It’s up to the consumer and host of the gold party to try to find a good company with credentials and a history of offering a great service. At www.goldpartyus.com and Coughlin Jewelers, our brick and mortar store in St. Clair, Michigan, we provide a profitable party for all concerned.

Patrick Coughlin
President, Coughlin Jewelers
www.goldpartyus.com