All That’s Gold

Herringbone chains kinked beyond repair. A flattened, single hoop earring found in a sidewalk crack. Three old neck chains in a permanent knot. Not the prettiest of sights — but put them together and you’ve got something beautiful.

How’s that? Just what makes a heap of twisted, broken, and mangled gold jewelry beautiful?
Its gold resale value, that’s what.

You don’t have to have a jewelry box filled with sparkling, luxurious golden beauties to cash-in on the gold selling and gold party phenomenon. All you need is gold. Broken gold. Twisted gold. Tragically out-of-style gold. Gorgeous or ghastly, it’s all worth its weight in…  you guessed it. Gold.

So don’t you dare deny yourself the fun and profit of a gold party because you’re concerned that all you’ve got is damaged, knotted, useless gold jewelry to sell. Gold doesn’t need to twinkle or clasp to pay off. 

Too often, friends, family, and coworkers shy away from the experience because they think their unwanted gold and silver jewelry just won’t make the cut. Spread the word and let them know that it all adds up and every little bit counts.

So go ahead – gather up those single earrings (we take those, too!), those kinky snake chains, and that broken bracelet that you never liked anyway and give Gold Party US a call. For we believe that every gold piece of jewelry is beautiful… in its own way!

The vampire fangs and Dracula capes have been packed away and the Snickers fun-size bars are gone. Halloween is behind us. As we bid farewell to this year’s jack-o-lanterns, it’s time to cast our eyes upon the upcoming holidays.

Truth is, in this economy, it can be discouraging to think ahead about the extra funds we’ll need for parties, feasts, cards, and gifts. But by looking ahead now, you may be better equipped to make those holiday dreams come true with some extra money made easily with a gold party.

In fact, now is the right time to have your gold party. Gold is up again and schedules aren’t quite as hectic as they will be come the end of November. Parties scheduled in the early and mid part of November don’t often interfere with school plays and office parties, which allows your guests more wiggle room within their agendas.  Most importantly, an early November party will give you enough time to put your party earnings toward the things you need this holiday season:  that Thanksgiving turkey, a guest bed for your visitors, or that special toy for your little one.

Your November gold party will also help your friends, family, and coworkers to earn some dough before rolling out the holiday trimmings and wrappings. Hands down, it’s a great deal for you and your guests, too.

Please contact Gold Party US today to schedule a fun and profitable party and use that old gold and silver toward your holiday hopes and happenings!

It seems lately that everyone and their pet dog are offering to buy your gold or set up a gold party for you. So how do you determine who is trustworthy and who isn’t?

The first question you should be asking is “do you have a precious metals license?”

If the answer you get is “no”, do NOT hang around and wait for the “but”, get out of there. These people are not properly trained and certified to be examining and buying your gold.

Many states are now taking the initiative and passing bills allowing only businesses and people licensed to deal in precious metals to buy gold and hold gold parties, but this doesn’t stop everyone. It’s a difficult area to police, and many shady brokers are slipping through the cracks.

The scams are going deeper than anyone could have thought. Nowadays, even people claiming to be gold REFINERS are offering to buy gold off people, shops and jewelry stores. They will then offer less than the gold is worth to YOUR gold buyer and turn around and sell it to a real refiner and make a profit. It’s flabberghasting how shady the gold buying industry has become.

Now, at least, the government and you can both help to make sure that you are protected. Only sell your gold to a licensed precious metals buyer and don’t hesitate to report to the BBB or even the authorities if you see an operation that you don’t think is legit.

There’s a new bill floating around the Michigan House of Representatives that Gold Party US is very excited about:

2009 House Bill 5448 (Impose “gold party” licensure mandate ) would impose “gem and (precious) metal dealer” licensure mandates on a business or individual who holds an invitation-only “gold party” selling jewelry in a residence.

This would mean that everyone that touches your gold would have to be a representative of a company that is licensed to do so. Not only would it make it easier for gold sellers to breathe easier, but it makes gold buyers happy by ensuring that non-licensed fly-by-night companies cannot come in and scam residents, giving gold parties a bad name.

Hopefully other states that do not already have these mandates will take notice and follow suit. It’s hard enough to be sure you’re getting a good deal at your gold party, at least now you’ll know who you can trust.

Thankfully Gold Party US is fully licensed to deal in precious metals, as well as being insured and bonded. To host a safe and easy gold party in your home, call us at 810.329.6866 or toll free at 877.329.6866.

Now begins that wonderful time of year where parents and organizers scramble to come up with fundraising ideas for their respective charities, teams, organizations, schools, churches, and what-have-you. We’ve all been bombarded with catalogs for wrapping paper, cookies, snacks, pizza kits, flowers, and almost everything under the sun. With the economy in the sink, people are tightening their grips on their purse strings and wallets. Publicly funded organizations are taking a big hit, and it’s showing.

What if there was a fundraising solution that didn’t require anyone to actually buy something? Wait a minute, there is! A Gold Party US Fundraiser is exactly the answer this economy needs for organizations to get some much-needed funding. It’s super easy to set up, expenses are almost nonexistant, and at the end of the night, successful fundraisers can rake in thousands of dollars. How is this possible? We’re glad you asked!

All you need to host a Gold Party US Fundraiser is a location, some tables and chairs, and perhaps a few snacks. Your friendly and professional Gold Party US consultants will do the rest! If you have some funds available, you can always choose a more lavish or themed fundraiser. The only effort you have to put in is invite, invite, invite. The more the merrier at a Gold Party US fundraiser. Tell them to bring their gold, silver, and platinum and one of our expert consultants will evaluate it and make an offer.

One of the best things we’ve found is that people that sell their gold at a Gold Party US Fundraiser often ask for part, or all, of their gold sale money to be given to the organization. It’s a bit of extra selflessness that helps in these hard times. Think about it, on top of the 12% of the party total, your organization will very likely get donations from the sales themselves! There is no way to lose!

If you’d like more information, or you’re ready to book a Gold Party US Fundraiser, call us at 877.329.6866 and we’ll get you started!

Gold is once again at the $1,000 mark, and the news outlets and scam artists are taking notice. Not only are companies like Cash 4 Gold ramping up their marketing to get a piece of the action, but more and more “gold buyers” are hitting the streets in ways we’ve never seen before.

Depending on where you live, you may have even seen people in bright green vests or other eye-catching colors standing on street corners, flashing signs proclaiming that you “SELL YOUR GOLD NOW!” in front of offices with haphazard banners hanging in windows. If you happen in to one of these stores, out of desperation, curiosity, or what-have-you, you’re likely greeted with nothing more than a card table and chairs in the middle of an empty office space. It looks like a set straight out of a horror movie, but the only impending torture is the pitiful amount you get offered for your precious gold.

As gold rises, more and more people are jumping on the bandwagon to buy gold and get a piece of this “cash cow”. It seems like a simple enough scam. Pay pennies on the dollar to someone for their heirlooms and treasures, then turn around and sell it at an incredible profit to a gold refiner. In truth, it is much more difficult than these people can even imagine to be safe, reputable, and fair.

Many refiners don’t take objects that are gold-plated, gold-filled or costume. Even now places in other countries are tricking the system by stamping their fakes to look real. Some even pass the most stringent tests, but aren’t gold at all. So if a gold scammer paid $100 for a fake necklace, he’s out of luck. It’s only a slight taste of justice for those who have been scammed.

Not only that, but if you’re truly a fair gold buyer, you probably aren’t making much, if any, profit. That’s why it’s usually safer to sell your gold to a jeweler than a company that does nothing but buy gold. Jewelers can not only re-use the gold they buy from you, but they also have another source of income that can help keep costs low, and help pass the savings on to you, the gold seller.

It may be easier to think of gold as a reverse sale. In typical product sales, a product goes from a manufacturer who sells it to a distributor, the distributor (or wholesaler), in turn sells it to a retail store, making a profit in the process (otherwise the distributor would be out of business, right), and then the retail store sells the product to you, also making a profit. So let’s say  a manufacturer makes a box of 100 pens and sells it to the distributor for $1. The distributor then sells that same box to a retailer for $2, making $1 profit on every sale. The retailer then sells that box of pens to you for $3, making also $1 profit.

A typical gold transaction goes the reverse. A retailer (gold buying representative) buys the gold from you for $2, even though it’s actually worth $3. We usually skip the distributor step unless the gold buyer works for a bigger company. The gold buyer then sells your gold to the manufacturer (refiner) for the full value of $3, keeping the $1 profit from buying it for $2.

A scam company would likely do something more like give you $100 for $500 worth of gold, then sell it and make $400 profit, giving you only 20% of the true value of your gold. It makes you angry just to think about something like that happening, doesn’t it? Which is why we can’t stress enough that you should thoroughly research the company you want to sell your gold to. Ask for referrals, watch the entire gold-buying process, ask lots of questions, and if you still don’t feel comfortable, walk away and take your gold with you.

As always, ask questions, leave comments. We’re happy to respond to your inquiries.

More and more every day the expert gold-buying consultants for Gold Party US are hearing the same story: “I didn’t think I’d get any better offers than [competitor], so I just sold it to them.” When they find out that we pay on average a third more than most of our competitors, they’re floored.

How do we do it? It’s actually quite simple. We keep our overhead costs down, and we’re not greedy, so we pass the savings on to you

We’re constantly surprised to hear how much our competitors are paying. Very rarely are we pleased to find out that someone has gotten a better deal than our offer. Most frequently it’s that someone was offered a pittance for a fortune’s worth of gold.

That’s why we encourage all of our potential gold-sellers (that’s you!) to shop around to get the best price. Remember, it’s YOUR gold until you sign the paper officially making it someone else’s. You don’t have to take any offer you don’t like. Nor should you ever accept the first offer if you have more than just a couple odds and ends. Remember you can always go back later and sell to the offer you liked the best. The same goes for the Cash 4 Gold ads you see on tv, but you have to be quick about calling and sending the check back to get your gold back.  Always check what you receive back to make sure everything that you presented initially is there.

This doesn’t go for just in-store gold sales either. The same goes for  gold parties. Especially as someone hosting a gold party, you want to make sure your guests are going to get the best deal. It benefits you if they do! While you probably can’t get a direct quote over the phone, you can still ask for references to check and make sure others who have hosted or attended a gold party are fully satisfied.

Even if you attend one of our Gold Parties, you can still hold off on selling your gold if you’re not comfortable. Just get it to your party host within a week  and she can send it to her party consultant and get credit for the sale. Just remember that the price of gold fluctuates daily, so you may not get exactly the same offer for your gold that you did that day. With any luck, you’ll get more!

An informed gold seller is the best kind, so if you have any questions, no matter how simple or stupid you think they may be, we’re always willing to talk with anyone looking to find out more information.  Feel free to call or email us at any time!

As part of our repertoire, Gold Party US frequently shops our competition to make sure we stay at the top of the price range.

Recently, a few of our secret shoppers went on the hunt again, and what they found would make you sick.

A national jewelry store chain, which shall remain nameless, with a few dozen locations throughout the US proudly exclaims on their website what price they will pay per dwt (pennyweight) of 14kt gold every day. Our secret shoppers went in to make sure they were true to their word and left with $3 less per dwt than the website claims!  They claimed to pay over $15 per pennyweight, but they only paid $12.50!

Apparently this store thought that nobody would think to double-check their math. We did, and we were astounded that any company would blatantly lie like this.

And this one store was not the only culprit. Several other stores and “party companies” did the same thing, quoting one price but actually paying another, much lower, rate.

At Gold Party US and Coughlin Jewelers, we welcome all questions and have no problem showing you every step of our gold buying process, including our prices.  While we often cannot give quotes on the phone, we will gladly sit down with you and your gold and show you exactly how an honest company operates.

Please do not hesitate to question those that you sell your gold to. If you ever feel pressured, you can get up and leave. Remember, it’s YOUR gold and you don’t have to part with it if you don’t want to or if you feel uncomfortable. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or comments you may have.

Your high school class ring, Great Aunt Harriet’s engagement ring or your first “real” piece of Jewelry.  In our daily travels we get many of these pieces presented to us. 

The first question to ask yourself is .. Do I really want it or is it a piece given to me and I will never wear it or pass it down.   In any event please do not feel any pressure when selling your old gold.  An informed and confident customer makes our job much easier. 

When the offer is made, take a second and consider what you are selling.  It is YOUR gold.  If there is a piece that you are not 100% positive on selling, take it back…We do not want you to have sellers remorse 2 or 5 days later! 

So have some fun, sell some of the old, outdated and UGLY jewelry you have collected over the years…but remember.. until you agree to sell it it is YOURS..

A recent conversation had in the produce section of a local, West Michigan grocery store reflects a concept commonly misunderstood in the realm of gold buying and selling: the power of weight and quality over brand and beauty.  

As a few customers crowded around a great display of fresh corn-on-the-cob, one woman commented on another’s lovely gold bracelet. “I had one like that a while back,” she lamented, “until I twisted the heck out of it!” Her comment led to a word or two about selling gold and how another woman felt her jewelry had been unfairly judged. A representative from Gold Party US had stopped to pick up a few ears of her own and heard the complaint. She asked the woman to explain her experience. 

“My husband took in our junk gold to sell,” she said, “and that included an expensive birthstone ring he’d bought me – it was still in the designer box.” While peeling husks, the disappointed seller explained that she’d never really liked the ring’s style, but she knew that her husband had spent a lot of money on it and had selected the ring based on its popular brand name. “For twenty years,” she reported, “I didn’t have the heart to tell him that I didn’t like it. But he knew, because I rarely wore it.” Consequently, the couple decided to include the ring with the junk items for sale.

“We were happy with the amounts we got for the broken chains and my mother’s single earrings,” she said, “but I expected more for the ring.” She went on to say that with the fashionable brand name, light wear, original box, and pretty gemstones, she thought the ring had to be worth more than the price offered. “My husband kept the ring because they were interested in the gold alone,” she grieved. The gold buyer asked if they’d been offered the gemstones back if they’d agreed to the sale. “Sure,” she said, “but wouldn’t it have been worth more to buy the ring in tact?”

The lady in the produce section was not the first to have asked such a question. In fact, such may be one of the most misunderstood concepts in the realm of gold selling today.

The Gold Party US buyer understood the woman’s concern. From the standpoint of today’s jeweler, she politely explained the difference between retail value and refinement value. She assured the seller that the gold buying goal rests not in retail and resale appraisals but rather in the weight and quality (14kt, 18kt, etc.,) of the gold for refinement purposes. The seller nodded. She got it. She recognized that the jeweler hadn’t meant to insult or minimize the ring’s original value – he simply wished to buy the gold. The ladies parted with smiles and many ears of golden corn.

Hands down, it is vital for sellers to recognize that personal gold items presented for purchase at jewelry stores and at gold parties are not judged in the same way they might be when displayed within a glass showcase. Toward a recycling and refinement objective, buyers understandably cannot base their prices with regard to their craftsmanship, design, wear, or brand name.  

At gold parties and on jewelry counters alike, as professional gold buyers pay cash for your old and unwanted items, they do so by treating each piece equally, whether it’s gaudy or gorgeous, all the rage or just plain outrageous. And frankly, that’s a really good thing because the majority of the gold jewelry submitted for sale doesn’t dazzle and some of those old styles can be a bit, uh, corny!

If you’ve got gold to sell and you like working with honest, everyday folks that will take the time to explain the process to you (even in the produce section!) please seek out a professional and personable  gold party company like Gold Party US.