Getting cash for gold is a cinch especially if you are located near a big city, all you have to do is go to a pawn broker (not advisable) or a gold merchant and give them your gold at which point they would calculate the actual content of gold before paying you.
At the mere mention of cash for gold, most people would immediately imagine jewellery when in fact old gold could come from a variety of sources such as plaques, trinkets, brooches, electronic equipment or even mobile devices that reportedly contains a dollar worth of gold. The most important aspect of selling old gold is not only about finding a gold merchant who is transparent and efficient, but also honest. This is due to the fact that the industry is saturated with traders that try to maximise profits by laying hidden costs that would eventually amount to a loss for those selling gold for cash.
However, the good news is that there are merchants who look beyond short term profits and these traders typically come out clean as to what the sellers will be getting paid in the end. In Australia for instance most gold traders located in big cities offer relatively good prices for old gold and they usually offer a fixed price on the gold based on a payment system that factors in weight of the item and the karat.
They have a standard payment scheme that is not too far off the mark, this being said, one other option that people who possess old gold could opt to test out are online venues that buy and sell gold. These business entities actually offer higher rates due to the lower cost of their operations in comparison to brick and mortar stores that carry higher overheads.
These entities do not have salaries or rent to pay, thus their margins are relatively higher than that of brick and mortar stores which afford them to pay customers higher. Most of these online buyers are typically associated with refiners and therefore extracting gold from jewellery would be considered an economy of scale, making it cheaper for them to process and extract gold.
However the problem with online transactions is that you will have to mail them the gold through a postal system and after they receive it an evaluation would be done and an offer will be made, if at all the seller chooses not to accept the offer then the item is returned to the sender. This transaction therefore runs a risk, but sellers are usually advised to take on insurance for the packages which would cost the seller a small premium.
In any case, the best approach to selling gold and obtaining cash for gold is to do some homework, browse the internet for gold merchants who are located near your area, check their backgrounds, their addresses, how long they have been operating etcetera, also check the prices of gold, make sure that you are not selling at bottom market prices.
Gold is usually considered a safe investment for the long term and therefore you might want to consider selling the old gold and buying P.A.M.P gold in small denominations or even buy gold coins such as the American eagle, the African Krugerrand or even the Australian Kangaroo.
These should be considered as long term investments and should be put away for a rainy day. The current low prices of gold will not last forever, they will rise again in the near future and as such it is best to buy gold now and sell gold when the gold prices rebound to about 1,400 per troy ounce.