Should You Be Looking for Gold Refineries that Buy from the Public?
The question that we used for the headline of today’s post – “Should You Be Looking for Gold Refineries that Buy from the Public?” – is an interesting one to consider.
It is interesting because, in fact, you should not be looking for a gold refinery that buys your scrap, for a very simple reason . . .
If you sell unrefined scrap, you are generally giving away some of its value.
A Story that Illustrates the Point
A man – let’s call him Paul for the purposes of this story – goes into a jewelry manufacturer that is going out of business. He buys up a mixed lot of silver and gold scrap, including unused silver soldering supplies and scrap, a bunch of “bits and pieces” of gold-plated chains, and even some soldering flux that contained silver powder. He paid $50.00 for all that material.
Paul then sold all his stuff to a precious metals refinery for $75.00 and thought he had done pretty well. Hey, at least he had made a profit, right? So he “walked away whistling” and reinvested his money in more precious metal scrap.
So, what did our friend Paul do wrong? The fact is, he would have done much better if he had not sold his scrap for one price as a lot, but if he had continued to own it all until it was recycled by a precious metals refinery like Specialty Metals Smelters and Refiners. We would have tested his scrap for him, told him its market value of the gold and silver it contained, then refined his scrap and bought those metals from him for their full market price.
How much would that have been? Unfortunately, we do not know exactly, because we were not part of Paul’s deal and we did not test his batch of scrap. But we would not be surprised if we might have been able to pay Paul more than $100 for what he had – and perhaps a good deal more.
The Difference Is . . .
If you’re in a hurry and you sell precious metal scrap to a refinery, they will pay you a low price, recover the precious metals it contained, and then make more money by selling those metals at market prices.
Our question to you is, shouldn’t you, and not someone else, recoup the full value of the scrap you own?
And by the Way . . .
Paul’s story illustrates why we are so bullish on investing in scrap instead of bullion and coins. Why are we bullish? It’s because if you buy scrap. it is often possible to buy precious metals for a price that is a fraction of their value on the trading floor.
If you buy a gold coin for $200, for example, it will contain almost exactly $200 worth of gold. But it is often possible to pay $200 for a batch of used thermocouples or bench sweepings from a jewelry factory (just two examples), have us test it for you, and then learn that your scrap is worth considerably more than you paid for it. Your $200 batch of scrap could be worth $250, $400, or even more.
Want to know why we are a better choice than a gold refinery that will make you a casual, unverified offer to buy the scrap you own? Then call us at 800-426-2344 so we can explain.