Where Can a Small Jewelry Business Sell Gold Filings and Scraps?
This question comes up all the time. Small jewelers accumulate gold constantly. Bench sweeps, filings from sizing rings, broken chains customers bring in, scrap from custom work. At some point you've got a decent amount sitting there and you need to figure out what to do with it.
There are plenty of places that'll take gold scrap off your hands. The real question is whether you're getting paid fairly for what's actually there.
Most Jewelers End Up Working with Refiners
Where can a small jewelry business sell gold filings and scraps and actually get a fair price? Most end up with precious metal refiners once they understand how the process works.
Refiners assay your material. They test it to determine actual gold content and purity, then pay based on what's there. Not an estimate. Not a visual guess. Actual analysis with documentation showing weight, purity, all of it.
That difference matters. Gold filings and bench sweeps aren't uniform. You've got 14k mixed with 18k, maybe some 10k in there, possibly some contamination from polishing compounds or other bench materials. Without proper testing, you're trusting someone's guess about what you should be paid. And people's guesses tend to favor the person doing the guessing.
The Local Options
You could walk your scrap into a pawn shop. They'll buy it. But pawn shops aren't set up to properly assay fine gold dust and filings. They're making an offer based on quick assessment and building in a big cushion to cover themselves. Same with most walk-in gold buyers. Convenience costs money.
Some jewelers sell to other local jewelry shops if there's a relationship there. That works fine for small amounts. Just understand you're selling to someone who's turning around and sending it to a refiner themselves. You're paying for that convenience by leaving money on the table.
Bullion dealers are another option. Many pay spot-price-based rates and move quickly. The thing is, most bullion dealers really want coins and larger scrap pieces. Gold filings aren't always what they're interested in dealing with. You might get a fair offer, you might find they're not particularly interested in the hassle of processing fine material.
What About Selling It Yourself Online?
Some jewelers ask about this. You could technically sell gold scrap on eBay or other marketplaces. But it's more trouble than it's worth for most small businesses. You're dealing with buyers who may not understand assaying, handling shipping of valuable material, taking on all the risk if there's a dispute over purity or weight. The time and headache usually outweigh any benefit.
What You Should Look For
When you're deciding where to send your material, you need transparent assaying. Documentation of weight and purity, not vague explanations about "we tested it and here's what we're paying." You should see exactly what you're being paid for.
Pricing needs to reflect current market conditions. Gold prices change daily, sometimes significantly. What gold was worth two weeks ago isn't relevant. You should be paid based on what it's worth when they're actually processing your material.
Understand the terms before you ship anything. Are there minimum quantities? Processing fees? How is weight calculated? What's the timeline for payment? These should all have straightforward answers. If you're getting evasive responses, that tells you something.
And honestly, you want someone who's responsive. When you're shipping valuable material, you shouldn't be chasing people down to find out what's happening with your shipment.
Don't Underestimate What You're Sitting On
Small jewelry businesses generate more valuable scrap than most jewelers realize. Those filings don't look like much. But gold is gold and it adds up fast. The key is capturing it consistently. Good bench practices so you're not literally sweeping money into the trash.
Keeping different karat values separated helps if you can, though most refiners handle mixed lots just fine. The main thing is collecting the material in the first place.
When to sell? Gold prices fluctuate daily and nobody's timing the market perfectly. But accumulating a reasonable quantity before shipping makes more sense than dealing with shipping costs on tiny amounts. There's no magic number. Waiting until you've got a few ounces is smarter than shipping every time you collect half an ounce of filings.
What Makes Sense for Small Jewelry Businesses
That scrap material represents real money. Getting paid fairly for it instead of just taking whatever's convenient makes a difference over time. Most small jewelers who actually compare options end up working with a refiner once they see the return difference.
Specialty Metals Smelters & Refiners works with small jewelry businesses on gold filings, bench sweeps, broken jewelry, and mixed karat scrap. We provide assaying services and market-based pricing for jewelry businesses that want transparency in the refining process. Whether you're sending in accumulated scrap for the first time or looking for a more reliable refining relationship, SMSR handles material from jewelry businesses of all sizes.
