I see a lot of jewelry come through our pawn shop doors. It’s just one of those types of items that virtually everyone knows a pawn shop will take or work with for a short term cash loan or buy outright if that’s what the customer would like to do.
Some people want to just make a loan against their items so that they can come back at a later date to get them. Some people need to get the most money out of the gold possible and in those cases will sell it to make that happen.
However, if you just walk into a pawn shop and hand them your gold hoping for the best, you may be costing yourself some money and no even realize it.
Fortunately there are a few quick things you can do before you arrive at the pawn shop to help make sure that you get the most out of your gold possible.
You would be surprised to see how many people show up with dirty and dingy gold. We aren’t talking about something that has sat in a drawer for awhile… we are talking about earrings with layers of ear wax crusted on them or rings with soap and lotion from the past 10 years caked inside of it.
Not taking care of your jewelry and particularly, not cleaning it before you attempt to sell it creates its own problems.
#1 Clean Around The Karat Marking
When pawning jewelry, it’s important that the pawn shop can inspect it properly.
If lotion and soap is covering the karat mark on your jewelry and the pawn shop employee can’t find it, they may automatically give you the 10 karat price.
They might know it’s gold, but without knowing the exact karat of the gold, they will have to error on the side of caution and pay you less than your gold might have actually been worth if they could have seen the karat stamp.
# 2 Clean Around Any Stones
Be sure your jewelry is clean before you take it into your local pawn shop.
Precious stones are valued based on their physical characteristics, such as color and clarity for instance. If there is ear wax of something else that has built up around your stones and diamonds, they may appear off-color and darker than they really are.
If the stones appear darker or don’t appear as clear as they may normally be then the pawn shop employee will have to assume that they are lower quality stones and may not give you as much as they would have had your diamonds been clean and clear.
# 3 Bring Any Documentation You Have With You
If you happen to have gotten an appraisal on your items in the past, bring them in with your items when you attempt to sell them. The information on the forms can help the pawn shop determine exactly what your diamonds and jewelry is worth.
*TIP* – When you get an appraisal on your jewelry the dollar amount shown on the sheet is not close to what the pawn shop will pay you. Whatever you do, don’t become aggressive with the pawnbroker over the dollar amount listed on your appraisal. That is an appraised insurance value, not the actual value of your gold if it were to be smelted and sold on the open market.
Taking advantage of these three tips can lead to a much more rewarding pawn experience and help you get more for your jewelry than you might have had you just showed up one day with a ring in hand.
If you have any questions or comments just leave them for me in the comment field below.
Thanks so much,
The Head Nerd
