Will Pawn Shops Buy Fake Gold?
So this is one of the questions that I see asked all the time, and normally by people who are not sure whether they have real gold or fake gold.
The question of whether or not pawn shops buy fake gold is actually one that is pretty easy to answer.
Overall, pawn shops are not interested in fake gold. They are only going to be interested in items made out of real, solid gold.
The reason for this is that items that are made out of solid gold can be melted down for much more money than any kind of gold plated, or fake gold item.
It’s not that there’s anything wrong with owning something that is gold plated, or fake gold as it is more commonly known. It’s just that it doesn’t have a lot of value.
When a pawn shop buys something or makes a loan on something they are looking at the item’s value, specifically, and not how the item looks on your hand or around your neck.
Because of that, they don’t have much interest in items that are plated or made out of fake gold.
Do pawn shops take fake gold? In rare cases, when the pawn shop plans to sell the item, they might. Typically, however, pawn shops do not like to deal with fake gold items.
Does That Mean No Pawn Shop Will Buy Something That Is Made Out Of Fake Gold
No, that is not at all what I’m saying. In fact, there are pawn shops that will buy gold plated items. It’s just that they are few and far between.
These pawn shops are typically going to be looking at those items to sell in the retail store as being gold plated.
That having been said, if your fake gold jewelry, or gold plated jewelry, is worn and you can see through the plating, they will typically not be very interested in your item.
It’s just the nature of fake gold, or gold plated items, that they wear over time and you can see the metal underneath the plating.
Other Reasons Pawn Shops Stay Away From Fake Gold Items
Above and beyond the item’s low potential resale value, there are other reasons that pawn shops will stay away from fake gold items.
One of the most common reasons is that pawn shops are very cautious about their reputation. They don’t want to be associated with anything that is fake or counterfeit.
Because of that, they are going to be very careful when dealing with these types of items.
They are aware that the general public may view pawn shops in a somewhat suspicious light. The last thing they want to do is be known as the place that sells fake gold as if it were real gold.
That’s why anyone that sells these types of items in their shop will always have them very clearly labeled an identifiable as not being genuine gold.
The Nerd’s Opinion
I wouldn’t depend on a pawn shop to take in your fake, gold jewelry.
More often than not, pawn shops are just going to avoid it like the plague. They almost never want anything to do with something that is made out of fake gold.
They have more than enough real, solid gold items come into their stores on a daily basis that they just don’t need to mess around with these types of items.
Above and beyond their low resale value and the somewhat questionable characteristics of fake gold items, there just isn’t a big reason for pawn shops to regularly deal with these types of items in general.
You just have to understand that pawn shops are interested in items with high potential value, particularly when it comes to jewelry.
Mandy Dormain started working for Pawn Nerd in 2020. Mandy grew up in a small town in northern Tennessee. But moved to New York for university. Before joining Pawn Nerd, Mandy briefly worked as a freelance journalist for several radio stations. She covers politics and economy stories.
