Pawn Shops Around the World are Thriving

For some reason I never think thought that there are as many pawn shops in the US as there are elsewhere around the world. Well, apparently I’m wrong because today there was a good article published in the USA Today quoting pawn shop owners from Mexico, China, Austrialia and South Korea.
They’re all saying the same thing! Which is basically that business is booming and people are hurting. Its a global economic downturn.

New Social Network for Millionaires

Affluence.org claims to be a new social network like facebook, but for millionaires with a net worth of 3mm or over. The site checks from “a variety of sources” to see whether you can become a member.

According to the website…”Membership to Affluence.org is completely free but requires a demonstrable minimum household net worth of $3 million US; or a minimum annual household income of $300,000; or successful invitation of 5 other people that qualify for membership.”

Great idea, maybe another if you want to sell gold jewelry for cash.

Gold hits $900 an ounce in January

Gold hit $900 last week.  Pawn shops around the country are rejoicing as hundreds of people flood their stores to sell their gold.

How to Calculate the Value of Scrap Gold

If you have any scrap gold, you can sell it, but for how much? Gold prices tend to rise along with worries of war or inflation but before you bring sell gold jewelry, dental fillings, teeth, nuggets, and bars to a scrap gold dealer’s counter (or send it off by mail) you should know exactly what it’s worth. Most scrap gold dealers keep the calculation a secret. Here is their formula.

Steps

1. Separate your scrap gold into their various karat fineness (i.e. 10k, 14k or 18k). You may need a magnifying glass to see the number inscribed on the piece. If not, you may need to have the gold tested by a reputable dealer. There’s also the possibility that some of the gold is actually just gold-plated, which a dealer would determine with certainty by using a chemical test. If you’re uncertain, read up on How to Tell if Gold Is Real.

 

• If you have any gold coins, they may have a numismatic (coin) value above their metal value, based on age, rarity, and condition. Take it to a coin dealer; you may be able to get more money that way.

Determine the gram weight of each group by using a gram scale. If you can only weigh by the ounce, convert to grams by multiplying by 28.35 (e.g. 2 oz. = 2 x 28.35 = 56.7 grams).

Determine today’s price of gold. You can find this on the Internet, or in your local newspaper. Fine gold as of this writing is about $900.00 per troy ounce. (A troy ounce equals 31.1 grams. This never changes.) The price of gold fluctuates according to supply and demand.

Divide today’s gold price by 31.1 to get today’s gold price per gram.

Multiply by the fineness of the gold. For each group of gold, divide the karat by 24, then multiply that number by today’s gold price per gram. For example, if you have 10KT gold and the current price of gold is $28.94 per gram ($900.00 / 31.1), then the price of your scrap gold is $28.94 x .4167 = $12.06 per gram.

• 10KT = 10/24 = .4167
• 14KT = 14/24 = .5833
• 18KT = 18/24 = .750

Multiply the price per gram by the weight in grams. If you have 10 grams of 10KT gold and you calculated the price at $12.06 per gram, then your scrap gold is worth 10 x $12.06 = $120.59.

Examples

• If you have 5.0 grams of 14KT scrap and gold is $900.00 today, then $900.00 divided by 31.1 equals $28.9389 multiplied by .5833 (14KT) equals $16.88 per gram. $16.88 multiplied by 5.0 grams equals $84.40.
• Now let’s say you have 15.3 grams of 10KT gold scrap. $900 divided by 31.1 equals $28.9389 multiplied by .4167 (10KT) equals $12.06 per gram. $12.06 multiplied by 15.3 grams equals $184.52.

Tips

• Scrap gold dealers will likely buy the gold from you at about 10 to 20 percent less than what it’s actually worth since they must process it and still turn a profit from reselling it.
• If you suspect there are any other precious metals mixed with the gold (such as platinum and palladium in gold fillings), it would be wise to calculate their value as well and sell accordingly.
• Most people use grams for these calculation but some gold buyers use pennyweight (DWT) instead of grams. There are 20 pennyweights in a troy ounce. You can substitute 20 for 31.1 to calculate pennyweight in our formula. You can also multiply a pennyweight by 1.555 to get an equivalent gram weight or divide a gram weight by the same 1.555 to get pennyweight.

Kid Sells Jewelry To Help Turtles at Local Aquarium

Here’s one for the holidays – Injured sea turtles at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium are getting help from an 11-year-old.

Connor Krajnik, loves turtles and has been raising money for their benefit by selling jewelry online made out of fossilized shark teeth.

It took him a while, but in 3 years this kid raised $1,000 and then donated it to the aquarium. Do you know how many legos $1,000 would buy? And Connor donated everything.

Kudos to Connor for caring so much about Turtles

DJs Around the US Forced to Sell Gold Teeth for Cash

Add the DJ business to the long list of unemployement sectors that have been hard hit in the economic slowdown.

DJ Anthony Ghosh, aka DJ Talent, has been forced to sell gold teeth, and he sure does have a lot of them. To quote the scratch master himself “It’s a big decision getting rid of my teeth and could actually cost me my career, as I don’t know if I’ll be noticed with white teeth.”

Good luck DJ!

When to get rid of your scrap gold?

Most of us have some old jewelry or scrap gold laying around in our jewelry boxes or drawers. Tangled necklaces or bracelets that were purchased years ago that you no longer wear are prime targets to get rid of. With gold prices soaring this year and the average consumer needing cash, people are turning to online pawn shops to sell their gold and jewelry without the hassle of heading down to a traditional brick and mortar pawn shop. Now is the perfect time to sell scrap gold and get cash!

Gold May Top $1,000 in 3 Years

According to a report from Morgan Stanely, and posted on Bloomberg.com gold may climb above $1,000 an ounce in 2011 as global mine output drops, mining costs rise and demand increases.

Gold more than doubled in the past six years and reached a record $1,032.70 an ounce March 17 as the dollar slumped and oil advanced, increasing concern inflation would accelerate. In the past eight months, the precious metal plunged 31 percent as the dollar rallied, oil collapsed and the global credit crisis pushed the world toward a recession.

Many people are rushing to sell gold jewelry and getting paid more than they could have ever imagined. Looks like if those people hold on to their gold until 2011, they might get a lot more!

Pawn Shops report brisk business

People across the US are flocking to pawn shops, cleaning out their garages and closets in an effort to get some extra cash in their pockets. Read the full story here from USA TODAY.

Online pawn shops are also benfiting, giving people an easy way to sell unwanted jewelry without even leaving their homes. Selling jewelry is the most popular as theses items are typically small and can be shipped easily with some insurance from the post office.

When Inflation Erupts Gold Will Take Off

Frank Holmes, who wrote the book “Demystifing Gold Investing” was quoted last week in The Gold Report predicting that gold will go to $1,000, even $2,000 over the next 2 years. His reasoning? A growing money supply due to change in some goverment policy.
While this is just a prediction from an insider, it is good news for the many consumers who are looking to sell gold. Holding on to gold valuables for a little longer may end up to be more profitable.