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c4bb0ose  
Posted : Monday, 8 September 2014 3:10:29 PM(UTC)
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Hey guys, I have been taking an interest in the selling of gold as I am starting to accumulate some buggered gold fountain pen nibs (I repair them as a hobby). I also have an interest in metal detecting although getting an actual detector is still a wee way off.

The reason I ask is because I understand that buyers are going to want to make a profit on the gold itself and if they have to melt and or smelt the gold down they will need to reduce the payout to the seller in order to make a profit.

With all that being said and done I am wondering what the best course of action is for selling gold, by that I mean is it best to say melt/smelt the gold you have (say 14kt) together and then take to to a buyer? Or is it in your best interest to just take it in as is and let them cover the process?

Thanks in advance

Edited by user Monday, 8 September 2014 6:49:30 PM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

gavzilla  
Posted : Monday, 8 September 2014 7:30:40 PM(UTC)
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There's various company's set up that buy scrap gold - http://ezycashgold.co.nz/what-we-buy.php

It's probably not worth your time smelting it as it's labour intensive and the payout will be no different really.

If your selling gold nuggets obviously the price is much better, I sell most of my gold to justin at arrowtown gold shop and he pays around 95% of spot price on the day.

Or these always trade me!
gavin  
Posted : Monday, 8 September 2014 10:35:14 PM(UTC)
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The Gold Room in Hokitika often pays above the price of gold for nuggets he can match against others he has for use in earrings etc. ;)

Having a quick go with Ezycash's online calculator I wasn't impressed with the amount they offer for gold myself (even taking in to account they need to make a profit).

Edited by user Monday, 8 September 2014 10:38:59 PM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

picknshovel  
Posted : Wednesday, 10 September 2014 2:01:36 AM(UTC)
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some number of years back when price of gold was 500$ an oz, i had managed to collect about 3 oz's

in panned fines. I took it to a gold merchant to sell because i was in the need of some dosh.

well, by the time they smelted and assayed it plus fee's n freaken charges i received a cheque for

500$, thats it, 3 oz's turned into 1. If i'd known i would of kept it because i used to put it in a pan and

swirl it around just for the pleasure, pure eye candy.

regards picknshovel.
kiwijw  
Posted : Wednesday, 10 September 2014 7:38:48 PM(UTC)
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Oh mate....that sucks. A mate of mine at the end of summer packaged up 6 oz's of fine gold that he had dredged. He spent quite a bit of time getting rid of ironsand & had the gold pretty damn clean. Being fine gold & the area he got it from it was quite a high purity & he had sold gold from that area before & got a good return for it. He was horrified to be paid out on only 3 oz's worth. Something definetly not right there. He got smoked. How do you lose close on 3 oz's or 50% in the smelt & costs??

JW :)
gingerbreadman  
Posted : Friday, 12 September 2014 10:37:00 PM(UTC)
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I got sick of listing to excuses about black sand and other impurities in gold learnt pretty quick to melt my own gold before a sale ...it's easy and you no exactly were you stand you only need borax gold half a spud and some gas which engineering outfits will let you use for a bit of cash sometimes I melt it 2 or 3 Times to get it rite ...2 things to watch if ur pouring fines directly onto your spud..don't blow them away with the flame !! And second if you see the gold rising up like a volcano take the heat off !!...if any1 wants to no the finer points of how to just say and I can post a step by step.cheers.
Golddigger7  
Posted : Saturday, 13 September 2014 10:52:48 AM(UTC)
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If it isnt gold bullion, then when you sell your gold it is by a negotiation process. Dont walk in expecting the gold price for your raw gold, but do go in to the gold buyers place with a purpose to get the best price for your gold. Melting it down as ginga stated above, simplifies things, I certainly didnt lose as much weight as was suggested happenens in the melting process on previous attempts to sell raw gold, so that was a small win. Remember also that the goldbuyer is also got to make something out of the deal, you just want to keep this to a minimum, and this is what you are negotiating at the end of the day, how much he/she is going to make out of the transaction. The gold buyers are always going to charge more if they have to deal with a whole lot of flakes, one large lump is easier for them to handle, and hence easier for you to negoitiate a fairer price.

Nuggets will always get a better price, but they do have to be reasonably chunky and interesting, probably 15 grammes and up is going to get the better prices.

The beauty of gold is it doesnt tarnish, so if your unhappy with the price today, keep it longer untill u are getting the price you want.

Gold dredging season is almost here, good luck out there everyone.



c4bb0ose  
Posted : Saturday, 13 September 2014 2:33:52 PM(UTC)
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Originally Posted by: gingerbreadman Go to Quoted Post
I got sick of listing to excuses about black sand and other impurities in gold learnt pretty quick to melt my own gold before a sale ...it's easy and you no exactly were you stand you only need borax gold half a spud and some gas which engineering outfits will let you use for a bit of cash sometimes I melt it 2 or 3 Times to get it rite ...2 things to watch if ur pouring fines directly onto your spud..don't blow them away with the flame !! And second if you see the gold rising up like a volcano take the heat off !!...if any1 wants to no the finer points of how to just say and I can post a step by step.cheers.


I would like a detailed post :)
Golddigger7  
Posted : Saturday, 13 September 2014 3:18:43 PM(UTC)
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and you can eat the potato after yourve melted the gold, should be nice and cooked :-)
gingerbreadman  
Posted : Saturday, 13 September 2014 3:44:25 PM(UTC)
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Basically you need :steel gold pan,spud,borax,gold,gas
Put an inch or 2 of water in your pan ,get a flatish spud so when you put it down it dosnt roll over cut it ruffly in half then get a spoon and scoop out a bit of a hollow to put the gold into then put spud in the water but before you put the gold in sprinkle maybe half a teaspoon of borax in the hollow then the gold then a bit more borax ..."i probably use a little more borax than i really need to but it works and after you melt it the first time you can use less the next" ....at this point if you are melting fine,s or flake just be careful the flame doesn't blow it away once its melted you will see the borax rise and sit ontop of the gold it kind of looks like a flat dark bubble and moves around with the flame at this point its pretty much done "dont over heat the gold it can splatter iv never had this happen but came close" simply flip the spud over into the water and inspect it youl see the dark glass like borax stuck to the gold you can usually break it off with your nail ...if your not happy with it repeat the process practice makes perfect !! the first time i did it was pretty nervous but it works well .Cheers
kiwijw  
Posted : Sunday, 14 September 2014 9:59:00 PM(UTC)
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G'day Phill. Good stuff mate. How are you. All ready for the dredging season?

Here is some footage from 1864 Hatter doing a gold button melt with LPG

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnlS9hyalx4

Good luck out there

JW :)