Avoid getting scammed by a false gold acid test.

Cash for Gold is a big business, and getting bigger all of the time. Unfortunately , with the high price of gold, there is a huge draw for unscrupulous operators who are constantly coming up with new Cash for Gold scams. One of the current ways to scam clients is by incorrectly using an acid test on the scrap gold. Read on to see how you can avoid this scam.

How this Cash for Gold scam works.

Basically, scrap gold test acid is sold in small bottles that are marked corresponding to the karat value of the gold you want to test. If you believe you have 14kt gold, you use the 14kt acid, and so on. The acids are generally sold in test kits to test for 10kt, 14kt, 18kt and 22kt gold. If you use a higher valued acid, say 18kt acid on 14kt gold, the gold will dissolve. Lower valued acid will discolor the gold. If the acid and the gold match, there is no reaction.

In order to scam the gold seller, the buyer will use a stronger acid, either by using the wrong type or by putting stronger acid into a bottle marked with a lower value. So they will test your 14kt gold with 18kt acid. When it dissolves, they will tell you that your item is marked incorrectly or under-karated and that they will only pay the 10kt price for your scrap. This is usually accompanied by a practiced speech on the untrustworthiness of jewelry makers. An unsuspecting client will often believe that they were the victim of a scam when they bought the jewelry, not suspecting that they are in the middle of a gold buying scam.

How to avoid this Cash for Gold scam.

We sometimes find jewelry that is marked as 14kt that is a complete fake; in reality it is a copper and zinc mixture. However, it is extremely rare to find something made of a lower purity gold that is marked higher. If the jewelry maker is going to scam you, and risk prison, why would he use any gold at all? If any Cash for Gold buyer claims your gold is lower quality than what it’s marked, get a second opinion. Don’t take their word for it.

Also be aware that the acid test is an inexact science. It won’t accurately test other odd values. As an example, we recently met a lady from Great Britain, where 9kt and 15kt jewelry is common. The acid test kits don’t allow for those variations.

Bottom line: If something seems fishy, walk away.

Related posts:

1. Cash for Gold – Is This a Scam? It seems like everybody is offering Cash For Gold these days. Is this legitimate, or is this a scam? Continue reading →...
2. I Want to Sell My Gold, But is it Real Gold, Gold Filled or Gold Plated? Some of our clients want to sell their old gold jewelry, but they aren't sure what they have. Read this brief post to get you started in the right direction. Continue reading →...
3. Removing the Confusion from the Gold Buying Process One of the biggest roadblocks that a gold buyer faces is the lack of trust or confidence that the gold seller feels in the whole process. The industry has a shaky reputation, much like how the used-car industry is often...

Don't get taken in by the hype when you sell gold

As we were driving through town today, we passed two billboards for a company that has opened three Cash for Gold locations here in Kansas City. What catches your attention is the statement that you can get “Get Up to 3X More!” when you sell your gold to them. So this begs the question: Three times more than what? Three times more than they want to pay you? Three times more than they used to pay, back when they were really fleecing people? Three times more than the scoundrel who is paying a price so low it’s criminal? There’s just no context for the statement.

This highlights one of the main problems with our industry: A tendency to try to confuse the client. Whatever you want to call it – sleight-of-hand, the old razzle-dazzle, the bait-and-switch, whatever – the purpose is to keep the mark confused and off guard, so that he walks away wondering what just happened. We consider that to be unethical, and we don’t do business that way.

When we meet with you, we want you to sell your scrap gold with confidence. That’s why we test and weigh everything in front of you. We have a gold price calculation program on our laptop that spells out how much scrap you have, the gold content of the various karat types and the exact amount and percentage of melt value we are offering. And since we start our offers at 60% and go up from there, there’s no way anyone is paying you three times more than we do.

Related posts:

1. Should you sell your gold at a Gold Party? There is a lot of advice for people who want to sell gold floating around the Internet. Some of it is well-intentioned. Some of it is thinly-veiled advertising by some Internet gold buying company or other. The real challenge is...
2. South Kansas City Gold Buyer is now a Community Partner of JDRF We are very pleased to announce that we are now a Community Partner with the Kansas City Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Continue reading →...
3. Why is the scrap value of my gold so low? One of the hardest issues in our business is the disappointment people sometimes feel when we make them an offer on their gold jewelry. They are still thinking of the price they paid, as opposed to the scrap value. Continue...

The price of gold continues its climb, moving past the $1800 mark.

Related posts:

1. Gold tops $1400 per ounce The price of gold has topped $1400 per ounce. Is it time to sell, or should you wait? Continue reading →...
2. Cash for Gold – Is This a Scam? It seems like everybody is offering Cash For Gold these days. Is this legitimate, or is this a scam? Continue reading →...
3. Removing the Confusion from the Gold Buying Process One of the biggest roadblocks that a gold buyer faces is the lack of trust or confidence that the gold seller feels in the whole process. The industry has a shaky reputation, much like how the used-car industry is often...

Gold continues its upward climb, breaking the $1700 per ounce mark.

Related posts:

1. Gold tops $1400 per ounce The price of gold has topped $1400 per ounce. Is it time to sell, or should you wait? Continue reading →...
2. Gold over $1500 per ounce Gold hits another milestone - $1500 an ounce. Continue reading →...
3. Gold hits $1600 per ounce Tweet Gold hit a new high, finally breaking the $1600 per ounce mark. Tweet...

We are pleased to report that we just hit another company milestone: South Kansas City Gold Buyer has now purchased $500,000 worth of gold. That’s right, half a million dollars worth gold bought here locally in Kansas City.

We are especially proud of the way we’ve done it – by being up-front and honest with our clients. Many people often remark on the fact that they choose us via the Better Business Bureau web site. They notice that we have no Unresolved Complaints. But what isn’t obvious from the BBB site is that we don’t have any resolved complaints, either.Because w do our level best to make the process as transparent as possible, our customers simply have no reason to complain the BBB.

We look forward to continuing to serve the Greater Kansas City Metro area for a long time to come.

Related posts:

1. Cash for Gold – Is This a Scam? It seems like everybody is offering Cash For Gold these days. Is this legitimate, or is this a scam? Continue reading →...
2. What is a Fair Price for Old Gold? How do you know if you are getting a fair price for your old scrap gold? While gold buyers need to make a profit, it shouldn't be at your expense. Continue reading →...
3. Gold Buyer milestone – We’ve purchased a Quarter Million in old, scrap gold Our company has reached another milestone in our gold buying history. We have purchased more than $250,000 in old, scrap gold from gold sellers in the Kansas City area. Continue reading →...

Gold hit a new high, finally breaking the $1600 per ounce mark.

Related posts:

1. Gold tops $1400 per ounce The price of gold has topped $1400 per ounce. Is it time to sell, or should you wait? Continue reading →...
2. Gold over $1500 per ounce Gold hits another milestone - $1500 an ounce. Continue reading →...
3. Removing the Confusion from the Gold Buying Process One of the biggest roadblocks that a gold buyer faces is the lack of trust or confidence that the gold seller feels in the whole process. The industry has a shaky reputation, much like how the used-car industry is often...

Gold has hit another new record high. Bad economy, unemployment rates, turmoil in the world – everything is being credited (or blamed, depending on your point of view) for the surge in gold and silver prices. The bottom line is that if you have scrap gold to sell, you will now receive more money from it.

We received a call from a reporter at a local television station, asking what we thought about the high prices. Our answer: Who knows where this is all heading? They wanted to do an interview with us as a local gold buyer here in Kansas City. Unfortunately, scheduling just didn’t allow for that. But we did agree to talk to them again, any time they wanted our thoughts and perceptions. Maybe we’ll talk to them again in a couple of weeks when gold hits $1600 an ounce, no?

Regardless of the cause, the news has caused a rash of calls. Any time gold hits a new high it is good for business. Any reminder that you may have money sitting around gathering dust is a good reminder that you can take that old scrap gold and put it to good use.

Related posts:

1. Gold tops $1400 per ounce The price of gold has topped $1400 per ounce. Is it time to sell, or should you wait? Continue reading →...
2. Kansas City Star runs a front-page story on Gold Parties Interestingly - since we just wrote about Gold Parties a few days ago - the Kansas City Star newspaper had a front-page story about Gold Parties today. The story seemed fairly positive, although there were a couple of points that...
3. Need cash? Want to help your freinds get cash? Schedule a Gold Party! How about a party idea where your guests actually walk away with more money than when they arrived? Continue reading →...

We are very pleased to announce that we are now a Community Partner with the Kansas City Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Under this program, when any customer mentions that they would like to support JDRF, we will donate an additional 10% of the value of their gold to the local chapter. And if anyone would like to host a Gold Party to benefit JDRF, we will send an additional 15% to this wonderful organization.

Please visit their website if you would like to find out more about the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Related posts:

1. Another Fundraiser Gold Party planned – This time for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Tweet When we participated in the KidsandCars.Org fundraiser back in November, we had a nice opportunity to interact with people who are supporters of other causes, too. One of those was a lady who works with the Kansas City Chapter...
2. Kansas City Star runs a front-page story on Gold Parties Interestingly - since we just wrote about Gold Parties a few days ago - the Kansas City Star newspaper had a front-page story about Gold Parties today. The story seemed fairly positive, although there were a couple of points that...
3. KidsAndCars.org Fundraiser is a big success! According to the founder of KidsAndCars.org, the fundraising event that we participated in on November 17 was a big success. They were able to raise $8,000.00 on that evening, and a good time was had by all. Continue reading →...

One of the hardest issues in our business is the disappointment people sometimes feel when we make them an offer on their gold jewelry. This isn’t an issue when we buy mismatched earrings, twisted chains or old, broken items. Many times, when someone has emptied their jewelry box of things they haven’t used in years, they are pleasantly surprised at the amount a ‘pile of old junk’ will bring. However, when someone is forced by tough economic times to part with an item they may have recently bought, they can be sorely disappointed. Why is this?

The first thing you have to consider is the nature of the jewelry business. Raw gold, while intrinsically valuable, is always enhanced by the craftsmanship and artistry of a jewelry designer. Many times, you pay extra for a famous name, just as with designer clothing. Obviously, the more detailed and intricate the piece, the more work that goes into it and the more you pay for it.

Next, think about the typical jewelry store. Cases of stock, fancy alarm systems, salespeople in expensive clothing and even armed guards can be common. All of that costs money. When you look at all that goes into the presentation and sale of a piece of jewlery, it isn’t surprising to hear of 200%, 300% or even 800% markups.

It’s just like buying a new car. As soon as you leave the lot, you’ve lost thousands of dollars in value. As the car gets older and a little less shiny and new, the price also begins to drop. And if everybody is trying to SELL instead of BUY, the price plummets. If you wreck the car, you might be lucky to get a few hundred dollars for the car you paid tens of thousands of dollars to purchase.

Selling scrap gold is very similar. At South Kansas City Gold Buyer we deal in scrap gold. We don’t buy jewelry with the intention of reselling it. Virtually everything we buy goes to the refinery to be melted and processed (gold coins being one exception – unless they’re damaged). So what we pay is based on the actual gold content, regardless of any design or style issues.

As a case in point, we met a man who had paid $2850 for a man’s wedding ring at a local jeweler. It had seven small diamonds, totaling about one carat in weight. Unfortunately, the market for small diamonds is pretty weak, so the stones weren’t going to help him much. The original jeweler wouldn’t even consider buying it back. Another jeweler didn’t want it and said he would be surprised if the man could get $400 for it. When we checked it, it had about $150 worth of gold in the ring. Needless to say, the client was devastated and ended up not selling to us.

So who is to blame? Not South Kansas City Gold Buyer. Probably not even the designer, since he probably got a small fraction of the sale price. The high markup at the jewelry store is the prime suspect. They may have paid a few hundred for the ring and then doubled or tripled or quadrupled the price. Or worse.

So if you have jewelry to sell, please remember that we deal in scrap gold. We will always do our utmost to give you the best price on scrap gold in Kansas City, but there is a big difference between the cost of a piece of jewelry and the price of the gold that was used to make it.

Related posts:

1. What is a Fair Price for Old Gold? How do you know if you are getting a fair price for your old scrap gold? While gold buyers need to make a profit, it shouldn't be at your expense. Continue reading →...
2. Cash for Gold – Is This a Scam? It seems like everybody is offering Cash For Gold these days. Is this legitimate, or is this a scam? Continue reading →...
3. Gold Buyer milestone – We’ve purchased a Quarter Million in old, scrap gold Our company has reached another milestone in our gold buying history. We have purchased more than $250,000 in old, scrap gold from gold sellers in the Kansas City area. Continue reading →...

When we participated in the KidsandCars.Org fundraiser back in November, we had a nice opportunity to interact with people who are supporters of other causes, too. One of those was a lady who works with the Kansas City Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). She asked us if we would be willing to work with them on a fundraising event, and of course we said we would be delighted to do so.

She has planned a small neighborhood event. In addition to South Kansas City Gold Buyer, she plans to have a few other local people selling their unique gift products. All will donate some portion of their proceeds to the cause, as will we. We have agreed to pay our normal prices to the sellers and then to give an additional percentage above and beyond that amount to JDRF.

We are very happy to be helping with this cause. According to their website, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation is the largest charitable funder of and advocate for type 1 diabetes research. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that strikes children and adults suddenly, and can be fatal. People with type 1 diabetes have to test their blood sugar and give themselves insulin injections multiple times or use a pump – an obvious challenge for the young children and their families affected by this disease. You can read more at the JDRF website.

Related posts:

1. Need cash? Want to help your freinds get cash? Schedule a Gold Party! How about a party idea where your guests actually walk away with more money than when they arrived? Continue reading →...
2. KidsAndCars.org Fundraiser is a big success! According to the founder of KidsAndCars.org, the fundraising event that we participated in on November 17 was a big success. They were able to raise $8,000.00 on that evening, and a good time was had by all. Continue reading →...
3. Should you sell your gold at a Gold Party? There is a lot of advice for people who want to sell gold floating around the Internet. Some of it is well-intentioned. Some of it is thinly-veiled advertising by some Internet gold buying company or other. The real challenge is...