When you’re ready to sell your bullion, you need to know where the best place to sell it is, how much you should reasonably expect to earn from selling it, and what you really have on your hands. Bullion is an investment, and the key to making it a profitable one is doing all the right things when you’re ready to cash out.
These five steps will help you determine the value of gold bullion that you own and make sure you get the most value out of it.
#1 Identify Your Gold
Always start with the basics: identifying what you have. Gold comes in many shapes and forms. You might have gold jewellery, a gold watch, gold coins, or gold bars.
The precious metal is valuable no matter how it’s been used or what has been made from it. However, there are some differences between these different forms.
If you have a gold bar, it’s likely because you or the person you inherited it from bought it as an investment. It’s one of the simplest forms of gold to sell, as the weight and purity should be stamped on it. The only thing you need to worry about is making sure it’s real.
When it comes to jewellery, watches, and coins, most of the time, bullion buyers only want them for their gold content. However, in some rare cases, you may have a collectible or antique that will be worth more than the metal alone. It helps to take it to someone who can identify and price collectibles and antiques.
#2 Find the Weight and Purity
The next step is to know how much gold you have. This is simple with bullion products; the information will be stamped on the gold itself. Usually, the purity will be given as a decimal or parts-per-thousand, i.e., .999 or 999 means that the product is 99.9% gold.
Jewellery, watches, and other types of gold can be a bit harder to identify. If you can, check the hallmark, which will usually tell you how many karats it is. Karats refer to parts per 24, so 18 karat gold is the same as 75%.
#3 Check the Market Value of Gold
Gold is exchanged on global markets like every other commodity. You can quickly look up the market price online. Those are the prices that banks and bullion traders are using for large volumes of gold, and they shift throughout the day.
The market value of gold that you can look up online is likely higher than what you will get from a local bullion dealer, but it should provide a guidepost that you can use when you get quotes.
#4 Compare Quotes from Bullion Dealers
Getting the best possible price may mean doing your research. Don’t hesitate to get quotes from several bullion dealers to find the best option. A higher return makes for a more successful investment.
#5 Lock in Prices
If you live somewhere where you have access to a local bullion dealer, you can sell bullion entirely in person. You may be more comfortable conducting this transaction face-to-face, and you can cut down on costs related to shipping and insurance.
However, you can also sell bullion via mail-in with many bullion dealers. If you’re able, lock in prices for a specific date in case the market changes while your product is in the mail.