selling gold and silver on ebay vs refiner.

[leadnugget]

selling gold and silver on ebay vs refiner.
i have been thinking about this for some time and don't think ebay is the best place for gold.
problem is in the 10% to 14% selling fees on ebay vs a refiners 2% gold.
at least i have read that it's about 2%.

that being said, i have seen .005 gram lots of raw placer gold selling for what amounts to $2000 to $4000 or more per troy ounce.
but that's a lot of small sales.
silver, sometimes, (depending on the item)you can do better on ebay vs the refiners 20%.

what do you think?

also found this link for a gold filled calculator. http://www.goldnscrap.com/index.php?...tors&Itemid=66

do you find it to be accurate.
i remember cyberdan posting something about him making a spread sheet on gold filled.
i buy gold filled when i find it cheap.

[Goldmanford]

I, too, pick up GF items when I can get them dirt cheap. I have read alot about people not caring too much about it but I have made a calculator and occasionally you can pick up a small piece for practically nothing and the gold content can be several dollars. Not much but a bunch can add up.

I'm no help on the ebay idea since I have never sold there but I figure the fees could potentially kill your profits. As for a refiner, what are some on the East Coast that are reputable?

[cyberdan]

I, too, pick up GF items when I can get them dirt cheap.

As for a refiner, what are some on the East Coast that are reputable?

I always look for GF too, I pay what I would for junk jewelry. I use ARA to refine my GF. Can't remember exactly but I think I get about 75¢ a gram

These guys have locations on the east coast. I use one in SoCA and I get within $10 of what I am expecting. Once I got over $100 above.
http://www.ntrmetals.com/

[cyberdan]

selling gold and silver on ebay vs refiner.

i remember cyberdan posting something about him making a spread sheet on gold filled.

The only time i sell gold on feebay is when it is a nice piece of jewelry. If it doesn't sell it gets melted.

Yes, I wrote a personal spreadsheet to keep track of GF buys and what the AU value is.

[creeper71]

I, too, pick up GF items when I can get them dirt cheap. I have read alot about people not caring too much about it but I have made a calculator and occasionally you can pick up a small piece for practically nothing and the gold content can be several dollars. Not much but a bunch can add up.

I'm no help on the ebay idea since I have never sold there but I figure the fees could potentially kill your profits. As for a refiner, what are some on the East Coast that are reputable?

refiner takes 15% or more of auctal value

[cyberdan]

refiner takes 15% or more of auctal value

both my refiners charge 2% gold & 10% silver

[creeper71]

refiner takes 15% or more of auctal value

both my refiners charge 2% gold & 10% silver

there is no waythey make any money paying 98% of spot

[SnakemanBill]

refiner takes 15% or more of auctal value

both my refiners charge 2% gold & 10% silver

there is no waythey make any money paying 98% of spot

Yes way they can. Any silver or other precious metals recovered during gold processing is kept. that's how they can make money paying 98% of spot.

[creeper71]

refiner takes 15% or more of auctal value

both my refiners charge 2% gold & 10% silver

there is no waythey make any money paying 98% of spot

Yes way they can. Any silver or other precious metals recovered during gold processing is kept. that's how they can make money paying 98% of spot.

willing to bet 10-1 odds there is some type of hidden fees in there somewhere...

[SEANO]

Send mine to ARA, based on recommendations on this site, I usual get a check within a week and a breakdown by weight/precious metal. I have been very happy with them.

Q. How do we survive on 2% profit?
A. Low overhead, and we are a family-owned business that is not in it to get rich, instead, we do this for the joy of working for ourselves and with family doing what we love.

[Kieth-Tx]

Agree...ARA is the way to go. It is 2% and they will also send you back all the real stones. Members of our club have used them many times.

[Goldmanford]

Hey all,

I just googled ARA and went to their website. According to the application to send in PMs you need to have a business and comply with the Patriot Act or something. Too much to digest in one sitting. I'm not a business but rather a buyer who gets their gold and scrap from flea markets, yard sales, detecting, etc. How do others go about dealing with ARA if they don't own a business?

[SnakemanBill]

[/quote]willing to bet 10-1 odds there is some type of hidden fees in there somewhere...
[/quote] Ok I'll bet you a c note... sooo you owe me a grand. I'll take it silver or gold, your choice. PM me for an address.

yes Goldmanford if you Google ARA you now have to have a tax id to deal with them although I've heard they will still work with long time customers that don't have a business license or tax id. Been three or 4 months since I've sent them anything.

[cyberdan]

willing to bet 10-1 odds there is some type of hidden fees in there somewhere...

nope!!!!!!!!!!!!! have sold AU/AG to both many times. no extra fees.
I will take that bet and I am not a gambler.

now there is another refinery about the same distance from me and they have charges all over the place. and they take along time. If you really want ot pay all those fees let me know and i will give you their name.

[Silver Bear]

refiner takes 15% or more of auctal value

both my refiners charge 2% gold & 10% silver

there is no waythey make any money paying 98% of spot

Yes way they can. Any silver or other precious metals recovered during gold processing is kept. that's how they can make money paying 98% of spot.

willing to bet 10-1 odds there is some type of hidden fees in there somewhere...

Put me down for a C Note at 10 to 1 as well. Ahh what the hey make it 1K...

HH...Silver Bear

[diggummup]

yes Goldmanford if you Google ARA you now have to have a tax id to deal with them although I've heard they will still work with long time customers that don't have a business license or tax id. Been three or 4 months since I've sent them anything.

So basically any new customers are SOL. Unless of course you want to give out your tax info... back to square 1. Wonder if Midwest is the same?

[batcap]

Agree...ARA is the way to go. It is 2% and they will also send you back all the real stones. Members of our club have used them many times.

I'm all for ARA for scrapping gold, but I'm not so hot on silver with them right now. Three things bother me:

1) I can estimate nearly on the money for gold, but I can be 20% off (always short) when estimating silver.

2)An ARA employee once told me over the phone that they don't do their own silver refining.

3) ARA prides itself on returning stones -- but not stones in silver. Phone quote: "We don't return stones from silver."

Last time out I feel I got about 70% spot for silver, and no stones returned in the silver jewelry. But got everything I expected for the gold, including the stones back.

So, if ARA really doesn't do their own silver refining then I don't want to send silver to them; I want to send it to the guy doing the work. Then I can evaluate based on my estimate of HIS performance, and not blame ARA for their contractor's performance as I perceive it.

[SEANO]

Agree...ARA is the way to go. It is 2% and they will also send you back all the real stones. Members of our club have used them many times.

I'm all for ARA for scrapping gold, but I'm not so hot on silver with them right now. Three things bother me:

1) I can estimate nearly on the money for gold, but I can be 20% off (always short) when estimating silver.

2)An ARA employee once told me over the phone that they don't do their own silver refining.

3) ARA prides itself on returning stones -- but not stones in silver. Phone quote: "We don't return stones from silver."

Last time out I feel I got about 70% spot for silver, and no stones returned in the silver jewelry. But got everything I expected for the gold, including the stones back.

So, if ARA really doesn't do their own silver refining then I don't want to send silver to them; I want to send it to the guy doing the work. Then I can evaluate based on my estimate of HIS performance, and not blame ARA for their contractor's performance as I perceive it.

Good info.

Much of the jewelry I send has other items with it (Stones, beads ect.), not sure how to evaluate the weight without taking them out.

I'd love to send the silver off to the place that does the work also. Please let us know if you find a good place.

[chukers]

So does ARA buy gold fingers and circuit boards? or was I reading that wrong? if so... where on the net does it say this?


Chukers