[Jewelry making - Article 00229] - Re: [Orchid] Sharing scrap gold buying prices

[diamondeddy2]

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    I have payed anywhere from $6/dwt upto $14/dwt for 14k scrap. A
    dollar less for 10k, and a dollar more for 18k. For larger lots, I
    pay more /dwt. - less for smaller lots. If you do some promo, you'll
    be amazed at how much gold folks have locked away and dont know what
    to do with it. People bring in hi karat gold teeth, big bags of
    silver coins, small and large batches of low grade wally world type
    gold jewelry thats worn out,and little old ladies literally have
    stacks of 1 oz. gold Krugerands setting around, and dont have a clue
    how to sell them. 

    Generally, I pay the highest rates in my area, so I don't make the
    most profit per dwt, but I get alot more people coming to sell to me
    because they've heard what friends have received. 

    And then theres a zillion diamond melee to be had, as well as a few
    center-sized diamonds and colored stones. Usually, I'll pay 1/4 to
    1/2 of wholesale for melee and small center stones. Some stuff is
    simply not worth the labor time to remove it so I pay nothing for
    that. 

    In the last year I have acquired a 1.51 carat, I2 ish, and countless
    1/5 to 1/3 carat marquise and round diamonds, all at a fraction of
    their normal wholesale. Alot of the colored stones I see, are pretty
    low grade, and are often quite abraded, but every once in a while
    there'll be a decent one. 

    Generall, its not a good idea to pay very much for most of the
    stones, as the bulk are strictly commercial grade goods, nothing fine
    quality. And always remember that it takes labor time($) to remove
    these stones from the settings. If you send scrap to the refiners
    like Hoover and Strong, with a bunch of diamond mellee still in it,
    they will charge you for removal. 

    A bonus that comes with buying scrap is that alot of people will
    bring piles and piles of costume jewelry left over from handling
    their moms estate. Often times there are loads of name brand pieces
    that will bring very nice $ on Ebay. 

    Be prepared to wait a little while on your money from the refineries
    right now, as most are backlogged with so many batches to process.
    Hoover & Strong is running 2-3 weeks right now, whereas 1 year ago
    they were running 3-4 days, so allow plenty of time if you are going
    to need your money back. 

    Overall, scrap buying is an immensly profitable venture to consider,
    just make sure that you know what/who you are buying before you pay,
    and know your local laws on this type of business activity. 

Ed
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