As a sometime caster I have not yet sent off scrap for refining. I
now have a few pounds of gold and silver to send in, and it’s a
pretty good time to do it. After reviewing a lot of historical
on Orchid I decided to use Hoover and Strong, based on
their reputation and numerous recommendations. However, it appears
they require their customers to have a jewelry business license.
This isn’t necessary in my county, so I don’t have one. My question
is, which refiner is my best alternative? I’d like to take the
proceeds in cash since I have plenty of materials on hand and would
like to wait for prices to come down before ordering more.
As a sometime caster I have not yet sent off scrap for refining. I
now have a few pounds of gold and silver to send in,
I use Hauser and Miller. I do not think they have a requirement to
have a license. They pay the highest that I know of for silver, but
you need a 200 ounce minimum. You can tell them you want to keep the
metals in a consignment account and tell them when you want to sell
and they will sell it the next day and send a check.
I have heard U.S. Gold Buyers’ in Manhattan’s diamond district is
very good. They pay in cash and promptly. I remember a recent
newspaper article about this company. You can google it and read the
whole article.
Good luck. Please let me know how they treat you. Mary A
All they required when I opened my account was my state sales tax ID
number proving that I could buy wholesale. You might want to clarify
with them what it is that they need. I’ve ordered from them several
times with no problems.
I use Hauser Miller in Saint Louis and am very satisfied. They will
send you a check, no problem. Hoover and Strong’s core business is
not with individual jewelers working on a small scale. Just my
opinion.
I use a company called NTR out of Dallas. They are great to work
with and fast at getting your money to you. Here is some info. on
them: http://www.ntrmetals.com
Larry- We use AAA Precious Metals here in Portland Or. We trust and
love them. They have always done right by us.
I’d recommend that you get refined metal back instead of cash. That
way you don’t have to pay taxes on income and you have fresh
material for more work.
I can highly recommend Precious Metals West, as well as David Fell
Co., both excellent and honest refiners/metals suppliers in the L.A.
area. I use them both for refining, alloys, solders, and precious
metal purchases.
I purchase metal through them quite a bit, but not had a chance to
refine with anyone yet, so I can’t give you any advice on them in
that regard except that I know they do it.
I absolutely love dealing with Hauser and Miller
(www.hauserandmiller.com). I have yet to accumulate enough scrap for
reclaiming but they are such a great company that I can’t foresee a
problem with their reclaiming.
Larry, in addition to the recommendations of Precious Metals West
and David Fell Co., I will point out that in California if you are a
manufacturer who sells only wholesale or only out of state all that
is required is to state on any form; California Wholesale
Manufacturer. If a company is doing business in California they can
not require a license that the state itself doesn’t require; doing
so can land them in some serious trouble. I actually got in trouble
for having a resale license and then only selling wholesale after 5
years I was threatened by the state with penalties for wasting
government workers time or something like that. It was quite a few
years ago.
Nobody’s tried Hi Tech Precious Metals Refining (hitechpmr.com) in
Dallas, TX? Boy, are y’all missin’ out! They are in the same
location Roseco used to be. They charge $20 per ounce of refined gold
(platinum costs a bit more), have no minimum (one 10K class ring is
OK), no assay fee, no license required, no base or percentage
charges, and they settle the same day they receive your scrap. If
you live in Dallas, you can take it in, they’ll do it while you wait,
and cut you a check or give you new metal right then and there. Takes
about ten - fifteen minutes. No kidding! Bench sweeps and polishings
take a few days.
FedEx your scrap to them Monday afternoon (just call them at
866-950-7528, they’ll even schedule a pick-up), get a call with their
analysis Tuesday afternoon, get a check or metal in hand Wednesday.
The printout of their spectrographic analysis tells you exactly what
you sent to them, to the hundredth of a percent of about thirty
different metals.
If you have scrap gold, silver or platinum these are the folks to
use. I’ve tried them all and Hi Tech blows all of them away, no
question. Best returns I’ve ever gotten with unbelievable speed and
service. No affiliation, just one very happy camper. You really need
to try these folks.
I love Hauser and Miller, too. I often place an order and receive it
the next day. How wonderful is that? I live in the Chicago area so it
doesn’t have to travel far.
I’ve sold them small packages (about 10 oz.) of scrap and nothing was
ever said about a minimum amount. I wonder if the minimum requirement
is a new rule? I guess I’ll find out next time.