Anyone do those werid "sell me your old gold" parties? (UPDATE in post 23)

[Fairy]

UPDATE: Went to the party; Update in post #23.
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My neighbor called me the other day and took 10 minutes to give me a roundabout spiel, building me up until I finally said, "so you're telling me you're having a party and will I come?" I mean, seriously, get to the frakkin' point, already!

So, apparently, there are folks out there who are hosting "gold" parties, just like Pampered Chef and Mary Kay. You come to their house, and a dude is there to give you cash on the spot for your old, beat up, not so beat up, singleton earrings, whatever ... gold. She's having one of these parties and will get a percentage (rather than free "gift" merchandise of the traditional party). He, apparently, pays way above market value. Uh huh.

Ok, so my question is a) has anyone ever been to one of these, and what was your experience? b) Why would anyone pay "above market price" for a piece of gold that is not even in good condition?

This all seems shemy to me. Almost too good to be true, and in my estimation, if something doesn't make sense, it isn't true. Dude has a website, and it all "appears" legit. But I can make a website right now that seems legit, too. Doesn't mean I'm telling the truth. Oh, he comes with big references. Still, I'm the skeptical type. Anyone have any thoughts, here?

[ha98ed14]

I have not been to one, but I know that they are real and can be legit. I've read about them in the newspaper, seen it on the news, etc. I'm not sure how much they pay, but I do know that it all gets melted down, so they do not care about the condition it is in.

[Pennylane]

I have a DF who is doing the gold parties. She is making quite a bit of money too. I have read a few negative things about them, such as the buyers are not using current gold prices and their scales are not as accurate.

If you go, I would just make sure you are aware of the current gold prices before you sell.

Ann

Edited for Spelling :)

[Fairy]

Good advice on that, thanks. I thought I might go to a jeweler and get it appraised, too. Then again, if it's kind of junky, what kind of appraisal would that be? I dunno, maybe I could at least weigh it. I can see it now, the guy tells me how much somethign weighs and is worth, and the troublemaker neighbor calls his bluff with documentation on accurate weight and market price. Ugh ... maybe I'll just sit this out.

[misshollygolightly]

Never been to one or heard of one (and it certainly may all be on the up-and-up), but can I just say that the word "party" should not be used to describe such an event?!? Ugh. Why not just call it a commercial transaction? "Party" should be reserved for festive occasions hosted out of the goodness of one's heart (or at least out of a sense of social obligation or whatever). Calling Pampered Chef and Mary Kay events "parties" is stretching it, but at least they usually involve food and makeovers or something! Selling some guy at a neighbor's house the mismatched gold earrings from the back of your drawer so he can melt them down just doesn't scream "celebration" to me.

[khm]

There was a deal on the news about buying gold, not the parties, but jewelery stores. If I had a pile of old gold junk that I didn't want, I think I'd just take it in to a reputable store. Several stores that I've actually heard of and that have been around for ages were interviewed.

Why "pay" this dude and your neighbor from something you can just do yourself in a less "weird" way? You'd probably always wonder if you got taken, I would anyways.

[Fairy]

Just to clarify, there is no cost to the attendees. The guy that is being hosted pays you in cash for whatever it is you bring in. Personally, I am probably not interested, and I do agree that these "parties" are not parties at all, they're commercial money-making endeavors. I hate Pampered Chef parties and Mary Kay parties. I really do. I go because my friends ask me to, and I buy one little token thing. And the seller is so friendly and sweet and ingratiating until you get to that back room where the purchases are made, and you are asked, "ya know, you really should host a party or become a seller, you're the perfect person to do it, your lifestyle really fits perfectly." And I say, no thank you, I don't like askign my friends to come over and spend money. And they say, "oh, but it's free, and these are things that are useful!" And I say, "yes, but they can go to Bed & Bath or Target or even Crate & Barrel and William Sonoma for the very same things at their own pace, and so I'll go to the parties, but I won't host them; I don't like guilting my friends into spending moeny." And then the seller turns on you and has no more cycles within themselves to be nice.

Hate these things. Such a f****** racket.

[Corie]

Fairy,

This is news to me! I've never heard of such a party.

Good Luck!

[zoestargrove]

so glad you posted this. I've been invited to one that is happening this week. I said Maybe, but I have serious reservations. I do have a few pieces that I'll never wear because they are either ugly or broken -so I'd consider unloading them now when prices were good. - but, I agree with pp, it feels kind of creepy.

I have a somewhat related question. WHY are gold buyers really pushing (Lately) to get our gold if the prices are inflated? What does a buyer of gold have to profit from if the prices are inflated?? Is someone forecasting the price of gold to skyrocket in the very near future? Is the end of the world coming and I need to hoard my gold in case the banks fail and I need a currency that will still have value?

[Fairy]

..........................................

[Fairy]

so glad you posted this. I've been invited to one that is happening this week. I said Maybe, but I have serious reservations. I do have a few pieces that I'll never wear because they are either ugly or broken -so I'd consider unloading them now when prices were good. - but, I agree with pp, it feels kind of creepy.

I have a somewhat related question. WHY are gold buyers really pushing (Lately) to get our gold if the prices are inflated? What does a buyer of gold have to profit from if the prices are inflated?? Is someone forecasting the price of gold to skyrocket in the very near future? Is the end of the world coming and I need to hoard my gold in case the banks fail and I need a currency that will still have value?


And this is why I'm puzzled. No one gives you something for nothing. And, as I said, I really truly believe that 99 times out of 100, if something doesn't make sense, then it isn't true. So, I'm questioning this significantly.

I wonder if we're going to the same party ... ;-)

[khm]

I didn't mean you'd pay them directly, but that if you can get MORE for a regular jewelry store transaction, you end up "paying" them the difference, for what? The "fun" of the party? Maybe, I guess.

I'm just sure they must skim off the top vs. what you could get on your own, ya know?

[ray7694]

Buyers of gold are making LOTS OF MONEY. The price of gold is higher than it has ever been so that is why so many places are buying gold.

I took mine to two different reputable jewelers. They gave me the same quote. One of the jewelers would double the value if I took store credit. Unfortunately I couldn't find anything I really wanted so I took the $500 cash.

Take it to a reputable place and know that the price is based on the price of gold for that day. So each day is different but I found unless a major market event occurs a few days doesn't matter.

[cdlamis]

I hosted a Gold Party last month and it was great! I am not a fan of these home parties and have never hosted one myself but some of my friends were asking me to host it since I knew the jeweler (reputable) and it was an easy way to get rid of unwanted gold. Since the party attendees only showed up long enough to have their 10 minutes with the jeweler, it was an EASY, 100% guilt free party (for attendees and me).
The jeweler told us her value of the gold (which I was told was close to market value). It was worth it for me not to have to find a good jeweler and drive across town. I only had 5 pieces of jewelry that I truly didn't even know I had and I made $200! I would have been happy with $75. Most of the attendees made $200-300. It wasn't a scam and you got cash on the spot. Our jeweler even told one woman to sell her ring on Craigslist since she would probably make more on CL than with the jeweler (the ring also had stones). I thought that showed the integrity of the jeweler and that we weren't being "taken".
HTH!

[trales]

I have done some reading online. It seems that as the economic outlook darkens, the price of gold and other things of physical value rise as a defensive strategy by banks and financial institutions to have physical things of value to buy/sell. The gold gets melted and stored as bricks.

The price of gold also rose significantly in the late 70's early 80's.

It would seem that if you have gold to get rid of that is of no value to you, it would be a good time to change it to cash. But I would really research the price of gold and know what you have on hand.

If I were to sell any of my gold, I would most likely go through my local jeweler. More to keep small businesses open in town than any other reason.

[clc053103]

I went to one a few months ago and had a blast- made almost $300 on seriously ugly gold jewelry I haven't worn in years. Friend who hosted investigated- took a piece to a jeweler first to make sure all was well. It was fun to walk out of a home party having MADE money!

[lizajane]

a friend of mine had one. the attendees were rather pleased with the cash they all got. it was a win win all around. i did not go because i don't have any gold jewelery to sell. i don't wear gold and never have.

[hellokitty]

Ok, so I have a question. Maybe I am missing something, but what does the hostess get out of this? With these hostess parties, usually the hostess gets some products for free or at a substantial discount. So, what about at these gold parties. Do they get a cut from the jeweler?

[Fairy]

She's getting 10% of the "profits." No clue what that means, as he's paying EVERYONE ELSE, not taking in. So ... not sure how that will work, but the hostess told me she's getting a 10% cut.

[ThreeofUs]

She's getting 10% of the "profits." No clue what that means, as he's paying EVERYONE ELSE, not taking in. So ... not sure how that will work, but the hostess told me she's getting a 10% cut.


These are legitimate parties, but you are right to be leery of them. If someone is coming to a party to buy your gold and giving a 10% cut to the host, then you probably aren't getting your money's worth from your jewelry. Just makes sense.

Unless - and this is a big "unless" - the buyer can give you a better rate than a store because they are the precious metals dealer the stores sell to. Some of the buyers at parties are, some aren't. You'll get a better price from a metals dealer.

You can also get good prices from places that sell jewelry - but generally not from the stores in the mall, kwim? You'd probably want to take your gold to a wholesaler to get the best price, and wholesalers aren't that easy to find. (Though you live in Chicago, and that makes a difference....)

If you want to, go - but know the price of gold that day, and be prepared to say "no, thanks" and walk out having had a nice glass of wine. :)

[hellokitty]

She's getting 10% of the "profits." No clue what that means, as he's paying EVERYONE ELSE, not taking in. So ... not sure how that will work, but the hostess told me she's getting a 10% cut.

Wow, it sounds like the hostess really makes out with this kind of, "party."

[cdlamis]

Ok, so I have a question. Maybe I am missing something, but what does the hostess get out of this? With these hostess parties, usually the hostess gets some products for free or at a substantial discount. So, what about at these gold parties. Do they get a cut from the jeweler?

Wow! I wish I got 10%. I received a $200 store credit to the jewelers store which I was fine with. I really just wanted an easy way to sell my own gold and throwing the party was very easy.

[Fairy]

UPDATE!

So, I went to the party. I wasn't going to, cuz I didn't have coverage for DS, but she said bring him, lots of people are bringing their kids. I said, yeah, but it's awfully close to bedtime, and I'm militant about DS's bedtime. But then I felt like maybe I was being a bit unreasonable for a Friday night, and besides, DH would be coming home from the client about 9pm, so maybe I should just suck it up. Which I did.

So, at the last minute I made an appetizer -- a nice one, and rummaged thru my stuff. I found the one thing I had my mind on, which was a gold ring with sapphires in it that my ex-boyfriend gave me back in 1988, and a gold claddaugh ring that the same boyfriend "gave me" (I paid for it myself :irked:), neither of which I've so much as looked at since 1990. I will not miss them in any measure. Plus some silver that is truly crap. I looked up the price of gold at the COB (thanks for that tip, Erica), loaded us in the car, and went to the neighbor's house.

When I got there, the pile of shoes said to me that I was supposed to remove my shoes. Which I normally do. But I have a foot injuy and need to have my shoes with my orthotics in, as I truly have problems walking barefoot. I wiped my shoes REALLY well and had no residue, and the very first thing the host noticed was that my shoes were still on; I coudl tell from her look. I said, "I'm sorry, I have to have my shoes on cuz of a foot problem, I hpe that's ok?" And she just made a little "mmm" noise and gave me one of those fake, controlled smiles that said it was not ok but she was not going to make a Federal case out of it. Already we're batting a thousand.

The kids that were there were all older than DS, clearly not interested in playing with him, and he was intimidated. Which is rare, my son is outgoing and can talk to anyone. Here he was hiding behind me. The boys close to his age (5, 6, 7) were playing guns and bombs and were using boxing gloves. I didn't want him playing that stuff, and he had no interest, so he stayed with me, and I played with him. Another woman with a 17mo and a neighbor wtih a 4yo gravitated toward us, and they kind of played; not really.

Talked to some neighbors, eventually got up to the gold man. He had a bowl filled with crisp 100's, 50's, 20's, and 5's. I mean there was easily $3k - $5k there. He seemed perfectly nice and all business. He said he'd give me $25 for my two rings. I asked how he derived that worth, and he said he weighed it. I was like, where are the scales? They were three black bowls, and they faced only him, so i couldn't see what the weight was, and there was no way to see it unless he got out of his chair and I sat in it. I'd guess if he turned them, they'd be uncalibrated, but I don't know. So, I only had his word, and when I asked how much they weighed, he said not very much. Hmm.

Next I said, well, I know they're more than a few grams, and the per gram price of gold is $29, and he said that my gold was only 14karat (he looked with a jeweler's spectacle thingie), and that price is 24karat. Sounded reasonable. The weight thing, tho? Mixed bag. Oh, and he said my silver was not worth anything; in fact one neighbor got $25 for an enormous bag of old silver.

So, I said no thank you to the whole kit and kaboodle and thanked him for his time. NEXT!

So, I collected DS, got my platter back, and went home.

All in all, these parties seem sad to me. There was one woman who got $1,500 for an hierloom piece that had birth charms with names and dates on it and everything and obviously took a lifetime to collect. She had no clue whose it was when, but it was old. The piece obviously meant something very important to someone once, and even tho she'd lost track of that value, it seems sad to me that that history is now going to be melted down into oblivion.

But the people who were itching to get rid of their stuff were ultimately happy, so who am I to judge? I came, I saw, I gave it an effort. It's not for me. I won't be going to another one.

-- Fairy

[LarsMal]

Well, you gave it a try! Good for you for even going- and saying thanks, but no thanks. If I had gone, I know I would've just given in because I felt like I *had* to!

Question about the sapphire ring...If you had sold that one, would he have taken the sapphires out and given them to you?

We have a local jewelry store that is doing a "gold for cash" kind of a thing. I have a couple of those boyfriend rings, too, and I have been tempted to take them in. I just want to make sure I can keep the emeralds that are in them.

Was your appetizer a hit at least?!?!

[Fairy]

Yes, he would have given me the sapphires back. The $$ was for the gold only. I almost took off my great grandmother's platinum philigree ring to see where he would have placed its value (not that I'd ever have given it up, just wanted to test him), but I didn't.

The appetizer was a hit, actually, tomato mozzerella.

I tried to have a good attitude, but ultimately, I thought the whole thing was just kind of icky.

[katydid1971]

HMMM, I wonder about a "party" where the host makes money off her guests, expects them to bring food and makes them feel uncomfortible. What fun for you. I'm proud of you for not getting presured into selling you stuff for so little. Try selling it on ebay, I bet you can get at least $25 each for each ring.

[gatorsmom]

HMMM, I wonder about a "party" where the host makes money off her guests, expects them to bring food and makes them feel uncomfortible.

I was kind of wondering this too. Did she ask you to bring an appetizer? Seems kind of unfair that she's going to make money off you but asks you to bring something. Good for you for sticking to your guns and not giving in on your rings. I would feel very sad seeing the heirloom piece go as well.