When it comes to buying and selling gold, the internet isn’t the only option. Many people chose to make their purchases in person, from a brick and mortar store. For those that prefer this method of shopping, a jewelry store is one option they might be considering.
But should you turn to a jewelry store to buy and sell gold and other precious metals? Like most choices there are advantages and disadvantages to this approach to dealing in precious metals.
Buying Gold from Jewelry Stores
When it comes to shopping for gold, it would seem like a jewelry store would be a safe choice for making a purchase. By dealing with a large, well-known chain of stores, there is the implied benefit that the consumer is protected by the desire for the store to protect its brand identity, and therefore they will not try to sell their gold at an unfair price.
However, unless you are specifically in the market for gold jewelry, a shop of this kind isn’t the best place to shop at. This is because they rarely stock bullion and often the only choice will be gold jewelry. Buying gold jewelry for investment purposes isn’t recommended, unless you are lucky to spot a great deal.
The reason it isn’t such a good investment choice, is that when purchasing gold jewelry, the buyer will be paying more than the current price for gold as things like the design, brand name and other such factors will increase the price beyond the current rate for raw gold.
That isn’t to say there aren’t any advantages of buying gold in the form of jewelry from one of these stores as an investment. The main advantage is that the gold can be used, worn and enjoyed.
Unlike a bullion investment, where the gold or other precious metal will be stored out of sight in a safe, a jewelry investment can serve a practical purpose until the time is right to sell. If you do decide to invest in gold in the form of jewelry, make sure it is fully insured and it is worn responsibly and in the suitable environments to avoid it going missing.
Selling Precious Metals at Jewelry Stores
When it comes to selling gold, especially gold jewelry, lots of people turn to jewelry stores in order to find a buyer. However, this isn’t always such a good idea. Although they tend to offer better prices than pawn shops, who are notorious for quoting low prices, due to them assuming their customers are desperate to make a quick sale, jewelry stores aren’t the best option.
One of the reasons why you might want to consider finding an alternative buyer for your gold and other precious metals is that jewelry shops are used to paying wholesale prices. This means they already have a good source of gold at prices low enough for them to make the desired amount of profit.
The chances are that these wholesale prices will be lower than what you might be hoping to obtain for your items. This is especially true if the jewelry you are trying to sell is an item that is currently on the market and is readily available. If the item you are trying to find a buyer for is a rare, or out of production piece, then there is a higher chance of obtaining a better price.
As with other physical shops, the prices offered by jewelry shops when buying will be lower, while the prices listed when selling an item, will be higher than their online counterparts. This is mainly down to the lack of competition in some areas and the higher overheads and running costs of a physical shop.