What Is Scrap Gold and Should You Sell Yours?

Scrap gold refers to gold objects, such as gold rings and watches, that are no longer valuable in the form they were initially marketed.

A gold watch that can no longer tell time is a piece of scrap gold. So too is a gold ring that’s too misshapen to wrap around a finger. And so too is a gold tooth that’s too damaged to function as a tooth.

These scrap gold objects aren’t as valuable as they once were, of course, but they can still be valuable, especially if the gold they contain is pure and weighty.

If you own a piece of scrap gold, consider selling it to a scrap gold buyer for the best value you can get. Just because a piece of gold is in poor shape doesn’t mean it can’t sell for a good price.

How Scrap Gold is Evaluated

Before you sell scrap gold in Toronto or elsewhere, it’s important to know how scrap gold buyers everywhere determine the value of scrap gold objects.

When evaluating a piece of scrap gold, scrap gold buyers will consider its purity and weight. Other factors like condition and collectability are irrelevant.

Purity refers to the percentage of gold in a gold object. At 99.99%, 24 karat (24k) gold is the highest purity.

Weight refers to the mass of pure gold in a gold object. A watch made of 24k gold weighs more than an identical watch made of 22k (91.67%) gold, which weighs more than an identical watch made of 18k (75%) gold, and so on.

Scrap gold buyers use different metrics to measure the weight of scrap gold. One of them is ounces. The price per ounce of gold has been hovering around USD 1,860 in the marketplace.

The Value of Scrap Gold

You can roughly calculate the value of a scrap gold object by considering its karat number and the price per ounce of gold.

To make a profit, scrap gold buyers will typically buy your scrap gold for less than the price per ounce of gold in the marketplace. That being said, some gold buyers will offer better prices than others.

One gold buyer might buy your scrap gold for 80% or more percent of the price per ounce of gold in the marketplace, whereas another might buy your scrap gold for only 60%.

Therefore, it’s important to shop around for the scrap gold buyer that will offer you the best price.

Who Buys Scrap Gold?

Some gold jewellery sellers and buyers buy scrap gold. So too do gold bullion sellers and buyers.

When shopping around for the right scrap gold buyer, you can start by searching online for buyers with good reputations. A scrap gold buyer with a five-star reputation might offer a more honest evaluation than a scrap gold buyer with only two stars.

In other words, do your research, and it will pay off, literally.