gold nuggets

3 Beginner Mistakes in Selling Gold That Are Unprofitable

Gold is one of the most popular minerals in the world, which is why it sells for quite a sum in the market of precious metals.

Prospectors and miners alike redouble their efforts when finding trace amounts of gold, hoping it leads to an ore deposit or vein.

Finding gold is already a difficult task in itself, but an equally frustrating and difficult process is selling the product. Whether its placer gold or nuggets, finding a fair price for it requires lots of effort and time, which is why prospectors often find themselves in a tight spot when negotiating for the price.

If you’re planning on selling a gold nugget, then knowing a bit about what to do and where to go will help you. To help you fetch a better price, here are three beginner mistakes you should avoid when selling your gold:

1. Practising panic selling

Some prospectors tend to hoard their gold and save it for a rainy day. While it is usually a good practice for non-liquid assets, the problem with raw gold nuggets is that its market value can be perceived differently depending on who you sell it to.

For people who are in a tough financial situation and need instant cash, being picky about whom you sell to isn’t an option. This practice can prompt you to take the first offer that comes your way. However, more often than not, this dips to the lower prices possible for your gold.

Many people would also think that approaching a pawnshop or shopping centre gold buyers would lead to a reasonable price. Unfortunately, they will only give you a small fraction of your gold’s true price, under the guise of not having a proper assessment method. This is why planning ahead is necessary so that you can avoid the need to undersell your gold’s worth for immediate cash.

2. Melting gold nuggets

Sending your placer gold to a refinery is usually the immediate answer to make money, however, this is not the same for natural gold nuggets. Gold nuggets generally fetch higher prices from a dealer or collector of nuggets than from a refinery.

If you’ve obtained a gold nugget from your efforts, then ask someone like us for a price as we have years of experience in trading natural gold nuggets around the world, and can make sure you get the best price for your gold. Places like pawn shops and refiners are usually only purchasing a nugget for its melt value.

3. Assuming all refineries are the same

Generally, most refiners will work at the same rate based on the day’s spot price. Be aware that your placer gold’s value is usually a bit lower than it really is. Raw gold tends to have impurities mixed in with it, which will inevitably lead to a smaller than expected gold content from your sample. Obviously refiners can’t pay the gold price for impurities. However, if the nugget is large or very unique a natural gold nugget trader like us will ignore impurities when buying as we are trading the nugget on as a collector’s item and not just for its smelt value.

Conclusion

Knowing a bit about the market you’re selling to is a basic practice before making a sale. When selling gold, in particular, getting the advice of other prospectors and miners can be the key to obtaining the best prices for your efforts. Knowing some of the basic mistakes that many make can also help you avoid them, so keep the ones above in mind before looking for a buyer.

If you’re looking for an honest and fair buyer of your gold nuggets in Australia, then The Gold Nugget Shop is your best stop. Get in touch with us now and see what price we can offer for you!