When you search for ways to sell your old gold jewelry, you'll see that you can choose to go to a buyer or refinery in person, or you can mail the jewelry to a company for evaluation and potential sale. You can also put the jewelry up for sale at a consignment shop or have an auction house sell it if the jewelry pieces are collectors' items. All of these are valid ways to sell gold jewelry, but if you want to get money fast and are anxious about letting the gold out of your sight, your best bet is to either go to a refinery in person or meet with a gold buyer in person. A face-to-face transaction is the simplest way to get cash for precious metals.

It's Much Easier to Shop Around for the Best Payment

When you retain control of the jewelry and visit buyers in person, it is much easier and faster to shop around. Buyers usually base their offers on a percentage of gold's current value, and that percentage varies from buyer to buyer. You'll want to at least call around to find out the different percentages. Then, you can go to the buyer to find out exactly how much they'd offer for the gold. If you weren't sure about the offer, you could take the jewelry and go to another buyer. That's harder to do with consignment or mail-in companies.

You Always Know Where the Jewelry Is

Until you actually sell the jewelry, you likely don't want to let it out of your sight. Mailing the jewelry can be tricky because packages can go astray; selling via a consignment shop or auction house means that you give up custody of the jewelry for an indefinite time without getting money for it just yet. It's much better, and more reassuring, to have the jewelry in your possession until you trade it for money. There's just less to worry about that way.

The Sales Go Much Faster

If you're sitting at a table with a gold buyer who's evaluating your jewelry, and the buyer offers a price that sounds good to you, you can make the sale right then and there. You might end up with a check instead of cash, depending on the amount of money the buyer is paying you, but you'll get that payment within a few minutes of agreeing to sell. If you try to sell your jewelry through a mail-in company or even through a consignment shop or auction, you aren't going to see the money as quickly even if the company you're dealing with is as prompt as possible. You have to wait for the piece to sell or wait for the jewelry to get to the company through the mail. If you want to sell your gold jewelry for cash fast, in person is the best way to go.

Contact a local gold buyer, such as Great Lakes Coins & Collectibles, to learn more.