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Check my gold

What gold buyers really offer: every test we could verify

Journalists, regulators and sellers have tested gold buyers for years. The pattern never changes: the same gold gets wildly different offers. Here’s every test we could check against its original source.

Prices updated October 5, 2026 · gold $4,141.17/oz · silver $61.21/oz

  1. KPIX 5 / CBS San Francisco

    The same $6,035 of gold got offers of 47%, 49%, 70%, 72% and 86% of its value from five Bay Area buyers.

    Source: KPIX 5 report, 0:54–2:26 ↗

  2. Jeweler interviewed by KPIX 5

    “When I buy gold … it’s still never less than 75% of the gold market. If the items are saleable … I’ll pay 90%.”

    Source: KPIX 5 report, 2:27 ↗

  3. Today show / MSNBC · 2010

    21 grams of 14K gold drew offers from 90% down to 8% of its market value, depending on the buyer.

    Source: Good News Network summary ↗

  4. Consumer Reports · 2009

    Mail-in buyers of the time offered 11–29% of market value for 18K jewelry; local jewelers and pawn shops offered 35–70%.

    Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution ↗

  5. Consumer Reports · 2009

    For jewelry with about $70 of gold, Cash4Gold paid $7.60–12.72 while pawn shops and jewelers quoted $25–50.

    Source: Wikipedia: Cash4Gold ↗

  6. NYC Department of Consumer Affairs · 2011

    Three pieces appraised at $590 got undercover offers from $175 to $450. Three in four gold buyers broke local rules, such as weighing mixed karats together.

    Source: News 12 ↗

  7. CBS 11 Dallas · 2012

    At a traveling hotel gold show, about $6,000 of gold was first offered $1,100, then $1,725 after haggling.

    Source: CBS News Texas ↗

  8. CBS stations in CA, IL and PA · 2012

    Undercover visits to the same traveling buyer drew offers under a quarter of the gold’s estimated value.

    Source: CBS News Texas ↗

  9. PawnNerd (pawn industry channel) · 2015

    “It’s not uncommon for a pawnbroker to pay roughly 40 to 60 percent of the market value of the item.”

    Source: YouTube, 3:41 ↗

  10. Seller on YouTube · 2023

    Two 14K bracelets, just under 3 grams: two pawn shops offered $90, a third $30 (about $11 per gram); a mail-in buyer paid $100.

    Source: YouTube, 2:03–4:14 ↗

Get the number for your exact piece

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What the tests have in common

In every test, the gap between the best and worst offer for the same gold was huge: 47% to 86% in San Francisco, 8% to 90% on the Today show, $175 to $450 in New York.

The sellers who did best knew their gold’s value before they walked in and asked more than one buyer.

Mail-in buyers then and now

In 2009, Consumer Reports found mail-in companies paid the least, as little as 11% of value. Most of those companies didn’t publish a price; you found out what you’d get only after your gold was gone.

That’s why we rank only buyers that publish a price per gram or a calculator, and show their public ratings. A posted price is one you can check before you ship.

How to use this

Work out your piece’s melt value first: weight in grams, karat and today’s price. Then compare what each kind of buyer pays and ask for the top of the range. Our calculator does this for your exact piece.

Questions

Do pawn shops or mail-in buyers pay more?+

It depends on the buyer, not the type. In 2009 tests, mail-in companies paid least; today, mail-in refiners that publish their prices pay around 90% of melt, while pawn shops typically pay 40–60%.

What is a fair offer for gold?+

Around 70–90% of melt value from a jeweler or refiner. Below 50% is low.

How were these tests checked?+

We read or watched each original source and quote only numbers stated there. Video findings include timestamps.

Related

Melt value uses the GoldAPI market price. Buyer figures come from what each buyer publishes; pawn and jeweler ranges are typical, not quotes. How we calculate