CLEVELAND - The gold-buying frenzy kicked off two years ago with a Superbowl ad. Since then, gold buying has dropped in the U.S., even though gold is worth more now than it was two years ago.
In the last year, the price of gold rose 30 percent. We're in a gold rush that could turn your jewelry into quick cash.
There are people seemingly on every corner offering to buy your gold, but how good are the offers? To find out, we took our hidden camera and four pieces of certified gold jewelry to pawn shops, mall kiosks, jewelry stores and gold stores.
Tip 1 - negotiate
"Four hundred on the deal straight up?" our producer asked after Goldwerks made an offer.
We said "no" to the first offer, and instantly made an extra $25. Then the clerk asked, "What are you trying to get out of it?"
Stores are willing to negotiate because gold is at an all time high. It's over $1,300 an ounce and some experts predict it will hit $1,500.
"There is a lot of profit to be made in a quick turn," Master Gemologist Appraiser Don Palmieri explained.
Palmieri loaned us four pieces of jewelry for our test to see which Northeast Ohio businesses would pay us top dollar for our gold.
At the Gem Certification & Assurance Lab in New York City, Palmieri inspected and certified the value of two rings, a necklace and a diamond bracelet. Palmieri reviewed our offers and discussed them with us via Skype.
"I would have expected closer to Cleveland you would have some higher offers," Palmieri said.
Tip 2 - Shop around
Our offers varied significantly. The Added Touch in the Midway Mall made the lowest offer. At the mall kiosk, we got just 42 percent of the value of our gold.
The owner, Michael Reno, said, "I was disappointed by our results and also that my company was represented by an inexperienced clerk who I am looking to replace due to numerous problems. I can assure that my other staff and especially my manager would have represented us better and would have fully explained that we are offering an additional 10 percent payout currently and that we do not offer any value for stones. She is supposed to explain this to customers and offer to give them the option of having the stones removed and then to bring us the scrap gold. I am confident that these factors would have improved our payout to well above 50 percent. There are many risks and processing costs involved in buying scrap gold which include buying fake or counterfeit gold which is very prevalent."
"The percentage a consumer should try to achieve is at least 75 percent or more," Palmieri said.
In our test, only one gold buyer met that goal.
"We pay more than anybody else because if we can use the jewelry we polish it and sell it as preowned," Evan DeWitt explained.
DeWitt has been buying jewelry for 31 years. At DeWitt's Diamond & Gold Exchange in downtown Cleveland, DeWitt resells some jewelry that he buys, or he makes custom pieces with the melted gold.
While he's top in our list offering more than 77 percent of the value of our gold, DeWitt encouraged consumers to shop his competitors.
"A lot of people don't check which they should, but that's how they get away with it," DeWitt explained.
Tip 3 - Ask about gemstones
If you get an offer that doesn't seem right or you don't like, check back with the company who made it. You may get a higher price.
"You'll be at $323.20," Carat-Coin-Collectables told us.
Carat Coin offered us 54 percent of the value of our gold.
"We pay higher than pretty much anybody in the area," the employee told us during our test.
In our test, Carat ranked 12th out of 19 gold buyers. The store was surprised at their ranking.
"Never too proud to say we made a mistake," Carat-Coin-Collectables associate Christal Holmes said.
The North Olmstead store blamed the diamond bracelet for the lower than expected offer.
"We had deducted a couple pennyweights for those stones and today I didn't. I left them in there and gave you them at full weight," Holmes said.
That re-evaluation of the stones earned us an extra $105. We asked if a normal customer would have been given that re-evaluation and new price?
"Absolutely. Absolutely, we encourage you to shop it around," Holmes said.
If you still have gemstones in the gold you're selling, ask if you're getting paid extra for those stones. Some stores pay you for them, while others don't.
You also should ask if they meet or beat competitor offers. Jed-Fi Jewelers told us it will meet or beat anyone's price by $50. So, shop around. Sometimes it's as easy as going down the street or to another place in a mall.
Tip 4 - Check licensing
There are licensing requirements for gold buyers; however, it's hard for the consumer to tell the licensed from unlicensed buyers. In our test, we went to six unlicensed buyers. It's unclear if they are operating illegally.
Under state law, there are licensing exemptions for jewelry stores if they meet a number of standards.
A license is not required, for example, if gold buying makes up less than 25 percent
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