# How do you people find Karat scrap?



## Puff501 (Feb 15, 2020)

I just retired and I now need a hobby. Always been a tinkerer and saw some YouTube videos on gold refining. Been looking for karat scrap fairly extensively in my area (central Arizona) but it is scarce and when found, folks want nearly full scrap value or even more. I mean, do you have to buy a ton at once or make a deal with a pawn shop or jeweler? Seriously, 2 months and I have come up with a 2.5 gram 10k ring and a .5g 14k butterfly. Ebay seems to be a bust. Scrap on there seems to go for full scrap value usually with shipping and tax.
And yes I know I started this thread saying I need a new hobby but from the outside, it seems like it is a hobby that has the potential to pay for itself.
What does everyone think about this?


----------



## pokermandown (Feb 16, 2020)

Welcome Puff

This is one the most difficult parts of our hobby. Everyone wants a good source and since we would be competing with each other, there its not much chatter about it. That said, if you can test your own materials, I go to yard and garage sales and find Karat scrap fairly often. Also, look for local auctions as well, rather than eBay. It is a challenge to get started, but once you get a few sources, and you treat them well, you can get enough to work on. 

Happy hunting!


----------



## andu (Mar 19, 2020)

All I know about ebay is that one must be careful with it, sometimes even irl you might get scammed. And I myself never understood where people finds these deals, im still pondering if to buy half kg silver pottery at 75 eur since the chances of me getting scammed are huge and I cannot process anything yet no chance to check its actualy metal. The offer prolly down by now too lol.


----------



## rickbb (Mar 19, 2020)

Only k scrap I get is given to me by family and such. And then only damaged/junk stuff. I process more e-scrap, but that too is free.

You will never make out buying it to refine unless you open a pawn shop and pay 50% of the gold value to the desperate folks selling it.

People think they can get spot value or worse jewelry value. They never think about or care that you have costs and need a profit.


----------



## FrugalRefiner (Mar 19, 2020)

Like most things in life, you have to work hard to be successful. eBay used to be a place where you could find an _occasional_ good deal. I haven't found anything there in quite some time.

If you want to find ewaste, you have to visit a lot of businesses, be willing to take the bad (like old CRT monitors) with the good.

If you want to find karat scrap, you have to visit pawn shops, jewelers, thrift stores, yard and garage sales, set up buying parties, etc.

None of it is easy. Karat scrap doesn't just fall into your lap. You have to work for it.

Dave


----------



## Goldman94 (Mar 31, 2020)

I am in the exact same boat here. Trying to find another hobby during these crazy times and I'm not even looking to make any money off of it. I'll be happy if I just break even, i just wanna do it for fun. Cuz who doesn't want to pour their own ~24k gold?! I've bid on numerous auctions on Ebay and have yet to win a single one of them. Every one I see, the scrap goes for either exactly scrap price or even over. I'm trying to get scrap for at most 90% of its value, because when I turn around to sell it I'm sure I won't even get that much back. But like I said it'll be a fun hobby when I can get my hands on some scrap and hopefully it'll be a hobby that will be close to paying for itself!


----------



## Jmk88 (May 3, 2020)

With all due respect... have some respect.

It isn’t something you just hop on eBay and start doing you need to forge business relationships with people that work in the industry and like Dave says, that’s through hard work like anything.

Why would you assume karat material or the karat industry is any different? Along with diamonds and fiat paper it’s currency across the entire world. When has gold ever been easy to obtain? Lol. It wouldn’t be so desired if it was easy to obtain. I thought that was obvious? 

The best ppl to contact are jewellers that work with high quantities as there are lots of jewellers that will agree to let you refine their rubbish for either a few or some gold. However, why would they opt for a hobbyist when they can go to a pro? 

And also, you expect to break even? That had me in fits.... anyone that has learnt to do this properly will tell you... you will run at a loss for your initial year at least. You will not break even believe me, not off of one batch of material. 

My advice is if you are doing this purely for money/to pass time, not because you sat and dreamed of doing it for at least a year, you won’t succeeed. Hence why you’re coming here for ideas on how to get scrap.... again, with all due respect, there is a philosophy “where there’s a will there’s a way”. Note how no one that is respected here ever discusses where they get their material.

Yes it’s the devil’s philosophy but in this case it’s very true. I had to beg jewellers in London’s diamond district to give me a chance; I took copious knock backs and people being hostile. 

You are better off buying some gold at a loss, doing it, and demonstrating you can do it. This will take a minimum of 12 months with you practising day in day out and then reading the rest of the time. 

Sorry but this post really annoyed me... it’s the equivalent of asking someone to do for you.


----------



## Jmk88 (May 3, 2020)

My advice is watch KA Drivers videos. 

Until you are, at the very least able to do it with his safety approach and outcome quality, then you cant think about doing it for money or to break even. 

You can buy an ounce of pure gold from a bullion dealer and practice with it so I really can’t see the purpose of your post behind looking to steal ideas and material sources from people. You would break even then if you learn successfully. Hell... you’d probably make money On the spot value increase if my suspicions that it will take you months if not years are correct. 

You seem more concerned about the financial connotations than safety or the environment. Not one post on either. 

Ironically, assayed gold that isn’t jewellery doesn’t sell for much above spot on eBay. So there is your answer. You buy an ounce of pure gold at market value and sell it once refined. You break even or profit the spot. Gold won’t be going down.


----------



## Shark (May 4, 2020)

Gold is like air, or opinion's, it is where you find it. I have one steady source, and a few sometimes sources. I don't get rich, but I can stay almost as busy as I want to. I enjoy it very much, even cleaning up the left over wastes. I very seldom do karat scrap, and therefore I don't compete with many of my sources, especially my main source. I do quite a bit of gold filled, and some e waste components. There are yard sales, flea markets, thrift stores, public auctions, and garbage to name just a few. Last year I found 14 grams of karat gold at stop signs in the form of ear rings (5 total) from 10 to 14 karat. These are a few of the methods I used to locate better sources, and my main one came to me. Eat, breath and sleep it until you can get established. Talk about it until people start approaching you. Do it all with caution as well, not every one is honest.


----------



## prospector_pete (May 5, 2020)

well im willing to tell u where i get mine and without being a jerk about it.
i usually look in garage sales and swap meets . and there are still some bargains to be found on ebay , theyre just very far and few between.
today a package came from ebay . 750 grams of memory boards , which cost me $21 plus $9 postage . so for $30 i got a nice pile of fingers and ic chips . plus theyre old ram sticks which have gold all over them , not just fingers.
and at $53 per gram in australia . ill double my money almost if i can get just 1 gram.

it is a fun hobby . ive been at it for years . and like the others have said , good deals dont jump out at ya . you need to have one eye open all the time .i wish you luck finding the good deals , they are out there . u just have to find them.
good luck and i hope it works out for you.

my advice is , while youre looking for material , study the process because its not as easy as it looks . and take it from me , people on here have attitude when you ask for help . i know cuz its all i get.
i think youre better off stock piling it when you do find it . and really getting to know exactly what youre doing , so that when you do start , it will be joy instead of a nightmare.


----------



## butcher (May 5, 2020)

prospector_pete,

You sure have an attitude for a new guy, you come here asking everyone for help snd then say they have an attitude because they do not tell you what you want to hear, or ask you to do some of your own work?

Why are you snapping your jaws at the hands of those that are trying to help feed you the information you can not seem to find on your own.

How long do you think those hands will continue to try and assist you in getting started learning?

I know you are about to make me think twice about spending my sleepless nights trying to help someone with an attitude like yours talking bad about those trying to assist you.


----------



## Deceitful_Frank (May 18, 2020)

Finding an easy reliable source of substantially below spot (delivered to your hand) scrap gold is about as easy as trying to solve fermats last theorem whilst on death row in a Texas prison. You're basically asking "where can I find me some free money?"

I think its just something you have to figure out for yourself as anyone who shares is just going to make it harder for themselves.

Having people come to you to help them out of a cashflow jam is a good start. You wanna be taking the gold off there hands rather than buying it from them.

Also a thorough understanding of the nature of gold, how not to get ripped off and played takes time effort and a few expensive mistakes.


----------



## markscomp (May 18, 2020)

one needs to adopt the mindset of the Truffle Pig
a google search brought this up

"Pigs find the truffles by smelling them but also by moving its nose over the ground. Dogs are faster and can access more truffles than pigs, but both can find quality truffles. Unlike dogs, they do not need training to search the truffles because they naturally seek for them and eat them." 

substitute Karat scrap for Truffles


----------



## Puff501 (May 21, 2020)

I appreciate all the info, and also the non info. I didn't realize that I would be pushing some peoples' buttons with this topic. It's not like I'm asking hey Joe, where do you get your stuff I want to go there too. It was a general question for someone new to this like me.
I've been looking for a while now and I now know a guy who knows a guy, and I have another place as well.....

I've done my first refining and still I'm learning. I will be learning for a long time. However I was careful, I had no disasters, had a net loss of 4 grams from 66.75 gram theo yield. I'm pretty happy with it. Got all my silver back.
I'll be working on another batch soon. Have a theo yield of 44.5 grams sitting on my desk right now.
So thanks again and I am not in competition with any of you so don't worry OK?


----------



## nickvc (May 21, 2020)

Puff your loss might not be that much if you worked on the idea that all the gold was plum which in the USA it isn’t, look at the hallmarking rules there and recalculate the yield.
It’s also likely some of your gold is with the silver, in the melting dish, in your filters or in your stock pot.
It might be interesting to keep a file of probable losses and at some future date recover all the gold from the residues and see what your actual loss was, in commercial refineries when working with assayed materials the loss should be around 1/4 - 1/2 % which will nearly all be recovered at a later date.
I’m glad you found a source of scrap as I have posted many times it out there but you have to search and never stop as who knows what may come your way.


----------



## Yggdrasil (May 21, 2020)

Puff.
I don't think you "pushed any buttons".
There comes a lot of different people here and some are the ones that like to be handed all the easy answers right into their palms of their hands. Then answers are minted for those too :wink: 

The basic fact is that most find it hard to get a steady supply of "resources".
So the answer to your question was that it is hard, but if you work hard and have stamina you may or may not find a steady source, depending on where in the world you are of course.


----------



## AVOGEL522 (May 22, 2020)

butcher said:


> prospector_pete,
> 
> You sure have an attitude for a new guy, you come here asking everyone for help snd then say they have an attitude because they do not tell you what you want to hear, or ask you to do some of your own work?
> 
> ...





Iv seen alot of attitude and people being dicks in the 15 minutes iv been on here sounds like alot of people need to practice some humility and get off their high horse


----------



## AVOGEL522 (May 22, 2020)

You know knowledge should be the one thing that is freely given and there should be no limit on what category that knowledge should have to fall under. If someone asks a question that you dont like why not just not answer it instead of going out of your way to be a pompous arrogant jackass? You learn by asking questions and giving the answers recieved a try. It seems to me if someone is new and asking questions because they are eager to learn and your first instinct is to belittle that person or be mean then your the one with the problems and should probably get over yourself and realize that your turning that person away from something that you yourself find rewarding and fulfilling and giving people that refine and work with precious metals a bad name.


----------



## jimdoc (May 22, 2020)

Your stay here will be short, very short. A hole.


----------



## galenrog (May 22, 2020)

AVOGEL522 said:


> You know knowledge should be the one thing that is freely given and there should be no limit on what category that knowledge should have to fall under. If someone asks a question that you dont like why not just not answer it instead of going out of your way to be a pompous arrogant jackass? You learn by asking questions and giving the answers recieved a try. It seems to me if someone is new and asking questions because they are eager to learn and your first instinct is to belittle that person or be mean then your the one with the problems and should probably get over yourself and realize that your turning that person away from something that you yourself find rewarding and fulfilling and giving people that refine and work with precious metals a bad name.



The best of the members here leave their ego at the door when they log on. I suggest you do the same.


----------



## cosmetal (Jun 1, 2020)

Good to see that everyone is well and still at it.  

My ewaste stockpile continues to grow in value and weight. Back to the PPE clad mine soon.

Peace,
James


----------



## lekjaz (Jul 22, 2020)

I find most of my karat scrap at estate sales, garage/yard sales, flea markets, junk stores, thrift/pawn shops, etc. For shops I visit regularly, I've built relationships with people that work there. They know what I like to buy, and sometimes they'll set things aside for me because they know I come in all the time. It pays to be friendly and just listen to people jabber. Even if you don't have any interest in their stories or whatever, just be friendly and chat with them. People love to talk about themselves, and just being a good listener tells them that you're friendly. If you're perceived a friendly person, it's funny how people will go out of their way to help you.


----------



## glorycloud (Jul 22, 2020)

lekjaz said:


> I find most of my karat scrap at estate sales, garage/yard sales, flea markets, junk stores, thrift/pawn shops, etc. For shops I visit regularly, I've built relationships with people that work there. They know what I like to buy, and sometimes they'll set things aside for me because they know I come in all the time. It pays to be friendly and just listen to people jabber. Even if you don't have any interest in their stories or whatever, just be friendly and chat with them. People love to talk about themselves, and just being a good listener tells them that you're friendly. If you're perceived a friendly person, it's funny how people will go out of their way to help you.



Wisdom.


----------



## markscomp (Jul 22, 2020)

lekjaz wrote: ↑July 22nd, 2020, 12:35 pm
I find most of my karat scrap at estate sales, garage/yard sales, flea markets, junk stores, thrift/pawn shops, etc. For shops I visit regularly, I've built relationships with people that work there. They know what I like to buy, and sometimes they'll set things aside for me because they know I come in all the time. It pays to be friendly and just listen to people jabber. Even if you don't have any interest in their stories or whatever, just be friendly and chat with them. People love to talk about themselves, and just being a good listener tells them that you're friendly. If you're perceived a friendly person, it's funny how people will go out of their way to help you.
Wisdom. 

all should seek wisdom. one word. simple. direct. it is so accurate for today. 
Mark thank you Glorycloud


----------



## ZiegenSauger (Nov 20, 2020)

Hello @Puff501, I hear you brother.

I was looking and searching throughout the forum for ideas and recommendations when I got to this thread.

The stage of our lives is similar, and so are the reasons for embarking in this hobby.

I dedicated mostly of 2019 to learn. I started ferociously watching videos from Mr. Sreetips (Kadriver), then I bought a beautiful hardcover version of "The Book", got a couple more books, dusted off my Uni archives and started to practice, transitioning from blacksmithing (previous hobby) to smelting and pouring a myriad of metals to practice.
This year I immersed myself in practicing. Many mistakes but helped me learn.
Why am I saying all this BS? Because sourcing has been THE roadblocker for me.
I live in South FL, everything is $$$ inflated. So I toured thrifts and accumulated good weight of silver plated: big mistake. Also the best mistake, helped me to graduate in Silver, to a point where I can experiment out of the box.
Also, I went insane into eWaste. It is ridiculous but it is a good source for me, specifically for gold. Literally trash can diving. A neighbour put 3 large brand new, sealed Xerox machines to be taken by waste management. It rained for days here, my son saw and called me - he's seen me scrapping all sorts of circuit boards. From the Xerox machine there was no more than a medicine sized tube of pins, fingers (not refining ICs for now).
Every end of day soon after dinner while my wife and kids were messing around the TV, i just laid down a cardboard and dedicated a couple of hrs per night to clip every single gold plated pins. Most boards you get 10 pins with less than a mm of plated gold.

Summary, there are not many options, you have to get "your hands dirty", meaning you have to look.try your drawers, boxes in the garage, yard sales, flea markets, on line auctions, thrifts, on line stores like Bonanza and similars.
You will find a lot, it is overwhelming and the prices are baaaaaaaad. So you have to look, you have to follow individual auctions, you have to dedicate time to succeed on this hobby.
I learned the worst way that in depth study, disciplined practice, patience, journals and dedication are mandatory to succeed.
And it depends on where you live: you have the virtual world and the real world near you.
I am sure I will create relationships and have repeat sellers with time and dedication. But I need to invest time with dedication. It is possible to buy one piece per day. It is what I committed to do Sunday to Sunday.

It will be a great journey in the best years of our lives my friend.

Cheers


----------



## geedigity (Nov 21, 2020)

Thomas Edison once said that opportunity is missed by most people because it comes dressed in overalls and looks like work.


----------



## Zhazham (Jan 29, 2022)

I started this hobby about an year ago. My plan was to refine karat gold. Very soon i found out that it is nearly impossible to find it with reasonable price. I end up changing my plan and concentrated on silver. It is easier to find at lower price and if make newbie mistakes, not so much money is lost. During the last year, i started to think gold as a sidecatch. Sometimes find karat gold, sometimes plating from silver items.

Even with silver, it still take time to find material. When im searching for material, i also buy jeweleries for sale. Selling jeweleries make precious metal hobby profitable for me. Vintage silver jeweleries are selling good. Now refining is just for savings, barely breaking even at best case.


----------



## orvi (Jan 29, 2022)

I found myself in a specific situation when I started with refining. I had small pile of old electronics in house, mainly from my granddad´s repair shop. Very good yielding stuff, but only a small ammount. I scraped that in maybe two weeks.
And then faced the same issue - where to find some scrap ? Sniping all kinds of things, e-scrap, karat, silver, electronics, whole devices, PCs etc. quite intensively. And just found that with regular ways, it is nearly impossible. Mainly with karat and silver here. There is no way to find anything what sell below spot. No chance - pawnshops, jewellers, auctions on internet - not a single time under spot. And also, mentality here is to scam anybody  without a doubt, we are a nation of scammers naturally... People think they will get milions for their old crappy broken bracelets and rings, seriously. Completely refuse my offered 90 to even 95% of the spot, and next week they will march to the first jeweller´s where they will get 70% - because they do not trust the young honest guy, only the well known big scammer  Buying on internet here is a nightmare also. After two times when I get scammed, I stopped buying stuff from internet overall. And focused solely on e-scrap. Not worth the nerve and risks involved. Fortunately, it was not a huge ammount of money lost. I lost all hope for this nation completely after experiencing these things.

E-scrap is easier here, but only when people completely do not know the value. Otherwise the scammer-spirit is awaken  and they start to expect the material and old devices are worth millions. 
Most of the people here focuses on the copper - easy to find, scrap and sell. So many people know the value of copper scrap like motors, transformers, old welding machines, cables etc... Sometimes you get lucky to find some old PCs, mobile phones, CRT TVs from 70s, many times circuit breakers, fuses etc. Overall after 2 day hunt not even a small pile of goodies to start some refining.
Much better oportunities here are when electronic scrap and hazardous materials are collected at villages. Smaller villages do not have yards where you can officially dispose old electronic devices or hazardous stuff like old paints, paint thinners, motor oil etc... So they organize 2 times a year an event, when big container is placed somewhere in the village and people can toss the electro scrap here. Sometimes just few small things contained, but often you can cherrypick some goodies like big circuit breakers, fuses, PC boards, mobile phones etc 
At regular scrapyards at towns here, you aren´t allowed to take the stuff even for money. Some folks at "private-owned" scrapyards are willing to sell the stuff, but at prices that you cannot make single buck out of it :/ as I said, nation of scammers 

Later on, I found incredible opportunity to work for one bigger guy who refine scrap. With chemical knowledge, I was well suited for doing this kind of work. But not with my own material still... Maybe some time in the future. We will see


----------



## UpsetFatherof4 (Jan 29, 2022)

Jmk88 said:


> With all due respect... have some respect.
> 
> It isn’t something you just hop on eBay and start doing you need to forge business relationships with people that work in the industry and like Dave says, that’s through hard work like anything.
> 
> ...


You sound like a really nice guy with all due respect.


----------



## UpsetFatherof4 (Jan 29, 2022)

Puff501 said:


> I appreciate all the info, and also the non info. I didn't realize that I would be pushing some peoples' buttons with this topic. It's not like I'm asking hey Joe, where do you get your stuff I want to go there too. It was a general question for someone new to this like me.
> I've been looking for a while now and I now know a guy who knows a guy, and I have another place as well.....
> 
> I've done my first refining and still I'm learning. I will be learning for a long time. However I was careful, I had no disasters, had a net loss of 4 grams from 66.75 gram theo yield. I'm pretty happy with it. Got all my silver back.
> ...


It’s really a shame how pompous a lot of these folks are on here. I’m not exactly sure what the size of stick that firmly wedged in there is. When I signed up it was for a mess my kids created and really got us into a bind. Spent 3 hours writing the story and asked for help. Got chewed out and had to rewrite and change my username even because someone got hurt feels. I personally think that a lot of these fine individuals would absolutely be eating both servings of knuckle sandwiches and my world famous combat boot salad I would be more than willing to feed them for their wonderful kindness and treatment of others. Even the motto to the site gives me a good laugh! Ha ha, what jerks!


----------



## silver1 (Jan 29, 2022)

UpsetFatherof4 said:


> It’s really a shame how pompous a lot of these folks are on here. I’m not exactly sure what the size of stick that firmly wedged in there is. When I signed up it was for a mess my kids created and really got us into a bind. Spent 3 hours writing the story and asked for help. Got chewed out and had to rewrite and change my username even because someone got hurt feels. I personally think that a lot of these fine individuals would absolutely be eating both servings of knuckle sandwiches and my world famous combat boot salad I would be more than willing to feed them for their wonderful kindness and treatment of others. Even the motto to the site gives me a good laugh! Ha ha, what jerks!


With all due respect of course.


----------



## FrugalRefiner (Jan 29, 2022)

Ralph, he probably won't read your response. I just banned him.

For the record, UpsetFatherof4 was asked to change his username because it was inappropriate. He had to rewrite his post because the original version was full of profanity. Both are violations of board policy. He was given a chance to comply with our rules, but it appears that was too much to ask of him.

His post here today suggesting he would like to commit violence against our members is more than I will allow.

Dave


----------



## speed (Jan 30, 2022)

Personally I think karat scrap (closely followed by stirling) are the hardest to find at an economical price. Mainly because they nearly always have some kind hallmark which is basically the items value printed in the side.. alright you need some basic knowledge to calculate the actual value but it's there for all to see..

Stuff like ewaste, rolled gold and catalytic converters are much easier to find at an acceptable price as even if people know theres some value there it requires real knowledge and experience to actually quantify what values they contain. (Even a good estimate!) 

You will probably find most ebay auctions still hit there value but the chances of you picking somthing more obscure up 'in the wild' for a bargin price is much higher. 

My advice would be concentrate on accumulating that kind of knowledge and forget karat.


----------



## silver1 (Jan 31, 2022)

A wise man once told me there was a fortune to be made in poor mans Karat Gold.
That poor mans Karat Gold was Gold Filled! I built a whole company off that wise man's words!
Search and you shall find.


----------



## nickvc (Jan 31, 2022)

Finding materials to recover and refine has always been one of the hardest parts of this as a hobby or even a business many members are lucky to refine an ounce of gold a year.
There is material out there but finding the sources can be utterly frustrating to be polite but as I have said before talk to everyone you know or meet about your new hobby and what you are looking for, you really never know where that connection will be made .


----------



## silver1 (Jan 31, 2022)

Sourcing! Sourcing is one of the hardest things for both hobbyist and professional alike. As even a small dealer/ hustler/ hobbyist refiner has to have a flow of source materials to generate some value in time and effort, *sometimes knowledge holds the value.* Profit for work and effort involved. The little guy in my opinion takes all the risk. They risk the money. They invest a lot of time and effort. They can get robbed, ganked, or other risk. That one reason they have to have more profit margin to have a successful business model. On the refiners side you have almost zero liability, but lower profit margins. You make up that profit margin in volume. Where on one side the client takes all those risk, the refiner eliminates them. The refiner will never lose money! Well... Unless you make a mistake, and it happens. I had a lot of 300 lbs i was trying to push out the door for a client. Didn't take the time to and patience required. It got rejected. I spent 30 minutes on the phone apologizing. It was shipped back to me. I paid shipping both ways (lose). I had to invest time and effort as well as chemical cost again (lose). Lesson learned. (Gain). My profits come from a know quantity of source materials. The clients source is ever changing. Now it does affect the refiner in volume, but the profit margin is always the same. Just volume matters. In the market the refiner sets at the top of the food pyramid. Those in the chain below him are like worker ants. They gather up the food and bring it home to the moma. But the refiners equivalent to that is he has to gather up the worker ants and make sure there's enough food to feed the need. And he needs a lot of them according to his consumption. It's not a cake walk on either side. Who do you want to be? The ant or the queen? Knowledge, wisdom, and experience is the key to that one. You can find that all right here! The rest is up to you!


----------



## -rob- (Feb 23, 2022)

I see a lot of websites dedicated to buying scrap and unwanted gold. Is this a good option for you? Social media? Just curious myself.


----------



## nickvc (Feb 24, 2022)

The only real way to find karat scrap regularly and in quantity is to be pro active and get your name out to those who have material to sell, this comes with one main problem, you are now a visible and known buyer of precious metals and as such can become a target for robberies or attacks unless you have a secure place to operate from which will include safes alarms cameras and insurance and all those cost money , lots of money…
Margins on karat scrap are much smaller if you want quantity compared to those you can find from other sources unless you are the only buyer with no competition in your area which these days is rare.
Im not saying you can’t find karat scrap but I’d find it hard to rob a member of the public so would want to offer 90% as a minimum which would leave a healthy margin on gold scrap which is by far the easiest to refine or you could flip it for a 6-8% return with the big buyers.
Another point to remember is that buying karat scrap is cash intensive and you now need deep pockets to buy in quantity so in honesty e scrap is a good cheap alternative for many especially if the material is sourced for free or cheaply , lots more work but much bigger return.


----------



## justinhcase (Feb 24, 2022)

Actually had to get permission from the Bank of England for that one.


----------



## VK3NHL (Feb 25, 2022)

An old prospector once said to me;

“Gold brings out the best in some people but in others it brings out the worst”

The truest words I have ever heard..

Cheers all
Tony


----------



## -rob- (Feb 25, 2022)

Very true!


----------



## user 12009 (Feb 28, 2022)

I had no problem finding karat and 925 scrap one time. A "cash for gold" company went out of business and i bought all the boxes he had of "non-gold/silver rejects" Over 300 pounds of junk jewelry. I found ounces of karat gold and pounds of silver. Most is shown in the first photo. Other pics show some of the more interesting things found.


----------



## Joip11421 (Jun 1, 2022)

prospector_pete said:


> well im willing to tell u where i get mine and without being a jerk about it.
> i usually look in garage sales and swap meets . and there are still some bargains to be found on ebay , theyre just very far and few between.
> today a package came from ebay . 750 grams of memory boards , which cost me $21 plus $9 postage . so for $30 i got a nice pile of fingers and ic chips . plus theyre old ram sticks which have gold all over them , not just fingers.
> and at $53 per gram in australia . ill double my money almost if i can get just 1 gram.
> ...


Good information. Thank you


----------



## Joip11421 (Jun 1, 2022)

nickvc said:


> Finding materials to recover and refine has always been one of the hardest parts of this as a hobby or even a business many members are lucky to refine an ounce of gold a year.
> There is material out there but finding the sources can be utterly frustrating to be polite but as I have said before talk to everyone you know or meet about your new hobby and what you are looking for, you really never know where that connection will be made .


So, I've used the HiBid auctions site. I've acquired a little bit, set a price I'm comfortable with and don't chase. Unfortunately for me, I'm still full time work (60 hours a week), though getting ready to slow down /semi retire. Just in the collection mode, so all the discussions are good. 
I did see a few auctions of larger lots of silver, decently priced to start with. Then it gets run up, so now looking at other places in around Lost Wages. 
Now the question I have is lab materials. Is there a decent place to purchase from (all the glass & chemicals, fume hoods)? I've seen a big disparity on ebay/Google. 

Thank you


----------



## cejohnsonsr1 (Jun 1, 2022)

Joip11421 said:


> So, I've used the HiBid auctions site. I've acquired a little bit, set a price I'm comfortable with and don't chase. Unfortunately for me, I'm still full time work (60 hours a week), though getting ready to slow down /semi retire. Just in the collection mode, so all the discussions are good.
> I did see a few auctions of larger lots of silver, decently priced to start with. Then it gets run up, so now looking at other places in around Lost Wages.
> Now the question I have is lab materials. Is there a decent place to purchase from (all the glass & chemicals, fume hoods)? I've seen a big disparity on ebay/Google.
> 
> Thank you


Not Amazon or EBay. Do a Google search for chemistry lab glassware. I can’t remember the names, but there are a few with anything you might need or want.


----------



## RockiB (Jul 6, 2022)

I've been saving electronic scrap for years, cleaning it up as I can. Only now am I finally starting to move towards refining the precious metals out. 

I'm starting with silver and copper, because if I screw up royally the losses will be under $1 a gram. And there's how incredibly competitive everyone is for gold these days! If you can't afford to pay the price gold is selling at, you certainly can't afford to risk losing it because you made a mistake with the chemistry.

Start with silver. Learn to handle the chemicals safely and determine if this work is something you're sincerely invested to do. Gather gold as you can while you're learning. It's value isn't going to drop. Once you can safely process silver and get your expected yields, you'll probably be ready to move to gold.


----------



## nickvc (Jul 9, 2022)

RockiB said:


> I've been saving electronic scrap for years, cleaning it up as I can. Only now am I finally starting to move towards refining the precious metals out.
> 
> I'm starting with silver and copper, because if I screw up royally the losses will be under $1 a gram. And there's how incredibly competitive everyone is for gold these days! If you can't afford to pay the price gold is selling at, you certainly can't afford to risk losing it because you made a mistake with the chemistry.
> 
> Start with silver. Learn to handle the chemicals safely and determine if this work is something you're sincerely invested to do. Gather gold as you can while you're learning. It's value isn't going to drop. Once you can safely process silver and get your expected yields, you'll probably be ready to move to gold.



For those who do not want to recover and refine you can always sell the scrap as is and buy gold or silver to stack .


----------



## campbellj46 (Jul 9, 2022)

1 hobby led me to refining. A gold pan and creeks are my hobby, getting paid doing it is just a bonus. I've been prospecting for 30+ yrs. 

However, I do buy scrap from all the usual suspects, yard sales, estate sales, friends, family, business contacts, etc. I pay 95% spot, I sell to my buyer for 97% spot. I make a profit on 1% margins. (High volume) with the spot prices dropping, I'm buying as much as possible. I'll pay melt value for quantity, refine it and stick it in the safety deposit box until prices go up. 

Of course, I do own 3 operational claims but I started with a backpack, gold pan and a bottle of water.


----------



## Elemental (Jul 9, 2022)

@campbellj46,

Could you explain what the little electronic black box with the two knobs is in your 022218.jpg? I'm assuming it's some sort of metal detector? Could you let us know what it is? Thanks.


----------



## campbellj46 (Jul 9, 2022)

Elemental said:


> @campbellj46,
> 
> Could you explain what the little electronic black box with the two knobs is in your 022218.jpg? I'm assuming it's some sort of metal detector? Could you let us know what it is? Thanks.


Yes sir, it's a Falcon metal detector pin point probe. I got it in Arizona about 8 yrs ago.


----------



## RockiB (Jul 9, 2022)

It just occurred to me you said you're in Arizona. I would start making connections with folks involved with the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show. The big one happens in Feb, and a smaller one in Sept. The winter show is a BIG DEAL in the jewelry industry. It could help you make useful connections.

Also look into estate sales. Here's the thing though, to get good prices you generally have to buy an amount that justifies the seller taking the loss. It takes a really significant amount of money to do that with gold. It's much more attainable with silver imo.

A scrap silver lot I was watching on eBay had 636g sell for $0.487 per gram, including shipping. $309.82 plus tax. The price will probably still be under spot once all the stones are removed. My point is if you want jewelry below spot, buying quantities can get that.


----------



## Elemental (Jul 10, 2022)

@campbellj46,

I found a few videos on it to share with the forum. Thanks for posting what is it, I'm always excited to see some of the tech people use to help them in the precious metal work.

Falcon MD20, how to find gold on bedrock with a metal detector.​

Gold Prospecting Falcon MD 20 Metal Detector​
​Tuning the Falcon MD20 - Fixing if it squeals all the time​

Falcon Metal Detector--Gold mining tutorial​


----------



## campbellj46 (Jul 10, 2022)

Elemental said:


> @campbellj46,
> 
> I found a few videos on it to share with the forum. Thanks for posting what is it, I'm always excited to see some of the tech people use to help them in the precious metal work.
> 
> ...



Good video  that's the only downside to this detector. It will squeal like a stuck pig until you get it tuned right. Once it's tuned, it's flawless.


----------



## gold_is_old (Dec 2, 2022)

I am Sundar Tumuluru from Chennai, India and would like to join the bandwagon of Gold refining forum as I am also have 2 doctorates in Chemistry and Business Mgmt.
My wife passed away 8 months back and my children are well settled, now wanted to make a Hobby out of GOLD REFINING.. What are the Suggestions to start with....expect themembers to assist me in this hobby, though it is a costly one, have no liabilities to continue.


----------



## Yggdrasil (Dec 2, 2022)

gold_is_old said:


> I am Sundar Tumuluru from Chennai, India and would like to join the bandwagon of Gold refining forum as I am also have 2 doctorates in Chemistry and Business Mgmt.
> My wife passed away 8 months back and my children are well settled, now wanted to make a Hobby out of GOLD REFINING.. What are the Suggestions to start with....expect themembers to assist me in this hobby, though it is a costly one, have no liabilities to continue.


Welcome to us.
There are usually 3 ways to get Gold.
Karat scrap from old jewellery, jewellers filings, watches and so on. This have its own pros and cons regarding processing.

Next electronic waste which has a totally different approach.

And ores which also have its own challenges.

Usually the hard thing for most is to get a steady supply of the preferred feed stock.

We all recommend reading a book from C. M. Hoke, you will find it for free on the forum, then study waste treatment and safety.

After that, one has usually enough knowledge to ask the correct and good questions and understand the replies.


----------



## JRNSC (Dec 2, 2022)

I used to work construction and a lot of coworkers were always coming up short of cash. They would bring in their old jewelry or something that belonged to their ex looking to sell. I kept a set of scales in my truck and kept up to date with current prices. I would then weigh up what they had and make a fair offer allowing myself about 20%. Usually I would just resell it when the market went up and never have to process it at all and most of the times get double my investment.
I know of one man that buys a lot at yard sales. If there isn't anything out for sale he always asks the homeowner if they might have any. Many times they have old gold and silver jewelry that they have not thought about in years that they are willing to part with.


----------

