# Would this work?



## jel3412 (May 11, 2010)

I will apologize ahead of time if my first question on this board turns out to be a really stupid question. So here it goes...I was curious if anyone had any luck with trying to buy scrap gold from other gold buyers like pawn shops etc... While I realize they have the same sources for refining that we do I had a thought that if you offered them a really high % such as 90 to 95%, while offering convenience of picking up their gold (they don't have to ship it off) and giving them money on the spot vs waiting for refining...would they go for that idea? My thought was that if you refine with a refiner that pays 98% you would be making a very small profit, but a small profit on a lot of gold that you would not normally have access to.

So is this a crazy idea? Would these gold buyers go for this to get cash faster? Or would they just laugh at the idea because they have no problem waiting for the higher payout? 

Just trying really hard to think outside the box on finding gold - hope this wasn't too far outside the box .


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## JohnW (May 11, 2010)

jel3412 said:


> I will apologize ahead of time if my first question on this board turns out to be a really stupid question. So here it goes...I was curious if anyone had any luck with trying to buy scrap gold from other gold buyers like pawn shops etc... While I realize they have the same sources for refining that we do I had a thought that if you offered them a really high % such as 90 to 95%, while offering convenience of picking up their gold (they don't have to ship it off) and giving them money on the spot vs waiting for refining...would they go for that idea? My thought was that if you refine with a refiner that pays 98% you would be making a very small profit, but a small profit on a lot of gold that you would not normally have access to.
> 
> So is this a crazy idea? Would these gold buyers go for this to get cash faster? Or would they just laugh at the idea because they have no problem waiting for the higher payout?
> 
> Just trying really hard to think outside the box on finding gold - hope this wasn't too far outside the box .




Try it out. Talk to a couple of them and see what they say. In my area is extremely difficult to even get people to sell you at 98%, so what I do is this:

1-I have my personal stash (which started very small) refined.
2-I have a list of jewelers (that make pieces) that I stay in contact with. I offer them my fine gold in shot in exchange for the gold content of their scrap, sweeps, etc, etc. at 98% melted and assayed by me. I keep whatever silver as a bonus.
3-When I run out of fine gold, or feel that the stash is big enough, I refine it at leisure.

My stash of gold keeps growing at 2% per turn, and I enjoy my hobbie!.


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## jel3412 (May 11, 2010)

I probably should have mentioned that I don't refine the gold myself. Yep I know, its a gold refining forum, but I take away knowledge in every corner that I can find it. So with that being said I would have to send it to a refiner that pays 98% or 985%.


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## jimdoc (May 11, 2010)

The way the price has been fluctuating lately, you would have to worry about the spot price dropping that 2 percent or more before you can get paid. 

Jim


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## jel3412 (May 11, 2010)

Jim 

That is a very valid point to be considered - thank you.


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## goldsilverpro (May 11, 2010)

The best way to make a good profit from pawnbrokers and jewelers is to get big enough to buy cheap and ship in volume, to big refiners. Also, get a small induction furnace and a fire assay setup.

If you generate enough volume, you could probably get your stuff refined, honestly, for .5-1.0% from a large refiner. We were shipping about 100-200 oz/month of gold contained in karat gold and getting back 99.3%. You can lock in the price with these people immediately after you buy and not have to worry about the spot price. Before shipping, you should melt, sample, and assay the material. In my experience, dealing with very large refineries (like Hereaus) is more cut and dried and there is rarely any question on the returns. These large companies mainly use the Miller chlorine process and Wohlwill cells and it's hard to compete with that. They can actually make a profit There are a number of smaller refineries that are honest. Not many, but a few.

If you're small volume, there are more unpleasant surprises when buying on a small margin of profit.


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## JJH (Oct 1, 2010)

Didn't know where to post this so if it is in the wrong place, sorry. Does anyone remember a show about 15 years ago I bielieve national geographic where they were talking about underwater research. There was some sort of research facility under water for a while that was making use of a hot sea vent. When they pulled up a tube that was in the vent they found it to be plated with gold. It surprised them and then the announcer commented that this would lead to them finding out how gold was made.....and I never heard anything about the process or findings after the show. I know many people have tried unsuccessfully to discover a profitable process, but so far all have been met with failure. Any one heard of this.

Jon


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## Harold_V (Oct 2, 2010)

How gold is made is no secret---it's a nuclear reaction that occurs @ 600 million degrees temperature, according to Robert Jastrow, in his book Red Giants and White Dwarfs. 

Assuming what you saw has credibility, what was displayed was how gold gets deposited, not how it's made. That would explain how fine cracks in quartz can be filled with gold. 

Harold


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