Yards Sale Haul for this week

[kadriver]

Here is our collection of scrap silver & gold for this week.

This was not easy to accumulate - but it goes to show what a little effort can do when applied to searching for scrap to refine.

My wife is the real champion when it comes to finding the gold & silver that I refine. In fact she finds probably 98% of all the metal.

She is a master negotiator, and is not easily offended by rejection.

Myself, I would rather light my hair on fire and try to put it out with an ice pick, than go to yard sales.

But my wife makes me get up on Saturday mornings and go look for jewelry.

She bought me a GPS and has a list of addresses for me. Then she turns on my cell phone with the ringer on full blast and sets it next to the bed as she leaves at 5:30 am.

A few minutes later she starts calling and won't stop calling until I answer it.

I don't like doing it, but I do it anyway. I do like helping her even if it's something I don't like to do.

This lot represents our take for this week ending Saturday to Saturday.

Upper left is sterling & 925 solid silver - over 400 grams.

Upper right is gold filled with some silver - about 80 to 100 grams of gold filled. I need to test some pieces as they may be silver.

Lower left is 14k gold all metal with no stones - about 60 grams.

Lower right is 10k gold all metal with no stones - about 15 grams.

This weeks take was a little above average, but not far from what we routinely receive in our quest for more gold & silver.

Thanks for looking.

kadriver

 

[texan]

Good haul....maybe?

What was your gross cash outlay for your bags of booty may I ask.

Texan

 

[kadriver]

Probably in the neighborhood of $1200 - but this is unusual for us.

I paid out 70% of spot on about half of all the gold.

The other half, plus all the silver, came in below $200 - this is closer to what we usually pay.

I paid out 70% and get to keep 30%. It was either that or walk away and get nothing.

Thank you for asking.

kadriver

 

[goob]

How do you get so much gold from yard sales at anything below spot? I see lots, but can almost never get a good price. Around here there is a place paying "top dollar for your unwanted gold" on almost every corner, so most everyone gives them their jewelry at ~50% spot instead of selling it at yard sales. The people that don't give it to those places think they are smart, so they "can't take less than" 150% spot for their 10k ring or whatever ugly junk they bought off QVC. Also, lots and lots of magnetic gold going around here lately.

 

[kadriver]

goob:

My wife looks for gold and silver items FULLTIME. This is her job for our business. Plus she gets a thrill out of making a good deal.

It is getting harder to find. I (not my wife) have started paying out 70 to 80 percent of spot just to get at the gold.

If she comes across a person who wants $300 for a bracelet, then she calls me and I go over and cut them a deal for 70% or 80% of spot price - I have a scale and test kit. It is either that or get nothing.

People who sell their jewelry at yard sales, in my experience, usually don't have a clue as to the value is of their items. If they do, then they go to one of the "sell your gold for cash" places or ask a very high price like you mentioned.

We have a few trade secrets, and I will share one with you now;
When you go to a yard sale, if you don't see any jewelry laid out for sale, then find the person who is having the sale and quietly (without others hearing if you can) ask if they have any jewelry for sale.

Sometimes they will say,"I didn't think about that" and run in and bring some gold or silver out and put it in your hand.

If they say, "no" (which most do), then ask if they have any old broken jewelry laying around they might want to get rid of.

Sometimes they will go inside and bring it out. But they won't have it out if you don't ask.

My wife is the major buyer for our business. She has been buying gold for about ten years now. She can spot a piece of gold a mile away, and tell if it is real just be looking at it!

Some older pieces of gold are not marked. She has a knack for finding stuff that is not marked. The owner has no idea that it is gold so she gets it for pennies - but only because she can eye it and tell it's gold.

This does not work 100% of the time, and she is occasionally wrong. But since she only pays pennies it is no big loss.

She came home last night with 10 grams of 14k, 2 grams of 10k and a 25 gram 925 silver necklace. But the person she bought these items from would not budge of the ask price of $200 - so she paid it.

Sunday evening she went to a rural area near where we live and came home with about 170 grams of 925 jewelry - $20

Hope this is helpful to you.

kadriver

 

[goob]

Went to a bunch of yard sales today. No luck with gold and only 3 grams of sterling. My friend that was with me got a little 1 gram 14k necklace for $1 though. I missed it because it was in a little bag with a big fake seashell charm. Not making that mistake again. I'm looking at every little bag of junk from now on. I did get ~22 pounds of junk brass for $7, a nintendo 64 with some games for $10, and some antique covered casserole dishes for $1, so not a complete loss for me.

 

[goob]

I've had some amazing luck with yard sales this week. Just thursday, friday and today I've got 6.75 ozt of sterling, one big ugly .74 ozt .950 silver necklace, 3.4 grams 10k gold and a 3.6 gram 18k necklace 8) Also got another ~2 ozt of nicer sterling jewelry, 2 pairs 10k earrings w/ stones I haven't decided whether to scrap or resell yet, and a sterling Tiffany & co. key chain w/ locket. The best part, this big pile of junk only cost me $52 :shock:

EDIT: forgot to say, I got a weighted sterling candlestick that looks to have been spray painted brown. Has anyone else seen this before? It seems ridiculous to do that, but it is probably why I got it for a quarter

 

[triffid]

I got two weighted candle sticks once for .25 at an annual church sale.Got $70.00 from midwest refineries for it.They no longer accept weighted stuff however.I would still buy them however if I saw them.