Party planning
Gold parties are when friends and neighbors visit someone’s home and sell gold to a dealer who is hosting the event. The homeowner normally gets a commission on any sales to the dealer and their guests get paid based on the weight and quality of their gold. But before you go, here are some tips to keep in mind:
Understand the scales: The weight of gold helps determine its value. If you measure your jewelry on a home kitchen or postal scale it is important to understand that jewelers use a different measurement standard called a Troy ounce. A common U.S. scale will measure 28 grams per ounce, while gold is measured at 31.1 grams per Troy ounce. To add to the confusion, some dealers will also use a system of weights called pennyweight (dwt) to measure a Troy ounce while others will use grams. A pennyweight is the equivalent of 1.555 grams. Consumers need to be alert that a dealer does not weigh their gold by pennyweight, but pay them by the gram. This would allow the dealer to pay the seller less for more weight of gold.
Know your karats: Pure gold is is combined with other metals to create durability and color. One karat equals 1/24 of pure gold by weight. So 14 karats would mean the jewelry was 14 parts gold and 10 parts other metals.
Do your homework: Call a local jewelry store or check with an online source, such as www.goldprice.org, to verify the current market price for gold before you sell.
Get an appraisal: To ensure you are getting the best price for your jewelry, have it appraised before selling. Dealers at gold parties are only paying you for the karats and weight of the gold. Your jewelry may be worth more than that price when you include workmanship, artistic value and embedded gems for the piece as a whole.
Source: Better Business Bureau
In this economy, any way you can make some extra cash is welcome.
And, if you can have fun in the process, well, that’s a bonus.
So, meet the next generation of home parties, inspired by a weak economy and a high price for gold: The gold party.
And while the idea has sprung from the generation-old idea of Tupperware parties -- the host invites friends over, they play a few games and hopefully sell some plastic storage packages in the process -- this home-party idea is decidedly more to-the-point.
“I had about 30 people that came and some of the people did not stay -- they brought their Ziploc bag of gold and I just delivered the cash that evening,” said North Hall resident Anna Whitmire, who hosted a party last August.
Whitmire said she found out about the couple who bought the gold through friends, since her sister hosted a party earlier this year.
“They come and they OK (the gold) and they weigh the gold based on whether it’s 14, 18, 20 or 24 (karat), and they pay out a different percentage per category,” Whitmire said. “Then they total it all up and pay you in cash.”
The couple, who Whitmire said live in the metro Atlanta area, did not return e-mails to comment on this story.
However, a quick Google search brings up a handful of party organizers in the North Georgia area, some affiliated with jewelry stores and others spawned simply for the purpose of hosting gold parties.
And while Whitmire said she felt she got a good deal on the gold she sold at her sister’s party, the Better Business Bureau recommends consumers do some homework on gold prices before selling jewelry at a gold party.
For buyers of scrap gold, whether it’s at a home party or at a jewelry store, the gold ends up at a refinery. There is a huge demand right now for gold bullion and coins, said Phil Forrester, owner of Gainesville Jewelry, and that’s helping push the price of gold up.
As of Monday afternoon, gold had topped $850 an ounce.
“We buy all metal as far as gold, silver and platinum,” Forrester said. “We send it to a refinery; when we normally accumulate up to 100 ounces of gold at a time we send it to a refinery and they pay us 99 percent (of the cost.)”
Forrester said people form all walks of life have been coming in to sell their gold jewelry, from people who have lost their jobs to retirees who have some gold coins and just want some extra cash.
“We’re buying probably more gold right now than we’ve ever bought,” he said. “It’s just a reflection of the economic times. It sure keeps us busy.”
The gold the Gainesville Jewelry buys is sent to a refinery that has a contract with the Canadian government; old watches, earrings and rings from here eventually become gold maple leaf coins in our neighbor to the north.
And, Forrester cautioned, people should keep in mind that just because gold is selling at a certain amount per ounce doesn’t mean that’s the price you’ll get — often it depends on the karat amount, or the amount of gold in your jewelry.
But Whitmire said she is happy with the deal she received, and she enjoyed the experience of hosting her own gold party, where she also received nine percent of the evening’s sales as hostess.
And what did she do with the money? She and her family went on vacation.
“We went to the beach for my 40th birthday,” she said. “It was just extra cash; it’s always nice when that jumps in your hand.”