BASTIDA: There are lots of places that will offer to buy your old gold for cash.
You've probably seen some of the ads.
But are you really getting what it's worth?
Only on 5 tonight,
Julie Watts has the results of our undercover investigation.
WATTS: You're watching hidden camera video
of a visit to a traveling gold show.
Huntington Rare Coins and Precious Metals
travels the state promoting its visits to town with
glossy brochures offering a two day only opportunity
to get instant cash for your old valuables.
BROADWIN: And I always look the item over for just general information.
Bay Area jeweler Tom Broadwin agreed to lend us six thousand dollars worth of gold
plus some fake costume jewelry to mix in and
we went undercover to put Huntington to the test.
WATTS: While they accurately identified what was real
and what was fake.
HUNTINGTON: That's cash.
WATTS: The offer seemed low.
About 47% of what our gold was actually worth.
SELLER: How about that?
WATTS: Of course you shouldn't expect to get the full value of your gold.
Gold buyers do need to make a profit
but we wanted to see just how much we could get
So we took our gold on the road to local jewelers.
JEWELER: How much money you would get depend on the weight and the purity
At Albany Coin Exchange,
They walked us through the process as they tested every item.
JEWELER: This is total.
and offered us 70% of the Gold's value.
They even gave us an itemized printout
of their offer for each piece to take home.
After a quick look with a magnifying glass,
JEWELER: If it's not marked, we contest it.
Fort Knox in Alameda
accurately separated the real from the fake and offered 72% of the gold's value.
But across the bay,
Bay Area Gold and Silver in San Francisco
gave us the best deal by far.
Using a computerized device to test each item,
the owner offered us 86% of the gold's value.
The lowest local offer
SHOPPER: Do you guys buy gold?
JEWELER: Yes we do.
SHOPPER: You do?
That came at Numis international in Millbrae.
JEWELER: ...and I'll give you a number.
Where unlike every other jeweler,
our valuables were quickly whisked away from sight
and when they came back
the owner would only offer a lump sum for all our jewelry
JEWELER: I can't give any more details without charging for an appraisal.
Refusing to tell us what he'd pay for each item
unless we paid him first.
His offer for everything -
not much better than the traveling gold buyers.
JEWELER : This is worth...
WATTS: About 49% of the gold's value.
BROADWIN: When I buy gold, I test it but
it's still never less than 75% of the gold market.
BROADWIN: If the items are saleable, where I think I can resell it
and won't melt it,
I'll pay 90% of the market.
Tom says the lowball offer
from the traveling gold buyer doesn't surprise him
BROADWIN: When they come to hotels or other venues,
they know they're never gonna see you again.
WATTS: But he was shocked by our experience at Numis international.
BROADWIN: These people have a lot of nerve.
They should be willing to tell you exactly what you have
and make you a firm offer.
Under no obligation of any kind
WATTS: Yet at this store,
they wouldn't even tell us
if this was real gold unless we first agreed
to sell it to them for pennies on the dollar.
They were the only store to ask us to pay for an appraisal
and while you might do that for insurance purposes,
you shouldn't have to pay to sell your gold.
WATTS: Do you remember this piece of jewelry though?
WATTS: But when we went back to ask them
about what we caught on camera,
WATTS: Do you often force people to pay you
before you buy their gold?
JEWELER: We never force anybody to pay us, no. That's incorrect.
WATTS: The owner asked us to leave
and while jewelers do have the right to lowball you,
you have the right to shop around.
In Millbrae,
Julie Watts, KPIX 5
BASTIDA: We reached out to all the stores that we visited for our investigation including
the traveling gold buyer.
They had no comment.
Meanwhile we have tips on how to figure out
what your gold is worth before you shop it around.
You can go to cbsSF.com