How to Sell Silver & Gold Bullion Locally

If you want to sell some gold or silver, you can do so either online or in-person. There are tradeoffs for both methods. Online dealers are plentiful and offer the convenience of a transaction without the safety issues that you have to endure to sell your metals in person.

However, online dealers understand that those conveniences are valuable. As such, online dealers might pay lower prices on some items than you might find in-person.

If convenience and safety are paramount to your transaction, consider a reputable dealer like JM Bullion to handle your metal sales. However, if you want to understand how to get the best price and have cash in hand quickly, this page is for you. Here is the JM Bullion guide to selling your gold locally.

A Brief Guide on How Gold (and other Metals) Are Bought and Sold

Precious metals like gold are just like any other commodity in terms of their prices. At their core, they are determined by what the buyer is willing to spend and what the seller is willing to accept.

Local gold dealers are in business to make money from the difference in the price that they purchased their stock and the price at which they sell it. This separation, known by some as the “buy and sell spread,” is the essence of the shops’ business model. As such, they are always looking to maximize the amount they can sell gold and minimize the amount they must pay to buy it.

These prices don’t occur in a vacuum. Instead, we look to the overall market for gold to arrive at a general guideline for the price of gold (or other precious metals). The amount that gold is generally selling in the open market is the spot price.

Learn more: 

• What is premium over spot?
• How the spot price is set?

The Steps to a Successful Sale

Now that you understand how the prices are generated and what you’ll encounter when you attempt to sell (or buy), let’s walk through the actual steps of the process.

Find a reputable dealer

The first task is to find a reputable dealer in your area. Obviously, you could simply Google “gold/silver buyers near me” or something similar and pick whichever shop(s) are closest to you. You can even take the time to read the reviews posted on Google about your chosen shop.

However, we may have a better option for you. JM Bullion curates a directory of local coin dealers and precious metal exchanges across the United States. We have identified these locations as the most reputable in your area based upon their years of service and the verified experiences that we have heard about them.

JM Bullion receives no money for publishing these dealers’ information. If you want to know what your nearby options are, our directory is the best we can offer.

Understand the value of your item(s)

Now, we do have to mention one caveat about choosing a dealer from our directory or from Google. Specifically, take a step back from these options if your item to be exchanged is a piece of finished jewelry or other finished product.

You should be especially careful if the item is from a reputable jeweler or prestigious outlet. If that’s the case, your best bet might be a trustworthy jewelry shop in your area, rather than a dealer. At the very least, you can get an honest appraisal and know the true value that you possess.

To that end, even if you are trading gold or silver coins, make sure to do some research about the current market for your particular currency. They may be worth more due to their identity than their raw material value.

For instance, the American Silver Eagle, the official silver bullion coin of the United States, is guaranteed to contain a single troy ounce of silver. However, a generic 1-ounce silver round, which contains the same amount of silver as the Silver Eagle, does not command nearly the same premiums as the ASEs do. The higher prices that Silver Eagles command are due to the fact that the actual coin itself is more desirable than other coins of comparable composition.

So, do your homework about what you’ve got before you walk into a store. Pay attention to the details associated with your holdings, too, as the price difference between two seemingly identical coins can boil down to minute design differences on one face or the other. Be realistic about the condition of your items, too, as their status can radically alter the sale price.

It’s critical to know your items, though, because you can be certain that most dealers will. Some of them will deal with you straight, but you have to be vigilant for the ones that do not.

Be prepared to negotiate

It is critical to know the spot price, however, because it serves as your baseline value. Local dealers are going to buy your bullion and resell it at a premium to buyers.

If you know the spot price, then it can form the basis of your decision to complete the sale or keep looking. You need to keep the option of walking away from a deal in the back of your mind. An offer below spot is not necessarily a sign that you’re being ripped off – there may be low demand for your item. However, even if the offer is fairly below spot, there’s nothing wrong with walking away and waiting.

There’s also nothing wrong with doing a bit of haggling. The prices that a local dealer quotes to you are not fixed. If a dealer says otherwise, then it might be a red flag that you need to walk away.

So, you should go into your chosen shops prepared to negotiate for the best deal. In order to negotiate, however, you need to have a few pieces of information close at hand:

• The spot price of your metal
• The quoted price or prices you’ve received online
• If possible, the quoted price or prices you’ve received from other local shops
• The value of your pieces as collectors’ items vs. the raw metal value

When you are negotiating, be reasonable about the dealer’s interests in the deal, too. He or she might be willing to bend your direction a bit, but you cannot ask for the world unless you have a good reason to do so. If an offer is radically below your expectations, it’s probably not worth the argument to look for a deal that works.

A slight caveat about spot price

We have spoken at length about the importance of knowing the spot price for your metals before you go to sell them. We have even mentioned that the spot price can serve as the baseline for your valuation of your holdings.

HOWEVER, the spot price is neither absolute nor a legal requirement. If you visit several different shops and all of them are offering below spot for your items, they are probably not colluding to rip you off.

In fact, the below-spot prices are likely indicative of a lower demand for your products. The low offers reflect the fact that the dealer may have concerns about how quickly or how profitably your metal(s) will sell to a prospective buyer.

So, know the spot price, but look at some of the details of your particular holdings, too. If you have coins that are not particularly desirable, or a large, unwieldy block of precious metal, it might bode ill for selling at or above spot.

At the end of the day, spot price is important. However, even spot prices must bow to the pressures of supply and demand.

Red Flags

Our last section is what to watch when you visit a dealer.

Our directory of local dealers is solid. However, we want to encourage you to remain vigilant whenever you’re dealing with a shop, regardless of our seal of approval. You should seriously consider going elsewhere if any of the following red flags appear:

• Specious claims about the market or demand. If you’ve followed our guide, you should already have a reasonable idea about how much your gold should be worth. If the dealer tries to argue with jargon, industry terms, or claims about the overall market and demand, you’re probably in the wrong place.
• High-pressure sales tactics. A good dealer is dispassionate about the deal and quotes a fair price. If you’re feeling rushed to make a decision, it’s a bad sign. Ignore statements about the limited time you have to consider your sale price and seek greener pastures.
• An unwillingness to record the transaction. There should never be anything under the table about your sale. Make sure that it is recorded in the shop’s official records and that you get a receipt. Do not sell your gold otherwise.
• A general “icky” vibe. Listen to your gut. If you’re getting a bad feeling about the shop, the dealer, or the sale itself, back away. Gold is a precious commodity, and its transactions should never cause you discomfort.

– Good luck with your sale! –