Need some help, refiner confusion...

[Silver Surfer]

Hey all... I just received back my gold that I sent to ARA, and I am really confused.
I took all the gold before sending in, and weighed them all. Then, using the melt calculator, I found the actual weight of .999 pure gold in each item and wrote it down. I only did this with the stuff that was clearly marked in k's.. I came up with 1.429 Troy oz of gold. I do realize that even though stamped a certain karat, the law allows for some leeway on actual pure content.
That aside, I got the gold back, and it is 16.4 DWT which converts to .82 Troy oz pure gold. BIG discrepancy.
I also sent in a couple pounds of sterling scrap, and no check, or even a mention of it on the invoice. It was sent in a separate packet with the gold. Last time I sent silver and gold mixed together, I got nothing for the silver, which I figured was because I had them mixed together and they just dissolved it all together and then extracted the gold. That's why I made sure to send it in separate packets.
I am going to give them a call later to try to make heads or tails out of the invoice, which is as hard to understand as a phone bill....
BTW, I use ARA in Texas... I have sent 3 batches to them now, and all three have been drastically less than what I had estimated. Again, I understand that not knowing how accurate the karat stamp is should make for a bit of discrepancy, but the difference in this batch is more than just a little. I also realize that 2% is also taken out. It still does not compute.... Anyone with more knowledge on this refiner thing, your input would be greatly appreciated!!

 

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[Silver Surfer]

Well I called ARA and they were very nice on the phone... He agreed that karat marks are not always accurate, but also agreed that the difference should not be that drastic. They received 2 Troy oz of jewelry. He also asked about my scale, wondered if it was accurate. Good point, so I weighed the gold they sent back and it weighed exactly on my scale as what they marked on the packet....
So I am still puzzled. 2 Troy ounces of jewelry (most 14k) should have been at least 1 oz returned??
He did say that next time, I should include a list of each piece, and what it weighed, then they might notice the big difference and double check the numbers...
Good news is that the silver I sent in was processed, and I should be getting a check for about $250.00, which is actually much better than I thought it would be...
The "nuggets" are sure beautiful, and my wife is tickled getting it. Melt value today is $1558.20 so not bad for a few months detecting... Gotta get better so I can get out and find more... Will post a pic of the nuggets later.

HH

 

[trdhrdr007]

I sent a mixed lot of gold & silver to ARA in one box once. I had it bagged separately & noted on the paperwork I included in the box the amount of each. They sent 2 separate checks about a week apart. I didn't like that so I no longer send mixed shipments.

I don't know what to tell you about your gold being short. I've sent in several batches over the last couple years without any problem but it has been a couple months since I sent anything in. You are the second person to post recently about being shorted which could point to a problem.

You said you weighed each item & used a melt calculator to determine what you expected to get. If we assume you have(& know how to use) a decent scale & online melt calculator that leaves 2 possibilities. Either the refiner ripped you off or some of your marked items were fake. Did you test each item for gold content? If you tested what method did you use? Without that information there is absolutely no way to know if the refiner is at fault.

 

[trdhrdr007]

If you sent in exactly 2 troy oz of 14K jewelry & figured on it being 13.5K.....you should have ended up with 22.5 dwt of pure, or 1.125 troy oz. That's a ways from the 16.4 dwt you were paid for.

They claim 2 oz received. Does that match your records? Was it all marked 14k or was there other karat jewelry mixed in? If so any idea how much of what?

I'm not sure if you have a calculation problem, a refiner problem or a fake problem.

 

[Silver Surfer]

I did test it all, using stone/acid... I would suspect fake except that it was all nice jewelry (wedding bands mostly), and the weights seemed right on for size...
I will beside to send a detailed list next time. Rather than feeling the business shorted me, I would be more inclined to believe an employee seeing something they liked.... I had some really nice pieces in that batch.
Just to clarify, when I weighed and calculated everything, I used the gold melt conversion tool, put in the karat and weight, then wrote down the ".999 gold content" number, then added that up... Could it be that when the calculator gives you that number, it gives it in US ounces, not Troy? I will have to add it back up, then see what the conversion to Troy oz would be... Maybe that's it... But still, there weighing of the jewelry on the invoice says 2 Troy ounces, and even if it all was 10k jewelry, it comes out short.. And like I said, at least 2/3 of it was 14k, and 2 small bands were 18k... Hmmmmm...

Can you link me to the post where the other person felt shorted?

Thanks, and sorry for the novel..

 

[trdhrdr007]

Here's a link:

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,407580.0.html

About halfway down the page it kind of morphs into a disagreement between myself & another member but that doesn't change the fact that it was originally a complaint about ARA.

 

[blai745]

heres the problem bro...you shouldnt be selling your gold in the first place.. unless your like in waist deep in debt...from the time you sent it to now.. golds already up like an extra 8% and you just traded your real money for some more fake money..

 

[Silver Surfer]

Didn't sell it, just had it refined and sent back, minus the 2%.... Every ring was acid tested, and usually when I do that with a plated item, the plating is worn down enough to see the base metal. Gold filled is the exception as it is thicker...
No way to prove anything, I will be sure to send in a list next time with every ring/piece weight and tested karat... Also will photograph each pieces weight and also acid test on stone, etc... As I said, I had several pieces in the batch that were either not stamped, or were stamped GF that even though tested, I did not calculate their gold content or weight into my tally... Next batch I will also send a note that aside from my list, will have a little reminder that last time the order didn't add up....

 

[hombre_de_plata_flaco]

EDIT: Whoops.