Regarding scales to weigh jewelry-

[tenseventyfive]

Can someone answer a few questions? First off, what capacity is adequate to use for hunting garage sales, assuming I want to weigh sterling items as well as jewelry. A 10g scale? 20g? Most of the ones I see posted on ebay for sale seem to be either of those. Secondly, how to you calculate a price to offer based on grams? With an ounce being roughly 28 grams, if I found a 10g necklace, hypothetically at $40/oz. silver, its melt would be approx $14.28 (40/28g=1.42 per g, times 10), so then I should offer a priced based on that, assuming what % profit I would be happy with? And how does a person find a refinery to sell the silver to? I keep getting more industrial listings when I search. Lastly since a lot of silver seems to be .925, do I factor that in? For example:

10g necklace with 40/oz silver = $14.28

but it's .925, so then do I go $14.28 x .925 = $13.21, and make my offer on that?
Lots of calculations involved on a Saturday morning lol.....

Thanks for any help !

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Agony and Death on a Gold Rush Steamer: The Disastrous Sinking of the Side-Wheeler Yankee Blade - Grab it through Amazon!

[hombre_de_plata_flaco]

You need to calculate based on a troy ounce which is 31.1 grams instead of a 28 gram dry ounce.

 

[Goldmanford]

I created a spreadsheet with all the values for gold from 8 to 24K and in between so that it figures a value in grams. I then did the same for .925, .9, and all variations of coins from silver "war" nickels to silver dollars. Each Friday evening, I just plug in my spot value for silver and gold and the sheet then tells me the value in grams of everything I need. I take along a scale but most of the time at a yard sale I can eyeball a piece and since most is so cheap, it doesn't hurt too much to gamble on 50cents here or there.

If I decide to purchase a higher value item then I may produce my scale and weigh it before hand. Sometimes when you pull a loop and a scale out of your pocket at a yard sale and then stick it back in, folks tend to think you are pocketing some of their stuff. If you use a loop, you may want to keep it on a lanyard or keychain so people will see you aren't stealing from them.

 

[jerseyben]

I created a spreadsheet with all the values for gold from 8 to 24K and in between so that it figures a value in grams. I then did the same for .925, .9, and all variations of coins from silver "war" nickels to silver dollars. Each Friday evening, I just plug in my spot value for silver and gold and the sheet then tells me the value in grams of everything I need. I take along a scale but most of the time at a yard sale I can eyeball a piece and since most is so cheap, it doesn't hurt too much to gamble on 50cents here or there.

If I decide to purchase a higher value item then I may produce my scale and weigh it before hand. Sometimes when you pull a loop and a scale out of your pocket at a yard sale and then stick it back in, folks tend to think you are pocketing some of their stuff. If you use a loop, you may want to keep it on a lanyard or keychain so people will see you aren't stealing from them.

This is excellent advice. Advice that I, myself practice every Saturday.

 

[2Escudo]

I use a pocket scale that weights in dwt ( pennyweights ) 20 dwt= 1 troy ounce and can be switched to grams.

Two sites that I use often to check prices, http://www.dendritics.com/scales/metal-calc.asp
Put in item weight, grams, dwt. troy ounces, etc. Check gold, silver etc. Put in purity. Dealers mark up if any. Hit calculate value and you get how much value its worth.

This site is for the value of silver American and Canadina coins.

http://www.coinflation.com/silver_coin_values.html

Hope this helps.

First time post, hope it works.

 

[tenseventyfive]

All great advice! I never knew the difference between a troy oz and a dry oz. I have the Kitco app on my iPhone and I keep coinflation open in the browser so I always have up to date pricing as far as that goes, I really just need to figure out how to calculate true value so I can then make a (modestly profitable) offer

The varying karats of gold could make a difference too, I was thinking mainly silver because it seems much more common and then when I have a bagful bring it to a refinery.

Can anyone recommend a site to get a decent scale? And how do YOU find a refinery to sell to?

 

[trdhrdr007]

I've found that pulling out a scale and/or loupe at a garage sale causes people to jack up prices. I only get the tools of the trade out if the price is high enough on the item to justify it. There is absolutely no need to pull out your scale for a marked chain thats a quarter.

I use dwt instead of grams. It makes the math easier when you are dealing with 20 units to the ounce instead of 31. I haven't found a refinery yet that will pay more than 90% of melt on sterling, which is 92.5%. What I do is figure I'll get paid for 80% of the weight of the item.

 

[OldSowBreath]

True on all of the above. I now usually use powerful reader glasses to check for sterling or gold marks, and keep the loupe hidden unless I'm into higher end stuff. Nobody questions you taking your glasses out or putting them up. I also now keep the magnet in the pocket because people think you are pocketing something when you put it back. Each weekend, I make a list of silver coin melt values from the link above and keep it in my pocket. I've also learned to keep my Rolex off my wrist and in my pocket because people notice it and jack the prices up.

I'm trying to make a comprehensive list from ebay on classes of items (for example, espresso machines) using only completed sales. I just try to get a high - low range and keep it on on sheet of paper. I used to break down every brand by price but it got too cumbersome. I've learned that if the lowest end espresso machine sold on ebay is say $50.00, and the highest end is in the thousands, does it matter if I can get whatever machine is in front of me for 5 to 20 Dollars? Meaning, I'll buy first and then figure out how lucky I got.

Case in point - last weekend at a yard sale there was a Sony shortwave radio. For four dollars, I bought regardless of value. Later, I found several completed sales of the same model on ebay for $200.00.
Later, Polaroid SX-70 for $20.00. I bought knowing they are selling for generally at least double and sometime a lot more on ebay. Same place, a Polaroid SLR-680 for $20.00. I remembered they were hot on ebay, so I bought.

My other philosophy is that if something looks well made or looks complicated or new in box and is in an acceptable "gamble" range (to me - $5.00 - $20.00), then I'll buy and figure it out later. At a recent yard sell, where I thought there was nothing of interest, I saw a water logged card board box and inside was the housing for an underwater camera. It was extremely well made. Got it for $5.00 and a couple on ebay have gone for $1,000.00. The funny thing is that the young couple sold it cheap because "it got wet."!

 

[Randyd]

I was used to pennyweight but switched to grams because it is easier for me to look at a ring and estimate how many grams it weighs.
on sterling silver I figure the .925 and 20% loss to the refiner as a "value".

A BIG help to me was an ebook called "Stop for Gold" at www.stopforgold.biz
It made me a lot more comfortable with buying and dealing with the people at yard sales, plus I learned a lot.

It is full of info about sterling, jewelry, US & Canadian coins, gold filled, candlesticks, selling, etc, calculations (including calculations for silver coins), negotiations and lots of pictures. It is well worth the money. (Plus it was written by CyberDan.)

Randyd

 

[tenseventyfive]

All very helpful thank you!

But still a few things unanswered -

What capacity scale is sufficient for jewelry and sterling items?

Does anyone know a site that sells moderately priced ($20) but decent ones?

And lastly, how do you find a refinery in your area to sell to?

Thanks so much all!

 

[n9zez]

Not sure if you have a Harbor Freight close or not but I use this one with great results. Whether I'm weighing silver or marijuana (see profile) it works great!

$11.99

http://www.harborfreight.com/1000-gram-digital-scale-97920.html

 

[jerseyben]

This is the one I use:

"Mini 1000 x 0.1 Gram Digital Pocket Scale Jewelry Scale", item# 280424501784

Cheap and Made in China but it works great!

 

[tenseventyfive]

n9zez-

I like the look of that one and the price is right (assuming shipping is reasonable) but let me ask -

a lot of scales for sale claim you also need to buy a 500g calibration weight to keep the scale accurate - I dont mind doing so if thats for real, but they know we DONT know so I was wondering if thats a sales claim?

Also is this scale sufficient capacity to weight things like silverware and sterling items like candlesticks and ashtrays?

 

[n9zez]

It doesn't even have a way to calibrate it that I know of. I know that when testing it to known weights it is still accurate after 2 years. 1000g is about 2.2 lbs. That should be good for most things but the only downside is that it's a pocket scale so the platform is small. It does have a tare feature so you could get a piece of plexiglass to make for a larger platform.

Hope this helps..

 

[hombre_de_plata_flaco]

Just get yourself a cheap set of Chi-Com (Chinese made) digital scales on eBay. I bought one a while back and it has worked quite well so far. That being said, it is made in China and could break at any minute. If you want to drop some dough on a QUALITY set of scales, look for an older model Ohaus set of triple beams made in the USA.

 

[batcap]

At yard sales, most likely you're not going to find items where you have to calculate if it's "worth it" by weight. In the vast majority of cases you'll see something really nice with a $1 price tag. All you need to do is figure out if it's real or not. Keep the scale in the car and the loupe in your pocket. I picked up over 2 ounces of silver and an antique 18K white gold ring yesterday for less than $15 and never had to break the loupe out once. It was a great day, but still, you just don't have to whip out the toys all that often.

However, if you must, add a small rare earth magnet to your tool kit. I have a small one stuck to my BelOMO. If I come across enough stuff (a pile of jewelry) I'll wear my loupe like a ring on my finger with the lens toward the back of my hand, magnet on the lens shield facing toward me. You can disregard quite a few items simply by putting them near the magnet. And believe me, rare earth magnets make a difference. Keep it small, a "Chocolate Chunky" sized rare earth magnet is like carrying a booby trap in you pocket.

 

[tenseventyfive]

Batcap-

forgive my ignorance here but I want to be sure - you use the rare earth magnet because it will attract the NON precious metals, thus telling you you have a fake or plated item? I looked up both loupes and REM's on ebay, got a cheap loupe on the way for like $2 and after seeing your pic I am probably going to order a ring shaped REM to put on the back of the loupe like you have, assuming the case is metal. I wanted to ask you, does that "number" of REM count? Like if it is graded N42 as opposed to N35 (which seems the most common). Will that really make a difference for our purposes? And if something is called a "strong" REM does that mean it's N42 or just advertising hyperbole?

Much appreciated for the prior (and hopefully future) info!

 

[jerseyben]

I cant speak on technical terms regarding magnets but I use an old magnet from a busted speaker. The theory of the magnet test is simple: You are checking to see if the metal is ferrous (magnetic) or not. A ferrous metal will NEVER be a precious metal. Basically, if it sticks to a magnet, it is not real solid silver or real solid gold. It could be plated but still, stay away from plated stuff.

 

[batcap]

Batcap-

forgive my ignorance here but I want to be sure - you use the rare earth magnet because it will attract the NON precious metals, thus telling you you have a fake or plated item? I looked up both loupes and REM's on ebay, got a cheap loupe on the way for like $2 and after seeing your pic I am probably going to order a ring shaped REM to put on the back of the loupe like you have, assuming the case is metal. I wanted to ask you, does that "number" of REM count? Like if it is graded N42 as opposed to N35 (which seems the most common). Will that really make a difference for our purposes? And if something is called a "strong" REM does that mean it's N42 or just advertising hyperbole?

Much appreciated for the prior (and hopefully future) info!

Yea, you have the idea. I just prefer the REM to regular ones because they are very strong for their size. I don't think the N value is going to make that much difference.

I completely forgot to take any tools today and got lucky with a sterling change plate that weighs over 3 oz. There was a whole pile of "vintage" plates. I saw this and grabbed it, then added a big plated platter to disguise what I really wanted. I walked up and asked "How much are these?" The price was $2 for the big one and $1 for the sterling. At the same place I picked up a sterling bangle for a 50 cents. A loupe would have raised attention, a scale even more so. The best tool is a poker face, so you don't look too excited when you ask a price. That was 98.3 grams for $1.50. I hit 9 more yard sales and only came up with another 5.3 grams for $1.
If someone want's to sell you sterling because they know you buy it, play the expert and pull out the paraphernalia. Otherwise, keep it down and play dumb. I do look long and hard at jewelry and that doesn't seem to make a difference.

Regarding a refinery: ARAGold.com will give you 90% of spot price for sterling, 98% for gold. I called them once and one of the guys there said that they actually don't do their own silver refining, they "outsource" it. I feel like I can tell, they are great on gold, I get checks for very close to what I estimated - and they send back the stones too! On silver it seems the stones are forgotten, and none of the silver is quite as pure as marked. Still, they are the #1 recommended at Treasurenet, and they are the only one I've used.

 

[handy]

just BE CAREFULL TO MANY UNTRSTWARTY COPS WILL SEE A DIGATAL SCALE AND BAM YOUR A DRUG DEALER NO QUESTIONS ASKED YOUR IN JAIL