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So, I have an ungodly amount of jewelry that my late grandmother left to me, and I have no idea what to do with it. I’m not getting the hours I need at work and money is kind of tight right now. What to do, what to do?

I got it! I will take pictures of these gold jewelry pieces, and place an ad through craigslist.com, and let the highest bidder buy these lovely treasures.

What? What’s this? Cash 4 Gold? Sounds easy, and they guarantee 100 percent satisfaction or they will give my jewelry back. They are even offering 25% more cash. And what’s this? They have teamed up with MC Hammer? Oh yeah, I definitely want to give my gold jewelry to a company that’s endorsed by a man that knows the in’s and out’s about money (mostly out’s).

Have you had these thoughts? It’s ok if you have, I won’t laugh, too hard. But seriously, let’s take a look at the Cash 4 Gold program in depth. Then you can make an educated decision on the gold purchasing program.

Receiving money for your unwanted and broken jewelry has never been so easy, convenient, and fast according to the self-proclaimed “World’s #1 Gold Buyer,” Cash 4 Gold. So far, nothing but the truth. I can’t argue with the process being very easy and convenient. If you log on to their website, you can fill out a short order form to receive your FREE Refiner’s Return Pak (first clue, they can’t spell correctly, such a turn-off). When you receive your “Pak” in the mail, it’s as easy as putting your jewelry in the envelope, pre-paid of course, and slipping it in your mailbox to be sent back.

Here is where the fun starts. Once the Refiner’s Return Pak is received, it is opened, on an individual basis, and the contents are laid out and photographed. There are guards that walk the isles to make sure workers are not shorting the count. The next step is for the worker to test the material for gold content. I like to imagine them beating the gold pieces with a large hammer (if there are no visible indentations, not gold, maybe). Cash 4 Gold proclaims to have three state of the art testing methods; the electronic test, the scratch test, and the x-ray test.

A former employee claims that the “state-of-the-art” equipment consists of a magnifying glass, a plastic container, a small weight pad, and a bottle of orange fluid. The testing is completed, and a print-out of the amounts of the pieces is constructed. Then Cash 4 Gold will send you a check with that amount. And if cashing a check is too hard, Cash 4 Gold makes it easier for you by offering direct deposit. If you don’t like the amount that you were given, just send the check back within 12 days, and all your jewelry will be sent back to you.

Now, here are some facts you should know about the above process.

1) - It’s as easy as putting your jewelry in the envelope, pre-paid of course, and slipping it in your mailbox to be sent back.- The envelopes that are sent to you for your jewelry are only insured for up to $100. If you have more than one hundred dollars worth of materials and your packet gets lost, or “lost”, then you just lost money the fastest way.

2) - Once the Refiner’s Return Pak is received,- Cash 4 Gold representatives will tell you that the “Pak” will take 7-10 days but they get their hands on it. Really? 7-10 days? Yeah, maybe if Cash 4 Gold was warehoused in Dublin. Truth is they usually receive the envelopes in 3-4 days. Not a big deal, but this seems to be a red flag.

3) - The next step is for the worker to test the material for gold content.- This is where most of the customer complaints stem from. Many people feel that the testing was flawed when they were informed that their 14 karat ring was determined to be only 12 karats (see original comment). Some complaints you find on the internet explain that the pieces were initially appraised by a jeweler before being sent to Cash 4 Gold – and the initial jewelers conclusions were much more favorable. Although, to prove I do have an objective view, this does bring the question up of why these people wouldn’t sell it to a jewelry shop instead of a “jewelry inspector” they can’t even talk to? Perhaps it was the clever advertising.

4) -The testing is completed, and a print-out of the amounts of the pieces is constructed.- Here is were most people start to curse the gods. One internet story, explains how a woman sent in a class ring, a chain, and a pendant. This person was obviously upset at the five (5) dollar check she received in the mail. So she can still send the check back right? Hang on, I’m getting there…

5) -If you don’t like the amount that you were given, just send the check back within 12 days, and all your jewelry will be sent back to you.- The “100% Guarantee” on the Cash 4 Gold website states that you must return the issued check within twelve (12) days of the DATE OF THE CHECK. Keep in mind that the accounts payable department must cut the check, then the check has to find it’s way to the outbound mailbox, and then (not) surprisingly the check could take 7-10 days to get back to your residence. If you do receive your check in time, you must call the customer service line to get your money back. This is where you enter the “marketplace” as you will now be able to haggle the price of your valuables. Doesn’t sound like peaches and cream now does it? Cash 4 Gold wants your gold so bad that will offer up to three times the amount that they gave you in the first check. If this doesn’t send up the largest red flag ever, then there is no hope for you, sorry to say. If they give you the “fair value” of your gold pieces, then why in the world would they offer you three times the amount they deemed fair? I can tell you why, it’s because they are still making a profit off of your gold even if they offer their highest amount. Oh, and for those of you who wanted your check to go straight into your bank account using direct deposit, well you’ve already waived your right to get a refund so I hope you got what you wanted. According to recent reports, the Marketplace and haggling of the prices has disappeared, but there are still reports of undercover consumers getting low ball prices on their gold, calling, and negotiating prices up.

Cash 4 Gold does serve a purpose and it’s a clever business model, making the transaction of turning your gold into cash very simple.  And its advertising has made it into a national success, but before you choose to try to sell your gold through this service, please do some research and protect yourselves. If you have any questions or comments, good or bad, please feel free to comment below!

Interesting Links (some used in the writing of this article):

http://news.coinupdate.com/cash-4-gold-review-paid-18-of-gold-value/

http://consumerist.com/5349663/the-article-cash4gold-doesnt-want-you-to-read