Gold is definitely a very safe investment. You may be someone that has considered this but haven’t been sure of where to start. You’ve landed in the right place to learn about the gold market. Here you will learn some great advice and information on how you can make the gold market work for you.

Gold prices change frequently, so you must stay apprised on the values of your items. If you decide to sell your gold, pieces with different karat values should be weighed and valued separately. A designer piece, however, shouldn’t be sold because the item as a whole could be worth more than just the gold.

Before you buy gold from gold sellers, ensure you have scheduled a quick delivery. It you don’t have it delivered immediately, find out when you will receive your gold. You should have the date of delivery clearly listed. Don’t order anything without this document.

Only certain kinds of gold are suitable for contributing to your retirement fund. Gold as an investment must be designated as approved by the Internal Revenue Service. The gold has to be either coins or bars, of the 24 karat variety. Over time, gold bars appreciate better than gold coins.

Scrap Gold

If you do not have a large amount of money to start off with, why not consider purchasing scrap gold. Use the capital you have and purchase what you can and add to it as money becomes available. Store your scrap gold in a secure location until you are ready to sell it.

Understand that any item containing gold carries value with gold dealers. Whether it is jewelry or home decor related, it could be an everyday item that you have within the home. An item need not be made purely of gold. Items with partial gold content, gold plating, or gold mixtures may still be valuable. You still stand to make a fair amount of money selling it.

If you think you’re going to mail off your jewelry, you should see what it’s going to cost to have things mailed back if you don’t like their offer. A lot of companies say they’ll let you ship for free, but to get things back they charge quite a bit. Be sure that you find out ahead of time how much it will cost to get back your jewelry.

Never sell your gold to someone who does not have the appropriate state licensure. A buyer who is licensed is likelier to be legitimate. There are many stores and individual buyers looking to purchase gold, so always know you have multiple options, and never just the first deal that comes up.

GoldMoney can be helpful when purchasing gold. It’s similar to opening a “gold bank account.” You create an account and fund it; then your account is given some gold at the market price. Although you own the gold, it remains stored securely in the company’s vaults. You can sell it, portion it out, or even (given the right conditions) arrange to take deliver of it yourself.

When you’re selling your gold, you have to do the proper research. You should shop around to get an idea of what others are offering for similar gold pieces. This will allow you to have a price in mind you can work with. Always start a little higher that what you are actually hoping to get, so you have room to negotiate.

Use a magnet to quickly determine whether an item is really made of gold or another precious metal. Precious metals, gold included, are not magnetic. In some cases, individual parts of a piece (like the clasp) may be solid gold while other parts are plated. The magnet will tell you the truth.

There are many different companies that you can mail your gold into. Although this process may be easier, you may not earn as much money. You get a mailer that is prepaid, place jewelry inside and send it, and you get a check. With the extra expense and the tendency of these companies to pay lower premiums, your profits may be deleted quickly. Be aware of the fact that you may receive approximately 30% less in some instances.

When selling gold, separate it into different karat value groups. The gold values differ by karat values so if all the gold you have is weighed together, it won’t be the best value you can get. The higher the gold content, the better the price.

Gold prices have skyrocketed 400% in the last decade. Whether this is a good time to buy gold or not is an unknown, but depends mostly on whether the dollar rises or falls. Basically, weaker dollar value boosts gold value.

If you’re just starting out with gold investing, you should try not to make things complicated. Don’t venture into complex investment strategies like gold futures right away. Futures are volatile and complex. If you don’t understand what is going on, you can easily lose money in short order. This type of gold investment is best left to the more experienced gold investors.

Gold investing is a good idea for anyone with some extra money. Now that you have learned the basics on gold buying, you can be more confident with your abilities in the market. Keep all these tips handy for the future.