Scrap Gold Guide:

At the moment it seems as though scrap gold dealers are buying as much gold as they can get their hands on. This is due to the effects of the Global Credit Crunch and the dealers' beliefs that Gold is a much safer way to safeguard their cash than by investing it in any shares or unstable banks.

With interest rates on savings dropping to around 1%, it won't be long before even individuals follow the scrap gold dealers example, to safeguard their savings.

As more and more people are turning to scrap gold, its' price will always increase by more than any savings accounts will.

Any scrap gold collector, whether they're experienced or just starting out, should have a set of basic tools that will enable them to check the authenticity of any scrap gold items they are being offered.

With the volatile nature of gold prices, dealers in scrap gold cannot afford to work on too tight a margin, as any significant shift in the price of gold would leave them with a load of stock that was worth less than they'd paid for it.

The basics requirements should be:

• A Set Of Scales - You will need to know the weight of the scrap gold you'll be buying so that you can offer a price that allows you to make a profit from your purchase. Most scrap gold is bought and sold in grams, so it makes sense to buy a set of scales that weigh accurately in grams.
• A Calculator - Because scrap gold comes in various qualities, from 9k to 24k, and each of these qualities contain differing amounts of gold, then you'll need a calculator to work out the value of the gold content in each piece of scrap gold that you'll buy.
• A 20x Loupe - (Jewellers Eye-Glass) This is an essential tool for identinfying hallmarks and other tell-tale signs that will verify your scrap gold as the genuine article.
• Petty Cash - A small amount of start-up cash will be required for you to pay your first client for their scrap gold. You will be walking away with their gold and it's unlikely that they'll be happy for you to do that, if you offer to leave them with a Cheque.
• A Pocket Note Book - This will allow you to record and refer back to your purchases. You can use this information to decide how much you'll be willing to accept for each lot of scrap gold you've bought.

Later on, as you make more purchases and your expenditure becomes greater and hence riskier, you will have to add more tools to your "scrap gold buyers kit" to avoid being swindled.

An Advanced Kit will more than pay for itself in the short term.

You will need to buy the basic items to avoid making costly mistakes at the beginning of your scrap gold buying ventures.

Scrap Gold Advanced Tool Kit:

With the volatile nature of gold prices, dealers in scrap gold cannot afford to work on too tight a margin, as any significant shift in the price of gold would leave them with a load of stock that was worth less than they'd paid for it.

Once you've made a small amount of purchases and become more confident and experienced, you will need more than the basic scrap gold buyers kit that you started out with.

You add the following items, to upgrade your basic kit to an advanced kit.

The Advanced Tool Kit should include:

• Acid Testing Kit - These are acids which will determine if the scrap gold items you are buying are actually real gold or fake.
• A Quality Testing Stone - A good testing stone will give you an immediate indication as to the authenticity of any gold items you are checking, before you make an offer.
• A 20x Loupe - (Jewellers Eye-Glass) This is an essential tool for identinfying hallmarks and other tell-tale signs that will verify your scrap gold as the genuine article.
• Small & Large Capacity Scales
• Pliers
• Pocket Knife
• Jewelers Files
• An Electronic Diamond Tester
• Gemstone Tweezers
• Calibration Weights
• Business Cards
• More Cash !!