It is good to have a little bit of gold on hand just in case you need a little bit of cash in a hurry. While electronics lose value, and the worth of a collector's item is in the eye of the beholder, gold holds an intrinsic value. On the other hand, if you sell your gold, you need to know a few things to make sure that you make a good deal. 

Be Careful with Jewelry and Other Items that Hold Sentimental Value

If you are selling a piece of jewelry, you might place more value in it than anyone else will. Thus, when you go to sell your jewelry, a dealer might give you a price that is well below the price that you would place on it. Unless your jewelry is an antique or made by a famous designer, chances are your jewelry will not fetch the price that you think it should. This does not mean that the dealer is trying to rip you off. Rather than get angry, you should consider taking the jewelry to another dealer to make sure you are getting a fair price. 

What Is a Fair Price for Gold?

When a buyer purchases a piece of gold, the buyer will most likely not pay you the full value of the gold you buy. They do this for one simple reason: buyers have to make money on the gold they buy. Any buyer who purchases gold has to be ready to turn around and sell it. If buyers sell the gold they buy for the same price they paid to buy it in the first place, then they do not make a profit and will not stay in business for long. Thus, buyers will pay a little less than full market value in order to make sure that they have room to make a profit. On the other hand, some dealers will allow you to haggle the price you get for your gold. Go into a meeting with a gold buyer with an idea of what you want to get for your gold, and try to get as close to that price as you can. 

Beware of Collector's Coins

Some people will buy rare gold coins when they set out to stockpile gold. A rare coin might hold value in the eyes of a collector, but a dealer will want to be able to unload gold very quickly. Thus, a dealer might not want to pay full price for gold coins. You should either look for a collector to purchase coins or steer away from them altogether. You don't have to avoid rare coins; you just have to understand how and when to sell them. Sell to collectors and sell before the market crashes.

You can use gold as a way of protecting your investments, but you need to make sure that you know what you are doing. Being a smart seller will help to make the experience less stressful and more profitable. 

To learn more, contact a company like Rocky Mountain Coin Inc.