Where to Sell Gold & Silver
Straight answer
For recognized bullion — American Eagles, Canadian Maples, PAMP bars — a reputable online dealer’s buy-back usually pays the most among low-hassle options, often within about 1–3% of spot. A local coin shop is the fastest in-person option and you can negotiate. For scrap gold and jewelry, a refiner or top mail-in buyer pays the most (roughly 90–95% of melt) but is business-oriented; jewelers run lower, and pawn shops pay the least. Know your item’s melt value first, then get multiple quotes before you let anything go.
Where you sell matters as much as what you sell. The same gold chain or silver coin can fetch wildly different offers depending on the channel — and most of that gap is the buyer’s margin, not the metal’s worth. Below is each option, what it typically pays as a share of melt or spot, and where it tends to shortchange you.
First, separate bullion from scrap
Two kinds of metal sell very differently, and confusing them is the most common way sellers lose money.
Recognized bullion — government coins and accredited-refiner bars — trades almost like a commodity. Buyers know exactly what it is, so it sells closest to spot, sometimes within a percent or two. Scrap and jewelry — broken chains, dental gold, generic karat pieces — sells below its melt value because the buyer has to test, sort, and refine it, and takes a cut for the trouble. Knowing which bucket your item falls into tells you which channels are even worth calling.
Reputable online bullion dealers
Most established online dealers — the same ones people buy from — run a buy-back program. You lock a price, ship the metal insured, and they pay on receipt and verification. For standard bullion this is usually the cleanest path: pricing is published, the process is documented, and a real business stands behind it. Expect to receive the dealer’s bid, which sits a little under spot — often around 1–3% back of spot for liquid one-ounce coins and carded bars. The trade-off is that you ship your metal and wait a few days for funds, and odd or generic items get wider spreads.
Best for: recognized bullion you want to sell at a fair, predictable price without haggling. To see how dealer payouts stack up against everything else, see who pays the most for gold.
Local coin shops
A coin shop pays you on the spot, in person, with no shipping and no waiting for funds to clear. For bullion, a good shop is competitive — often near spot, within a few percent. For scrap and jewelry, expect roughly 70–90% of melt, depending on the shop and how busy its refining pipeline is. Because pricing is set face to face, you can negotiate, especially with a written quote from elsewhere to anchor against. The risk is that a single shop’s offer may not be competitive, and a small shop watching its cash can lowball a large lot. Bring a printed quote and be ready to walk.
Best for: a fast, same-day sale where you can compare and negotiate in person.
Jewelers
Many jewelers buy gold and silver, mostly for the scrap value. Convenient if you are already selling jewelry, but their buy prices for melt tend to run around 70–85% of melt value, and some are well below that. A jeweler may also offer store credit at a better notional rate than cash — fine if you want a replacement piece, less useful if you want money. Treat a jeweler as one quote among several, not a default.
Best for: selling jewelry where you are already in the store, or trading toward another piece.
Pawn shops
Pawn shops are the most convenient and the lowest-paying. Their business is short-term loans, not metals trading, so they price for resale margin and quick turnover — commonly 40–70% of melt, and sometimes far less for items they cannot easily move. They rarely pay near spot even for recognized bullion. A pawn shop can make sense when you need cash immediately and have exhausted better options, but it should be the floor of your expectations, not the benchmark.
Best for: immediate cash when speed outranks price, or a pawn loan you intend to repay.
Refiners and top mail-in buyers
Refiners and the better mail-in services pay the most for scrap — often 90–95% of melt — because they process metal in volume and skip the retail middleman. The catch is that most refiners are set up for businesses and bulk lots, not a single ring, and mail-in carries real risk: you ship your metal, the buyer weighs and tests it out of your sight, and the “decline and return” process is slow by design. Insure the shipment, photograph everything, and read the payout and return terms before sending anything. Avoid the heavily advertised “cash for gold” envelopes, which are built on lowball offers.
Best for: larger lots of scrap gold and silver from a seller comfortable with mail-in logistics.
Peer marketplaces
Selling directly to another buyer — a collector forum, a local coin club, or an online marketplace — can fetch the highest price because you skip the dealer’s spread entirely. It is also the most work and the most risk: you handle authentication doubts, payment fraud, shipping, and meeting strangers. Marketplaces like eBay also take meaningful fees that erode the price edge. This route suits a knowledgeable seller with recognizable pieces and patience; it is a poor fit if you want a clean, safe exit.
Best for: experienced sellers with recognizable items who will trade convenience for top dollar.
How the channels compare
Payouts move with the market and the specific item, so treat these as directional. Recognized bullion sells near spot; scrap and jewelry sell as a share of melt.
| Channel | Typical payout | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reputable online dealer | ~1–3% back of spot for bullion | Recognized coins and bars | Shipping and a few days’ wait; wider spreads on odd items |
| Local coin shop | Near spot for bullion; ~70–90% of melt for scrap | Fast in-person sale you can negotiate | Single-shop lowballs; soft bids on large lots |
| Jeweler | ~70–85% of melt | Jewelry, or trading toward a new piece | Below-melt cash offers; store credit dressed up as a deal |
| Pawn shop | ~40–70% of melt, sometimes less | Immediate cash when speed beats price | Lowest offers; poor pricing even on bullion |
| Refiner / top mail-in buyer | ~90–95% of melt | Larger scrap lots | Business-oriented; mail-in risk and slow returns |
| Peer marketplace | Highest, near or above dealer bid | Experienced sellers, recognizable items | Fraud, fees, shipping, authentication disputes |
Know your number, then make them compete
The single biggest advantage you have is information the buyer assumes you lack. Two steps close that gap.
- Know your melt value before you call anyone. Weigh the item, confirm its purity (karat or fineness), and run it through a melt value calculator against the current spot price. Now an offer of “70% of melt” is a number you can judge, not a phrase you have to trust.
- Get multiple quotes on the exact item. Offers on the same piece can differ by a wide margin across channels and even between two shops in the same town. Quote precise weights, purity, and quantities — “one-ounce Gold Eagle,” not “some gold coins.” Competition is your only real leverage, and a written quote from one buyer pressures the next.
For a step-by-step walkthrough of pricing, shipping, and avoiding the round-trip trap, see how to sell gold and silver.
The bottom line
Match the channel to what you hold. Sell recognized bullion through a reputable online buy-back or a local coin shop, where you land closest to spot. For scrap and jewelry, a refiner or strong mail-in buyer pays the most, a coin shop is a fast and negotiable alternative, jewelers run lower, and pawn shops are the floor. Whichever you choose, know your melt value first and collect several quotes — the prepared seller keeps more of the money.
What pays the most when I sell gold?
For recognized bullion, a reputable online dealer’s buy-back usually pays the most among low-hassle options, often within about 1–3% of spot, with a competitive local coin shop close behind. For scrap and jewelry, refiners and the best mail-in buyers pay the most — roughly 90–95% of melt — because they process in volume. A peer-to-peer sale can beat all of them but carries the most risk. Get multiple quotes either way.
How much does a pawn shop pay for gold?
Pawn shops typically pay around 40–70% of an item’s melt value, and sometimes considerably less. Their business is short-term lending, not metals trading, so they price for resale margin and fast turnover. They rarely approach spot even on recognized bullion. Use a pawn shop only when you need cash immediately and have no better channel available.
Why do buyers pay below melt value for scrap and jewelry?
Scrap and jewelry have to be tested, sorted, melted, and refined before the metal can be reused, and the buyer takes a cut for that work and the resale margin. Recognized bullion skips most of that because buyers know exactly what it is, which is why coins and bars sell close to spot while scrap sells as a discounted share of melt.
Should I sell gold online or to a local shop?
Both can be fair. An online dealer’s buy-back is usually competitive on recognized bullion and fully documented, but you ship the metal and wait a few days for payment. A local coin shop pays immediately, in person, and lets you negotiate, though a single shop’s offer may not be the best. Get a quote from each, on the exact item, and compare the net you would actually receive.