Birks GoldExchange question

[flamersfan]

Just wondering if anyone knows how these Gold Exchange programs work, and if they are a legitimate business.

My mother-in-law just exchanged in a bunch of jewlery, etc. The receipt specifies how many grams of gold (24K, 18K, 12K, etc.). And how many grams of silver (split by quality).

It also states the day's market value for Gold, USD/CDN exchange rate, etc.

I did a calculation of the market value for 18K gold for example, and calculated that she received about 50% of the market value.

Is this standard to have about a 50% margin for this type of transaction?

[Table 5]

I saw a little expose on the news out there that rated some of these online places you see advertising on tv all the time. I don't remember where or who they looked at, but 50% recovery was definitely on the lower end of the scale. I think the highest one they had was in the high 80's/low 90's.

[Pinner]

And the value of a piece of jewelry compared to raw metal.

[Pacem]

Originally Posted by flamersfan

Just wondering if anyone knows how these Gold Exchange programs work, and if they are a legitimate business.

My mother-in-law just exchanged in a bunch of jewlery, etc. The receipt specifies how many grams of gold (24K, 18K, 12K, etc.). And how many grams of silver (split by quality).

It also states the day's market value for Gold, USD/CDN exchange rate, etc.

I did a calculation of the market value for 18K gold for example, and calculated that she received about 50% of the market value.

Is this standard to have about a 50% margin for this type of transaction?

What was the gold rate at? eg: $1300/ounce and how much did she get per gram for the 18k? I buy and sell gold and sometimes people do the calculation wrong.

Doubling profit is pretty high in that type of transaction.

[flamersfan]

Originally Posted by Pacem

What was the gold rate at? eg: $1300/ounce and how much did she get per gram for the 18k? I buy and sell gold and sometimes people do the calculation wrong.

Doubling profit is pretty high in that type of transaction.

This was my calculation - Is my logic wrong?:

The receipt says that for her 203g of 18K gold. The market value that day was $1,373.25 USD/Troy Ounce

203g of gold is roughly 6.527 Troy Ounces.

Because it's 18K, that means that this should be treated as 75% pure, therefore 6.527*0.75 = 4.8955 Troy Ounces.

This multiplied by the market value is approximately $6722 USD.

Which when converted to CDN at the 1.011839 exchange rate that day, and lets say taking into account a 3% spread is about 6587.56.

Yet she received $3576. This is about 54% of the market value.

[Pacem]

Originally Posted by flamersfan

This was my calculation - Is my logic wrong?:

The receipt says that for her 203g of 18K gold. The market value that day was $1,373.25 USD/Troy Ounce

203g of gold is roughly 6.527 Troy Ounces.

Because it's 18K, that means that this should be treated as 75% pure, therefore 6.527*0.75 = 4.8955 Troy Ounces.

This multiplied by the market value is approximately $6722 USD.

Which when converted to CDN at the 1.011839 exchange rate that day, and lets say taking into account a 3% spread is about 6587.56.

Yet she received $3576. This is about 54% of the market value.

Yeah your calculation is right.

She got $17.6 per gram, which is pretty poor for 18k. She should have been able to get closer to $22 maybe more per gram from a middle man.

I know this doesn't help, but due to the amount that she had, she should have dealt directly with a smelter. She would have gotten closer to 98% of the market value.

[flamersfan]

Originally Posted by Pacem

Yeah your calculation is right.

She got $17.6 per gram, which is pretty poor for 18k. She should have been able to get closer to $22 maybe more per gram from a middle man.

I know this doesn't help, but due to the amount that she had, she should have dealt directly with a smelter. She would have gotten closer to 98% of the market value.

Actually it does help. She only did this two weekends ago. And Birks has a 20 day return policy. I believe she can give back the money, and they'll give her back the jewlery.

Are there smelters in Calgary?

[Sample00]

Originally Posted by flamersfan

Actually it does help. She only did this two weekends ago. And Birks has a 20 day return policy. I believe she can give back the money, and they'll give her back the jewlery.

Are there smelters in Calgary?

I believe the closest is Vancouver and you need to provide them with a minimum amount of gold. and if I recall correctly it was a substantial amount.