Gold is one of the precious metals that have maintained top status as a desired material for jewelry from anklets to tiaras. Its prices through the years have remained on the general upswing with little signs of slowing down, mainly because gold is used for many other purposes aside from personal jewelry. With such high market valuation, many individuals can sell their gold jewelry for a good profit.

But as with anything valuable, certain steps must be adopted before selling gold jewelry if profit is on your mind. These tips will definitely prove useful in finding big money in the selling of your unused gold jewelry.

Decide Its Category

Gold buyers usually classify gold-for-sale on a retail basis as either ready-for-resale or ready-for-the-scraps. The gold jewelry with resale value includes those with exquisite craftsmanship, interesting history and complete parts - truly the kind of pieces that attract the attention of customers.

In contrast, the gold jewelry that can be sold as scrap include old class rings sans the gemstones, used run-of-the-mill jewelry and pieces with broken parts. These are melted into liquid gold and then made into new pieces of jewelry.

Determine Its Worth

Once you have the general idea of the gold jewelry's category, you will then be able to set expectations of its market value that will form the basis for your selling price. You can compute the value of the jewelry using the quoted prices of the precious metal on the business section of newspapers. Or you may use online calculators for this purpose, so long as you have an idea of the weight in grams and the karat of the gold.

If you want the objective opinion of a professional, a local jeweler will be of assistance in this matter. You should be able to get a quote that represents the market value of the gold jewelry.

Do Comparison Shopping

Now, you must shop around the gold jewelry with the main aim of selling the pieces to the highest bidder. This can be as easy as showing pawnshops, jewelry stores and other gold buyers the items or joining online websites like eBay. There are also reputable companies that will buy your gold via mail.

The most important tips when shopping around for a buyer are the following:

• Ask for accreditation memberships in private professional organizations that regulate the industry. Examples include the International Precious Metals Institute for refiners and the American Gem Society for jewelers. Memberships in these organizations signify that the buyer adheres to industry standards.

• Take a cue from the potential buyers' willingness to comply with the law designed to protect the interests of the gold sellers. For example, the potential buyer like a pawnshop must ask the seller for photo identification since reports must be filed with the district or state attorney's office on this matter.

• Ask for the potential buyer's policies in shipping the pieces of jewelry to their office. Look for things like insurance on shipments and a registered envelope to contain the jewelry.

Basically, you want to sell your gold jewelry to a reputable seller who will provide a fair price for the precious metals. "Seller beware" applies in this case.