Mail-away operations2 of 7The scoop: Seductive advertising and the lure of easy money have drawn in thousands of eager sellers. You mail in your gold and they mail you back a check. GoldPaq, GoldKit and Cash4Gold are among the companies offering the service.The benefits: It's easy -- they send a prepaid envelope, you drop in the gold, and they mail a check with an itemized receipt and a promise to return your gold if you're not happy with the price.The drawbacks: You pay a price for convenience. Consumer Reports found that mail-in companies offered between 11 percent and 29 percent of the meltdown value of the gold.The bottom line: Understand the trade-offs you're making, says Paul Montgomery, president of the Professional Numismatists Guild. "The guys on TV are providing a service, but they've got a very, very high expense rate. They're spending literally millions on advertising -- and that's (part of the reason) you might get just 20 or 25 cents on the dollar." Related Articles:Selling gold jewelryBring your bling to a gold partyOld jewelry worth its weight?Ways to invest in goldRelated Links:Is it time to buy gold?Gold rush -- 21st century styleTools for survival4 dumb moves in the recession advertisement
The scoop: Seductive advertising and the lure of easy money have drawn in thousands of eager sellers. You mail in your gold and they mail you back a check. GoldPaq, GoldKit and Cash4Gold are among the companies offering the service.
The benefits: It's easy -- they send a prepaid envelope, you drop in the gold, and they mail a check with an itemized receipt and a promise to return your gold if you're not happy with the price.
The drawbacks: You pay a price for convenience. Consumer Reports found that mail-in companies offered between 11 percent and 29 percent of the meltdown value of the gold.
The bottom line: Understand the trade-offs you're making, says Paul Montgomery, president of the Professional Numismatists Guild. "The guys on TV are providing a service, but they've got a very, very high expense rate. They're spending literally millions on advertising -- and that's (part of the reason) you might get just 20 or 25 cents on the dollar."
Bankrate wants to hear from you and encourages thoughtful and constructive comments. We ask that you stay focused on the story topic, respect other people's opinions, and avoid profanity, offensive statements, illegal contents and advertisement posts. Comments are not reviewed before they are posted. Bankrate reserves the right (but is not obligated) to edit or delete your comments. Please avoid posting private or confidential information, and also keep in mind that anything you post may be disclosed, published, transmitted or reused.
By submitting a post, you agree to be bound by Bankrate's terms of use. Please refer to Bankrate's privacy policy for more information regarding Bankrate's privacy practices.