Should You Sell Your Gold?

With news of gold prices hitting $1,350 an ounce – buyers of all kids are eager to get their hands on all that glitters.  That includes the contents of your jewelry box.  Gold-party organizers, jewelers, mail-in companies and even kiosks at the mall want to pay for what you’ve got. 

While it’s easy to be dazzled by visions of quick cash, some (if not most) individuals and firms might take advantage of your enthusiasm.  So, here are a few tips to make sure you get the best deal when selling your metal.

1.  Know what its worth.  Buyers can offer widely different amounts for the same pile of earrings.  I found a simple formula for determining your gold’s worth:  Weight in Grams (use your kitchen scale) x Current Gold Market Price / Divide by one of these (10k = 74.8, 14k = 53.2, 18k = 41.5, 24k = 31.1).  Then multiply by 0.50 and 0.80 to get a fair price within that range. 

2.  Ignore the mail-in buyer ads that are blanketing the airwaves.  When you send off a piece of jewelry, you’re unlikely to go through the hassle of getting it back in order to compare prices.  As a result, these mail-in companies are able to low ball because they know they have a captive audience.  You might be better off shopping your gold around traditional jewelers, coin dealers, pawnshops, even gold parties.  Remember, just because you go into a store and ask what they’ll pay doesn’t mean you have to sell on the spot.  You should think about it first.  Also, there are some advantages to selling to jewelers as you may be able to get money for diamonds in the piece, generally if they’re at least 0.25 carat. 

3.  Consider a trade-in.  You might get a better deal if you’re willing to trade up your jewelry.  If you’re interested in a swap, visit at jeweler who sells pieces you’d like to wear.  And when someone admires your new ring, you can say, “Oh this old thing?”  (Literally).

The Basics of Technical Analysis

The primary strategy CAM Trading uses is Technical Analysis.  

What is Technical Analysis?  Essentially, it is chart reading.  Specifically, it is the science (or art, depending on your personal view) of recognizing chart patterns and interpreting them to make buying and selling timing decisions and implementing a trading plan.  Technical Analysis can help you not only make your decisions but make them more precisely, make them more disciplined, and can help you in managing your money more effectively.

Many Technical Analysis protagonists believe that everything you need to know about a security can be seen by looking at the charts.

Technical Analysis comes in two forms:

1. Price Patterns - these are simply visible patterns of what is happening to the price of the security.
2. Indicators - these are mathematical algorithms that take all aspect of the price movement, including volume, and are put together to form all kinds of ratios and analysis by which future price movements may be guesstimated.

The Problem with Relying Solely on Technical Analysis 

Fakes 


Be aware that Technical Analysis is not what you'd call an exact science.  In practice, this means don't get too hung up on precision.  As you gain more experience, you'll notice that no two historical price movement is ever exactly the same and believing so is an invitation for disaster.  


Behind the Scenes

What you see (real-time quotes) on your computer screen is only a half truth.  Fakes can occur where specialists and market makers identify extraordinary levels of interest around a support or resistance area and deliberately drive the price beyond that area to secure an advantageous position.  For example, a stock is falling down to a known support level where there are lots of sell stop orders.  Seeing this, the specialists work the price lower so that those stops are triggered.  In the mayhem of all this automated selling activity, the specialists are busy buying as much as they can, soon driving the stock price upward and securing a tidy profit for themselves. 

Eventually, the "specialists" and middle-men will go the way of the old phone and fax stock broker as financial systems and technology continue to evolve.