Gold-buying scams to watch for.

The tricks

• The lowball first offer. Consumers Union told Congress in 2010 that first offers from mail-in services could be "as little as one-third of the actual value," and were raised when customers complained.
• Weighing all your gold together. Palm Beach County's consumer affairs office warns about buyers who lump your gold into one pile, which can pay 18K as if it were 10K or 14K.
• The pennyweight trick. The same office warns about buyers who weigh in pennyweight (1.555 grams) and pay as if it were grams, which shortchanges you by about a third. See pennyweight explained.
• Calling your gold a lower karat. In a 2012 CBS News investigation of a traveling buyer, 18K gold was called 14K in several cities.
• The short decline window. One mail-in service's window to turn down an offer started on the day it issued the check, so a slow check left little time to say no.
• A percentage of the wrong price. A good-sounding percentage of a buyer's own "spot" price, or an old one, can be worth less than it sounds.

How to protect yourself

• Know your karats and weights before you go, and work out the melt value. See what melt value is.
• Ask for a percentage of melt value, and of which gold price, in writing.
• Have each karat weighed separately, and watch the scale.
• Get more than one offer, and don't take the first one under pressure.
• Before mailing gold, read how long you have to decline, and when that starts. Insure the package for its full value.

For what consumer tests found buyers actually pay, see how much gold buyers pay.

Selling guides: Who pays the most for gold? · Best place to sell gold · Best place to sell silver · Gold-buying scams · Melt value · How you get paid · What you need to sell · All guides

We pay top dollar for gold, at published rates set before you sell.