I run a small jewellery shop on Shopify—mostly vintage and repurposed pieces. A lot of my stock comes from estate sales and people selling old gold. The tricky part has always been knowing what to pay. Too high and margin disappears; too low and you lose the deal or feel like you’re lowballing.
I used to rely on whatever the seller or dealer told me. Then I got burnt once on a batch that was lighter than stamped. Now I always run my own numbers first. Melt value = weight × purity × spot price. The stamp gives you purity (14K, 18K, etc.), and spot price is easy to look up. Takes a minute and gives you a baseline before negotiating.
I keep a calculator bookmarked for quick checks when I’m at a sale or checking items before making an offer. The one I use is mygoldcalc.com—no signup, works on my phone, updates with current prices. Handy when you’re buying scrap or inherited pieces to resell or melt down.
If you’re in a similar niche, doing your own melt calc first makes a big difference. Worth the extra step before you buy.