How about having a Selling Gold for Cash party? Yep, invite your friends to come over and make hundreds on their old jewelry, and just watch how fast they RSVP. Tell them to bring old mismatched, discolored bent ugly pieces of gold. Even fillings from Crazy Auntie’s teeth.Then ask the we-pay-cash-for-gold-folks to come over and bring their handy dandy Gold Detector Light. Provide some munchies and a couple of bottles of wine, and sit back and watch the fun.

Now, if you think your friends have a good time when there is wine, music and laughter, wait till you see what happens when you throw hundreds of dollars at them. They really have fun then. They walk in with a bag of broken stuff that’s been lurking in the corners of a jewelry box, and they walk out with a handful of crisp hundred dollar bills. It doesn’t matter what condition the jewelry is in, or even if it’s in the world’s worst taste — the Gold Guys are just going to melt it down. They don’t even want your diamonds and precious gems, they pop ‘em out and give them back to you. It’s just a Gold Grab. Cash for Gold. Moldy gold. Any old gold.

Everything that glitters isn’t gold, but some of it is, and it’s going for close to a thousand dollars an ounce. (It may go higher or lower any given day. You can find out at GoldPrice.org.) So make a little pile of anything that might be gold, and the Gold Detector Light will tell you if it’s real. The Gold Folks will weigh it, and even if you only have a quarter of an ounce, you’ll take home a couple of hundred dollars. Or if you just happened to hang onto Great-Great-Grampa’s gold pocket watch for a few generations, you could be looking at cash for a couple of car payments or mortgage payments, or even enough to go on a cruise. Still have that collection of gold coins? Woohooo! Just make sure whatever it is isn’t worth more than its weight in gold as a collector’s item.

Should you take your gold to a reputable jeweler first? Yes, but recognize that he has to pay for his lease, his lights, his help, his inventory, and his advertising, and he just might be wanting to take a healthy
commission on your shiny little assortment. As compared to the Gold Guys who only have to buy some gas, lug a light and a jeweler’s loupe over, eat your yummies, and provide instant gratification in the form of cash. If you’re curious, get an estimate from a jeweler before the party.

The first time I went to a “Gold Rush” party, the food was fabulous, and so was the four hundred dollars I took home. In fact, over two thousand dollars left with the guests that night, over and above which the hostess received 10%. The second Jewelry-into-Cash party was at my house for a small group of five, but the total amount paid out was close to a thousand dollars. I even made a bit of money on another old bent gold earring I found hiding under some fake bling in my jewelry box. How fun is that?

If you Google for gold, you’ll find websites like jewelry-into-cash, Cash 4 Gold, MyGoldParty, GoldPartyus, GoldKit and more. Some sell “gold party kits” you can order for several hundred dollars if you want to learn to assay gold yourself and send it off to a refinery. (Too tricky for me.) Some will send you a gold pack in which you can mail your gold to them, and wait for them to send you some money. (Don’t think so.) Others just get you in touch with local Gold Folks who will do a party for you, or even just come over and look at your gold. Read more in USA Today’s May 2008 story (see link below) about people making thousands of dollars at parties.

Want to have your own Gold Party? Do some research and make sure you use a recommended source. Ask what commission you’ll get for hosting, and for any gold parties your friends might host after attending yours. Hey, this isn’t your Gramma’s tupperware party. Thar’s gold in them thar jewelry boxes.