I become angry and annoyed every time I watch cash for gold commercials, because these companies are taking advantage of individuals by severely underpaying them for their valuables.

When the economy is tanking, people are better off hoarding their valuables such as gold, silver, gems, and other precious metals, because paper money is arguably worthless (gold is climbing as the dollar declines in value).

Furthermore, we must manage our finances conservatively instead of trading in our valuables to complete strangers. Some folks even argue that these cash for gold schemes are a modern day gold seizure, since paper money is essentially worthless.

A WSYR-TV investigative team mailed $766.74 worth of jewelry to “Cash 4 Gold.” Two weeks later, the team received a check for $112.34. However, the offer was rejected, so Cash 4 Gold made a second offer of $302.

Remember, cashing the check is equivalent to accepting the offer. Likewise, waiting too long to reject an offer may constitute an acceptance. People are better off taking their valuables to a local, trusted pawnshop or jeweler—especially if a relationship already exists.

If you have to mail in your valuables for cash, then have them appraised, inventoried, and send your valuables by registered mail. Insuring your items is a smart move too. Additionally, any direct deposit options that you consent to may hurt your bargaining power, so it’s probably smart not to sign up for direct deposit. From NewsChannel 9 WSYR:

We’ve all seen the commercials telling us to send in our old gold and get cash for it right away. It sounds enticing, but our investigation found it may not be the best way to get the most out of your jewelry.

The check you get for the same exact gold can vary dramatically depending on where you send it or take it, sometimes to the tune of several hundred dollars.

Here’s The Real Deal on how to make sure you’re getting the best price.

We wondered just how much you can you can really make by cleaning out your jewelry box so, we ordered a gold kit from “Cash 4 Gold” and sent in two gold necklaces, six bracelets, a pair of earrings, three rings and a charm, ranging from 10 to 24 karat. Two weeks later, we got a check for $112.34.

Might not sound that bad, but what we didn’t tell Cash 4 Gold was that we had taken the exact same pieces to a pawn shop the week before and they were going to give us $766.74.

When we sent the check back and asked for our jewelry to be returned, Cash 4 Gold came back with a second offer of $302.

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