NewsChannel 11 Investigates Companies Using TV Ads to Purchase Gold - KCBD NewsChannel 11 Lubbock

When you watch the commercials, they make it seem so easy. You call or register to get your kit in the mail, pack up your jewelry and ship it to them at no cost to you.  But is it worth the time and your gold jewelry?  

You may have seen the commercials on late night TV or even cable. They tell you how you can sell them your old, broken gold jewelry. One of the businesses we found is called The Gold Kit. They claim to be the leading US gold buyer, paying out millions to hundreds of thousands of satisfied customers.  "I got $1,000," said one of the women in the commercial. She makes it seem like you will get paid big time for the old gold you sell to this company.

We also want to see what this Cash4Gold is all about as well. It too claims its America's #1 gold buyer. But in order to get paid, you have to mail your gold.  Gold Kit is in Pennsylvania and the Cash4Gold is in Florida.  So, how does this exactly work? Better yet, is it trustworthy? We're going to find out.

NewsChannel 11 went to Keith Smith, owner of J. Keith Jewelry. He donated a heavy amount of gold, 13.9 and 11.6 troy ounces of 14 karats of rings, and necklaces.  "How much would a return be on something like that?" we asked Smith.  "I would pay today, $252.98," said Smith.  

Smith said if someone were to walk in and try to sell him 11.6 troy ounces of gold, he says he would have paid $211 for it.  Smith says the price of gold usually increases when the stock market is facing a financial crisis. The day smith weighed our gold, pure gold, which is 24 karats, was trading for $735 a troy ounce, about the size of a gold coin.  "Back in March, gold was trading over $1,000," said Smith.

So, now we know how much our gold is worth, but would the Gold Kit and Cash4Gold match the price Smith says he'd pay? We sent both packages in the mail and tracked them on the Internet using the tracking number assigned to our package.  Here's what we got.  Cash4Gold sent us a check for $38.50 when Smith said he would have paid us $211.

We waited less than a week for our check from The Gold Kit. Remember, Smith quoted us $252.98 and The Gold Kit paid us nowhere near that amount. "They said they would pay you $41.70 cents.  What do you think about that?" we asked him.  "I really don't know what to say except that is really low," said Smith.

According to the people at The Gold Kit, they have been in good standing with the Better Business Bureau since 1997.  But that doesn't necessarily mean you're going to be happy with the money you get.  "I guess what we have learned here is that you need to shop around." we said. "Yes, that's a good idea," added Smith.

If you do happen to send off your jewelry, and you are not happy with the amount, both companies say you can call and request your gold to be returned, along with your payment. But they say they must get your request within the ten days of the date on the check they issue to you. 

You should also know there are several places here in town that will buy your gold. So shop it around, before you decide to ship it out.

Tell us what you think... KCBD.com Message Boards Have you had a good or bad experience with these cash for gold type businesses? Sound off on our message boards!