With the variety of gold buyers available on the internet, you might be questioning who you should choose to do business with. The truth is, there are vast differences between the various online gold buyers.

First off, is it a legitimate business or an online scam?

The vast majority of online gold buyers are legitimate businesses, most of which are licensed in their respective states. For example, NowGold.com is a licensed second hand precious metals dealer in the state of Florida. Only use a licensed precious metal dealer and you’ll always have the law on your side.

Another way to tell if an online gold buyer is legitimate is to do a Google search for their business name. If the company is rip-off, you’ll find out pretty quickly. When it comes to looking for feedback, no news is good news. Take a look at OnlineGoldScam.com to see community feedback on some well known web sites.

How Much Cash for Gold Will You Get?

Every online gold buyer tries to distinguish themselves by claiming to pay more, but the truth is, most cash for gold web sites pay just about the same as everybody else online. However, you’ll find that the online gold buyers consistently pay more than the local gold buyers. Because online gold buyers do a higher volume, they can afford to have tighter profit margins than the local pawn shop or jewelry store.

With that said, there are a few unscrupulous companies that will payout very low amounts. For 14K gold, considering all of the operating costs, the typical online gold buyer will pay anywhere from 45% to 65% of melt value. There are however, some places that will try to pay you as little as 20% of melt value.

At NowGold.com, we pay out on the high side. Our goal is to have satisfied customers giving us great feedback in the online community. You’ll find that by doing a Google search some companies have lots of complaints about low pay outs; you’ll want to stay away from them.

What about fraud or theft?

Fraud is really not a big problem in the industry for online gold buyers. When you are ready to sell your gold, just make sure you use a licensed dealer and you’ll probably be alright. Again, there are a few bad apples spoiling the bunch. You’ll want to do a little research on the company to make sure they do not have a history of ripping off their customers.

How Fast Will I Get Paid?

When it comes to the timeline for getting cash for gold, NowGold.com really does stand head and shoulders above the rest. Here is a comparison: