More people selling gold for cold, hard cash - Some host parties where guests part with jewelry

More people selling gold for cold, hard cash - Some host parties where guests part with jewelry
By Ken Manson
Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune
November 13, 2009
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/northnorthwest/chi-melted-gold-13nov13,0,313100.story


Friends and relatives are gathering in living rooms across the Chicago area to weigh their gold baubles and trade them for something that seems even more precious in these hard times: cash.

Buyers and sellers say the trend is also reflected in the number of new stores catering to people hoping to score a fistful of dollars by selling off treasures once held dear, or which are just too ugly to look at anymore.

Dusty class rings, necklaces that have fallen from favor, and orphaned earrings are earning their owners money and have become a draw at parties that can bring the host a tidy commission. The get-togethers have also become a way for charities to boost funds as other resources have faded in a tarnished economy.

Marilyn Wagner of Buffalo Grove recently walked out of Midwest Gold Buyers in Arlington Heights counting a cool $1,500.

"It was better to have the cash than all this unused gold laying in my drawer," Wagner said, shrugging off the departed necklace, which she hadn't worn in years, and mismatched earrings.

Midwest Gold Buyers opened its first store about two years ago in Hanover Park and expects to have 30 across the region by January, co-owner Jordan Sadoff said. A lucrative side business organizes parties in people's homes and elsewhere -- more than 200 take place in the area every month, Sadoff said.

"We realized that there was a great potential in the concept," he said.

It didn't take Dorothy Collins of South Holland long to recognize the appeal. When she attended her first gold party, she noticed the look on people's faces as they left the room where their jewelry was assessed.

"Everyone was coming out with a smile," she recalled.

Collins invited 12 people to her first party and made a $200 commission. She also sold broken jewelry and a bracelet she never wore for $179.

Maria Dominquez of Chicago sold $136 worth of jewelry at two parties, then earned a $45 commission by hosting one of her own.

"I looked at it as a little extra cash," she said. "It was fun."

Midwest Gold Buyers also sells silver and coins in the 16 stores it operates in the suburbs.

Hoffman Estates trustees recently denied Sadoff's request to open a store in a Golf Road shopping center. Sadoff draws a distinction between his stores and pawn shops, which lend money using various items, including gold and other jewelry, as collateral. He said his company only buys gold and jewelry.

The price offered for gold is based on karats and the market rate, Sadoff said. A huge jump in the price of gold helped spur business, Sadoff said. By Monday, gold had climbed to $1,102 per ounce, compared with about $700 per ounce earlier this year.

The metal is sent to refiners in Chicago and Florida. The smelter refines the metals and then sells the gold on the market for Midwest.