Most appraisers will charge $50-$200 per hour to evaluate your treasures and valuables.  We at Gotta Get-It Gone will be running a FREE pre-sale research promo through the month of September.

Certainly, the time is ripe. Yesterday, gold closed at $963.90 an ounce -- up 15% since the beginning of the year, and 52% since the end of 2006. The last time gold prices soared like this was 1980, when the annual average price was $612 an ounce, the equivalent of $1,660 in today's dollars. Back then, lines stretched out the doors of jewelry stores as people tried to sell their gold.

Gold refiners, wholesalers and jewelers say the number of people wanting to cash out their gold has picked up significantly in the past year, though it is tough to quantify. Several sources say there are frequently lines at gold buyers in Manhattan's diamond district. One refiner notes that people are cashing in not just their old or broken jewelry, but also gold bars and coins they bought for investment purposes. Jewelry stores, pinched by a softening economy, are selling their old inventory to refiners, too.

So now seemed like a good time to join the gold rush and offload my unwanted pieces to someone who'd pay for the metal. But like any business venture, turning gold into greenbacks starts with getting an education. Who buys gold jewelry for its meltdown value? Which pieces would be most worth selling? And how would I know if I was getting a fair price?

Finding a jewelry store or dealer to buy my gold wasn't that difficult -- there is no shortage of companies advertising their services on the Internet, in the newspaper and on TV. But when it comes to getting a good deal, selling requires some shopping around.

For advice, I called David Firestone, third-generation owner of Firestone & Parson in Boston, a dealer in estate jewelry and antiques who was recommended by a colleague. He said I should expect to get at least 90% of the gold's value based on that day's price on the open market. He also suggested I find someone who deals in gold coins, a full-time gold broker, or skip the middleman and go directly to a refiner to land the best price. Also, I knew to check out the company I chose with the Better Business Bureau and the city or state department of consumer affairs.

Sentimental Sorting

When cashing out, my first step was deciding what items I was willing to part with, which can be an emotionally complex task. I was willing to sell some pieces that had been gifts over the years from relatives. One very dated gold-nugget bracelet handed down from my mom also went into the sale pile. But a heart-shaped locket inscribed with my grandmother's initials and the date 1908 went back in the drawer. Even though I don't wear it, it's a sentimental keepsake. In the end, I decided to sell three nondescript gold-link bracelets and a necklace, plus the circa-1960 gold-nugget bracelet.

Before I could calculate my likely take, I found that gold prices are quoted based on pure gold, or 24 karats. Most jewelry is 14-karat, though some better pieces are made from 18 karat, and cheaper jewelry is often 10 karats. So my gold pieces are worth only a proportionate fraction of the 24-karat price. In other words, a 14-karat gold bracelet is valued at 58.5% of the 24-karat gold price. The karat is usually stamped on the jewelry, but is sometimes too tiny to see with the naked eye. So I relied on the dealers to tell me the makeup of my metals.

Next, I needed to find out how much my gold pieces weighed. Gold is most often measured in penny weights, with 20 penny weights equaling an ounce. Again, a dealer determined the weight of the items I wanted to sell.

On Feb. 22, when I was flogging my jewelry, the price hit a record $949 an ounce. But I knew I couldn't expect to get full value. Dealers have to make a profit, and they'll factor in how much of a discount refiners are giving them when buying the loot. These days, so many people are selling their gold jewelry that refiners are backed up, causing meltdown delays and raising carrying costs for brokers. I wanted the best price I could get, so my job was to figure out how much off full price was reasonable.

With my task framed, I was ready to go. But where?

My answer arrived in the weekend newspaper, where I noticed a loud, four-page ad screaming, "BUYING 7 DAYS ONLY -- INSTANT CASH FOR ALL." A group of 25 independent buyers was setting up shop in a local Dallas hotel, buying diamonds and gold and select antiques.

I took my bag of jewelry and headed to the hotel, where I met Harrisburg, Pa., antiques jeweler Rodger McKinley. He told me he travels 30 weeks a year buying gold. He resells some pieces and melts down the rest.

From Mr. McKinley I learned I had exactly 60 penny weights, or three ounces, of gold jewelry, which included one five-penny, 18-karat bracelet, with the rest 14-karat. He offered me $750. I was ecstatic -- until I began to wonder if a 50% discount was the going rate. That day gold was selling for $902 an ounce. Three ounces of my jewelry at 58% of the market price would come to $1,569. I knew Mr. McKinley deserved to make a profit, but how much was fair?

I decided to keep looking. My next stop was the Dallas Gold & Silver Exchange Inc., a huge store that sells used jewelry and watches on its premises and in online auctions. A jeweler there looked at my four pieces through a jeweler's loupe, weighed them, and then offered me $600. No good.

Next, I turned to the Internet and found a Dallas gold broker and wholesale jeweler who offered me $730 over the phone after I gave him my weights and karats. I told him I'd already received a $750 quote when gold was at $902, and prices had gone up to $939 that day. "Oh, I didn't realize it was that high," he explained hastily. "I'll go as much as $1,000 then."

Overnighting Jewelry

Not good enough. I went back to the Internet and found a gold broker in the heart of Manhattan's diamond district, U.S. Gold Buyers, which buys and refines precious metals. A customer-service representative said the company pays 96% of the spot price for five ounces or more and on a sliding scale for lower weights. I could overnight my jewelry at the company's expense, and a representative would give me a quote the next day. If I declined the offer, the jewelry would be sent back at no charge to me. If I accepted, I could expect a payment to be processed within 24 hours. I could choose a wire transfer, or have the money sent via PayPal or by postal mail.

As reassurance that the company could be trusted, she gave me the company's license number with the Better Business Bureau and the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs.

Using the company's Federal Express account, I sent off the loot, and the next day a salesman called with a quote just as gold hit its new $949-an-ounce high. U.S. Gold Buyers' offer: $1,570.17.

Sold. My check arrived the following Tuesday.

Growing up selling at flea markets, I feel very comfortable walking amid the “junk” that is sold at flea markets.

(the junkier, the better!)

I love sorting through boxes of old stuff and finding things that I have either never seen before or things that I had forgotten existed!

And the real fun is in finding cool old items that I can make money with – taking home some prizes that I can research on eBay or Amazon and resell for high profits.

I may be a little odd, but that’s what I grew up doing and it’s like therapy to me!

There is something inherently exciting about being able to buy something today, pop it up on eBay and see your profit within 7 days – or sooner!

In the old days, when I used to buy things at the swap meet, I would have to wait til the next week to try to sell the items I bought. And, while buying things at a flea market to resell (by itself) is not going to make anyone rich, today with eBay, the profit comes a lot quicker!

Here are some of the items I bought yesterday – what I paid for them and what I expect to get for them based on my initial eBay research.

I bought these Tony Robbins “Get The Edge” and “Personal Power” sets of DVDs, CDs and Workbooks.

They are all still in their original shrinkwrap and in the original shipping box for only $8!

Based on my eBay research, I see that I can get about $150 for the twosets.

That’s what I call FUN! (and a 1,775% profit, too)

Another thing we bought was a stack of 36 Star Trek and Star Wars “Giant Poster Books”.

These were published in 1977 and are actually a giant poster that was folded into a booklet that had all kinds of fun facts and photos.

We picked up 36 of these sci-fi gems for $30.

They are selling on eBay for about $7 each.

So, these 36 (at $7 each) makes $252.

Again, we won’t get rich on this, but I just love turning $30 into $252!

That’s a 740% profit!

_______________________________________________________

I also like to use my cell phone bar code scanner to check pricing on things when I am at the flea market.

In this case, I bought 2 “font” CDs with 10,000 fonts and 2 CDs with a “VIP” Gameboy game (still shrinkwrapped) for $8.

I figured I would buy a few and go to the next aisle and bar-code scan them to see what they were worth. This would tell me whether I should go back and buy the rest.

When we tried scanning the two new packages with my cell phone barcode scanner, the scanner I was using showed no results, so I didn’t go back and buy any more.

When I got home, my research showed that the 10,000 Font CDs are selling for $19 and the VIP games are selling for $14.40. (on Amazon.com – and I promptly listed them there)

So on these 4 items, the total made will be $66.80 and the amount paid was only $8.

That’s a 735% profit on these little gems!

So, let’s add this up – it was a particularly fun and profitable day at the flea market…

Total spent on these items: $46

Total to be made on these items: $468.80

Total profit: 919%!

By the way, the most profitable item we bought was the Tony Robbins stuff and we would never have found it if we hadn’t gone back to some of the first aisles we walked through. We walked through these aisles for a second time and there it was!

You see, one of the earliest strategies I learned – back when I was a kid – was that a Flea Market is in a “blossoming” stage all morning long.

In other words, the things you see in an aisle at 7:30 am will be different than the things you see in that same aisle at 8:00 am and again at 8:30 and at 9:00 am.

This is because the sellers are putting their goodies out all morning. When we went back through those aisles a second time, I was impressed (all over again) with how many new things we saw and how different some of the stands were.

They were fuller, they had more items and some of them had canopies overhead.

It was on this second trip that I picked up the Tony Robbins box for $8. This made an already good day into an epic, fun and profitable day!

Like I said, I don’t expect that anyone could get rich buying at flea markets, this is more of a fun hobby I wanted to share.

The eBay strategies I teach in my eBay systems are far more sophisticated and far more profitable but for me, going to a flea market is just plain fun!

eBay and Drop shipping - A Fantastic eBay Business Model

If you want to make a full time living at your eBay business, you
can easily make that dream come true - even if you don't have a
product of your own to sell. eBay provides many people who want to
quit their corporate nine-to-five jobs with a way to make a good
living, without having to put up a lot of start up capital. This is
made possible with the help of drop shippers. 

Drop shippers actually ship their merchandise directly to your eBay
customers. This will allow you to offer a wide variety of stock in
your eBay store, without having the need to warehouse OR ship all
of those products! 

All you have to do is set up your eBay listings and sell the
product. You then pass the customer's information on to the drop
shipping company. The drop shipper does the rest, and they will
even use your company information (as well as your company logo) in
the shipments if you have provided it to them. When the product
arrives at your customer's home, they will have no idea that your
company didn't send it. 

The drop shipper will package, label, and ship the products that
you sell, allowing you more time to set up even more listings for
greater profits. 

     We are proud to announce our Grand Opening this Friday, February  25^th 12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. at 12124 California St. Yucaipa, Ca 92399.  We will be offering an all day store-wide discount of 20%.  This is in addition to our already insanely low prices.  Most of our items are on consignment for resale.  There is no better way to save monies than to buy someone elses unwanted valuables.  Just think about it.  How can the big chain stores compete with below wholesale prices combined with an additional 20% off?  If you are not in the local area NO WORRIES, we will be offering the same 20% discount on all of our online items*.  You can find our online internet store at www.stores.ebay.com/gottoget-itgone. 

    There will be refreshments set up out front for your enjoyment.  If we can find a way we will do the same at our online store.  Not really, but we still love and appreciate your business.  In addition to our 20% discount we will be having a raffle drawing for our movie gift-nik basket. An appraised value of $100.00.  It includes twelve movies, candy, popcorn and of course a soda to wash it down.

    So with all that why miss out?  We look forward to meeting or speaking with you.  Thank you in advance for your time and patronage.

    *email us coupon code “GRAND OPENING” for your online discount.

Most people new to online selling will start with eBay, simply because it's currently the biggest auction site around and gets the most traffic. Later, you may or may not want to progress to setting up your own website, depending on your goals.

eBay is great for beginners because it is relatively easy to use, gets plenty of traffic and there is a lot of help and training available on how to get the most out of your eBay listings.

However, there are also plenty of other auction sites out there that are very profitable selling platforms for both new and established sellers. Amazon.com is hugely popular now, and although their fees aren't much better than eBay's, the heavy traffic ensures you'll make a lot of sales.

For sellers looking for small-but-friendly auction sites, we recommend Bonanzle, eCraterand Etsy. These sites get far less traffic than the likes of eBay and Amazon, but they have fantastic communities and lots of SaleHoo members really enjoy selling on them.

Some sellers prefer the freedom of having their own e-commerce website. When you've got your own site, you can have complete control over costs, marketing and what and how you decide to sell. These days there are plenty of store building options around that make launching your own ecommerce site as easy as ABC, even for the most technologically challenged! SaleHoo recommends eCrater.com, which offers a free eStore setup and zero fees when you make a sale, and requires no html or web design knowledge (phew!).BuyitSellit.com is another excellent option for building your own site and offers customizable designs and easy-to-use content management systems so that you can easily add or update your item listings.

Inside our Supplier Directory, you'll find not 1, but 4 different types of suppliers so that whatever your product sourcing needs are, we can fulfill them!

Our wholesale suppliers are an important link between consumers and manufacturers. They buy direct from manufacturers in huge bulk to get the lowest price possible, and make their money from reselling these items in bulk.

Most wholesalers will require have a minimum order quantity (MOQ) and will also require that you provide them with your Tax ID number (we will be talking more about this later in the newsletter series).

Inside our Supplier Directory, you'll find not 1, but 4 different types of suppliers so that whatever your product sourcing needs are, we can fulfill them!

Our wholesale suppliers are an important link between consumers and manufacturers. They buy direct from manufacturers in huge bulk to get the lowest price possible, and make their money from reselling these items in bulk.

Most wholesalers will require have a minimum order quantity (MOQ) and will also require that you provide them with your Tax ID number (we will be talking more about this later in the newsletter series).