Lots of people are interested in gold these days. I recently interviewed Todd Hill of Pawngo, an online pawnshop (I didn't even know they existed!) about this trend:
1) I know you're not a fortune teller, but how long do you expect prices to be so high based on earlier trends?
Gold has a solid history of remaining a stable and highly valuable asset, even during times of economic uncertainty. The price of gold is affected by supply, demand and market speculation.
Since such a large quantity of gold is stored and produced annually, its price is driven more by demand than supply. Luckily for investors, gold supply is extremely stable compared to other precious metals and commodities.
There’s a large global demand for this commodity among jewelry makers. And, besides its role in the production of luxury goods, gold is considered a highly sought-after investment for financially savvy individuals.
In recent years, investment demand has been the driving force behind the increased gold prices. Since gold is able to sustain its value, even in times of inflation and stormy economic climates, gold investment has sharply increased.
There will always be an instant market for gold because it’s fungible, stable, and has high liquidity. Some predict that the price of gold will drastically reduce once our economy is back on track. Others predict it will continue to rise. Regardless of how well the economy recovers in the long-term, gold will always be considered a smart investment that should be held onto as a form of financial insurance.
2) What are the advantages and disadvantages to pawning off gold items to raise money?
In my 25 years working in the pawn industry, I have seen people of all income levels pawn their gold when times are tough.
Since the launch of our online pawn shop, Pawngo.com, we have received more than 7,000 applications from people looking to pawn their valuables. Gold should be considered a form of financial insurance. Since it’s such a reliable asset, it can provide badly needed security if you find yourself in a true financial emergency. So, by all means, you should hold onto it for as long as possible.
If you’re caught in a financial bind, hold off on selling your gold. Instead, borrow against the value of your asset, or pawn it so you still have the financial security of gold 3 to 6 months from now, when your loan is paid off.
If you plan on pawning your gold, make sure you know its current spot price to ensure you’re receiving a fair offer. I’ve seen too many people get lowball offers because they haven’t done enough research on their own.
3) How does it work to use an Internet pawn site to sell gold?
The process is simple and convenient. To get started, you answer a few quick questions about your gold. Once you receive our initial offer, your asset gets shipped to our secure fulfillment center, fully insured and on us. Then, our team of certified evaluators inspects your gold and emails you a final offer. How much cash you get depends on the evaluation of your asset’s market value. Once you accept our final offer, we directly deposit money into your bank account.
4) How much gold does Pawngo take in, and what does it do with it all?
We take in as much gold as we can get! Our certified evaluators are great at authenticating precious metals and placing accurate estimates on all luxury items that are shipped to us.
All pawned and purchased items are stored at our secure fulfillment that is safeguarded with cutting edge biometric security. Our locked up luxury goods are also monitored by 32 separate cameras that run 24 hours a day with direct feeds to offsite recorders.
Final gold purchases are placed into our ecommerce store for resale. And, of course, all pawned items are safely stored for the entire duration of a customer’s loan period and returned once the loan is fully paid off.
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