Any Scrappers Out There?

[tiramisu41]

Dumb question, but...   

Why do people buy old jewlelry/watches that are known to be or most likely are gold-filled or gold-plated for scrap?    If the items were real gold I could understand, but I'm having a hard time figuring out when they're not what's the value.  (?)

Can anyone enlighten me?   Thanks.

[loveyourimagination49]

Collectibles or just likes the look?
Are they expensive or is the seller not saying that aren’t real gold?
Just throwing out stuff here.

[castlemagicmemories]

Maybe they are hoping the seller is mistaken.

[jela_7588]

Gold plating can actually be stripped off the item.

I used to hunt at yard sales ect for tangled lots of jewelry, then resell the gold, silver and gold plated stuff to a scapper friend of mine

Also they might need parts of the broken jewelry to repair stuff that they own.

[the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth]

Since I seem to be in a weird mood today I'm going to share my scrapper story. It was about 20 years ago when I first started selling on Ebay. One of my first customers had an id like scrapperbiker which totally freaked me out. Was it  a motorcycle club person who liked to fight and was going to give me trouble? Turned out to be a sweet older lady who liked to bike around and scrapbook. 

Assumptions. Always good to remember that user ids may not mean what you think.

[tiramisu41]

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@loveyourimagination49 wrote:
Collectibles or just likes the look?
Are they expensive or is the seller not saying that aren’t real gold?
Just throwing out stuff here.

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No, what I'm talking about isn't being sold for their collectible or "style" value.  Most all such listings are being sold as bulk lots with info about the weight in grams which leads me to believe there must be some value somehow in either melting the stuff down or "stripping" off the gold in some way.  News to me that could be done which is why I'm asking...

See: https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=gold-filled+watches+scrap&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l13...

[tiramisu41]

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@castlemagicmemories wrote:

Maybe they are hoping the seller is mistaken.

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Yes @castlemagicmemories, that thought did occur to me.  I suppose if even one item in a lot is "real" than the buyer literally will have "struck gold" which makes it worth speculating about.

[tiramisu41]

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@jela_7588 wrote:

Gold plating can actually be stripped off the item.

I used to hunt at yard sales ect for tangled lots of jewelry, then resell the gold, silver and gold plated stuff to a scapper friend of mine

Also they might need parts of the broken jewelry to repair stuff that they own.

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Hmmm.... Interesting @jela_7588.  I had not heard/was not aware that it was possible to "recover" the gold in that way.  Seems like what would be recovered would be very little per piece and not worth the trouble.  But so far, your explanation sounds like it may well be the reason people buy such items.   Thanks for sharing.

[annetteshandmadesforyou]

I have seen people doing crafts with scrap jewlery, decorating mirrors, windows, frames and even foam trees.

[lewisburggold]

Alot of them buy to use the parts to fix the really nice watches.  Sometimes its hard to get parts and its easier to get parts from a not very good watch.  Best regards

[pburn]

I can use virtually every part of a "junk" watch or piece of jewelry in my mixed-media art projects. Watches or clocks, or pieces thereof, are particularly trendy in steampunk-style pieces. I'm creating a steampunk dollhouse right now, for example, and I'm using those kinds of pieces in every room and throughout the exterior.

Just a thought.

[castlemagicmemories]

Actually, Livadia, I had to laugh in a way.  These Boards are just the place to find "scrappers", just not the kind you mean!

And I really wish it wasn't that way!

[tiramisu41]

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@castlemagicmemories wrote:

Actually, Livadia, I had to laugh in a way.  These Boards are just the place to find "scrappers", just not the kind you mean!

And I really wish it wasn't that way!

 I hear ya, @castlemagicmemories.  😉

[dadsfloridatreasure]

During the recession of 2008 and 2009, when gold was nearly $1900 an ounce and silver was $50, I saw a lot of people buying gold filled, gold plated, and silver plated items for scrap value.

Both gold and silver prices are quite reasonable now, so it would make sense for those to stock up on scrap plated / filled material in the hopes that if another recession or stock market crash, these metals will skyrocket.

[dadsfloridatreasure]

On a similar note, I was scrapping electronics circuit boards during the 2008-09 recession and sold this stuff on our local Craigslist by the pound.  You would be surprised at the amount of inquires I had.

There's a reason why your local communities have electronics recycling days or even outlaw this stuff from the trash.

It's because they want the gold and silver that's in these materials!!!