It is a lot easier to buy gold than to sell it-at least for a good price.
人黄金比卖黄金容易得多，至少从价格的角度来说是这样。
It isn't that there aren't plenty of opportunities to sell out there: Gold purchasers are swarming like mosquitoes after a summer shower. Local jewelers, coin shops and seemingly every other cable-television advertiser will buy your gold and maybe even your silver, too.
这并不是说卖出黄金的机会少──人们抢购黄金的一窝蜂架势堪比夏天暴雨过后聚在一起的成群蚊虫。本地珠宝商、钱币商店和貌似一半的有线电视广告商都是购买金制品甚或银制品的买家。
The nation's largest jewelry-store chain, Kay Jewelers, last year opened an online service to buy gold jewelry, and last week, one of the largest pawn-shop chains, Cash America International, launched Gold Promise, an online gold-buying service with the gold-chain-festooned Mr. T as a spokesman.
美国最大的珠宝首饰连锁商凯氏珠宝(Kay Jewelers)去年开通了网上收购黄金首饰的服务，而美国最大的连锁当铺之一Cash America International也在上周推出了名为"黄金承诺"(Gold Promise)的网上收购黄金的服务，其代言人是全身上下披挂各式金链的Mr. T。
The price of gold touched an all-time high of $1,388 an ounce earlier this month, and the price of silver reached a 30-year peak of more than $24 an ounce. But the prices that buyers pay vary widely.
本月初，金价创下了每盎司1,388美元的历史最高纪录，银价也超过每盎司24美元，创三十年之最。不过买家报出的金制品收购价格却相差迥异。
Some will give you as little as 10% of the meltdown value for gold jewelry and coins. Many jewelry stores, including Kay Jewelers, a unit of Signet Jewelers, pay about 50% of the meltdown value. Coin shops tend to pay more: up to 80%-assuming the coins don't have a higher collectible value-and a few online players may offer as much as 90%.
有些商家给出的收购价非常低，仅为金首饰和金币熔炼后实际金价的10%。包括美国珠宝零售商Signet Jewelers旗下凯氏珠宝在内的很多珠宝店，其收购价是熔炼后实际金价的50%左右。钱币商店对金币开出的收购价往往较高，可达到熔炼后金价的80%，少数几个网上金币的收购者可能还会开出高达熔炼金价90%的报价，这些价格假定所卖金币不具备更高的收藏价值。
Your first step should be to check out a potential buyer, making sure the firm has a clean record and a grade of at least A-minus with the Better Business Bureau. Through September, the BBB has received about 500 complaints about gold-buying services, up from 111 for all of 2008. Ideally, coin dealers will belong to one of the big trade groups, such as the American Numismatic Association or the Professional Numismatists Guild.
出售金制品之前，首先应验证收购商身份，确保该公司履历清白，在美国接受消费者投诉及调查的非盈利机构Better Business Bureau(BBB)那里有着至少A-的评级。BBB今年9月收到有关金制品收购服务投诉约500件，而此类投诉在2008年全年也才只有111件。钱币交易商按理应属于一个大的行业团体，如美国钱币协会(American Numismatic Association)或专业钱币收藏家协会(Professional Numismatists Guild)。
For those who like to buy low and sell high, this should be a good time to take some profits on precious metals that you have been hoarding or stored, half-forgotten, in the closet. Here are some steps for getting the best deals:
对于喜欢低买高卖的人来说，如果你一直在自家的壁橱里囤积或储存黄金制品，现在应该可以拿出那些或已被你遗忘的金货小赚一把了。以下是如何获得最高收购价的一些方法。
• Know what you are selling. If you are turning jewelry into cash, remember that 14-karat gold is only 58.5% pure gold and won't bring in anywhere near the daily price you hear on the news. You need to know how much pure gold content you have to estimate its value or compare offers. Gold jewelry often is measured in pennyweights, with 20 to the ounce; a buyer should provide this information.
务必对自己所要出售的金制品有所了解。如果你要变现金首饰，请记住14k金的意思是纯金含量只有58.5%，而且其收购价绝不会达到你从新闻中听到的每日黄金报价。你要了解所卖首饰含多少纯金，这样才能预估该首饰价位或比较收购商给出的报价。金首饰的常用衡量单位是"本尼威特"(pennyweight)，二十本尼威特等于一盎司，这一信息应当由收购商提供。
Remove any gems before offering your pieces for sale, and be aware that some well-designed or antiquejewelry may be worth more than its weight in gold.
如果你卖的是金首饰，那么在出售之前请务必去掉镶嵌在首饰上的所有宝石，另外还要知道，一些设计巧妙或古董首饰其价位可能超过本身所含黄金的金价。
Before selling coins, research values online or use annual printed guides to estimate your holdings' worth. You may benefit from having rare coins 'graded,' or formally assessed by an expert, since a few points on the quality scale can mean the difference between a $100 coin and a $1,000 coin.
如果你卖的是金币，则应在出售之前上网搜一搜相关信息，或利用每年的印刷指南大略估计一下自己金币的价值。若你的金币十分稀有且经过专家的正式评估，你或许会因此小发一笔，因为品质鉴定相差的区区几分，或可意味这枚金币到底是值100美元还是1,000美元。
No matter what you are selling, get at least two, and preferably three, bids. Getting local bids is easy enough, but online sellers typically require you to send in your stuff, and some have confusing return policies. Some buyers require you to accept an offer on the spot, while others allow you to change your mind and get your items back within 10 to 30 days.
无论你卖的是首饰也好金币也罢，至少要有两个报价，最好是三个。找本地买家报价很容易，但网上收购商一般会要求你把金制品寄给它们，而其中有些收购商的退货政策又相当混乱。有些收购商要求你当场接受报价，而有些则允许你改变主意，并可在10-30天内退回你寄给它们的金制品。
In addition to checking out the firm's rules, let the bidders know you are comparing offers. Dealers say they will make a more-aggressive offer if they know they are competing for business.
除核实公司政策外，还要让收购商知道，你正在"价"比三家。交易商说，他们如果知道自己有竞争对手，就会给出更具吸引力的报价。
• Ensure your insurance. Some online services will send you shipping materials, cover the shipping costs and insurance, and let you see a video of your package being opened. But relying on someone else's insurance can be tricky if the package is lost in transit and the firm disputes the value of what you sent, even if you kept a detailed list. Instead, some dealers recommend you ship your items via the U.S. Post Office, which allows you to buy up to $25,000 in insurance. (FedEx, by contrast, limits coverage for jewelry and collectibles to $1,000, while United Parcel Service doesn't accept coins, gold bars or bullion for shipment.)
一定要买保险。有些网上收购商的流程是：你用它们给你寄来的包装材料对金制品进行包装，然后发给买家，买家会承担运费和保险，收到货后买家会拍下打开包裹的全过程并将这一录像放给你看。但如果所寄包裹在运输途中丢失且收货方对你所寄物品的价值持有异议，那么即使你保留了邮寄清单，可能买家的保险也帮不了你的忙。相反，有些交易商建议你通过美国邮政总局(U.S. Post Office)发送金制品，最多你可购买2.5万美元的保险。(联邦快递(FedEx)对首饰和收藏品规定的保费上限是1,000美元，而美国联合包裹运送服务公司(United Parcel Service)则不接受钱币、金条或金砖的运送。)
• Start small. If you plan to unload a large holding, sell a few valuable coins or a couple of jewelry pieces first to be sure the buyer meets your standards. 'Do one transaction and make sure you're satisfied,' says Jeff Garrett, a rare-coin dealer in Lexington, Ky., who has written a book on buying and selling gold.
别想一口吃个胖子。如果你计划脱手一大批黄金存货，先试着出售几个值钱的金币或两三件金首饰，确保买家符合你的条件。美国肯塔基州稀有钱币交易商加勒特(Jeff Garrett)说，先做成一笔交易再说，要确保自己对交易满意。加勒特写过一本有关金制品买卖的书。
Don't expect to get the retail price, of course. Generally, dealers say the spread between what they pay and what they sell a coin for will range between 5% and 35%, with a larger spread for rare items and for small collections.
当然还有一点，不要妄想卖到零售价。交易商说他们买入并卖出一枚金币的价差在5%-35%之间，其中金币越稀有、收藏规模越小，价差也越大。
• Don't forget the taxman. Gold, silver and coins are treated as collectibles, and gains are currently taxed at up to 28%-a higher rate than long-term gains on stocks and bonds. If you are liquidating a large collection, you may want to check with your accountant first to understand your potential tax liability.
最后别忘了税率问题。金银首饰和钱币都被视作收藏品，其交易收益的税率可高达28%，比股票和债券的长期收益所缴的税率还高。如果你现在正变卖一大笔贵金属藏品，可能应先向自己的财务顾问了解一下自己大概要交多少的税。
Karen Blumenthal
- shower [´ʃauə]
n.展出者；阵雨；淋浴 (初中英语单词) - international [,intə´næʃənəl] a.国际的，世界的 (初中英语单词)
- bureau [´bjuərəu] n.局；编辑部；事务所 (初中英语单词)
- professional [prə´feʃənəl] a.职业的 n.自由职业 (初中英语单词)
- closet [´klɔzit] n.橱；私室；盥洗室 (初中英语单词)
- anywhere [´eniweə] ad.无论何处；任何地方 (初中英语单词)
- estimate [´estimət, ´estimeit] n.估计；评价 vt.估价 (初中英语单词)
- research [ri´sə:tʃ] n.&vi.调查；探究；研究 (初中英语单词)
- annual [´ænjuəl] a.每年的 n.年刊 (初中英语单词)
- expert [´ekspə:t] n.&a.专家；内行 (初中英语单词)
- addition [ə´diʃən] n.加；加法；附加物 (初中英语单词)
- shipping [´ʃipiŋ] n.船运业；船舶(总数) (初中英语单词)
- package [´pækidʒ] n.包(裹) vt.组装 (初中英语单词)
- recommend [,rekə´mend] vt.推荐；使受欢迎 (初中英语单词)
- contrast [´kɔntrɑ:st] n.对比 v.使对比(照) (初中英语单词)
- parcel [´pɑ:sl] n.包裹；一批 vt.区分 (初中英语单词)
- valuable [´væljuəbəl, -jubəl] a.有价值的，贵重的 (初中英语单词)
- dealer [´di:lə] n.商人 (初中英语单词)
- collection [kə´lekʃən] n.收集；征收；募捐 (初中英语单词)
- jewelry [´dʒu:əlri] n.珠宝(饰物) (高中英语单词)
- potential [pə´tenʃəl] n.&a.潜在的；可能的 (高中英语单词)
- offering [´ɔfəriŋ] n.提供；礼物；捐献 (高中英语单词)
- seemingly [´si:miŋli] ad.表面上；似乎 (英语四级单词)
- antique [æn´ti:k] a.古代的 n.古物(董) (英语四级单词)
- formally [´fɔ:məli] ad.形式地，正式地 (英语四级单词)
- bullion [´buljən] n.金条(锭)；银条(锭) (英语四级单词)
- retail [´ri:teil, ri´teil] n.&a.&v.零售(商品的) (英语四级单词)
- transit [´trænzit, -sit] n.通过；运行；运输 (英语六级单词)
- holding [´həuldiŋ] n.保持，固定，存储 (英语六级单词)
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