How to use the Scrap Gold Calculator — a complete walkthrough
Step-by-step guide to calculating the exact price to offer a client selling scrap gold. Learn how weight, karat, merchant price, and your profit margin combine to give you a confident buy price every time.
What is the Scrap Gold Calculator?
Goldify's Scrap Gold Calculator tells you exactly what to pay a client who wants to sell their gold. It takes the guesswork out of daily gold buying — enter weight, karat, today's merchant price, and your margin, and you get a confident buy price in seconds.
For the underlying math behind the calculator, see our companion guide on how to price scrap gold accurately.
Step 1: Enter the gold weight
- Weigh the item on a jeweller's scale (precision to 0.01 g recommended).
- Enter the weight in grams — or switch the unit to tolas or troy ounces.
- The calculator converts automatically between units, so the result is always in your local currency per gram.
Step 2: Select the karat
How to identify the karat of an unknown piece:
- Look for hallmarks: 375 = 9K, 585 = 14K, 750 = 18K, 916 = 22K, 999 = 24K.
- If the stamp is missing or worn, use an acid test or an electronic gold tester.
- When in doubt, choose the lower karat — it protects your margin if the piece turns out to be less pure than expected.
Step 3: The gold price — live vs manual
You have two ways to set the day's price:
- Option A — Live price: Click the ↻ Live price button to auto-fetch today's merchant-adjusted price for the selected karat.
- Option B — Manual entry: Type the price yourself — useful when you've received your daily price SMS or WhatsApp from your supplier.
Your merchant premium (the % markup above international spot price your supplier charges) is added automatically when using the live price. Configure it once in Settings → Profile and Goldify applies it to every calculation.
Step 4: Set your profit margin
Suggested margin ranges by channel:
| Channel | Suggested margin |
|---|---|
| B2B (selling to a refiner) | 10 – 15% |
| B2C (buying from the public) | 15 – 25% |
| High-risk scrap (unverified) | 25 – 30% |
Use the preset buttons (10%, 15%, 20%, 25%) or type any custom value.
Step 5: Read your results
- Purity %: the actual gold content of the item, based on karat.
- Pure gold (g): the grams of refined gold inside the piece.
- Melt value: what a refiner would pay you — your gold's raw worth.
- Your buy price: the exact amount to offer the client, after your margin.
The formula — transparent pricing
Buy price = Weight × Purity% × Price/g × (1 − Margin%)
Goldify shows you this formula so you can explain it to your client if they question the offer. Transparency builds trust — and protects you from accusations of underpaying.
Saving and invoicing
After calculating, you have three actions:
- Save calculation — keep a record in your history for later reference.
- Create invoice — generate a receipt for the client on the spot.
- Export PDF — print a branded quote or paper record.
Try the Scrap Gold Calculator
Enter weight, karat, and margin — get the exact buy price to offer any client.