Use the same item description, accepted weight, purity or grade, price-lock point and currency for both entries. A higher per-gram rate, percentage or headline payout may produce a lower net result once deductions, shipping or handling are stated.
Still gathering offers? Compare published gold buyer terms to check minimums, fees, insured shipping and return conditions before choosing a quote or appraisal route.
Browser-based calculator
Net-offer comparison
All values stay in this browser. Enter money amounts only after both buyers have described the same documented item or lot.
Make the offers comparable before entering them
| Record | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Exact item or lot description, photos and date | Prevents a quote for a different item, grade or condition from being compared as if it were the same transaction. |
| Accepted weight and unit | A price per troy ounce, gram, pound or kilogram cannot be compared until the payable weight basis is clear. |
| Fineness, grade or test method | A buyer may pay only for material they accept after inspection or assay. |
| Quote source and price-lock point | Ask whether the price is set at quote, drop-off, arrival, assay or a later settlement event. |
| Every deduction, fee and route cost | The worksheet only reflects figures you enter. It cannot find undisclosed charges or future changes. |
| Payment, return and insurance terms | Timing and what happens if you decline after inspection can be material even when the net amount is close. |
What this worksheet does and does not decide
The math is intentionally narrow: it compares two numbers after the costs you record. It does not verify ownership, authenticity, purity, grade, a buyer's reputation, insurance coverage, legal requirements, price movements or whether an intact object should be sold for resale rather than melt. A zero entered for a fee means you recorded no fee; it does not prove there will be none.
When an item may have a maker, mint, collectible, gem, artistic, historical or estate value, review the melt-value versus resale-value guide before treating either buyer's quote as the only relevant market.
Continue with the task in front of you
Sort a copper lot
Make buyers quote the same documented material before comparing a rate.
Use the copper selling guide →Identify silver first
Do not treat silver color or a partial mark as enough to support a melt calculation.
Identify sterling and plate →Record a benchmark
Enter your own reference price, weight and purity to keep the formula inspectable.
Choose a metal calculator →Reviewed August 24, 2026. This worksheet is educational information, not financial, legal or appraisal advice. To report an issue, use the corrections process.