You've heard the saying "if it sounds too good to be true it probably is?" Well, the statement is dead-on when it comes to trusting goldbuying companies that promise to give you the best value for your gold.

With gold prices at record-setting highs, there have been a proliferation of companies throughout the company telling consumers that now is the best time to cash in their gold. But how much do you know about these companies, and how can you be sure they will treat you right?

Tricks gold vendors use to cheat you out of your money include failing to show actual gold payout amounts on their sites so that they can then pay you whatever they like once you have already mailed in your gold, charging hidden fees such as shipping costs or gold appraisal fees, and not insuring your package, just to name a few.

A quick browse through the internet will show a host of gold buying vendors advertising "highest payout for gold," so which ones do you believe? The key is to essentially ignore these "highest payout" claims and look at the actual numbers themselves. If the site does not post their payout prominently, you know something is wrong. But even more than that, the posting should list the clear, actual payouts for each piece according to weight and gold content. In other words, a company may post a payout for a 14K ring, but fail to post the payout for an 18K ring, and then in the fine-print state that the payout will be less if the jewelry does not weight a certain amount. Most consumers will only discover this after they have already mailed in their gold, and then the goldbuyer can charge them a shipping fee if they want their jewelry returned!

Another trick buyers will use to cheat you out of your money is to tack on hidden fees either in shipping or processing your gold. The price of these should either be part of the gold transaction or should be clearly illustrated as an additional fee. This should not be something that is subtracted from your payout once you think that you know what amount you will be compensated for you gold items. Most reputable gold vendors will offer you free shipping, guarantee your package for more than its worth, and make sure that the final price you think you are getting you're your gold is the actual price that you get. That's the way business should be.

Regardless of whether you are being charged for insuring your gold package or not, you should make sure that the gold buying vendor is insuring your package as it is shipped. Otherwise you, as a gold seller have no protection for you pieces and no guarantee on what or where your items end up. More often than one could imagine companies take advantage of their customers and may claim to not receive packages or only receive partial packages; insurance takes care of this and gives you the peace of mind to enable you to follow through on your gold transaction.

Along these same lines, and to ensure your protection as you sell your gold pieces, the gold vendor should be able to guarantee the entire gold transaction. Should you not receive the price that you were guaranteed or thought that you were receiving for the sale of your gold you should be able to return and or cancel the payout in exchange for all of your gold pieces. This means that you are fully protected throughout the entire process.

Finding out what a gold vendor is offering and making sure that they are taking care of you as a gold seller should be very easy to determine. Payouts, company policies, guarantees, and insurances should be prominently posted on their website along with step-by-step instructions on how to sell gold. You should also be able to talk with a live representative if you have any questions on the process. If the company you are thinking of dealing with has any of these key elements missing, move on! There are simply too many gold buyers out there with too many dirty tricks up their sleeves not to do your homework properly and be 100% sure you are going with a company you can trust.