Last Updated: June 8, 2026

When selling your gold or other precious metals for scrap, choosing a refinery is the smartest option. Whether you’re looking to cash in on jewelry, dental gold or antique silverware, a refiner will offer you the highest payout by assessing the true metal content of your items and calculating your return using current market prices.

Cutting Out the Middleman

Non-refinery gold buyers usually offer significantly less than market value because they act as middlemen. To profit, these businesses must buy gold cheaply and resell it to refineries. On the other hand, refineries are the final stop in the gold-selling process, which means no hidden fees and fair payouts for everyone.

While it’s clear that refiners are the best buyers for scrap gold, not all precious metal refineries are created equal. It’s important to do some research when choosing a refinery to work with, because the quality of their business will ultimately impact the returns on the precious metals you’re selling. Here are some important questions to keep in mind on your quest for the best refinery!

**_{Molten gold being poured into a mold}**

How Does Refining Work?

What exactly does the refining process entail? In a nutshell, refineries receive your material, melts it down, and perform an assay to determine the precious metal value.

The value of your material is based on weight and purity. Then your payment will be calculated based on the market prices or “spot price” for that day. For example, Garfield Refining bases payments on the London PM Fix.

Does the Refinery Use an In-House Lab?

This is one of the best ways to verify that the refinery you’re considering is indeed an actual refinery who does all of their processing on site. Make sure that they have their own in-house lab and handle everything from start to finish. Refineries with their own labs have lower processing fees and can provide faster payments.

Will An Assay Report Be Provided?

An assay report is another green flag to indicate that you’re working with a reputable refiner. The report outlines the results of the assay test that was performed to determine the breakdown of the precious metals contained in your material. Garfield Refining’s assay lab manager has a wealth of experience performing both fire and XFR assays.

Are There Any Weight Minimums?

Some refineries require that your material meets a certain minimum weight in order to process it. This is especially common for lower-grade materials like bench sweeps. But minimums give you less flexibility as a seller. It’s not ideal to have to wait until your scrap collection reaches a certain weight before refining, especially when there’s a surge in gold prices and time is of the essence! When gold prices are high, even just a few pieces of scrap can be worth a lot. A refinery without minimums is best suited to meet each client’s unique needs.

Is Shipping Insured?

You should never have to pay for shipping when sending your precious metals to a refinery. Not only should they cover the cost of shipping, but your shipment should be insured. Always confirm that a prepaid, fully-insured shipping label will be provided before preparing your material for shipment. Garfield, for example, provides insurance on all shipments both in transit and on site, ensuring your metal is protected every step of the way.

Is Bullion Exchange An Option?

A good gold refinery understands the timeless value of investing in precious metals. Bullion products are often offered to purchase outright or in exchange for your scrap.

Having the option to trade your scrap material in for pure, investment-grade precious metal bullion is always a plus. You can use the value generated from your scrap to diversify your portfolio with gold, silver, platinum or even palladium.

Garfield Refining offers a variety of bullion products along with casting grain (a popular choice for jewelers). Make sure that any bullion dealer you choose to work with has a fair buyback policy as well. You should always have the option to sell your bullion back, in good condition, should you change your mind.

How Long Have They Been in Business?

Many gold refiners come and throughout the years – the industry has a high turnover rate. It’s best to choose a trusted company that has been around for a long time, with a proven track record of providing great service.

Which Payment Options Are Offered?

Ensure that your refinery offers several different payment options, so you can choose which one is most convenient for you. For example, Garfield offers ACH direct deposit payments, which is our fastest option. We also offer wire transfers and checks, and of course, the most fun option – bullion!

Garfield Refining: Your Precious Metal Experts

Garfield checks all of the boxes and then some, bringing you the best service in the industry. We proudly provide the following:

Assay reports from our in-house lab
No minimums
Fully-insured shipping
Bullion exchange with a buyback policy
A variety of payment options including direct deposit, wire transfers, and checks
133+ years of experience and award-winning customer service

But what else sets us apart from the rest? Garfield is a third-generation family-owned business, proudly headquartered in Philadelphia, with a proven track record of excellence. In fact, we’ve been voted “Best Refiner” by Dentaltown Magazine for 14 years in a row.

The Garfield Refining facilities in Philadelphia — **_{Garfield is headquartered in Philadelphia, PA}**

Serving Clients Worldwide

We excel in refining dental material (such as extracted crowns, bridges, etc) that contains precious metals. Our expertise in dental refining proves our ability to extract maximum yields. Because dental scrap material is smaller in size, refining it requires advanced precision and top-notch technology. Our highly-skilled technicians always deliver the industry’s best results.

But you don’t have to be a dentist to benefit from refining. Our service can help anyone generate extra income to use to their advantage. No matter how big or small, we’ll get the most out of your shipment – which means the highest payout for you. We service dentists, jewelers, pawn brokers and individual sellers throughout the U.S., Canada and even Australia.

A Century of Expertise

Our dedicated team of Account Managers and Customer Support Specialists are always here to answer any questions you may have, providing genuine guidance with the transparency and professionalism that only true industry experts can offer. If you have any unwanted precious metal material that you’re looking to monetize, reach out to us to get started today!

Are you looking to cash in on your unwanted gold, silver, platinum or palladium? Download a free shipping label to started today!

Stay tuned to our blog for more insights on precious metals – check out our other articles like The Major Factors that Drive the Gold Price, The Best Place to Sell Dental Gold, and How did the word ‘Gold’ get its Name?

Written by

Allie Bowman

Allie Bowman is the Content Lead at Garfield Refining, where she translates more than 130 years of precious metals expertise into clear, accurate, and practical content for individual sellers, dental professionals, jewelers, and collectors. A Dean's List graduate of the University of Delaware's Media Communication program, Allie has built her career around making complex subjects accessible to a broad audience. Her experience spans nutrition science, lifestyle magazine publishing, and precious metals refining, giving her a unique ability to transform technical information into engaging, trustworthy content. At Garfield, Allie brings editorial rigor and subject-matter expertise to every piece she produces. She works closely with Garfield's refining specialists and senior leadership to ensure that technical topics - from karat markings and assay methods to precious metals markets and spot price mechanics - are explained with both accuracy and clarity. Since joining Garfield's marketing team, Allie has written extensively on precious metals refining, dental scrap recovery, gold and silver bullion, estate and inherited jewelry, and industry-specific topics for dental and jewelry professionals. All content is reviewed by Garfield's leadership team prior to publication, ensuring it reflects the company's standards for accuracy, transparency, and industry expertise.

Reviewed by

Morgan Kerrissey

Morgan Kerrissey is the President of Garfield Refining, one of North America's most longstanding and trusted precious metals refineries. For over two decades, Morgan has built his career at the intersection of commodities markets, metallurgy, and precious metals — earning a reputation as one of the most knowledgeable voices in the refining industry. Morgan joined Garfield in 2008, bringing rigorous operational discipline to a company built on exacting standards since 1892. Named President in 2014, he has guided Garfield through volatile gold, silver, and palladium markets, while modernizing its workforce and technologies and diversifying its metal supply chains. Under his leadership, Garfield has expanded its refining capabilities across the full lifecycle of precious metals recovery, entered new markets, and expanded services while maintaining the same customer forward approach that has made Garfield a mainstay for more than a century. From hedging strategy to daily refinery operations, Morgan commands high levels of technical depth and market fluency. Morgan grew up outside Boston, graduated from Harvard University, and has lived with his family in Philadelphia, PA for almost 20 years.