The recent rise in popularity of Gold Parties has given me flashbacks to simpler times when they made bikes that braked when you pedalled backwards, a computer memory upgrade was 16KB, and your packed lunch at school came in a virtually unbreachable plastic tupperware container. The same could not be said of the lidded beaker that briefly contained orange squash until you accidentally back-pedalled a little abruptly.

In later years I realised that obviously these parties are little more than an excuse for a girls-night-out, the ladies congregate with bottles of wine and sour cream dips, shooting the breeze whilst the sales rep pedals their snake oil. If you’ve ever wondered where the decorative candle holders, plastic rotary cheese graters and acrid scented candles come from - in my experience they generally show up a week or so after one of these soirees. The key to the success of these parties is the unwritten obligation of the attendees to buy something to show support for the party hostess.

The Gold Party trend that seems to be increasing in popularity recently is an altogether different proposition however. Rather than showing your support for the hostess by buying a do-it-yourself home-accupunture survival kit or some such nonsense, the only way you can get the approval of your friends in this awkward social situation is to accept the ‘professional valuation’ you are offered for your old jewellery. You will already have been primed with news that gold prices are at an all time high and you can exchange that garbage from your jewellery box for hard cash. Chances are you are being offered only about half the actual value, but do you want to be the one to bring the party down?

The incentives to entice your friends to part with their jewellery are high, a cursory glance at the websites of these gold selling party people reveals that a typical party organiser walks away with a hefty 10% commission for their part which apparently averages 250-300.

The problem is that unlike most of these parties where you are very unlikely to discover the product you bought anywhere else - let alone cheaper, the price of gold is publicly listed and there are countless places to sell your gold, and most of them (apart from a couple of much publicised websites) are going to pay you much more. If I discovered a friend of mine had been complicit in effectively robbing me, there would be a definite shortening of the Christmas card list to say the least.

There is absolutely no point rushing to sell your gold now because the price is high if you’re only going to receive 50-60% of it’s actual value. Calculate the value of your gold , then shop around for the best price. No matter what the tv adverts say, try your local jeweller. The TV gold buyers seem to think jewellers will offer you less because they have overheads like their shop, however the last time I checked the rent on a small commercial high street unit was considerably less than an incessant television advertising campaign.

Brian Aitchson offers helpful Advice and commentary on MyPrecious.co.uk regarding all facets of Getting Cash for Gold including advice on Selling Scrap Gold