As you look through your gold jewelry, do you see a treasured gem, a stepping stone to retirement, or something else?
In June 2025, Cash for Gold USA surveyed approximately 1,000 customers who had sold gold to the company. Read on to learn the most popular reasons to sell and what experts have to say about current gold market trends.
The survey paints a bleak financial picture. Here are some of the most important findings:
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More than 68% of gold sellers used their proceeds to pay bills or buy groceries, highlighting the impact of the current economic climate on many consumers.
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Approximately 70% of sellers received $500 or less for their gold, indicating that the transaction was for short-term cash flow rather than long-term financial security.
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More than 50% of sellers reported being employed, highlighting that many jobs do not pay enough for workers to make ends meet.
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A quarter of sellers said they would sell more gold in the future, suggesting some customers may not be optimistic about their financial future.
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“I really think this story reflects the ongoing jitters people are feeling in the wake of COVID-19,” said Brady Lochte, financial advisor and founder of Axon Capital Management. “Asset values continue to rise and so do the simple costs of living. Groceries, childcare, insurance and housing are taking up a larger and larger portion of monthly income, leaving less room to enjoy those benefits.
“When day-to-day spending increases alongside investments, higher account balances can feel more abstract… reassuring in a statement but far less obvious in daily life. Gold’s scarcity and history as an inflation hedge drive prices higher, but ironically, rising costs of living force people to sell gold,” he continued.
Ian Ross, vice president of operations at Ross Metals, has first-hand knowledge of gold market trends. He said: “As a gold buyer, I have seen people selling gold out of necessity rather than to make a profit or spend it on non-essentials. For example, you wouldn’t sell your great-grandmother’s unused gold jewelry unless you needed the money!”
While these findings suggest some consumers are selling gold to stay afloat financially, they do not tell the full story. Joshua D. Glawson, content manager at Money Metals, said some gold owners are selling off gold amid record-breaking prices for the commodity.
Additionally, some people “are selling their gold [in] Fear of economic collapse. Will the market crash? I don’t know, but there are indications that some people who own gold believe this as well,” Glauson said.
It’s also important to note that there are still buyers in the market. Vince Stanzione, a trader, investor and author of “Millionaire Dropouts,” said the biggest buyers are central banks that store precious metals in vaults.
However, some individual investors also put money into gold. “You can buy and sell gold through your brokerage account using exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The most popular is the GLD-SPDR Gold Trust,” Stanzione said.
So, why do buyers buy? “It’s a loss of confidence in paper money (fiat currency). Gold keeps pace with inflation, gold retains its value, and more and more Americans are realizing that,” Stanzione said.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Why do people sell gold? The answer may surprise you