Selling gold should be the easy part. You already own it, the price is set by a global market, and a fair deal takes about fifteen minutes. Yet most people walk into it blind — unsure what their gold is really worth, worried about being lowballed, and braced for a number pulled out of thin air.
It does not have to be that way. Buyback pricing follows a simple formula, and once you understand it, you can tell a fair offer from a bad one in seconds. This is the honest version, from a shop that has been buying and selling in the Deira Gold Souq since 2013.
Do one thing before you sell: check the live rate
The gold rate moves all day, every day. Before you sell anything, look at today's live rate for your karat. That single number is your anchor — every honest offer is built on it, and every dishonest one hopes you never checked.
You can see today's live gold rate here. Note the per-gram price for your karat. Now you are not guessing; you are comparing offers against a known number.
How gold buyback pricing actually works
Your buyback price comes from three things: purity, weight, and the live rate. Nothing else should change the maths.
- Purity. Your gold is tested to confirm its karat. Karat tells you how much of the metal is actually gold:
| Karat | Pure gold content |
|---|---|
| 24K | ~99.9% |
| 22K | 91.6% |
| 21K | 87.5% |
| 18K | 75.0% |
| 14K | 58.5% |
| 10K | 41.7% |
-
Weight. Your gold is weighed on a calibrated scale, in grams, in front of you.
-
The live rate. Your gold content is valued at the day's spot rate per gram.
Here is a worked example. Say you bring a 22K chain weighing 20 grams:
- 22K is 91.6% pure, so the pure gold content is 20 × 0.916 = 18.32 grams.
- That 18.32 grams is valued at today's live gold rate per gram.
- That figure, minus a small verification cost, is your offer.
That is the whole calculation. No mystery, no "special rate for you". If a dealer cannot show you these three numbers and the multiplication between them, that is your signal to stop.
What gets deducted — and what never should
There is exactly one deduction most sellers do not expect, and it is legitimate.
Making charges are not paid back. When you bought a piece of jewellery, part of the price was the craftsmanship — the design, labour, and finishing. That is the making charge. When you sell, you are paid for the gold, not the work. The making charges are gone, and they are gone at every honest dealer in Dubai. Anyone who promises to "give your making charges back" is quietly taking it out somewhere else.
A small, transparent purity verification step is also normal. Scrap that tests impure is paid on its actual gold content after cleaning. That is it.
What should never appear:
- A separate "testing fee", "handling fee", or "wastage" taken on top of the rate.
- A price quoted before your gold has been tested and weighed.
- A different rate "because you are a tourist".
From the counter: The biggest surprise we see is with Indian 22K jewellery. It is often stamped 916 but tests a little below — so a piece sold as "40 grams of 22K" sometimes carries less pure gold than the stamp suggests. That is not fraud and it is not your fault; alloy mixes vary by maker. This is exactly why we show you the XRF reading. You see the real karat with your own eyes, and the price follows the truth — no surprises, no argument.
Bars vs coins vs jewellery vs scrap
Different gold sells differently. Here is the honest picture before you walk in:
| What you're selling | What drives the price | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Hallmarked bars (Emirates Gold, PAMP, Valcambi) | Live spot rate; purity already certified | Closest to the live rate |
| Gold coins (Sovereign, Krugerrand, Maple) | Spot rate plus any collectible consideration | Near the live rate |
| 22K / 21K hallmarked jewellery | Live karat rate minus verification | Small deduction from the rate |
| Old or unmarked jewellery, mixed origin | Tested gold content sets the rate | May read below the stamped karat if the alloy varies |
| Scrap / broken gold | Tested content and weight | Slight deduction if impure |
| Silver — bars, coins, 925 | Live silver rate | Handled the same way as gold |
The pattern is simple: the more certain the purity, the closer to spot you get. A sealed LBMA bar needs almost no verification, so it pays the most. A handful of broken, unmarked chains needs testing and cleaning, so it pays slightly less. Both are fair — they just sit at different points on the same honest formula.
What happens at the counter, step by step
- Test. Your gold is tested by XRF at a verified testing point in the Souq while you wait, and the exact purity reading is shown to you. XRF reads the karat electronically in seconds without damaging the piece.
- Weigh. It is weighed on a calibrated scale at the counter. You see the weight that goes into the quote.
- Quote. The price is calculated from the live spot rate for your karat. You see the maths — purity, weight, rate — before anything is agreed.
- Get paid. Agree the price and get paid the same visit: cash up to the legal limit, or a same-day bank transfer for larger amounts. There is no obligation to take jewellery in exchange.
The whole process is usually about 15 to 20 minutes.
What to bring
- A valid Emirates ID or passport. This is required by law for gold transactions in Dubai. A passport alone is fine for tourists — you do not need residency or a local bank account.
- Your gold, in any condition. Boxed bars, worn jewellery, broken chains, single earrings, loose coins, or scrap.
- A receipt, if you have one. Nice to have, never required. We pay on tested weight and purity, not paperwork.
How to know you're getting a fair price
You already did the most important thing — you checked the live rate. Now use these green and red flags at the counter:
Green flags:
- The dealer tests your gold before quoting, and shows you the XRF reading.
- The price is written down as purity × weight × rate, not a single mystery number.
- You are free to take a photo of the quote, think about it, and walk away.
Red flags:
- Testing done "in the back" where you cannot see it.
- A price quoted before your gold is tested or weighed.
- Extra fees layered on top of the rate, or a quote that keeps moving without explanation.
A fair offer holds up to scrutiny. If asking how a number was reached makes a dealer defensive, you have your answer. For the longer version of this, see our guide on how to choose a gold dealer in Dubai.
Selling before you leave the UAE
A lot of people sell gold because they are leaving the country — a cancelled visa, a move home, a final trip to the Souq. The real question is usually: sell here, or carry it home?
It comes down to your destination. Many countries charge import duty on gold above a personal allowance, and the paperwork at the other end can be slow. Dubai pays the live international rate with no income tax on the sale, so selling here and carrying the cash is often the cleaner option. If you are weighing this up, read our gold customs and travel guide for the duty rules into India, the UK, and the USA.
One rule to know on the way out: if you leave the UAE carrying cash and valuables worth more than AED 60,000 (combined — cash, cheques, jewellery, and precious stones), you must declare it. It is a free online declaration through the UAE's Afseh form at declare.customs.ae or the ICP app — not a limit, just an anti-money-laundering check. Declaring is quick and keeps you out of trouble at the airport.
Common mistakes people make selling gold
- Not checking the live rate first. Five seconds on your phone is your single best protection.
- Selling to the first shop without comparing. Get a quick WhatsApp quote or two before you commit.
- Expecting making charges back. They are not recoverable anywhere. Price your decision on gold content.
- Trusting the stamp over the test. The XRF reading is the truth; the stamp is just a claim.
- Feeling rushed. A real offer is still there in an hour. Pressure is a tactic, not a deadline.
Ready to sell? Get a number first
The honest way to sell gold is also the simplest: know the live rate, see your gold tested, watch the maths, and decide at your own pace.
If you want an indicative number before you come in, send your item type, karat, and approximate weight on WhatsApp and we will quote you from the live rate. Or just walk in — tested while you wait, paid the same day.
See how it works and get a quote on our Sell Gold page →
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