My Gold Party - Blog

January Thomas, who founded My Gold Party during the economic downturn’s early days, says there is a growing number of consumers trading gold for cash, and rising metal prices are good for business.

Five years ago, if someone told January Thomas that she would be checking the price of gold on the commodities market as frequently as she checked email, the onetime marketing and sales executive might have laughed.

But now, the 32-year-old founder of My Gold Party, is watching one of the world’s most volatile exchanges rise and fall every day, and it has not been dull. As investors watched the Dow drop 512 points Thursday, gold was trading at around $1,660 an ounce, hitting a record $1,681 before dipping to $1,647 by day’s end, but generally continuing on the upward trajectory that it has been on throughout the recession and the debatable recovery.

Why the fascination with gold? When stocks seem unstable, as they certainly have been since the financial crisis began in 2008, investors will push money into gold as a commodity that will hold its value. That investor interest drives up the per-ounce price of the precious metal, which is expected to hit a record of $1,700 soon.

Higher gold prices are good news for My Gold Party, which is in the business of operating home-based gatherings where a hostess typically invites friends over for an evening of wine, cheese, and commerce.

Unlike Tupperware or Pampered Chef parties, guests are not buying, they’re selling gold items plucked from their jewelry boxes, such as broken necklaces, outdated-looking Mr. T-type chains, and orphaned hoop earrings. In exchange for the stuff they don’t wear or want anymore, they get cash.

Thomas stumbled upon the idea of turning old gold jewelry into a business in 2007, after she married an attorney whose family owned a jewelry store in suburban Detroit. After her brother-in-law weighed her old gold jewelry and informed her how much it was worth if it were melted down, she was surprised, and thought others would be too.

“I thought there had to be people older than me that had even more gold jewelry,” Thomas said.

Apparently there were. At first, the business started out small: She and her husband spent a couple of thousand dollars of their own money on the basics: a website, computers, phones, and supplies for herself and the representatives who gradually came aboard to throw the parties.

In My Gold Party’s home base of Grosse Point, Michigan, near Detroit, the concept of selling gold for cash took off among families affected by layoffs among the nation’s big three automakers. Gradually, it became a national operation, as friends told friends about the opportunity to make money by hosting gold parties.

“The last couple of years, it’s grown tremendously,” said Thomas, who has four employees, overseeing the operations of reps nationwide. “We now have 95 reps in [more than 30] states. There are still some states and areas that have not heard of it.”

The business works as follows: Reps, who often decide to throw parties after attending one themselves pay $696 plus shipping for an electronic gold tester, a scale, a jeweler’s loupe, and a how-to book for organizing the evening.

Such events typically draw between five and 20 people, often carrying gold jewelry worth between $200 and $300 apiece. That value is based upon its weight, and its karatage, or the amount of gold contained in the jewelry, with 14-karat gold worth less and 18-karat gold worth more.

My Gold Party attendees receive 65 percent of the spot price of the gold on the commodities market that day. Another 20 percent goes to My Gold Party, the company, and 15 percent goes to the representative who throws the party.

So for an event that probably lasts a few hours, and brings in a total of $2,000, the host would receive $300 for holding court, and My Gold Party gets $400. The rest goes to individual attendees. Some reps have stayed on since the beginning, others have used it to supplement income. The holiday season is a favorite time to throw parties while the summertime is slow.

Thomas declined to say how much her company is making in revenues, but with gold prices up in recent years, she has seen a rising number of competitors. Her rivals include Cash4Gold, which urges people to mail in their unwanted gold, independent jewelers who invite customers to sell their unwanted gold in exchange for cash or store credit, and regional gold-party companies, like one based in Florida called Gold Does Good, run by “golden girls” who help people raise money for charities or organizations via the parties.

Thomas said that as her business took off over the years, she has received investment money from family members to keep it going. The company started handling refining the gold on its own rather than having reps send it off to refineries, and it is also now handling silver jewelry. But gold remains the prime focus, and with the market volatility, it doesn’t look like she’ll stop watching the gold exchange anytime soon.

“I though gold hitting $1,000 was big, and then I thought $1,200 would be big, but it’s just kept on going,” Thomas said.
Teresa Novellino writes for Portfolio.com

Read more: http://www.portfolio.com/views/blogs/entrepreneurship/2011/08/05/gold-party-entrepreneur-thrives-on-metal-market-volatility/#ixzz1XOHMkEYy

Check out my latest gold party — We thought it would be fun to have footage from an actual gold party. View the party process and people’s reactions. Congrats again to Maria for being the “big winner” that evening.

You can host a party with a My Gold Party rep and turn your unwanted & broken gold items into cash, too!

If you have questions please call or email us! 888-44-MYGOLD or info@mygoldparty.com

Gold took a huge jump yesterday, now topping the charts around 1730! Gold is also up 30% as we come to a close in the first month of 2012. Not too shabby!

Now is the time to search your drawers and jewelry boxes. Out with the old and in with the new! (Or at least in with some new green bills in your pocket!) Request your free scrap box today!

Call or email with any questions you may have.
info@mygoldparty.com or 888-44-MYGOLD

“How to Get the Golden Touch”

The new book by January Thomas

This freshly designed book contains valuable information about becoming a My Gold Party Rep, throwing a successful party, tips and tricks of the trade, as well as advice for balancing family and work.

We all have the same story – We get a pair of gold hoop earrings and wear them every single day…UNTIL the day we realize one is missing from our ear. What is a girl to do at this point? We rummage every corner of our house and try to figure out how long it has been gone from our ear. In most cases, it is lost for good.

Our next step is to take the lone earring off and place it in a jewelry box or dresser drawer, in the hopes of finding the match one day.
Well – 15 or 20 years later – we still have not found the match (Can you believe it??!)

Now is the time to take action on all of the single hoops in our drawers. Turn your loner into some well-deserved cash!
Host a gold party or mail your gold items to My Gold Party.

Does this little hoop look familiar to anyone? It has been looking for its mate since 1987.

Out with the old and in with the new! Time to clean house. Send us your old, broken or unwanted gold and sterling items today! Request a free scrap box and the shipping is on us.
888-44-MYGOLD

From everyone here at My Gold Party, we wish you a wonderful holiday season! From our family to yours!

SPECIAL OFFER! LIMITED TIME ONLY!!

For a limited time My Gold Party is offering a discount on our gold buying kit! – Sign up by November 10th and receive $100 off your kit! (Regularly priced: $699.50 plus shipping) Respond by November 10th and receive the kit for $599.50 plus shipping!

MGP is continuing to grow throughout the USA and we are always looking for new representatives who want to join our leading organization.

Click here to begin the registration process or simply visit our website www.mygoldparty.com.

We have all different types of reps – those who do this full time while other reps do this part-time as a side business while still maintaining their full-time job. The nice thing about this business is there are no minimums requirements – you truly make your own schedule! In addition to this business being fun and profitable, MGP has multiple reward programs including a referral override program and the MGP Point Program where representatives accumulate MGP Points in exchange for fabulous jewelry prizes!

Work from home and have fun hosting gold parties!

Trick or Treat!
Send us your old jewelry and we will send you a treat in return!
To request a free scrap box visit our website today.

www.mygoldparty.com

Check out My Gold Party featured in the Mercury News!

http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_19028267?source=most_viewed