Gold and jewellery buying shop

You pay the public for their items. Your income comes from refiners, bullion dealers and resellers who buy the metal and pieces from you at a higher price than you paid.

You earn the gap between what you pay customers and what a refiner or reseller pays you. Items that can be resold as jewellery can earn a better margin than scrap metal.

• Testing and grading precious metals
• Fair, honest negotiating
• Careful record keeping
• Spotting fakes and stolen goods

• Secondhand dealer, precious metals or pawnbroker licensing and police reporting rules vary by province and municipality, so check yours
• Dealers in precious metals and jewellery may have FINTRAC reporting and ID record-keeping duties, so check with FINTRAC
• Stolen goods risk: always record ID and item details, and know what to do if police ask about an item
• Commercial general liability and contents or theft insurance, plus a safe and security for stock and cash
• Metal prices move daily, so your cash float can lose value between buying and selling

Startup costs are typically around $20,000 to $80,000, depending on your premises, cash float, safe and security. Metal prices move daily, so your float can lose value between buying and selling.

Monthly revenue is typically estimated at around $6,000 to $30,000, depending on how much you buy and resell. That is revenue, not profit, and income comes from selling metal and pieces for more than you paid.

Check secondhand dealer, precious metals or pawnbroker licensing and police reporting rules for your province and municipality. Also check FINTRAC reporting and ID record-keeping duties, and how to record ID and item details to manage stolen goods risk.