Gold & Precious-Metal Buyers

Buy Gold Right. Report It Automatically.

Melt values from live spot prices, weights straight off the scale, hold periods enforced — and every purchase reported to LEADS Online without retyping a thing.

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The short answer: gold and precious-metal buyers are regulated much like pawnbrokers — seller identification, transaction records, hold periods before melting or resale, and in many jurisdictions electronic reporting to law enforcement through LeadsOnline. PawnSmarts handles the compliance side automatically and gives you the buying tools — melt calculator, live spot prices, scale reading — in the same ticket.

Why gold buyers report like pawn shops

Jewelry is the classic target of burglary, and melted gold is unrecoverable evidence — which is why precious-metal dealers get some of the strictest secondhand rules: government ID on every purchase, detailed item descriptions, hold periods during which the item may not be sold, melted, dismantled or altered, and electronic reporting so detectives can search purchases before the metal hits the crucible. The requirements come from state statutes and local ordinances — see who has to report, by state — and the reporting system is usually LeadsOnline.

The buying tools: price it right at the counter

The compliance side: automatic

Included on every plan. The precious-metals toolkit, LEADS Online reporting, OFAC checks and police reports come standard — from $89/month, no add-on charges, no contract.

Gold counter inside a bigger store? Same ticket.

Most gold buying happens inside a pawn shop, jewelry store or resale store — and PawnSmarts runs the whole operation: pawn loans if you write them, jewelry-specific fields and photos, inventory, register, layaway, store credit and daily close. The metals tools are part of the standard buy ticket, not a separate module.

Switching from another program or a paper log? We migrate your data for a one-time $395 and have you buying and reporting through PawnSmarts in under 24 hours. See the comparison page.
Only need the reporting? Gold buyers that never make pawn loans can skip the pawn system entirely: Report To Leads is our reporting-only terminal — licence-scan customer capture, buy tickets with serials and photos, and automatic LEADS Online submission — at $49/month with no setup fee.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do gold buyers have to report purchases to the police?

In most jurisdictions, yes. Precious-metal dealers are typically covered by the same statutes and ordinances as pawnbrokers and secondhand dealers — seller ID, transaction records, hold periods, and often electronic reporting through LeadsOnline. Verify the specifics with your local authorities.

How does the melt-value calculator work?

Spot price × weight × purity. Pick the purity (24K to 10K, sterling, coin silver and more), take the weight from the connected scale in dwt, grams or troy ounces, and the calculator prices the metal from the current spot price — with stone weight recorded separately.

Where do the spot prices come from?

Gold, silver, platinum and palladium spot prices are fetched on demand and timestamped in your settings, so every offer is based on a known, current price rather than yesterday's guess.

Can PawnSmarts enforce my state's hold period before I melt or resell?

Yes. The hold date is stored on each purchased item and blocks sale at the register until it passes, and state-required hold language — including no-melt, no-alter wording — prints on the ticket where applicable.

Does PawnSmarts report gold purchases to LeadsOnline automatically?

Yes. With LEADS Online reporting enabled, each purchase submits to law enforcement automatically when the ticket is saved. A manual file-upload option covers jurisdictions that require a person in the loop.

I buy gold but don't write pawn loans. Is PawnSmarts still right?

Yes. Buy tickets stand on their own — a buy-only gold operation uses the metals tools, inventory and register without ever touching the pawn features.

PawnSmarts is independent software for pawn, secondhand and precious-metal businesses and is not affiliated with or endorsed by LeadsOnline, LLC. LeadsOnline is a trademark of its owner.

No Credit Card · No Installation · No Sales Call

Spot to Scale to Report.

Open the live demo and click around. If it looks right, sign up and we'll move your data for $395.

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Questions? [email protected] · 800-710-6184