Portman Jewelry and Pawn — Local services in New Albany

I called in Saturday 8/23/25 just after 2pm. to ask what my 14K gold chain would bring it weighed 9.58g the guy tells me they go by pennyweight I said what's pennyweight he said it's DWT on your scale.. well my scale had it. I weighed it on my scale and told him it was 6.16 DWT. Without hesitation, he said $280.

Here’s the problem:

At today’s gold prices, 6.16 DWT of 14K gold has a melt value of over $600. Even at a typical 70% payout, that should have been in the $425 range, not $280.

Instead of explaining what percentage they pay of melt, he made it sound like they “go by DWT weight” as if that alone dictated the price he gave me. “If you’re using $98/DWT spot, then you must be pretending 1 DWT equals 3.37 grams instead of 1.555. That’s not how DWT works. What he did was misleading and undermined my integrity instead of being upfront. That left a real scum impression of this guy.

After giving me the $280 figure, he immediately went into a speech about how their scales are calibrated by regulatory standards, planting doubt that my own scale was accurate — even though my scale weighs a U.S. penny correctly at 3.11 g. That kind of talk is just a pre-setup to lowball you further once you’re standing in their shop.

Bottom line: this isn’t about scales at all — scales are scales. The issue is they’re NOT paying AT "penny weight". They're paying less than 46% PENNY WEIGHT of melt value and trying to make it sound like that’s normal.

If you don’t know the math behind gold value, you’ll walk out of there having lost hundreds of dollars. Do yourself a favor: shop around and compare offers before selling here THESE GUYS WANT TO MAKE THEIR ENTIRE PAY WEEK ON A SINGLE...

I've had a great experience both times I've dealt with Portman, once selling some gold and the second time buying a gold necklace but this time was not pleasant at all..just a heads up if you're not sure of what you have you may be embarrassed and laughed out the store as I was..I came in assuming I had 18k gold because it was stamped 18k and 750..it looked a bit dingy but I had bought a box of random stuff from a yard sale this past summer and found the piece in there, and thought it may just be worn and dirty..I'm no professional so that's what I thought..so when the worker asked what he can do for me, I said I'd like to sell what I thought was gold and he instantly laughed at me and said I'd buy it from you if it was real and followed with let me guess you got it from a guy😡 I explained to him I bought it from a yard sale which had more jewelry in it, some old native American silver turquoise bracelets and asked if they bought that kind of stuff and he replied with just depends what it is, that next time I'm in town to bring it buy but don't make no special trip..so he just assumed I'm some random person from out of town trying to sale something fake when I've lived in New Albany for almost 30 years..I honestly didn't know what I had..but after that treatment I definitely won't be selling anymore gold or buying from them again and will no longer recommend them to my fellow metal detector family when asked who to sell there gold and silver they have found..who ever the bald headed guy was you need to work on the way you...

These guys are AWESOME!!!! I went in to get a measurement on some diamonds in a piece of jewelry I purchased. They not only measured the diamonds but he told me what type of cut and clarity they had. Beyond that they tested the metal used. I came in thinking I had on thing and left knowing exactly what I had, which was different (better) from what I thought going in. When I asked what I owed for him to take his time and knowledge to help me... he said "nothing"!!!!! I was so impressed! I would not expect him to give out his knowledge for free for everyone or do it all the time but it was very kind of him to help me. BTW, he is a certified GIA gemologist, so you can go there with confidence. I purchase jewelry often and many times they need repair. This is where I will be taking my items from here on...