How Much Cash For a TipTrode? - Part 1

We've all seen those ridiculous cash for gold advertisements on television. You send away for an envelope, place 'unwanted' or 'unused' gold in envelope, send, and wait for your check. I decided to conduct an audiological experiment requiring two of the most notable cash for gold companies and a handful of used tiptrodes. I decided on using two companies because I could not gather anything conclusive on the internet as to which cash for gold company was more reputable.

The tiptrodes are foam insert eartips that are wrapped with a gold foil. These tiptrodes are used in auditory evoked potential testing, such as auditory brainstem response. To be more specific, I am using 4 used (but sanitized!) 13mm Tiptrodes.












The two cash for gold companies used were Cash4Gold and 1-800 Gold Kit. I signed up on each website and within days I received my gold kits in the mail.
















Here's what you've probably seen on TV from each of these companies:

Cash4Gold:


1-800 Gold Kit:


I placed 2 tiptrodes in each envelope and sent them away in the mail. I pulled no punches with them, as you can see the picture below I describe exactly what the envelope contains.












We'll see what turns up! Most from what I've heard about these companies is that they're big scams, they payout less than 30% of the actual value of the gold. Some people have been known to contest the amount offered and been awarded more. It's also been proven that someone who's gold spray painted objects have received some (very little) money for it.