With holiday budgets tight and time ticking down, Local 4 Lifestyle Editor Jon Jordan says there’s a simple hack hiding in plain sight: turn unused valuables into gift money, then shop the same store.
“What if I told you could go somewhere and you could sell things so that you could buy things, so you actually are creating a budget that doesn’t exist,” Jordan said on Local 4, introducing entrepreneur Ashley Gold, founder of AshleyGold.com and a familiar face from “Hardcore Pawn.”
Gold said many people underestimate what’s sitting in their homes. “They don’t know that they have hidden treasures in their house, in their office, from a family member,” she said. “Even if you don’t think it’s worth something or not sure, you bring it in, we evaluate it, we either pawn it or we buy it.”
Gold pointed to demand for “precious metals,” adding, “Your gold, your silver. Gold is skyrocket right now.” Beyond jewelry, she said American Jewelry stores are stocked for the season with electronics, musical instruments, sports memorabilia and designer goods. “Pandora is the craze,” Gold said. For charm collectors watching their budgets, “they’re three for 30.”
She also shared a cautionary tale-turned-windfall: “This lady was in her grandma’s house… and she was playing with these red rocks, and she didn’t know what she had. She was like, can I get $100? And we ended up giving her $10,000… because they were Burmese rubies.”
Jordan urged viewers to scour closets, basements and relatives’ attics. “You never know what you have. Just because you don’t appreciate it doesn’t mean that Ashley won’t appreciate it,” he said.
To watch the segment, click on the video above.