Over at Phil Stewart's blog he talks about a test that was done. The test showed that Cash 4 Gold gave only 15% of the Pawn Shop Value of gold. The test took gold into a pawn shop that offered them $766, but Cash4Gold offered them only $112. That means they are giving you less than 10% of the gold's actual value(if you consider that a pawn shop is buying it way below market value also)!

So is it a scam? No, not in the illegal sense, but yes in the ethical sense. If you are hard up for cash right now, go to a pawn shop as a last resort even before Cash 4 Gold. Or sell it on eBay or locally through classified ads or Craigslist. You can sell your gold on eBay in as little as 24 hours, and have it available to spend without the hassle. You will most likely get above spot price on eBay, so you can feel good selling it at actual market value, and the buyer can feel good also.

Current gold price charts are currently hard to read with a definite signal for the long term. As you can see with the above picture, the past 15 years gold has been cclimbing to the sky. One possible negative sign, though, is as it is growing, the past few years the upward trend is spreading between support and resistance, showing that possibly the trend is weakening. This doesn't mean it's going to come down(as no indicator can predict the future), but I believe it shows a lot of uncertainty and emotional investing in the market.

The second unclear signs are a monthly candlestick chart for the past 3 years or so. There are no clear indicators for a giant break out in either direction.

However, going back to the first chart picture we can see that an obvious resistance has been placed at about the $1000 level. This is both a mental number barrier and a sign to watch. Before you set your sights on that I suggest also watching the $750 support mark on the upward trend line. If it crosses above the $1000 level this could trigger a resurgence in the current trend, or if it passes the $750 mark this could mark a change in the overall trend.

In these uncertain times, gold is a hard commodity to understand fully. For once, charts don't seem to be as big of an indicator as they have been in the past. It will take studying real events in the economy, nations, and worlds --and watching other markets such as currencies and oil--to truly understand where it will go.