BOSTON -- With gold trading at record high prices, many people are looking to turn old, unwanted jewelry into cash, NewsCenter 5’s Susan Wornick reported Friday.

“I have three bracelets and four rings. And I have about three pairs of earrings,” said Audrey Burchell.

She said they’re all beautiful pieces that have little sentimental value.

“Gold is quite high now because the market and everything else is so low, so this should be a good time to actually get this value,” Burchell said. “I wasn’t sure if I just went to a local jewelry store at a mall, or you see on TV some places where you can send things away.”

So who offers the best deal? Team 5 Investigates went undercover at several local jewelry stores to find out.

Our first stop was a jewelry store in Randolph, offering cash for gold. After careful testing, they offered Burchell $235 for the entire lot.

Next stop, the Jewelers' Building in Boston. Clerks at Homsy's Jewelers tested Burchell’s gold, and even though they said some of the pieces weren’t real, they offered $250, more than the first store.

At EB Horn, they weren’t interested in any of Burchell’s pieces.

“We got kicked out,” she laughed.

Selling jewelry can be tricky. Team 5 Investigates discovered there are no laws regulating private transactions. Jewelers are not required to disclose the going rate for gold. And valuations are subjective.

Burchell said she was surprised that the best offer came from a pawn shop, because of their reputation for haggling with cash-strapped consumers. But one pawn shop offered Burchell $262.

“I was amazed at how business-like it was,” she said. “I had never been in a pawn shop before. He offered more right from the start.”

Even without a pair of earrings, which Burchell was able to sell separately for an additional $40, her take for the day was a grand total of $302.

“I feel great. It was a great day” she said.

Wornick warned that it’s easy to be scammed when trying to sell jewelry. Consumer advocates offer three “don’ts.” Don’t take the first offer; always shop around. Don’t send your jewelry away; you may not get anything back. And don’t sell anything quickly, because if you change your mind, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to get it back.