Offer check · timestamped
Check the offer,
Enter the weight, karat and the amount a buyer offered. The checker works out the gold's metal value at the timestamped price, subtracts any stated fees, and shows exactly what percentage of melt the net offer represents. It is a comparison, not a verdict on the buyer.
Enter the buyer's offer to compare it with the metal value.
Price source goldapi.io (XAU/ZAR spot) · live · 10 Sept 2026, 06:16 SAST
The five figures the checker separates
Total weight is what the whole item weighs. Gold-bearing weight removes any estimated stones or non-gold parts. Melt value is the fine-gold content multiplied by the pure-gold price. Net offer is what remains after stated fees. Payout percentage is the net offer divided by melt value.
That separation matters because a headline rand offer says very little without the weight, purity, metal price and deductions beside it. The checker puts all five on one screen and compares the result with 70%, 80%, 85% and 90% of melt. The underlying guide to what buyers actually pay explains where the 70 to 90 percent band comes from.
Metal value is not the whole item's value
This tool deliberately values only gold content. A diamond, a collectible coin, branded workmanship or an antique object can be worth more than its melt value. A watch movement, stone or steel spring can also add scale weight without adding gold. If either issue applies, use the result as a metal comparison rather than a valuation of the complete object.
Open source, with the arithmetic in the open
The calculation engine and reusable web component are dependency-free and released under the MIT licence. They contain no lead form, advertising tracker or buyer ranking. Download the source, inspect the tests or embed the checker with a price endpoint you trust.
Download source v0.2.0 → Source repository →
The public machine-readable price document is available at /api/gold-price.json. Its timestamp and fallback state travel with the number. The full price method is documented on the Goldza methodology page.
Put it on your own site
If you run a jewellery, pawn, insurance or personal-finance site and your readers sell gold, you are welcome to embed this. Two lines, no build step, no dependencies, no tracking. It renders as a self-contained web component and reads the price from our public endpoint, so it stays current without you doing anything.
<script type="module"
src="https://goldza.co.za/embed/goldza-offer-checker.js"></script>
<goldza-offer-checker
price-url="https://goldza.co.za/api/gold-price.json">
</goldza-offer-checker>The component renders a small credit line back to this page, because that is where the price and the method come from. The MIT licence permits you to remove it; we would rather you left it, and that is the only thing we ask in return for the feed. If you would sooner not depend on us at all, download the source and point price-url at any endpoint you trust, or pass a fixed pure-price attribute instead.
The Goldza Project Team
Common questions
What the result does and does not say
- Does this checker decide whether an offer is fair?
- No. It shows the net offer as a percentage of the calculated metal value and compares it with four visible reference points. Stones, collectability, workmanship, assay uncertainty and the buyer's trustworthiness remain outside the model.
- Why subtract non-gold weight?
- A scale weighs the whole item. Stones, watch movements, springs and other parts may add weight without adding gold. If you know their approximate weight, subtracting it prevents the metal value from being overstated.
- What does payout percentage mean?
- It is the cash left after stated deductions divided by the gold's calculated melt value. An R8,000 net offer against R10,000 of metal is 80 percent of melt.
- Is the result stored or sent to a buyer?
- No. The calculation runs in your browser. Goldza does not collect the entered weight or offer. A share link puts those inputs in the URL only when you choose to copy it.