"I sent in my about 700 grams to a refining company who was exhibiting at one of the trade shows and was informed the bar’s value was $10,152.10. After their 10% refining fee and giving me a 5% promotion, I would be receiving a final settlement figure of  $9,644.50. At first, this seemed very reasonable and acceptable. But after a closer look at the report, something did not add up. Based on the metal percentages and the weight of the bar the company had on the report, the bar’s value should have added up to about $14,000.00. After speaking with the company, I was informed that in addition to the 10% refining fee there was another charge/deduction of about 30% that was factored into the formula that brought my final figure down to $9,644.50. I declined this offer and the company send me back the melted bar along with a few metal samples taken from the bar. I decided to send this bar to Scientific Metals for an analysis and a few days later, I received an email from Dave at Scientific Metals informing me the bar’s value was $14,310.00 and that my final settlement figure would be 90% of that- which came to $ 12,879.59.  Both companies analysis basically showed the same percentage of gold and palladium at 47% and 11% respectively. The only difference was that Scientific Metals did not have any charges or deductions in addition to the refining fee. The math was simple, I got back 90% of the value of the bar as opposed to 62% of the value of the bar with the first company."