great story!! I like going to Aaron buy's gold, he's a good dude. And you are correct, looking at the local dealer for jewelry and trinkets is a great way to avoid retail prices and the crazy mark-up on mall stores. Not all scrap gold is actually scrap! And you don't pay for the gems because they don't either...passing the savings on. I have found some show stoppers for a good bargain there.
Show stoppers is an understatement! Lol