Digital Price Tags for Gold and Silver Stores: A Practical Guide

Most retailers change a price because they decided to. Gold and silver stores change prices because the market did. A 14K chain, a silver eagle or a gram bar is worth more or less from one hour to the next, and a paper tag printed this morning can be out of date by lunch.

That's why precious-metal retailers are one of the clearest fits for digital price tags. This guide explains how they work in a gold and silver store, how to structure the pricing behind them, and what to check before you buy a system.

The problem with paper tags in a metals store

If you price metal items by hand, you're probably doing one of three things:

1. Reprinting tags every morning using that day's market price, which takes time and still leaves you exposed if the market moves during the day.
2. Quoting at the counter instead of tagging, so customers have to ask the price of every piece. That slows sales and frustrates shoppers who want to browse.
3. Padding prices so a paper tag stays profitable through normal swings, which can make you look expensive next to competitors who update more often.

None of these is ideal. Digital tags address all three by letting the displayed price follow the market automatically.

How digital price tags work for metals

A typical system for a precious-metals retailer has three parts:

• The tags. Small E-Ink screens that sit on shelves or in display cases. E-Ink only uses power when the image changes, which is why battery life on these tags is usually measured in years, not weeks.
• A hub or base station in the store that sends prices to the tags wirelessly.
• Software where you set up each item and its pricing rule.

The key difference from a grocery-style system is the market price feed. Instead of you typing in a new price, the software pulls in current gold, silver or platinum prices and recalculates each item from a formula you set. PriceTaglet, for example, is built this way: tags are configured by metal type, weight and karat, and the hub pushes recalculated prices to them when spot prices move.

Building the pricing formula

The formula is where your margin lives, so it's worth getting right. For most metal items the structure looks like this:

Tag price = (market price per unit × metal content) + premium or markup

Working through each piece:

• Market price. Most retailers use a live spot price. Some use benchmark prices instead, such as the LBMA Gold Price, which is set by auction twice a day at 10:30 and 15:00 London time, or the LBMA Silver Price, set once a day at noon. Decide which reference you use and stick to it.
• Metal content. Weight multiplied by purity. A 14K item is about 58.3% gold; sterling silver is at least 92.5% silver. If you weigh in grams but the market quotes troy ounces, see our guide to grams in a troy ounce.
• Premium or markup. This covers your costs and margin: fabrication, labor, overhead and the craftsmanship value of a finished piece. It can be a fixed dollar amount, a percentage, or both. Bullion usually carries a smaller premium than jewelry.

Our post on how to price gold jewelry goes deeper on choosing markups.

Labeling rules still apply

Automated pricing doesn't change what the tag and the item are allowed to say. The FTC's Guides for the Jewelry, Precious Metals, and Pewter Industries (16 CFR Part 23) set the basics:

• Alloyed gold should be described with its karat right before the word "gold," such as "14 Karat Gold." Plain "gold" implies 24K.
• "Sterling" or "sterling silver" requires at least 925 parts per thousand pure silver.
• Unqualified "platinum" requires at least 950 parts per thousand.
• Plated, filled and hollow items must be described as such.

If your tag shows a short product description alongside the price, make sure it follows those rules.

Shelf price must match register price

In many states, weights-and-measures inspectors check that shelf prices match what the register charges, using the procedure in NIST Handbook 130. A store passes an inspection at 98% accuracy or better. For a metals store, the risk with paper tags is obvious: the market moves, the register uses today's price, and yesterday's tag is still in the case. A system where the tag and your pricing come from the same calculation removes that gap.

Questions to ask before buying

1. Which metals does the price feed cover, and how often does it update during market hours?
2. Can I set different formulas for bullion, jewelry and scrap-value items?
3. Can I override a price manually for a one-off piece or a negotiated deal?
4. What happens when the market is closed, such as weekends and holidays? Do tags hold the last price?
5. How readable are the tags under display-case lighting and from the customer's side of the counter?
6. How long does setup take, and do I need a technician?

Is it right for your store?

Digital tags make the most sense when a large share of your inventory is priced by metal content and you're currently spending real time keeping tags current, or avoiding tags altogether. If most of your stock is priced by design or brand rather than weight, the benefit is smaller.

Sources

• PriceTaglet, How it works
• LBMA, LBMA Precious Metal Prices summary
• eCFR, 16 CFR Part 23, Guides for the Jewelry, Precious Metals, and Pewter Industries
• NIST, Handbook 130, Examination Procedure for Price Verification (2026)