Bags of Pay Dirt on Ebay for sale? Good or bad?

davinci

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Jan 2, 2013
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I noticed people are selling bags of "pay dirt" on eBay for sale. Do you think there is a chance you can make some money from finding gold in it? Or is it a scam?

Here are some examples:
SALE $.99 Auction Alaska Gold Paydirt 1/4 lb Bag Gold Pan Concentrate w/ GOLD

http://bit.ly/1dGXhoL

Twenty- one pound bags of gold panning paydirt concentrates

http://bit.ly/1afXyXK
 

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goreyboggs

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Dec 5, 2012
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I have bought a couple in the last week to learn how to pan. Ill post my results when I'm done. But I do like the azpaydirtgold.com web site.
 

UTAvalanche

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If you are planning on making money from it, it's not going to happen. The gold you get is worth about 50% less than what you paid for it. They are into it to make money not lose it. But it is a good way to get dirt with gold in it to practice with and for people like me who are unable to get out and do a little digging is is nice because I can still enjoy the hobby. In spite of what they say, most of it has been "salted" with a certain amount of gold to make sure you get enough to keep you somewhat happy with them. If they didn't you would get a pound of dirt for $15-30.00 with nothing in it and their ratings would drop like a rock. Stay with those who have 99-100% favorable ratings. I have several people I order from several times a month and although I don't get a lot of gold, I get enough to keep me happy. I bought raw gold off from Ebay to salt my own dirt for awhile but the quantity you get for the money is far less than what you get from a good paydirt supplier. Also the more you pay for a bag usually means you get more gold. We have a member of the forum who has a gold mine in Alaska and sells good paydirt on Ebay. Her name is Elkie13 and I can recommend her dirt.
 

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davinci

davinci

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Great feedback! Thank you all! Keep the comments coming.
 

sleeper0986

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I would recommend gold hog.

I posted my results from the Christmas cons they offer in this forum a few days ago.
 

AzViper

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If you are planning on making money from it, it's not going to happen. The gold you get is worth about 50% less than what you paid for it. They are into it to make money not lose it. But it is a good way to get dirt with gold in it to practice with and for people like me who are unable to get out and do a little digging is is nice because I can still enjoy the hobby. In spite of what they say, most of it has been "salted" with a certain amount of gold to make sure you get enough to keep you somewhat happy with them. If they didn't you would get a pound of dirt for $15-30.00 with nothing in it and their ratings would drop like a rock. Stay with those who have 99-100% favorable ratings. I have several people I order from several times a month and although I don't get a lot of gold, I get enough to keep me happy. I bought raw gold off from Ebay to salt my own dirt for awhile but the quantity you get for the money is far less than what you get from a good paydirt supplier. Also the more you pay for a bag usually means you get more gold. We have a member of the forum who has a gold mine in Alaska and sells good paydirt on Ebay. Her name is Elkie13 and I can recommend her dirt.

You are right in that they (Ebay sellers) are out to make a buck but they are making far more than the 50% you are claiming. I met a club member who bought a 1 pound bag from one of the top sellers, paid $15.00 dollars and recovered 8 very small pieces of gold totally less than 1/10th of a gram. Do the math that equals over $150.00 per gram.

davinci, do yourself a favor and stay away from buying paydirt as your wallet will thank you. Do an eBay search for Placer Gold. You can find gold for panning and salt your own paydirt. If you don't want to salt your own paydirt have a family member or a friend that way you have no clue how much is in the paydirt before panning. These eBay sellers who are selling paydirt are out to make a buck and many are buying Placer Gold and flipping it on eBay to make a buck. It's a business for them and nothing more.

The current gold price is just over $40.00 per gram but you will pay more than that price on eBay.

Great feedback! Thank you all! Keep the comments coming.

Davinci, I clicked on the link you provided. The current bid price is $7.55 plus $5.95 for shipping for a 1/4 pound bag. They claim you will received .375 grams per 1 pound. So 1 pound of their paydirt purchased from them equals $55.60 at the current bid price and your going to get MAYBE .375 grams per what the sellers are claiming. Again this is nearly $150.00 per gram...
 

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keitha43

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I am taking care of ill parents and can't leave to go prospect on my own right now. I also have bought from Elkie13 and have no complaints. Remember sometimes when you go prospecting you may get skunked. At least with paydirt you are guaranteed some gold. Its good practice.
 

AzViper

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I am taking care of ill parents and can't leave to go prospect on my own right now. I also have bought from Elkie13 and have no complaints. Remember sometimes when you go prospecting you may get skunked. At least with paydirt you are guaranteed some gold. Its good practice.

Your still paying a premium to pan salted dirt/rock that you can do on your own and have much more gold buying your own gold and salting your own paydirt. I have to ask what's the difference if you do it or someone else does it and you buy it?

I noticed people are selling bags of "pay dirt" on eBay for sale. Do you think there is a chance you can make some money from finding gold in it? Or is it a scam?

Here are some examples:
SALE $.99 Auction Alaska Gold Paydirt 1/4 lb Bag Gold Pan Concentrate w/ GOLD

http://bit.ly/1dGXhoL]

So the final cost for a 1/4 pound of paydirt was $9.05 plus $5.99 for shipping. So you buy four 1/4 pound bags at $36.20 plus $23.96 for shipping you now have paid $60.16 for .375+ grams of gold when you can buy 1 gram of gold for less. The only person that's a winner is the seller.

Update: He will ship 4 bags giving you 1 pound of paydirt for a grand total of $42.19 and you get .375+ grams. What a BARGAIN.... LOL
 

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goreyboggs

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I bought 1 pound from gold hog for $15 shipped and 1 1/2 pounds from azgoldpaydirt.com for $15 shipped as well. It has been a blast so far! Like I said ill post the results in a thread when im all done.
 

Rob in KS

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Aug 21, 2006
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There are a couple of older threads here in the prospecting forum about buying paydirt. There is a guy here that puts a gram of gold in his paydirt which may already contain gold. If he throws $40 worth of gold in a $70 bag of dirt, and I have a blast panning it in my basement, I think that's a good deal. Now if I was in AZ, there's no way I'm buying dirt. Us folks in these non-gold producing areas have to live vicariously.
 

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davinci

davinci

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AzViper thank you for breaking this down by pricing. Makes sense the sellers are the ones making out here. I guess for a entertainment value it's okay. But doing it to make money just isn't going to cut it.
 

Oakview2

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Our own Kuger on this forum was selling some paydirt from his out of state dredge operation that lots of members were speaking very highly of.
 

Outland

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New to the forum, but just my 2 cents worth.
I recently bought a 20 lb bag of crystalline NC gold from ebay for 60 bucks, and it was fantastic. I bought it to learn how to to pan for starters. But what happened was awesome, every pan had either several flakes, or small pickers, and loads of flour gold in it. I have advanced my skill in panning and had tons of fun doing it. My wife even gets excited when she look in and sees a dozen or pieces if color in the pan.
So, if you have fun, learn from it or just plain have the gold bug, if the cost is right it's absolutely worth it.
I will post a pic of the last pan i went thru on Thanksgiving Day.

Outland
 

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davinci

davinci

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New to the forum, but just my 2 cents worth. I recently bought a 20 lb bag of crystalline NC gold from ebay for 60 bucks, and it was fantastic. I bought it to learn how to to pan for starters. But what happened was awesome, every pan had either several flakes, or small pickers, and loads of flour gold in it. I have advanced my skill in panning and had tons of fun doing it. My wife even gets excited when she look in and sees a dozen or pieces if color in the pan. So, if you have fun, learn from it or just plain have the gold bug, if the cost is right it's absolutely worth it. I will post a pic of the last pan i went thru on Thanksgiving Day. Outland

Awesome Outland! I look forward to seeing it!
 

Outland

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Here it is for all to enjoy! 100_1820.JPG 100_1824.JPG
 

AzViper

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AzViper thank you for breaking this down by pricing. Makes sense the sellers are the ones making out here. I guess for a entertainment value it's okay. But doing it to make money just isn't going to cut it.

Your welcome... Just cant understand why anyone buys bags of pay dirt to practice panning and pay those inflated prices. Granted some people will get lucky but the odds are you will pay $$$ to play, I mean pan for gold. Just salt your own pay dirt and save your hard earned $$$.
 

Lanny in AB

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(Great advice Viper!!)

I've posted this advice before, and it's still true today.

The best gold panning dirt you can get to produce the best bang for your buck on Ebay or anywhere else is to simply buy the placer gold separately!

Then, get any old gravelly dirt you can find. Next, mix the raw gold you bought from Ebay into your dirt and pan it out!

That way, you'll know exactly to the penny what you paid for the gold you're getting, and you'll know to the grain how much gold to expect in the pan.

You'll never be disappointed. You'll never ever feel ripped off, and you'll get way more gold too.

There is a company in California that will mix dirt and gold for you so that you achieve the same result, but then you have to pay for the shipping of the dirt, and for the processing, and a premium for nuggets . . . . (You get the picture.)

You might as well do it yourself so that more of your money can go toward more gold in your hand at the end of your panning session.

All the best,

Lanny
 

AzViper

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(Great advice Viper!!)

I've posted this advice before, and it's still true today.

The best gold panning dirt you can get to produce the best bang for your buck on Ebay or anywhere else is to simply buy the placer gold separately!

Then, get any old gravelly dirt you can find. Next, mix the raw gold you bought from Ebay into your dirt and pan it out!

That way, you'll know exactly to the penny what you paid for the gold you're getting, and you'll know to the grain how much gold to expect in the pan.

You'll never be disappointed. You'll never ever feel ripped off, and you'll get way more gold too.

There is a company in California that will mix dirt and gold for you so that you achieve the same result, but then you have to pay for the shipping of the dirt, and for the processing, and a premium for nuggets . . . . (You get the picture.)

You might as well do it yourself so that more of your money can go toward more gold in your hand at the end of your panning session.

All the best,

Lanny

Thank you Lanny... There is another thread that's very large in the forums of this same practice of other buying paydirt and why? When they do the math the end user will not be very happy when they realize that buying paydirt is not a good investment.
 

Rob in KS

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If I made my own paydirt, it would be too easy to pan. The only thing I could use around here is some light blonde sand ( it blew in here from OK ) I couldn't make it very challenging. But that's me, I'm in farm country. Now if you had some decomposing granite and some black sand to throw in then you could make something fun.

IF I ever get some money, I'm heading for AZ
 

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