hombre_de_plata_flaco
Bronze Member
Ran a "sting operation" on some Gold Buyers today
So, in the latest edition of my local newspaper this week I noticed a full page advertisement for a company that was setting up shop in a hotel for a week in my sleepy little redneck town.
I decided to go up there today on the first day they opened up shop and bring them a few items I have been sitting on waiting to sell for sometime just to see what they would offer. I brought coins and scrap gold jewelry.
The jewelry items I brought consisted of nearly 58 grams of gold - 20 grams of 10K and 38 grams of 14K.
The coins are the Carson City GSA Hoard Morgan Dollars that I have had on consignment for over a month now. I thought I had them sold a few times, but the deals kept falling through and no one wanted to pay full price so I sent them off to NGC for grading. I will be listing them on eBay later this week, but I digress.
Spot value on the gold today totaled approximately $1700.00
Whitman Red Book total value for the 9 CC Morgans graded from MS62-MS64 is $3500.00
TOTAL VALUE of said items: $5200.00
Anyway, I made my way to the hotel's 3rd floor and sat down for my "consultation". There were 2 chicks and 2 dudes. Seemed like a bunch of sleazy car salesmen - that was the vibe I got anyway. The guy that was "working" with me asked where I got all the stuff, I told him I got it all from my deceased grandfather, and that I "didn't know much" about the items.
He started the process of going through all the items with a loupe, magnet, and acid. One thing I noticed right off the bat was that in spite of the fact that there were only TWO items that were 10K, he put nearly half of the scrap jewelry into the "10K pile" for his estimate. I watched him closely to make sure there was no "slight of hand" stuff, as I had weighed all the items before I left the house.
After he went through the gold, he pulled out a Red Book and started looking at the Morgans. He said that they "generally pay $15-$20" for them. I just stared back like I was a moron and in complete agreement.
Anyway, when it was all said and done their final offer was-------------------------wait for it..................................
$500 bucks LMAO!
It was at this point I began to gather up all my items and place them back into my duffel bag. I then informed him that I was a coin collector, and that I also dabbled in scrap gold. I announced to the room of shysters that I had calculated the spot spice that morning @ $1700, and that one of the NGC Morgans graded at MS63 ALONE was worth almost $600. I also said that if I got home and weighed my scrap and the total was off I would be calling the cops. Just for poops and giggles, I also told them I was "a writer" and that I was working on an expose' about people like them who rolled into sleepy little towns and bent the local populace over the barrel.
You could hear a pin drop as I made my way out of the room.
On my way out the door, one of the girls sheepishly asked "Who do you write for?"
"You'll find out soon enough" I replied.
I'm writing a letter to my local paper right now shaming them for accepting advertising money from these people and detailing my experience with these scum.
I would like to call them by name and post a picture of their newspaper ad if the mods will permit.
So, in the latest edition of my local newspaper this week I noticed a full page advertisement for a company that was setting up shop in a hotel for a week in my sleepy little redneck town.
I decided to go up there today on the first day they opened up shop and bring them a few items I have been sitting on waiting to sell for sometime just to see what they would offer. I brought coins and scrap gold jewelry.
The jewelry items I brought consisted of nearly 58 grams of gold - 20 grams of 10K and 38 grams of 14K.
The coins are the Carson City GSA Hoard Morgan Dollars that I have had on consignment for over a month now. I thought I had them sold a few times, but the deals kept falling through and no one wanted to pay full price so I sent them off to NGC for grading. I will be listing them on eBay later this week, but I digress.
Spot value on the gold today totaled approximately $1700.00
Whitman Red Book total value for the 9 CC Morgans graded from MS62-MS64 is $3500.00
TOTAL VALUE of said items: $5200.00
Anyway, I made my way to the hotel's 3rd floor and sat down for my "consultation". There were 2 chicks and 2 dudes. Seemed like a bunch of sleazy car salesmen - that was the vibe I got anyway. The guy that was "working" with me asked where I got all the stuff, I told him I got it all from my deceased grandfather, and that I "didn't know much" about the items.
He started the process of going through all the items with a loupe, magnet, and acid. One thing I noticed right off the bat was that in spite of the fact that there were only TWO items that were 10K, he put nearly half of the scrap jewelry into the "10K pile" for his estimate. I watched him closely to make sure there was no "slight of hand" stuff, as I had weighed all the items before I left the house.
After he went through the gold, he pulled out a Red Book and started looking at the Morgans. He said that they "generally pay $15-$20" for them. I just stared back like I was a moron and in complete agreement.
Anyway, when it was all said and done their final offer was-------------------------wait for it..................................
$500 bucks LMAO!
It was at this point I began to gather up all my items and place them back into my duffel bag. I then informed him that I was a coin collector, and that I also dabbled in scrap gold. I announced to the room of shysters that I had calculated the spot spice that morning @ $1700, and that one of the NGC Morgans graded at MS63 ALONE was worth almost $600. I also said that if I got home and weighed my scrap and the total was off I would be calling the cops. Just for poops and giggles, I also told them I was "a writer" and that I was working on an expose' about people like them who rolled into sleepy little towns and bent the local populace over the barrel.
You could hear a pin drop as I made my way out of the room.
On my way out the door, one of the girls sheepishly asked "Who do you write for?"
"You'll find out soon enough" I replied.
I'm writing a letter to my local paper right now shaming them for accepting advertising money from these people and detailing my experience with these scum.
I would like to call them by name and post a picture of their newspaper ad if the mods will permit.
B-U-T, as sleazy & immoral as the shysters were, technically speaking, they're not doing anything illegal. Fact is, most of the sellers that go to these 'traveling medicine shows' just want to unload their crap and make a few bucks OR desperately need some quick cash & sell whatever they can get their hands on. It is up to the SELLER to do their due diligence on prices, weights, etc. Look at ebay for example; someone can take a worthless paperclip & sell it for a million bucks if they're creative enough. That seller would NEVER be arrested unless he promised something clearly false or misleading. These jewelry shows NEVER tell what they will pay for ANY items in the ads. Instead, they use word-play; "silver bought for up to $40 an ounce, top dollar paid for your gold" (what is top dollar?) 
Get it? Are they pure sleaze? Yes. Are they con men? Absolutely. Are they immoral 
(I'd let them off if they were, and just expose the two dudes!)
