Be Careful What You Ask For

[beauanderos]

Alot of posts are listed in this section touting the good deals "at spot" "near melt" type deals that are offered by marketing firms to get you on their mailing/calling lists as potential clients to which they can either bait and switch the initial offer, or secure more money from you with later interminable phone calls, pestering you until you buy more. It seems like most members are dismayed if they are turned down for the offer. It seems few consider the other side of the coin:

http://www.houstonpress.com/2007-07-19/ ... investors/

This is a long article published a few years back, but I consider it required reading, even if it's just a refresher course for you. These companies give a black eye to the precious metals industry.

[ScottyTX]

Not quite as bad, but my grandmother put back nearly 30k in coins for her 4 kids before she died. It was all bought from Littleton Coin. Ummm, I was a bit ticked looking through all of the receipts. She had some nice stuff but nearly a 80-100% mark-up on most everything she bought. She did have a nice 500.00 face bag of 90% quarters that she way overpaid for, at least silver was up enough when she passed that it broke even..... at least. Geesh I cringe when I think about this as I told her over and over if she wanted to get into buying coins let me know. She used this a means to hide money from her 4th husband to save back for her kids (my mother and siblings). Umm if she would have just sent me a grand a month or so I would have of had fun just buying stuff... Silver was at 4.2X face if I remember correctly back when she was doing this arghh!!!!!!!!!!

[oktyabyr]

Unfortunately, there are always going to be people looking to make some quick, good money at the expense of other people. They usually end up targeting the elderly for a multitude of reasons. Rare coins, rare stamps, rare whatever. Foolproof investments. The list goes on and on for these people. That doesn't make it right. But they do it. Yes these companies are in it to make money. Yes, the people they are selling to do have the responsibility to research and find out if they are getting a good deal. But that's why the elderly and disabled are usually targeted, they aren't as likely to do research or know about these things.

Are those of us out there that know about these things and take advantage of these deals driving up the prices for the others? I seriously doubt that. If US Coins or Littleton Coin or any of the other ones stopped offering these deals, do you think that they would cut their prices? No. That's where their money is. They use these deals just as any other business does. They are loss leaders. They are designed to bring in business. To drive new sales. Just like the grocery store will offer turkeys for $0.29/lb. It costs them more than that. But they use it as a tool to bring people into the store to buy things in addition to the turkey. The difference is that the store doesn't have someone walking beside you telling you about how this can of cranberry sauce is worth $5.00 instead of $2.75. But then again, appliance stores have loss leaders and then do have sales people to follow you and try to get you to buy the better item instead. Does that make them wrong too?

[beauanderos]

What makes it wrong is obtaining credit card info under false pretenses, and then continuing to run up charges on them whether people succumb to the subsequent hounding phone calls or not.

[oktyabyr]

I agree, that is wrong. Absolutely. They target people that are least likely to either say no or dispute the charges. Bad, horrible, unethical way of doing business.

[TXTim]

This is a 2007 article.
If she held on to them she would have made a ton$$$ !!!