| Author |
 Replies: 9 / Views: 1,791 |
|
|
Pillar of the Community
527 Posts |
*** Moved by Staff to a more appropriate forum. ***http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/.../-/g44gnn/-/Quote:
DETROIT - There is a new trend going around this holiday season: People cashing in the old coins grandpa may have given them for cash.
The problem: There are some scammers out there to take advantage of you if you don't know what to expect.
Cyndee Harrison, of Grosse Pointe Farms, was recently trading in her coins at the Diamond Vault in Troy. She made the trip there because she trusts them and knows she will get the value of her coins
"It was really nice to have everything gone through right there at the table in a comfortable environment and I left like I was educated as part of the process," said Harrison.
Randy Cole, of the Diamond Vault, said 80 percent of the people who are holding silver coins have no clue what they have.
"They just see it as money," Cole said. "They see it as a quarter. They see it as a dollar."
Cole warns coin sellers to be careful of traveling coin shows which promise you cash for your coins: You might be scammed.
The Defenders decided to test it out.
This past weekend, a traveling coin show stopped at the Comfort Suites Inn in Southfield. Our undercover producer brought seven coins worth $142 to see how much the coin show would offer.
At the first booth we stopped in we were offered $42 for coins that were worth $142.
The Defenders also went across the street to Ziedmans Jewelers. There we were offered $100 for our coins that were valued at $142.
Advice for consumers: If you are going to trade in your coins, go somewhere you trust and a place that has a good record and reputation. Otherwise, you could be losing out on lots of money. The video below is here: http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/...-/index.html
|
|
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1302 Posts |
Was the value of the coins 142 retail or wholesale? They didn't explain that. If it is 142 dollars retail then the 100 dollar offer isn't that bad considering the guy has overhead and has to find a buyer. The 42 dollar guy? He's a yutz. His little anecdote about getting 42 for 7 dollars worth of face value is really weak.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
3592 Posts |
Read that yesterday and I think "scam" is not accurate.But I do agree that consumers should educate themselves before cashing in silver or gold.It only takes a few clicks of the mouse to find out the value of either.
|
|
Valued Member
United States
197 Posts |
I agree: Making an seller an offer the seller willingly accepts is not a scam. Taking advantage of the uninformed, yes, but scam, no.
|
|
Valued Member
United States
404 Posts |
I'm not defending theguy who offered $42, but...
Don't most negotiations start this way? Buyer offers a low price, seller asks for a higher amount, buyer comes up a bit and they make a deal...
Unless the buyer deliberately tells the seller they have something worth less than what they have, it's not really a scam. He made an offer he was comfortable making.
Maineman said it best, it only takes a few seconds for someone to educate themselves on what they possess.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1302 Posts |
yes, but the only scam element was when the guy, after making that lowball offer, which is NOT unusual in the industry, tried to equate the value of his offer with the face value of the coins. That is where the he loses it with me. The 100 dollar guy I'm fine with. I think that may be a fair offer if the coins are worth 142 bucks.
Yes people should educate themselves- but we take for granted our interest and passion for something and the knowledge that comes with it- the person who is not a hobbyist and not big on history would not know even what to look for, would not know how to grade what they had, and would not know how to sell it. this is the type of low information client these traveling shows rely on.
there really is no point in having an internet argument over this type of thing... because even the folks that say you should know what you have before selling it are absolutely right- and those that are in the business know that the "value" of a coin is not what the price guides say- but what a buyer is willing to pay for it.
so in that respect, I think the "journalism" on this story is bad, misleading, and unbalanced... which is basically what journalism is these days, isn't it?
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
4897 Posts |
|
|
Valued Member
United States
404 Posts |
I only read what was posted on here this morning when I commented, didn't realize there was more to the story than what was quoted.
As far as educating yourself...you don't have to become an expert to sell an item. You should educate yourself enough to know what you are holding. If someone hands me an item, I'm going to google it and look to atleast figure out what it is. This will insure that someone's not going to tell me I have a knife when I actually have a spoon.
|
|
Rest in Peace
United States
1729 Posts |
I agree that sellers should be more educated when they take in items to a dealer with the idea of selling them.
But there's another side to that. Yesterday, while I was pawing through junk silver at my dealer's to see if he had any "hole-fillers" (he did), one guy brought in a set of cheap plated silverware and wasn't very happy when the dealer couldn't offer him very much. Another scruffy-looking gent brought in two albums of stamps; the two cockroaches that crawled out of the albums were worth more than the contents!
|
|
New Member
United States
31 Posts |
My experience has been that a good dealer will pay just under spot on bullion and sell just over. The 3 dealers that I deal with regularly do this A. because they are honest and B. because they want return business. I think it is wrong to knowingly lowball the ignorant. I personally educate people I buy from and try to make a fair small profit off of everyone instead of making a fortune on one or two unknowing victims. That is probably why the buyers that do that travel! Just my thoughts..
|
| |
Replies: 9 / Views: 1,791 |
|
Posted 12/21/2011 10:29 pm
