we've all seen them on tv. the one that bugs me the most is a company selling a gold-clad/covered/plated POSSIBLY A silver base coin or just a cupro-nickel (I do not remember what it was, but I think it was a buffalo). the cost was about $20. had to be less than an ounce if the base was silver, I do not remember.
the spokesperson, went on and on about what a valuable coin this was, and you had better hurry before they are all sold out! things that were said... paraphrasing some words...
" this coin has a gold purity rating of 999.9, that is FOUR nines"!
"gold is going up!", then the commercial shows a rough arrow-going-up graph about how gold has been going up" so you can see how rich you might be in the future... off of what is problably a grain (not gram) or two of gold on it.
"avoid future regret" (haha, FUTURE regret... I have enough problems with my PRESENT regrets...)
"pass it down as an heirloom", etc. (if this is all I got as an inheritance, I would not be impressed by the generosity of the dead person).
"only five per household" (because it is so valuable!) these companies problably could not care less if they shipped a thousand of them to one address.
ok, the coin problably has about a dollar or two's worth of the gold plating. the idea that the commercial tries to get across is something to the affect that, boy, this is one valuable coin!
if you were lucky, you might be able to trade the coin at a cash-for-gold taco bell, where the going price trade is a 7 layer burrito... "ok, an 8 layer burrito but that is far as I'm going!"
so is this type of advertising ok, or do I have the wrong attitude?
btw, if anyone wants to see a funny southpark, look up the "cash for gold" episode. opens up your eyes.
That South Park episode is very funny, I agree. But it's not 100% accurate. They totally skipped the diamond industry, and it's not on purpose, it's just because the jewellery industry is VERY secretive, and the writers of South Park can only go on speculation. Either way it's a fun satire. I'd say the true criminals are the refineries and the diamond cartel, in my true honest opinion.
Those commercials prey on stupid people, to be frank. They cannot read between the lines and deserve everything they get. Even so there had ought to be limits on how one can advertise, that's for sure. I don't know the exact commercial you have in mind but there should be a disclaimer or some sort or they whizz by the facts and only tell you the 24K gold part. One thing I can say is that if you don't know anything about a product then you have no business buying it, simply because you can be robbed, misled, or sadly disappointed because you had one thing in mind but your budget is weak and you get sold a low quality item. For $20 you have no retort.
Quote: Those commercials prey on stupid people, to be frank. They cannot read between the lines and deserve everything they get.
I agree with the first sentence.
I strongly disagree with the second sentence. No one ever asked to be born with a lower IQ than the average person and the people who prey on them are despicable.
They prey on more than stupid people--they prey on people's *greed*. Those overly greedy gusses (ooh, ooh, I'm getting something for nothing that is gonna be worth a whole lot) deserve what they get. Been happening throughout history--to many higher IQ people who aren't so stupid in an IQ sense but *are* stupid in a caveat emptor sense.
sadly, these sort of commercials play on every single humans weakness of GREED. So the emotions run wild, on the impulse they get sucked into the promotion because of their greed.
This is the same kind of advertising used by a Norwegian company called Samlerhuset. I think it's some degree of despicable and should be stopped, but on the other hand: commercials are to sell products, right? A few years ago they actually came in the news as they had sold for 400kNOK, about $60.000 in 'valuable collectible coins' to some old man who really thought he made a great investment in a heritage for his kids. Turned out his collection was valued at about 20% by the experts after he died. And Samlerhuset's reaction? Well, sold is sold, eh?
It doesn't have much to do with intelligence, more with laziness, I guess: everyone can do some research on how much a coin is actually worth before buying. I personally like to learn a lot about things before I invest (also after making a fortunately not-so-big mistake once), but apparently a lot of people just believe commercials and fall for them without doing any additional research. I do believe people should sometimes be protected against themselves a bit or we better start handing out an equivalent of the Darwin Awards in Numismatics soon...
I know the advert that the OP is talking about. If you listen closely everything they say is true.
Frome memory; They say the government stopped minting the buffalo coins because they ran out of the special blanks.
This is true they ran out when it was inteded to run out.
They tell you their coin is plated in gold which it is. They even tell the very small amount od .999 gold used
They say gold has risen nearly 400% since 2002. For a time in 2002 gold traded at around $250 so that is correct also
If you are fighting insomnea at 3 am with your poodle on your lap drooling on your nightgown then it sounds like a deal so you buy it for the grand children.... If you do then it is due to your own stupidity, they did not lie or mislead. You simply did not listen. No one to blame but you.
The statements themselves are not false. The moral question here is if it is OK to market something to the misinformed (and there are many reasons why a segment of the population is misinformed). If we are going to have an economy based on "capitalism", there will always be some sellers who elect to offer something to the misinformed. For some, maximizing revenue and profits is their motivation in life, and their personal moral priorities might not be what the average population deems as socially appropriate, but capitalism says they can make these offerings and fulfill orders accordingly as long as they aren't breaking the law. Be grateful you are informed within this market. I am sure EVERYONE here has been duped or overpaid for something at some point during their lives. Might not have been in numismatics, but in something in general.
well, for once I got smart. I was up at 0300 and tuned onto the jewelry shopping network, where there was a 400 karot topanzo craptonite stone pendant, plated with hi-quality 8 karot gold as the bezel, complete with a 10 karot plated chain. the retail was $54,000.00 but they were running a special, and, if I moved quickly before all 10,000 of them were sold out, could buy it for $59.95!(down from $30,000!) I even got it on EZ pay, 3 installments.
I had trouble remembering my name at the time and the rep on the phone asked if I remembered my credit card number. I was so happy about the purchase I decided to walk down the freeway for a few miles until my son called the cops, who found me in the center divider and returned me home.
boy, I jumped on that one! now I can hand this down to my children and show them my life had meaning! I gave it to my kid as an advance inheritance and he went to a jewelry shop where they appraised it at $8.00.
boy, some of these jewelry shops are really incompetent! I sure made out on this one! hmmmmm.... is it "carot" or "karot"....?
(ok, I did not do this, this is just a story). just my twisted sense of humour I got from the southpark episode...) sorry if I offended anyone... mike
Greed wins out over IQ...in fact greed seems to shut down the entire thought process...
I liquidated my PhD dad's estate 2 years ago. My mom came out OK, but only because the real estate market was rising and oil prices had not yet gone into the dumpster. His epitaph should read "He was lucky".
I'm also prone to "mail before midnight tonight" syndrome. I hope that as I age I have enough sense to avoid investing in limited edition Texaco airplanes, modern base metal proof sets and North Carolina ruby mines.
"Two minutes ago I would have sold my chances for a tired dime." Fred Astaire
It starts out saying a bunch of totally true things (albeit with a lot of extra adjectives) about the real solid gold Buffalo coins produced by the U.S. Mint. But then they seamlessly segue into a description of their gold plated "tribute" coin in a manner purposely designed to trick the unwary into thinking it's the same coin.
No flat-out falsehoods, but most definitely designed to fool some people into thinking they are getting something special and valuable for their $9.99. Yes, anybody who thinks you can actually get a one ounce solid gold coin for $19.99 is a certified idiot or a fool, but that doesn't mean that companies should have free license to prey on idiots and fools. It's not like they can honestly say, "Gee, we had no idea that anybody would ever think we were selling actual gold coins."
Laws should be drafted to protect the most vulnerable in society, including children, the elderly and, yes, fools and idiots.
Quote: Laws should be drafted to protect the most vulnerable in society, including children, the elderly and, yes, fools and idiots.
Your right, Barry! There ought to be a law against such things...Like coin collecting.
According to one woman I work with only a fool would spend one hundred dollars on a quarter. It is after all only 25 cents no mater what year it was made in. I must be an idiot for doing such a thing.
That company selling gold plated trinkets for $10 is no more guilty of anything Than any coin dealer.
ps: I haven't dared tell her what I paid for a 1914-D cent.
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Posted 08/18/2016 5:56 pm
