There’s no question about it. When you call your stockbroker or metals dealer, you are placing a lot of trust in him or her, as the case may be. Especially the precious metals dealer. There are a lot of crum-bums in every business, and gold and silver are no exception. I wouldn’t sell a numismatic if my life depended on it. These Bozos always tell you that rare coins are a much better buy than a cheap Krugerrand. The spiel is “how much rare coins have gone up compared to bullion”, which isn’t true. Buy a rare coin, and then go to another dealer and ask how much they will give you for your $1,000 coin. It’s usually about $650. A Krugerrand will be bought back at about $6 less than you buy it for, if you sold it simultaneously.
There are outfits in the country which are far far larger than my one man operation. These outfits have guys sitting in little cubicles all day, calling people and making a nuisance of themselves with supposed “bargains”, or “sales,” neither of which are usually true. It’s always “bait and switch.” You call to buy Gold Eagles or Krugerrands, and the sales pitch is on for “rare” double eagles or the like. They make a killing on them, and not much on bullion. One of the largest and best known, has prices of bags of US silver coins well over $1,000 higher than mine, and I have called them to be sure, and it is well over $1,000 higher. Another, will ship no less than 20 coins and requires a bank wire. This is TROUBLE with a capital “T” I believe. If a firm won’t do any business without a bank wire, obviously it means they have no credit with a supplier, and have no money either. My opinion only. Other firms won’t lock in a price till they get the check. This is coin shop stuff, not a legitimate brokerage. If you can’t lock in a price when you call, there’s something wrong somewhere. Lots of firms operate on “OPM,” or other people’s money, when they take six weeks to deliver after getting your check. I know of several ex-dealers who went to jail, and one committed suicide after their rotten business practices were exposed. The world is extremely crooked. I am not writing this to get more business. I have plenty. I write it because you should beware and check out reputations before you buy, if you never call me.
Coin shops often may have a lower price than me, and the reason is simple. They bought from someone at a ridiculous price, either by screwing them, or when legitimate prices were lower, and they make a profit by getting rid of the stuff at a profit, and still having the price lower than is current with the market. If you’re near one, check it out before calling me. I am a broker, not a coin shop. When you call and order from me, I never touch the stuff. It is shipped under my label, from a Brinks warehouse in either Salt Lake City or Los Angeles. When I started doing this way back in 1977, the company I was with charged 3%, and I got half of it. I therefore charge what I used to get (1.5%) almost 30 years ago, and throw in shipping. I’m doing fine, and I guess this makes me cheaper than most or all, but I don’t know. All I know is that at age 72, and with a flawless reputation, I am not going to ruin it at my age by harming or cheating someone. Closed half day next Friday, Sept. 25th, and a full week from Sept. 1-8, reopening again on Sept. 11. Aren’t you getting a bit weary of this Jon Bennet stuff? Give us all a break and try reporting the real news. Will the bargains continue all day? Have a great weekend.