I am getting tired of these relentless ads asking me to buy gold

[golfguru]

The ads are non-stop, on TV, radio, newspapers, news magazines, etc.
All of them have the same mantra, gold is headed much higher, and US $
is being printed into oblivion.

This is very confusing indeed. Why do they want to exchange their precious
and appreciating gold for my depreciating and worthless paper dollars? If
they want my house or even my $30,000 car in exchange for their gold, I can
understand it better. But why do they so desperately want my worthless paper
dollars (in their words) and give me in exchange that extremely precious metal?

Should'nt they try to hoard that gold for themselves since it is headed higher?
Do they love me more than they love themselves?

[doc03]

1. Some also think that the gold price is the next bubble

to burst.

[golfguru]

2. Yeah those morons think gold bubble will bust!

But please explain why the gold sellers want my paper dollars and
give me their precious gold? Where is the need to advertise relentlessly
since gold is in a never ending ascent already as every one already knows?
Why spend so much money on advertisements unnecessarily?

[FiveGoodMen]

4. You've got a VERY good point there!

[sakabatou]

3. Yeah, I think it's a bubble myself

[Vincardog]

5. What they want to do is sell you grossly inflated gold 'collectable antique coins' that will only

provide you a return if you live to be 1,000 and their real value appreciates 20% a year for each of your remaining years.

[golfguru]

6. Not just gold coins, they are also peddling gold bullion & gold stocks n/t

[Bluenorthwest]

7. The radio talkers get a commisssion on the gold they sell you

I am in full agreement with you. I stopped listenting to all the gold pitchmen entirely. Just an insulting set of dated marketing modalities and some fear. I wonder how much fucking cash a person needs before drawing the line at pushing fear about currency crash to an audience filled with children and seniors?
Edited to be nicer to DU's resident radio frighteners. Enjoy the dough, kids.

[customerserviceguy]

8. Well, there's also the relentless ads exhorting people to sell gold

The middlemen buy low and sell high. Anytime there's a volatile market in something, they move to seize their opportunities to behave like middlemen.

[alp227]

9. even Thom Hartmann gets paid to hawk gold!

if you listen to Thom on commercial radio stations you'll hear those ads at the beginning of each commercial break, that's why i generally listen to the show on Ustream.tv/thomhartmann or Free Speech TV or WMNF.org/thesource.

[Taitertots]

10. The people who bought gold at low prices are trying to find some fools to buy it at high prices

The same people who are shitting their pants about the dollar can't get enough low interest rate Treasury securities.

[OllieLotte]

11. They hope to sell you the gold at a profit.

They will take your money and turn around and buy more gold to sell to the next person and pocket the difference. They really don't have that much gold in their inventory.

[zippytheplatypus]

12. if its on tv its a bunch of crooks of course

You'll notice when they buy they always want physical delivery but when they sell if it even is a product it is stupid lead coins with gold colored crayon scribbled on or some bullshit ponzi contract like that Nigerian check scam by email. How come these crooks are never the ones hit by cars? Anything with advertising is one way only, out of our pockets into theirs.

[Prometheus Bound]

13. They don't own anything. They make a commission, whether it goes up or down.

[barb162]

14. I think there are more ads talking about selling your gold jewelry. n/t

[Art_from_Ark]

15. What I get really tired of seeing is people who know nothing about gold

trying to pretend that they're experts on the subject.

And people who have been told time and time again about the nature of the gold market but they refuse to make any effort to really learn anything about it.

[Yavin4]

16. When The Euro Collapses, It Will Set Off An International Currency DeValuation War

between nations as central banks scramble to devalue their currency against the collapsed Euro.

[BeHereNow]

18. Thank you Art. I feel exactly the same way.

I get tired of having to sort through all the nonsense threads
in this forum- seems like there are so few serious and informative
posts here lately.
I do appreciate your contributions in this forum, along with
a few other people.
However, the majority of content usually just makes me shake my head
and wonder.
BHN

[Art_from_Ark]

22. One thing that's particularly annoying is when people say, again and again,

"If gold is so good, why are DEALERS selling gold?"

Um, it's because that's what dealers DO. They sell--- and buy--- gold. They make their living selling and buying, buying and selling. They can't just sit on their inventory-- they have bills and employees to pay, and they have cover their own living expenses during the month as well. Even if they think gold is going to go up 25% during the year, they still have to have a cash flow in the meantime-- so they sell and buy more inventory, usually at a lower price than what they sold the previous inventory for. If there were no dealers, there would be no physical gold market.

Now saying that, I would not buy from a dealer who advertises on TV-- their mark-up is too high, and they are prone to hype their product, which bothers me. I much prefer to buy from dealers who know me personally, don't try to hard-sell me, and can give me a break on the price.

[eridani]

25. But the OP has a point

Is it that the real gold markets are disconnected from all the advertising, or what?

[Warpy]

17. "Boy, there sure are a lot of people who are desperate to dump their gold!"

That's the way I look at it. Gold has experienced a bubble market and they're looking for a bunch of suckers to sustain it so the smarter money can escape before it pops.

When I heard coworkers talking about IPOs for internet startup companies, I knew the market was set to pop. When I heard people talking about getting into a house with creative financing because it's now or never, I knew the housing bubble was ready to pop.

Just before the Great Depression, relatives talked about getting stock tips from cabbies and elevator men. That's just before the stock bubble popped.

There's always a concerted effort to suck as many working class and middle class people in to a bubble market just before it pops.

That's how the smart money continues to bleed money off the rest of us, creating bubbles and then sucking us into them.

[golfguru]

19. You are the type that learns from keen observation n/t

[Warpy]

21. Yeah, but gold bugs are the truest of true belivers.

I'm expecting flames for this one.

[Yavin4]

20. So, People Should Hold An Asset That's Returning Negative Real Value?

Or own a stock that's returning negative real value? Or even a savings account or CD that's paying less than the rate of inflation?

Or, they should own an asset that people all over the world see as real money. The only asset that can survive the coming currency wars between central bankers. Just last week, the Swiss capitulated on their currency and decided to peg lower than the Euro, and BTW, the Euro is on the verge of collapse.

And when it does collapse, our Fed would have to immediately start pumping out dollars because if the dollar appreciates over the Euro, it would kill our exports and crush our ability to pay our debts.

Then China would have to devalue. And so on. And so on.

Gold is not a bubble. It's not a tech stock that relied on hype and poor business models. It's not housing where folks who werent' qualified to get mortgages, got them.

Gold is a reflection of what the world thinks of various currencies.

[Art_from_Ark]

23. "Gold is a reflection of what the world thinks of various currencies"

That about sums it up, in one concise sentence.

[Art_from_Ark]

24. Oh, for crying out loud

The TV hucksters are eager to sell their gold for a freaking 40% mark-up over the spot price. If they were trying to "dump" their gold, they would be selling it at a discount to the spot price.

[EmeraldCityGrl]

27. anyone with any doubt as to the legitimacy of the gold market

should contact a local, trusted precious metals dealer and as what they can sell their
50 Krugerrands and 50 American Gold Eagles for. You might be surprised at what they offer
you. The junk they're selling on TV is not one and the same.

Back in 2000 a very wise man predicted everything that would happen under the "new" administration.
One of the things he suggested was economic collapse that would come in phases. He strongly suggested
we put a reasonable portion of our rainy day savings in precious metals. I have never regretted that decision
and holding a portion in precious metals has proven to be the ONLY investment that has held it's value and
grown. No regrets here.

[Odin2005]

26. JFK's dad Joe Kennedy is the source of the Depression one.

Joe Kennedy is claimed to have said that he knew the bubble was about to pop when his barber was giving stock tips.

[m1049]

28. It's generally not a good idea...

...to base your investment decisions on ads that run on cable TV at 3 a.m.

If you really want to own gold for whatever reason, go on to your brokerage account and buy a gold ETF.

I personally find the popularity of gold to be a little baffling. Goldbugs say that fiat currency is only worth anything as long as people believe that it should have value, but you could say the same thing about gold. It has little practical use (compared with its price).