Beware Cash4Gold and other gold-buying ripoffs

[NaturalHigh]

I always thought this was some kind of scam.

Beware Cash4Gold and other gold-buying ripoffs

"I don't watch much broadcast TV, and when I do I skip as many commercials as possible, but even I have seen the incessant televised advertisements for a company called Cash4Gold, and I'm sure most of you have, too (they even had a Super Bowl ad). The company is being heavily promoted online as well.

The sell sounds great on the surface: You pack up all your old jewelry that you'll never wear again into an envelope and send it, insured, to Cash4Gold. They melt it down and cut you a check for the value of the gold. End of process. It sounds better than going to a pawn shop -- the process is simple and requires no personal interaction with an appraiser -- so what could go wrong?

A little online sleuthing finds that I'm not the only one who figures that if Cash4Gold has this much money to spend on TV ads, someone's getting the short end of the stick, and it's probably the people sending in their family heirlooms to be melted into ingots. The folks at Cockeyed.com put Cash4Gold to the test, rounding up a bunch of old rings, necklaces, and earrings, and taking them to a regular pawn shop to be appraised. The offer: $198 for the lot. They then sent the items to Cash4Gold and waited for a check in the mail. It arrived within a few days as promised... in the amount of 60 bucks. (You don't have to accept the check; the deal isn't done until you cash it.)

More...

[Manifestor_of_Light]

1. Diogenes is still out there looking........

(Greek reference.)

[NaturalHigh]

4. For an honest man?

There are some out there, but they're getting harder to find.

[lapfog_1]

8. Stan Ridgway knew...

A crowd came in and sat down
And then a man began to yell
About savin' souls to heaven
And for the sinner there was hell
Well later on that night
In a motel room down the road
He kept his meeting for a cat-o-nine beating
From a leather-clad man named Moe

CHORUS
An honest man
We're looking for the last honest man
An honest man
Keep searching for the last honest man


There's a man that moves the masses
On a big city radio dial
He shouts and screams at all he's seen
Runs a talk show like a trial
And there's a bartender keeping secrets
About a boxer that took a dive
And in an office way uptown a deal is going down
That could get somebody four to five

CHORUS

Now we'll keep looking high and low
And we'll keep searching 'round
Is everybody, everyone, dishonest in this town?
Well they'll stab you in the back
You get a handshake and a smile
But if one don't get ya, the other one will
And ya gotta walk that mile

CHORUS

[Manifestor_of_Light]

19. There's a great New Yorker cartoon with Diogenes.

He's carrying his lantern around and what does he see?

A used chariot salesman with toga and cigar!!! :rofl:

[NaturalHigh]

24. Do you have a link to that one?

My wife would love that.

[NRaleighLiberal]

2. My view - if it is advertised, I try not to buy it.

so many snake oil salesmen, so many suckers.

[1]

3. well, i guess if you ever actually dealt with a pawn shop...

you just might take that discount (in the simple little bag you mail in)...




:rofl:

[NaturalHigh]

7. Cletus! Where have you been hiding?

I've never actually sold anything at a pawn shop, but I've bought a few small items. I would think it would be depressing to buy things from so many people desperate enough to have to sell off things that they might cherish at cut-rate prices.

[flvegan]

5. Are you saying I should NOT trust commercials with unsolicited advice?

[Hoopla Phil]

6. I always wondered of they were ligit.

[Doremus]

9. They are definitely NOT LEGIT.

I have had customers tell me of the pittance they received for their gold. Not only that, but one man waited WEEKS to get his measly check.

The best way to sell your old and broken jewelry is to take it to at least 3 jewelers/pawn shops. Get offers at each and sell to the highest bidder.

[NaturalHigh]

10. After posting this, I think it is quite ironic...

that there is a GoogleAd for Cash4Gold at the top of the page.

[Liberal_in_LA]

11. Thanks for posting this

[NaturalHigh]

12. You're very welcome.

Rich people don't sell off their jewelry to some company they see on TV just to put gas in their cars. Only poor people do that, and it always pisses me off to see or hear of someone ripping off the poor.

[Joe the Liberal]

13. Well duh!.............

I knew it was a scam from the get go, it's not that hard to figure out.

[JCMach1]

14. Hey, but it's a great deal if you are too lazy to take a bus to the pawn shop!

[Venceremos]

15. Send us your gold, we'll send you money

always sounded suspicious to me, too.

[roamer65]

16. Gold is fast becoming the world's new reserve currency.

Hang onto it, if you have any, for as long as you can.

[earth mom]

17. Of course it's a scam. I knew it was one the minute I heard of it.

They are everywhere like cockroaches.

Rachel Ray even had one of those gold buying companies on her show and the representative was buying gold from people in the audience.

It was sickening to watch them rip people off. :puke:

[BrklynLiberal]

18. I have heard those commercials and always wondered how one knew if they were

really giving you an honest count. Now I know....they aren't. It should be more publicized that they are ripoffs, and they should not be allowed to advertize blatant lies.


Thanks for posting!!

[Uben]

20. There are legitimate gold dealers....

...who will assess and cut you a check on the spot. I sent my scrap jewelry in and received $1600. I was amazed at the amoount. They took only 10%, which isn't bad for 10 minutes work! I was referred by a friend who knows the dealer, so I might have been an exception, but I was very happy.

[ima_sinnic]

21. one blogger who exposed Cash4Gold then said they tried to bribe him to write nice things

This was posted here on DU a couple of weeks ago. I'm sure the links can be found with a little googling. His story was similar to that of the OP, but then he followed up with the fact that somebody from Cash4Gold had offered him (if I remember correctly) "several thousand dollars" to revise his post, or to write something positive (can't remember which).

[mikeytherat]

23. cokceyed.com - here's the link:

http://cockeyed.com/citizen/goldkit/reputation.shtml

mikey_the_rat

[MadHound]

22. Well d'uh. Of course it's a rip off, so's the pawn shop. It's how these blood suckers make money

By ripping people off.