Seller beware. Last week we took a bunch of our old/broken gold jewelry pieces to G & H Jewelers in California, Md, to see what the value was. After examining/weighing the pieces, they offered us $300. We had weighed the pieces on our kitchen scale, and it weighed around 1.5 ounces. A quick Internet search showed us that 14k gold was going for about $800 an ounce. We declined G&H's offer, which we were assured we would not find a better offer than. We decided to send the pieces to Cash For Gold USA. They sent us a check for $879. Because of the disparity in what we received from CFGU, and G&H's offer, we went back to G&H and showed them the check. There responce was "we determine our offer by weight". As opposed to what, psyhic powers? How else would anyone determine the value.
G&H Jewelers, California, Md- Seller Beware!
- Thread starter rkrider
- Start date
desertrat
0_0
Good for you. Your gain, their loss.
DEEKAYPEE8569
Well-Known Member
Well, that's what pawn shops and jewelers that buy jewelry do.
They low-ball the seller and sell for twice; if not more than what the real value is.
Or..their existence in the county for 30 years plus bearing witness to it..they are in business to stay in business.
Now there is an unpopular 'meme' in today's PC environment.
Baja28
Obama destroyed America
Basic business 101. WTF would buy something for $800.00 and expect to sell it for $800.00? That prime real estate where G&H is ain't cheap!
GWguy
*
Yeah, prime McDonalds territory....
dave1959
Active Member
They are in business to make money, Why would they buy it at or near market value ?? They would'nt make any money...
That being said, I'm not a fan of them either.. whent in there two or three times over the years and everytime I felt like I was bothering them because I was only spending a couple of hundred instead of a couple of thousand..
Rick's now gets my business.
First thing to understand about precious metals is that they are measured in Troy Ounces which is about 31 grams. An traditional ounce is about 28.3 grams. So, if you had about 1.5 ounces of gold = 42.45 grams =~ 1.37 Troy Ounces.
If you use the calculator here (How Much Is 14kt Gold Worth | HowMuchIsGoldWorth.net) and used today's spot price for gold of $1657, your 14kt gold was worth $1,319 full retail. (14kt gold is watered down with other metals to make an alloy, thus you don't get the full spot price which is probably based on 24kt gold)
So, they offer you $300, yeah, I would say they are dishonest. Of course, your gold has to be melted down, impurities removed, and it has to be re-assayed, plus the dealer needs to make a reasonable profit (note the word reasonable -- capitalism doesn't mean you have to gouge someone or make the maximum profit regardless of social and ethical consequences). Offering you 23 cents on the dollar, not honest in my book -- especially since another company offered you $879 -- and most of these guys aren't known for being generous. Were I buying gold I would offer all potential sellers the same explanation I just gave above so they could make an informed decision.
I suspect some unethical businesses are able to survive here 30 years because of 1) the transient nature of the population -- new people are not aware of their bad reputation; 2) lack of any real competition; and 3) any lack of a repository of public information for unhappy customers to share their bad experiences (up until recent years anyway).
We had some local clown advertising in the classifieds offering to buy people's pre-19something U.S. Silver quarters for $1 each. I looked up the current retail price and it was over $5. So, basically, a creep trying to take advantage of some unsuspecting person -- a scammer in my judgement.
In the future, if you want to sell gold, try Northwest Territorial Mint - Custom Minting, Bullion Sales, Online Store.
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CrashTest
Well-Known Member
Gold isn't a used TV. It's a commodity with a spot price based on weight. Broker gives you spot price minus his commission. Any commission higher than 10% is dubious.
I don't have any dogs in this fight..never been a G&H customer. But for all I care, they could have offered 25 bucks for the gold and it still would have been an 'honest' offer, IMO. I make people lowball offers for things all the time. They are accepted...or they are not.Sometimes the 'not' is accompanied by a few choice expletives even.
Now the part where they reportedly said that the seller wouldn't likely find a better deal?..THAT was dishonest because they would have known - or certainly should have known - that it was not a true statement.
Apparently you and I have different ideas of how to live your life and how not to. I would not knowingly do business with a company whose owners shares the same philosophy as you do. No insult intended -- I just prefer to do business with people who share my values.I don't have any dogs in this fight..never been a G&H customer. But for all I care, they could have offered 25 bucks for the gold and it still would have been an 'honest' offer, IMO. I make people lowball offers for things all the time. They are accepted...or they are not.Sometimes the 'not' is accompanied by a few choice expletives even.
Now the part where they reportedly said that the seller wouldn't likely find a better deal?..THAT was dishonest because they would have known - or certainly should have known - that it was not a true statement.
You might have people who accept your lowball offers -- perhaps they are desperate or do not know the true value. But, I'll bet they are going to resent you for it.
If you ever watch Pawn Stars, Rick tells people he likes to try and at least double his money. On many occasions, he has told sellers that what they have is worth more than they are asking. That is an honest business man IMHO.
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Hank
my war
Totally agree..... lowball = shady
You missed my point and then threw a bad assumption about how "I live my life" on top of that. I try do business with only the same as you described and in fact run my business that way, and have for over 25 years. But I'm not going to start calling those that want to operate as 'junkyard dogs' dishonest just because they will try to lowball people. Heck...does that mean all pawn shop operators are 'dishonest'?
LMAO. Well,,,I guess some folks don't dicker and haggle.
Hank
my war
I make people lowball offers for things all the time. They are accepted...or they are not.Sometimes the 'not' is accompanied by a few choice expletives even.
You said it, bro....^^
Well then you would not believe the number of 'shady' characters that buy ship equipment from around the world. Heck..practically all of them are shady...apparently.
What should I do about them?
Hank
my war
Well then you would not believe the number of 'shady' characters that buy ship equipment from around the world. Heck..practically all of them are shady...apparently.
What should I do about them?
Hey, whatever.... If you are in a shady biz, so be it...:shrug: As a biz owner I share the same ethics as David....