Pawn 101: ‘Rogue’ gold buyers

At the risk of sounding like a broken record (do young people even know what that means?), we are returning to the problem of dishonest gold buyers. Because the problem is not going away.

Here we link to an interview with a National Pawnbrokers Association vice president on the subject. Ric Blum makes a couple of points that Kamaaina Loan blog has not spent much time on:

First, “there are more businesses buying gold than just pawnshops. Almost every jewelry store in the country is now buying gold. Gold is being bought in flea markets, barber shops and auto repair facilities. Many are unlicensed and do not have the proper ‘legal for trade’ scales.”

Second, “Another popular scam is gold buying parties. These are usually ‘sponsored’ by a local person who is encouraged to invite all of their friends over to their house and bring their jewelry to sell to a ‘gold buyer.’ Besides not often paying a fair amount to the sellers, there are usually kickbacks being paid to the party sponsor.”

Blum says the problem is tough for law enforcement — especially if you are imprudent enough to mail your gold to somebody on the Internet. Even for local rogue buyers, enforcement is often low on the priority list for overstretched police departments.

You have to protect yourself.

Read the whole thing, but take this away: Do not mail off gold. Do check with several local buyers and compare offers.

We’d add: See us last. You’ll get the highest price that way.