"Beware Cash4Gold and other gold-buying ripoffs"

[nd5056]

Had a feeling when I saw the adv. during the Super Bowl, it's offical now.

http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/118748

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.)

That price alone is practically criminal, but that's where the truly slimy part of the operation begins. First, if you call Cash4Gold and ask for your stuff back, you abruptly get a better offer: In the case of the above experiment, the offer was a whopping $178. That's a better deal, but still not market rate, though the caller was told that Cash4Gold could "manipulate the numbers on their end" to make it appear that more product was sent than was in reality. Bizarre, but it's really the only way Cash4Gold can cover its behind to convince you the original offer wasn't a wholesale ripoff.

As bad as that is, it's far worse if you opted for the company's "Fast Cash" option. Here, that original offer ($60) is wired into your bank account within 24 hours of them receiving the booty. It sure is fast, but it's not much cash -- and you don't have the option of declining the offer at all. You're stuck with a pittance for your valuable gold items. (It's also worth noting that Cash4Gold has offered Cockeyed cash 4 removing its expose from the web...)

As a side note, another website offers an in-depth expose on how the system works, this time analyzed from the inside by a former employee. Here it's outlined how the company offers bonuses to phone operators who can convince you to accept a lower offer and how the company attempts to delay payments as long as possible. It's also worth a look if you're considering sending stuff to Cash4Gold anyway and haggling for a better deal.

Update: More test results on Cash4Gold and other online gold buyers here from Channel 10 San Diego.

 

[Shagley]

I can't believe people would actually mail off their gold and trust that this company would pay them a fair value for it. This had scam written all over it. That would be like me telling you to send me all of your diamonds and I will send you a check for what I think they are worth.

Edited to add: I'm glad I am wrong about my above comments and that people have had a good experience with companies like this. To me it just seems scary to mail off your valuables and just trust that a company will give you fair value for them or return them if you aren't happy with the results. I am just very skeptical when it comes to things like this, but I am glad I am wrong and that many companies are more trustworthy than I give them credit for. However, if you do want to send me your diamonds, I will still take them

 

[Kycha]

I can't believe people would actually mail off their gold and trust that this company would pay them a fair value for it. This had scam written all over it. That would be like me telling you to send me all of your diamonds and I will send you a check for what I think they are worth.

Believe it or not, there are legitimate companies that do this. Where you mail them your jewelry. There is a whole big thread somewhere about it.
http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1744828

The 2 companies mentioned in that thread are US Goldbuyers(USGB) and Goldfellow(GF). Many people have gotten a better quote from one of them than from their local jeweler. Unfortunately, Cash4Gold is a ripoff.

 

[Grumpy'sWife4Ever]

I hope I don't offend anyone with this, but my husband and I always laugh at the commercials when they come on because the subtext seems to be "Thieves! Fence your stolen gold here quickly and easily, with no risk of local police tracking you down like they do at pawn shops! Plus, we melt all the jewelry we get in so they'll never be able to trace you!!"

Or maybe it is just funny to us......

 

[patsal]

I hope I don't offend anyone with this, but my husband and I always laugh at the commercials when they come on because the subtext seems to be "Thieves! Fence your stolen gold here quickly and easily, with no risk of local police tracking you down like they do at pawn shops! Plus, we melt all the jewelry we get in so they'll never be able to trace you!!"

Or maybe it is just funny to us......

DH and I do this too! Only ours goes something like this: "All that gold from your last break in weighing you down? Need an easy way to fence your stolen goods with no risk of the slammer? Cash4Gold is your answer to the tracker. All melted and reformed (don't worry you don't need to be) and your sitting pretty with the cash!"

 

[klfrech]

I was one of those "fools" that sent my gold to USGoldBuyers. They gave me $400 more than 2 of my local jewelry stores were willing to give me! Not so foolish afterall!

As with anything, do you homework. I did plenty of research prior to doing this and my experience was nothing short of wonderful.

 

[dzorn]

Very interesting.

Denise in MI

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

I was one of those "fools" that sent my gold to USGoldBuyers. They gave me $400 more than 2 of my local jewelry stores were willing to give me! Not so foolish afterall!

As with anything, do you homework. I did plenty of research prior to doing this and my experience was nothing short of wonderful.

Me too. I got over 2K from USGoldbuyers. I checked with the BBB and did research before "blindly" sending my stuff off though. I was given more than twice what I was offered from local jewelers for old class rings, broken chains and other outdated or unwanted stuff. I'm sure there are many slimy dealers out there, its really up to the consumer though to make sure they are dealing with someone reputable.

 

[Shagley]

I was one of those "fools" that sent my gold to USGoldBuyers. They gave me $400 more than 2 of my local jewelry stores were willing to give me! Not so foolish afterall!

As with anything, do you homework. I did plenty of research prior to doing this and my experience was nothing short of wonderful.

I don't think you are a fool, because you researched the company and you knew ahead of time what your items were worth, so you would know if you were being scammed. The people that I would consider "fools" are the ones who see the commercial and blindly send in a bunch of valuable items without having done any research. They wouldn't have any idea if they were being ripped off or not. Sorry my above comments were offensive. It was a case of typing before thinking about how my comments sounded.

 

[klfrech]

No offense taken at all and I apologize if my post sounded defensive. My point was simply that no matter what we are dealing with, as consumers we have to be smarter than some of these slimy companies give us credit for!

 

[Stacerita]

DH and I do this too! Only ours goes something like this: "All that gold from your last break in weighing you down? Need an easy way to fence your stolen goods with no risk of the slammer? Cash4Gold is your answer to the tracker. All melted and reformed (don't worry you don't need to be) and your sitting pretty with the cash!"