Saturday, January 31, 2009

Nice Write Up On Cash 4 Gold

Cockeyed.com has a nice write up of an experience trying to sell some 'scrap' gold to Cash 4 Gold.

Cash 4 Gold is a company that advertises during the late night demographic and during some of the shows I watch--not sure why they think the science show demographic would be interested in their business. The sales pitch goes like this: send us your gold and we'll send you money. They show people with cash and they look happy.

Cash 4 Gold does claim that they have their own furnaces and can therefore offer excellent prices. They really ought to explain how they can deliver and insure sending gold through the mail.

In the linked article, the authors had some gold appraised at a pawn shop for approximately $200. They sent their gold in to Cash 4 Gold and received an offer of $60. I wonder if the $140 is to pay for the postage.

The Cockeyed.com authors called Cash 4 Gold and refused the offer. Cash 4 Gold offered to tamper with the paperwork and make it look like the gold is really worth $178. Ooh, I feel naughty, they messed with the numbers. Don't tell the boss or you might get fired. That better deal is still a good $20 less than the pawn shop would give them.

Now here comes the fun part of the transaction, getting your gold back. The authors didn't state whether they ultimately accepted the offer. I'd like to know how Cash 4 Gold plans to return gold if an agreement can't be reached. If they are like other businesses that drag their feet or worse when doing things that don't make them money, people could be looking at a long wait, lots of frustration, and lots of uncertainty.

Caveat Emptor. Please, if you think about doing business with someone over the television, check them out first.

EDIT: here's more information about Cash 4 Gold from a former employee. Surprise, he says they're shady.

I can't think of a good reason why a person would want to business with an outfit like Cash 4 Gold or the Goldkit people.

5 comments:

Brian Vaughn said...

Probably cause you store sole gold jewelry and are willing to take the hit vs a pawn shop.

Anonymous said...

Cash4Gold operates in a manner similar to Gold Kit. They send you an envelope, you send your gold to them in it. They determine the value and cut a check for that amount. If the amount meets your expectations, you cash it. If not, you have 15 days to return the check and get your gold back. Your satisfaction is guaranteed.
Pawnshop Gold

Paul Wiedel said...

Satisfaction guaranteed? Yeah, they seem pretty trustworthy.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2009/02/beneath-cash4go.html

http://consumerist.com/5150198/cash4gold-counters-critics-with-super-polite-blog-posts

http://consumerist.com/5142831/cash4gold-offers-blogger-3000-to-remove-negative-post

tokmik said...
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tungsten jewelry said...
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