I’ve had a couple people as customers lately who’ve gotten ripped off by other gold stores – and I’d like to right those wrongs.
I like righting wrongs – maybe I should’ve been a cop. But cops have to deal with some nasty situations, and sometimes some ugly people and that’s not really what I’m good at. What I’m good at is educating people. Teaching, helping people understand the intricacies and subtleties of a concept. So that’s my new goal. To begin to develop a database from which people can learn. And then to continue to educate people regarding gold and silver purchases.
Here’s why – there’s a lot of information about coins and bullion that dealers won’t tell you. And to protect people, there needs to be someone on the side of the customer. Because there are plenty of people willing to rip off their customers. I just experienced it yesterday – TWICE.
In the morning a man came in with what he claimed was 26,000 dollars in silver coins. In reality, he’d been charged double for the coins and he didn’t know it. He only had a bit under $13,000. The company he bought it from just plain ripped him off. And this was a smart guy. He just didn’t assume that people were gonna try to steal from him. But they did.
Then in the afternoon a different guy called to get a price on two gold coin proof sets – combined value of about $5,000. He wanted to find out what the price was – so I told him. He might be able to get 2300-2500 each depending on packaging, condition, etc.
He’d paid $7,000 for each one! He spent $14,000 on two items that should have cost him $5,000.
And I told him I’d help him. And when I did it, I told him that I WOULD NOT BE A BUYER of his coins but that I would try to help him get a good deal. This would remove the appearance of a conflict of interest. I would simply help him (as much as I could) but that I would not be involved in a transaction.
And it occurred to me that people NEED this kind of help. They need to know what a reasonable price is. They need to know who’s trying to rip them off and who’s a legitimate business person. I want to be identified with the latter category, but many folks in my business are just greedy and don’t care who they steal from or who they hurt. And let’s not kid ourselves. They are stealing form people when they mislead them or allow them to believe an inflated value is the ACTUAL value. That’s dishonest and it’s being a thief.
I don’t like it. So I’m going to post as much information as I can to help people not get ripped off. First of all – here’s my phone number: 832-259-7225
You can call me during normal daylight hours (in Houston, TX) central time. Say 8-6 during the week and I’ll always pick up. I’ll answer your questions for free, I’ll help you get good information and help you decided what makes sense for you.
If you need help by phone – you got it. It’s like having a friend in the business. There’s nothing that ought to be hidden from people. That’s just being dishonest and it’s wrong.
Coins, bars, bullion, numismatics…I’m going to start putting all that I’ve learned over these last few years on the website. Making sure everyone has the same information I have about all these items so you can make an informed decision when you decide to buy.
Because there’s more to life than making money. I think there should be a little more equality in the world. The people who are buyers shouldn’t be at a disadvantage just because they’re new to the game. They should have access to the information the seller has, within reason.
I hope you’ll be able to use this information to your advantage. So that you can make the best decisions regarding precious metals investments for you and your family.
Call me anytime or come by our office – Houston Gold Merchants – because whatever happened to fairness? When did THAT go out of style?
