Would you believe it? Money for gold!

[ChristianBecker]

Is it only in Germany (prolly not) or are gold buyers flooding the ad space in your newspapers etc., too?
There have always been people advertising that they're buying gold, but only recently (well, since gold prices are so high actually) they're really getting annoying.
What annoys me most, though, is not that they advertise, but that the way they advertise always makes me think they can't be honest. Seriously, a lot of them go along the lines of "You have spare gold? We'll take it for you and even give you some money for it." And I heard from two people who went to different of these gold buyers that what they offer in exchange is not always reflecting the gold price but is many percent below it.
It's even worse than scrap metal collectors, who offer to dispose of those copper pipes you've got lying around for only a small fee.

[Bouncy Castle]

We have loads of ads on the radio (though they seem to have calmed down at the monent) for "send us your old jewellry and we'll give you money for it".

What a temptation it must be to the postmen when they see those pre-paid envelopes in the mail, addressed to Gold-4-You, or whoever!!

The latest radio advert is for high-end watches, Breitling, Cartier, etc.

Then, they sell them back to the public as pre-owned!!

http://www.capitalwatchandjewellery.com ... fAod8hMAJQ

[Dotsie]

We used to have a "Gold Exchange" shop or somesuch nearby when I lived in Manchester. It didn't last long though.

[Tonyblack]

They manage to make it sound like gold is some sort of biohazard and that they are doing a public service by taking it off your hands. The amount of advertising these people do makes you think that they are not giving anywhere close to the actual scrap value of gold.

I'd love to see an Ankh-Morpork take on this.

[Bouncy Castle]

Send us your high end cabbages, and we'll send you a dollar!

[Tonyblack]

I was thinking more about some optimistic dwarfs with a big sign outside their shop saying "GOLD GOLD GOLD!!!"

Or maybe it's something that Dibbler would dabble in.

[Bouncy Castle]

Glod inna bun!!

[Tonyblack]

Actually, it feels like something the Thieves' Guild might get into.

[Bouncy Castle]

Now ya talkin!

[MongoGutman]

I don't see the gold thing as particularly reprehensible - it's just a pretty straightforward business transaction: of course they're gonna pay less than the gold is worth, they wanna make a profit.

Something that I find far more insidious are the ads for Wonga.com, loan sharks whose adverts feature harmless little old lady puppets. Wolves in sheeps clothing anyone?

[Antiq]

XD

[Tonyblack]

Of course! It all makes sense now.

[raisindot]

Oh, the goldbuyers won't give you anywhere near the actual market price of the gold.

For the past few years, the price of gold has been skyrocketing, mainly because investors are investing in it as a defense against the crumbling stock markets, as well as increased demand for jewelry in India and China. Since production of new gold isn't keeping up with demand, a huge share of the demand for gold is coming from scrap gold, since gold can easily be recycled. Hence, all the ads from these kinds of shysters over the past few years. Given that the whole world economy seems to be crumbling, you get a lot of financially strapped people selling grandma's gold jewelry.

[Catch-up]

Yeah, it's been going on here for at least the last few years, though seems to have calmed down a bit now.

[Bouncy Castle]

The one that really gets my goat at the moment, and I doubt it affects you guys in the US, is for the return of PPI.

Payment Proctection Insurance was apparently included in repayments for loans, credit cards, etc, by all the UK banks, without the knowledge of the person taking out the loan.

The banks were caught out, and forced to put aside millions of £s to repay their customers.

Now we have never-ending PPI claim companies ringing you up, and putting commercials on the radio.