YOU'VE HEARD THE OLD ADAGE "LET THE BUYER BEWARE"
Or Caveat Emptor if you are into Latin.
This concept is even built into the U.S. legal system. Outside of fraud and blatantly illegal activities, the government and other authorities have to draw the line somewhere at protecting consumers and policing every business out there.
YOU CAN GET RIPPED OFF AND THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT!
It makes for a less regulated, smoother running capitalist economy, but the bad news is — you've come to the right place. You don't have to become a coin expert to avoid getting "taken."
LET'S START WITH SOME DO NOTS:
take your coins to a pawn shop or jewelry store. They just tend to have low payouts and/or simply don't know coins enough (no offense to these shop owners, they are legitimate professions).
take your valuables to an out of town gypsy hotel buyer. They run huge ads of hype to get you in, underpay you, and skip town. You have no recourse! Also, their overhead is so high they HAVE to rip you off to make $ (just check the price of a full page newspaper ad for a week). My town has a "show" that comes four times a year, each time under a different name. Hmmm?
go to gold stores or gold parties. I check out all the competition (near & far) and I tend to pay TWICE what these places will give you! And don't think because a gold "party" or other buyer is at a bank, hospital, or your friend's house that it is going to be any different!
mail your gold or coins to the outfits that saturate your TV with late night ads. I even tested one that ranked #1 on a popular evening news show that conducted an investigation. I was offered $50 for a gold band that my wholesale buyer paid me $135 for and I therefore would have paid you $110-125 – a reasonable profit for an easy (for me) to sell commodity.
Knowing what not to do is half the battle in selling your valuables. This doesn't mean that walking into just any coin shop, no matter how large they are or how long they have been in business is automatically going to get you top dollar. Even the most honest dealers will vary greatly in their payouts because they may simply demand a higher profit percentage than others, or they may have very high overhead (rent, insurance, advertising, etc.) and can't pay you as well as others.
Contact
Office hours are by prearranged appointment only. This is not a walk-in service.
2505 Costa Drive, Galesburg, IL 61401-1226
