When I was interviewed for a NY Times story about gold dealers and how they rip off their clients back in September 2010, I was told by the reporter that one gold dealer in particular that he visited has a shrine at its entry way dedicated to Glenn Beck. You may trust Glenn Beck on what he says about the left on his Fox show, but when it comes to the truth about most gold dealers who advertise on his show, you might want to dig a little deeper. Congress, at the time I was interviewed by the NY Times, was investigating gold dealers too, and Anthony Weiner’s office had been in contact with me as to what I knew about the industry since they read Chapter 8 of my book, “Buy Gold And Silver Safely.” They even told me that “everyone needs to read your book” after I had sent them a copy. But then when my book was sent to the Energy and Commerce department, because someone there actually read the first few chapters of my book where I criticize the hell out of Congress, they decided against my testimony. Congress doesn’t like to be exposed for who they really are; crooks.
But those who charge 10%, 30% or more for gold than the bullion price, are they crooks, or just taking advantage of the ignorance of people who know nothing about buying gold and silver? Why has congress, especially Anthony Weiner’s office, done nothing in exposing the gold dealers who charge extreme premiums to their customers for gold bullion coins since they first started their investigation? Is it there place to do so? Why did the NY Times decide not to do the story on the gold dealers they were investigating? At least I got a free lunch out of it! But investors in gold and silver are paying for the free lunches of the gold dealer executives and the representatives who sell gold and silver for most of the companies you hear advertised on shows like, The Glenn Beck Show, or on the Hannity, Medved, Boortz, Levine, etc. right wing radio shows. These companies know that conservatives are the biggest buyers of gold. They have done their homework.
The reason I wrote my book, “Buy Gold And Silver Safely,” was to expose the financial services industries lack of knowledge about gold too. Financial advisors, to this day, still don’t understand where gold fits in a diversified portfolio. The industry still calls gold a bubble just as CNBC’s Bob Pisani, Morningstar the NY Times and Dave Ramsey have in the past few months. Yet there is no bubble. Pullbacks always come, but there is no bubble. But it is the consumer who gets the raw deal when buying gold from certain gold dealers. The consumer has never been taught anything about gold in the education system from grade school to college. And since financial advisors were never taught anything about it either, except that it sits atop the investment pyramid as being the most risky, they too never write about it, unless its from the negative point of view. And to each negative article they and other financial gurus or journalists write, I am there to refute it. Just look through my archives.
All of these TV and ratio stations have financial incentives via paid advertising from these gold dealers. They make up a good portion of their revenue. So why criticize them? The money is coming in and that’s a good thing for them. They never have someone on their show that offers a negative point of view about gold dealer tactics. Even a financial site that is not mainstream, that I write for now and then, won’t publicize my articles that are critical of mainstream media, congress and gold dealers. You can’t cut the hand off of the one who feeds you. What we end up with is bias from financial advisors whose bread is buttered by mutual fund and stock companies (CNBC via GE), and gold dealers who aren’t criticized by congress because now one of the largest gold dealers has hired a huge lobbying firm. Imagine that…congress adhering to the wishes of a lobbying firm.
Well, I say to hell with the lobbying firms and congress and those who try to persuade you not to buy gold. All I try to do is educate people so they know the truth from an economic and monetary perspective. Don’t buy the high commissioned gold coins from these unscrupulous gold dealers who use fear and outright lies to get people to buy certain coins, mostly European gold Swiss francs, British Sovereign, French gold francs or similar gold coins, that they claim are “free from reporting,” “free from confiscation” and have the “propensity to move higher because they are collectible.” Nothing could be further from the truth. If the investor is educated as to the right type of gold to buy, then these bums would be put out of business.
Take a look at the screen shot below of what people who are doing their homework are searching for when they come to my site. Why do they come to my site? Because they do their homework and see I write articles exposing these gold dealers and their tactics.
You can see some of the search terms the following; “ripoff,” “confiscation,” and my favorite; “Why do gold dealers want you to buy pre-1933 coins instead of bullion.”
You have choices. If a gold company charges you 30% in commission, you have to earn 42.8% on your investment just to break even. Gold would have to go up over $600 an ounce in today’s prices for you to break even. If they charge you 10% commission, then you have to earn 11.1% to break even where gold would have to go up over $170 from today’s price. My company charges 1%, so this means you only have to earn 1.1% on your investment, or about a $16 move in the price of gold to break even. Don’t be suckered by a story. Buy as close to spot as you can.
The only reason you haven’t heard about my company that charges only 1% above my costs, and guarantees the lowest cost in the nation, is because I don’t advertise on all those radio and TV shows. Even if I tried to, they wouldn’t accept my ads because of the companies that are already advertising on their shows.
I have many, many clients who have thanked me for saving them from paying 30% in commissions. I like it when I make people happy. They do too. It’s not Glenn Becks, the NY Times or congress job to hold your hand on every investment or purchase of items you make. You have to do your own homework and separate fact from fiction. I know many people reading this have already made the decision and bought the wrong gold coins. You were sold a story by a good sales person and lied to. They can be believable. My advice is to dump those coins and buy gold bullion coins instead like the American Eagle 1 ounce coins. You’ll more than likely take a loss, but if we ever did sink to the level of barter in this country, the premium one pays for rare or semi-rare coins would disappear in a second. All traders will want is the gold content for their goods and/or services. No matter when you sell those European or rare coins, you’ll be taking a hit. Better to do it now at a lower price than when gold moves much higher. At least then you will benefit from the rise in price, dollar for dollar. You’ll probably have to sell them back to the place you bought them. If you just bought the coins, then there might be a refund policy in place where you can return them. Call today to discuss your particular situation; 888-604-6534 – or at a minimum, read the book and see what Congress doesn’t want you to see. The book, Buy Gold and Silver Safely is available here and on Amazon.com.
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About Doug EberhardtDoug Eberhardt is a 28 year financial services veteran and precious metals broker selling gold and silver at 1% over wholesale cost. Doug has written a book to help investors understand how gold and silver fit into a diversified portfolio, how to buy gold and silver, and what metals to buy. The book; “Buy Gold and Silver Safely” is available by clicking here Contact phone number for Buy Gold and Silver Safely is 888-604-6534
Disclosure:
Commodity Futures Trading Commission Futures and Options trading has large potential rewards, but also large potential risk. You must be aware of the risks and be willing to accept them in order to invest in the futures and options markets. Don’t trade with capital you can’t afford to lose. This is neither a solicitation nor an offer to Purchase/Sell futures or options. No representation is being made that any account will or is likely to achieve gains or losses similar to those discussed in this outlook. The past track record of any trading system or methodology is not necessarily indicative of future results.
All trades, patterns, charts, systems, etc. discussed in this outlook and the product materials are for illustrative purposes only and not to be construed as specific advisory recommendations. All ideas and material presented are entirely those of the author.