I know this isn't celebrity news, but I feel that this was a very important story. At a time when most people in our country don't have a job, getting layed off from their jobs, or just plain don't have any money-People resort to doing other things to make money such as selling their old jewelry. If your like me and my friend Crotchety Old Man you are sick of the incessant televised advertisements for a company called Cash4Gold. If you haven't heard about them, they are a company that supposedly pays out the highest amount of money for your unwanted, broken, old jewelry. They claim they can pay top dollar because they own the refinery to break down the metals therefor eliminating the middle man(pawn shops). I thought while watching these ads that they were probably scamming everyone I just didn't know how. Well now I know how my friends and you do too.
The folks at Cockeyed.com put Cash4Gold to the test, they figured if Cash4Gold had enough money to advertise all the time on TV and they had a spot in the SuperBowl , someone's getting the short end of the stick. So they rounded up a bunch of old rings, necklaces, and earrings, and took them to a regular pawn shop to be appraised. The offer: $198 for the lot. They then sent the items to Cash4Gold and waited for a check in the mail. It arrived within a few days as promised... in the amount of $60. (You don't have to accept the check; the deal isn't done until you cash it.)
That price alone is practically criminal, but that's where the truly slimy part of the operation begins. First, if you call Cash4Gold and ask for your stuff back, you abruptly get a better offer: In the case of the above experiment, the offer was a whopping $178. That's a better deal, but still not market rate, though the caller was told that Cash4Gold could "manipulate the numbers on their end" to make it appear that more product was sent than was in reality. Bizarre, but it's really the only way Cash4Gold can cover its behind to convince you the original offer wasn't a wholesale ripoff.
As bad as that is, it's far worse if you opted for the company's "Fast Cash" option. Here, that original offer ($60) is wired into your bank account within 24 hours of them receiving your jewelry. It sure is fast, but it's not much cash -- and you don't have the option of declining the offer at all. You're stuck with being ripped off. (It's also worth noting that Cash4Gold has offered Cockeyed cash 4 removing its expose from the web...)
As a side note, another website offers an in-depth expose on how the system works here, this time analyzed from the inside by a former employee. Here it's outlined how the company offers bonuses to phone operators who can convince you to accept a lower offer and how the company attempts to delay payments as long as possible. It's also worth a look if you're considering sending stuff to Cash4Gold anyway and haggling for a better deal.
I always knew this company was a scam, but reading the article from the ex-employee and the original story really opened my eyes to how horrible of a company they are. Please don't send them your jewels, and please send this to other people you know so more people don't get scammed.
Source: Yahoo Tech Blog-Christopher Null:The Working Guy
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