Beware of the lowballing tricks of some bullion dealers

Discussion in 'General Precious Metals Discussion' started by Aurora et luna, Dec 1, 2011.

  1. Aurora et luna

    Aurora et luna Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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    I bought these three acid tested 1oz Perth Mint bars yesterday for spot.
    My price was much much higher than what was offered to the original owner.
    The owner bought it to a shonky dealer who purposely damaged all the bars by acid testing them to devalue their premium
    After he compromise the packaging and acid tested all three bars he then tried to lowball the owner for a fraction of what it was worth.
    What a creep!
    A lesson for anyone who sell gold and silver to any bullion dealer. Make sure you agree on what they will pay you before you allow them to do any destructive testing on your bullion.
    Also over the years I have bought a number of silver bars that has been cored. I never understood why anyone would core a silver bar as it is pretty easy to tell if they were genuine. Now I believe these bars are purposely cored by shonky dealers for the same reasons
    [​IMG]
     
  2. hiho

    hiho Active Member Silver Stacker

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    suburb where dealer is based would be helpful
     
  3. bron suchecki

    bron suchecki Active Member Silver Stacker

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    The point of the certicard is that it is obvious if the bars have been tampered with after leaving the Mint. There is no need for any testing of these.
     
  4. spannermonkey

    spannermonkey Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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    I wouldn't let him acid test them until AFTER he purchased them of me
    What does the idiot get out of ruining them like that
     
  5. Nedsnotdead

    Nedsnotdead Active Member Silver Stacker

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    Name and shame
     
  6. Aurora et luna

    Aurora et luna Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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    It's a Sydney dealer but unfortunately I wasn't given the name of his business.
    It's a warning to everyone here to make sure they agree on a price below they allow the dealer to do any destructive testing.
    I am sure if the dealer had given his lowball price prior to testing these bars, the owner would have walked out immediately and gone elsewhere to get a better deal.
     
  7. goldpelican

    goldpelican Administrator Staff Member

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    Was that done by a genuine bullion dealer, or a "gold buyer"?

    Seen more than a few of these out of the packaging, I would just ditch the packaging on those ones.
     
  8. alor

    alor Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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    try and never buy :(
     
  9. puddleduck

    puddleduck Member Silver Stacker

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    Just curious but have there been any reports of fake perth mint bars on the market that would necessitate a bullion dealer removing them from the packing (which is the assay certificate anyway) and acid testing the bars? I thought the whole point of buying pamp and PM certicards was that they were sealed and came as an assayed product meaning you could sell them as is without the need for testing. Am I wrong?
     
  10. fishball

    fishball New Member Silver Stacker

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    I've seen 'replica' bars but they're very obvious.
     
  11. Aurora et luna

    Aurora et luna Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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    Sorry I don't know whether it is a bullion dealer or a gold buyer
    At least the obverse of all the bars is unmarked which is a bonus :)
     
  12. Dirtbikepilot

    Dirtbikepilot Active Member

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    Can you get sued just for stating that the other dealer did an acid test on gold that was taken to him?
    You cannot slander someone, but I don't see anything wrong with describing a method someone uses as part of their work practice, as long as it is correct.
     
  13. RhythmDoctor

    RhythmDoctor Active Member

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    Thats disgusting practice, I really hope it was a 'gold buyer' and not a dealer. Thats really poor form.

    Speaking of cored stuff, I've seen a number of cored bars round Brisbane. Not anything to do with any Stackers, more to do with the shop selling them.

    When I asked to weigh a 10oz bar that had been cored twice, the fella there got really flippant with me. As per usual, rather than get into an argument with this bloke (who's reknowned for being an idiot with knowledgable buyers), I asked to see the owner, who quickly organised a below spot discount.

    Were not exactly rolling in dealers with premises here in Brisbane, just Ainslie Bullion and 3 coin shops. I envy the Melbournites with your plentiful options! :D
     
  14. lamp

    lamp New Member

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    Is there a device which can test gold and silver without applying acid? I think I wouldn't let anyone test my gold or silver unless they have the device to test it.
     
  15. fishball

    fishball New Member Silver Stacker

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    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-ray_fluorescence
     
  16. Anthony

    Anthony New Member

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    XRF machine.
     
  17. projack

    projack Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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    The way to go is negotiate the price first, get the money on the table and tell the buyer you will wait until he finishes the acid test but he is not entitled to any refund if the gold content is the said purity. Basically he can mess up his own coins/bars/ and jewellery ONLY.
    I had a situation like that once with a numismatic coin. The buyer wanted to take my potentially MS70 numismatic gold coin out of the capsule to take measurements on weight thickness and diameter. I told him you have to decide first if you buy the coin on the agreed price, because the only way I will give your money back after you touched my coin with bare hand if the coin is not genuine. So he paid and started all this measurements without realizing he just wiped out about $500 dollars from the coin value instantly. That was 2 years ago, but today his loss is over $1000 because of his stupidity.
     
  18. mickjohn

    mickjohn New Member

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    I core all my bars. 1/4" drill and a iron rod inserted through all (bunnings). they all sit perfectly on top of each other. Until PM make stackers i will continue with this practice.


    *For sale - 4x PM 10oz bars. Good for stacking. :p
     
  19. Ageo

    Ageo Member

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    Acid test bullion? lol that should work well with central banks buying by the tonne.
     
  20. Aurora et luna

    Aurora et luna Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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    I hope you are joking Mick John. You have just devalued each bar by $10
    When I shift cored bars I always sell it for at least $10 below what I sell regular bars.
    Buyers expect a discount if the bar is damaged and I won't offer the spot price when I buyback for the same reason.
     

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