Fun as a coin dealer....ugh.
topstuf
Posts: 14,803 ✭✭✭✭✭
I got this email the other day from a former colleague who was in bizz when I was.
*I never put that much stuff away.....er...lemme restate that...
I had put closer to xxx -oz. of Gold and maybe xxxx-oz. of
silver away for our personal use once I retired.....Unfortunately,
in the final 5-6 years there, I got nailed on 3 + occasions
for some serious losses....
Worst was a a guy who got me for $xxx K by doing a
a trade thru another dealer to whom he had given several
really well-done counterfeit cashier’s checks. I had shipped
the guy 1/2 the order from our inventory and had ...(insert name)
ship him the remaining xx K worth to give to his customer...
Meanwhile, that dealer deposited $xxx .K into our account
just as we were closing for a week’s “Spring Break”....Long
story short, when I got back, my bank was calling to tell
me the funds were unavailable....I had to pay -insert name--, though,
and never got paid squat from the other dealer who had
no money to work with anyway.. He eventually had to just
sell off his remaining jewelry and such and closed his shop....
The Feds actually got involved and traced the guy to xxxxxx
where, apparently, he’d lived a grand life for a year or so
before someone blew his head off and robbed him of all
the stuff he stole from us and others.....
That incident was followed within a few months later
as I scrambled to raise money with my shipment to xxxxxxxxxxxx of a
box of PCGS-63 $20. Libs, worth nearly $2K each at the
time.....Within weeks, xxxxxxxxxxxxx had filed bankruptcy and
I lost another $xx K in that debacle....Lastly, I had a box
of scrap worth $xx K shipped to xxxxxxxxx...somehow,
I jumbled the ....xxxxxx.... Zip Code on the label and, instead,
it went to xxxxxxxxxx where it was delivered to some
similar address and signed for by some Asian ....xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx....
who promptly disappeared with my scrap....
It was like $xxx K or more in losses all within just a few
short years.....Consequently, I had to liquidate a lot of
“put away stuff” just to continue to operate...left a
bitter taste in my mouth for the business itself that
last year or so....YOU know what I mean....I should
have left there with xxx + oz. of Eagles and like xxxx -oz.
of sludge and some decent coins, but LIFE intervened
and slapped me in the face... *
Day-um. 
Comments
Hope the poor fellow didn't also invest in Fed Ex.
I think he managed to miss that one.
I love Paypal protection.
These type of situations are sad, but it always could have been worse. Imagine a terminal cancer diagnosis or news of one of your kids dying in a car wreck, etc. His experience sucked, but I'm sure he has other aspects of life for which he is thankful. "In every life, a little rain must fall"
Paypal doesn't do COC.
Not CAC....COC....Check on Confirmation. A killer sometimes.
Wow...nasty series of events..... Hope you are doing OK now.... Cheers, RickO
It wasn't me. It was a close colleague. I even loaned him some money to keep going.
My closest shave was 20K from a "high buyer" on teletype.
I got... MY ...check cleared a scant 15 minutes before the bank closed his account.
Be wary of bullion buyers in wild markets. They'll "spec" the market using ...your... money.
What are these things called "checks" that coin dealers refer to?
I use safeguards like Paypal and Postal Money Orders but also have certain practices to help prevent fraud.
First off, I never do bullion nor gold or silver coins except for a few silver error coins. Scammers are attracted to gold bullion.
Second I have high-end photographs of every coin in my inventory. In my case, almost all of my coins have a unique look documented in the photos.
Third, I trade in a thin market where it is very hard to get top dollar for stolen merchandise unless you try to sell to someone I know.
teletype ? Were those telex machines with the paper tapes? I haven't used one of those in 40+ years.
Wild markets? Yea, talk to some commodity brokers about wild markets? "I've always been good for it. You've got to give me another day. I promise that the margin will be met tomorrow".
Sometimes chasing the last dollar will cost you............your last dollar.
A: The year they spend more on their library than their coin collection.
A numismatist is judged more on the content of their library than the content of their cabinet.
Good one..
If they can get a check then they can get cash. OR when the cash is in hand and the check has cleared, you get your gold.
"A dog breaks your heart only one time and that is when they pass on". Unknown
NO COINS NO CASH PERIOD.