There isn't a day that goes by that I don't get a solicitation call from a precious metals company.

Goldbully

Always on my landline, which is both personal and business.

Today's call was from Gold Depot. I wonder how many different Gold Depots are out there?

Same MO......"Hey Mike, how have you been? This is Bob(you know, the guy you already know)."

Or.........."Michael, it's been a while. You're a tough man to reach."

Or how about, "Michael??? Michael??"

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Anyone else experiencing these types of calls?

What sane person who collects coins or bullion would even give these guys the time of day?

Rant over.

jmski52

I had one of these types call me one evening back in 1978, after I had begun investing silver. I had already bought a bag of silver dollars from F.J. Vollmer & Co. and somehow I was on their radar.

I bought some mini-futures contracts in gold, then more in silver from that guy. I calculated my position by hand every night for the next year & a half. I was totally blown away by the gains.

One day in 1980, my guy calls me and says, "you should think about selling." Gold was around $650 or so, and I decided that he was right, so I sold most of my position and took delivery of a couple rolls of gold sovereigns for keepsakes.

My wife & I bought an A-frame in the woods in a development outside St. Louis as a weekend getaway and financed her law school with the proceeds. All of that happened because I decided to do business with one of those guys.

It was a totally speculative investment, on margin in a rising market. Would I do it again now? Are you kidding? Only if I was young enough to recover from a bad investment. Which I was, at the time.

Would I buy gold & silver now? Yes, this rising inflation environment reminds me alot of the environment in 1978. Alot.

After the blowoff in silver at $50, when silver was back around $35, my guy called me up again. He was with a brand new company (which should have been a red flag, lol.) He talked me into another contract, in silver. I lost about $1,000 in a few days, and I got out in a hurry. That was it.

But, it was a fun ride back then.

mbogoman

""Michael, it's been a while. You're a tough man to reach.""

That's the one I often get. I just laugh, tell him "No, I'm not", and then politely tell him to stick his head where the sun don't shine, or something to that effect...

ctf_error_coins

If I'm bored and get a phone solicitation, I sometimes are nice and act interested for about 5 seconds, then place the phone toward the TV so they get some sound. I also grunt every 15 seconds or so, so they know a human is on the line. Waste their effing time.

cohodk

Always capitalize on fear.

derryb

I drag out the conversation for 30 minutes and then tell them never mind. They don't call back

Crusty

I have not gotten calls in quite some time. But when I do/did get soliciting phone calls (no matter what it’s for), I usually start off by telling them …. "Wait, Before we talk about that. I need to know what color panties you have on". I think they put me on the don’t call list? Works every time!

jmski52

I heard a good one once - just say, "I don't get to talk to anyone anymore because I don't have any friends. Will you be my friend?"

rte592

If it's not a robo call ask if they have anything for fifty cents on the dollar in stock.
Maybe a few more questions and say your not making any money here your time would be better spent on the next call...I have your number when I need it.

ricko

About eight or nine years ago, I went to the NRA show out west. While there, I visited a prominent gold dealer's booth. Mentioned that I had gold coins, signed their roster for information distribution. Well, that started phone calls to sell or buy...and they also sold the list, so I got other calls. Finally told them all, in rather strong terms, to 'fly' off.... The calls stopped... Cheers, RickO

Glen2022

I occasionally get calls from bullion dealers also. Maybe twice or so a month. from stockbrokers, however, I get 3-6 calls per week. Always the same story.

I think they all went to the same school of solicitation. Usually goes something like this:

Hey, how you doing (name). Remember when we spoke six months ago, I gave you XYZ stock at three dollars per share. Did you look at it lately. It's now $40 per share. Too bad you didn't buy it then. I got another great deal for you now. you only need to buy 50,000 shares of ABC stock at two dollars per share to capitalize on this.

I usually just hang up on them. however, If I want to give them a hard time, I ask them if they checked my phone number on the federal do not call list. Usually, they do not. I ask them for the firm name, and the supervisor's name, so I can report them to the appropriate governmental agency. That usually gets them to hang up.

TwoSides2aCoin

I heard that the person who wrote the "knock-knock" jokes won the "no bell" prize. Those telemarketers are as bad as some jokes.

ADG

These calls sound like Jack Lemon outtakes from Glengarry Glen Ross.

dcarr

I get very few solicitation calls that have anything to do with coins or bullion.
But we do get a lot for all sorts of other things.
I have a strategy for dealing with them.

When the phone rings and I pick up and there is silence at first, that tells me that a "robot" called me. Once the robot makes contact, it calls (connects to) the phone of the next available boiler room operative. That way, the "telemarketers" spend all their time talking and none of it dialing.

Anyway, I immediately press "1" to connect to an "agent", or do whatever to get a live person talking.
I don't hang up. I just set the phone down and walk away. They can talk as long as they like - nobody is listening. This also ties up their phone line for a longer unproductive span of time. Sometimes I will set the phone down in front of the television speaker, so they can talk to whatever commercial is on at the time.

In this manner I am essentially the one "calling" the boiler room operative and wasting THEIR time.