Anyone Know ANYTHING About this?

[Perknose]

Ok, so I was talking with the brother of a long-time female friend of mine when, pretty much out of the blue, he touts buying Iraqi dinars as an investment.

I'm taken aback, and diplomatically tell him that, while I'm no expert, my initial advice would be that trading in foreign currency w/o any background would be hella risky, and I ask him how well he knows whomever tipped him to this.

He says it was his boss, and give me the website url, which is dinartrade dot com.

It exists, at least. Does anyone here KNOW anything about this? My friend's brother seems to be convinced this is a hot tip and a sure thing, but . . .

 

[Homerboy]

I can haz iPod now?

 

[highland145]

I can haz iPod now?

LOl.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

The ease with which this can be done alone should make you wonder what's going on. If it's so easy for so many people to see, wouldn't the price at which these sell already factor in improvement?

Currency investments are tough, they're macroeconomic indicators with 50 things that can impact their value. You're not only betting probably on business activity, but political decisions, the impact from other foreign currency investors, etc.

You won't even know if you were right or wrong on your investment thesis, because 50 things influence currencies. Not knowing you're wrong is one of the worst things that can happen to an investor - just because you're making money does *not* mean you're doing it correctly.

The only approach to investing I agree with is the one where we hunt for value. Buy something worth $1, but only pay 50 cents for it. This means paying $50 for a stock worth $100 or $5 for one worth $10. Tell me, if you were to buy the dinar, why is it selling for half of its actual value? If it's so cheap, what will be the catalyst that brings the price closer to the value you believe it to have?

Investing is about a hunt for value - we buy things cheap and sell when they're dear. It inherently involves going against the tide, and when websites like this make it so easy to execute a trade, you should really wonder about just how "against the tide" it really is.

 

[Fritzo]

Foreign currency bets on:

1) The US Dollar tanking (weak economy)
2) The currency holder getting stronger (good economy)

Since the US economy seems to be taking off again, I highly doubt now is the time to get into currency trading.

 

[Kadarin]

I totally think you should give dinartrade dot com all of your savings.

 

[arrfep]

Hahaha...I read about this a couple years ago. I think it's based, in theory, on the assumption that when Iraq installs and maintains a stable government, the dinars, which are like Monopoly money now, will skyrocket. AFAIK, most experts in forex will tell you it's pretty much hopeless.

 

[artikk]

Sounds like a scam. If it sounds too good to be true...

 

[guyver01]

http://www.419legal.org/blog/2009/04/24/iraqi-dinar-scam-beware/

The new Iraqi Dinar is now being claimed to be the hottest investment opportunity. So called ‘dealers’ are all over the internet selling the new Iraqi Dinar. For most of the ‘dealers’ or scammers the fact assisting them in their illegal trade is the exchange of the USD and the new Iraqi Dinar. The present exchange rate is $1.00 USD will buy anyone approximately 1475 new Iraqi Dinars.

This exchange rate was quite the opposite during the Saddam regime, when $1.00 USD would be able to buy just 0.33 Iraqi Dinar.

Comparing both the scenarios would imply that in the present situation buying the Iraqi Dinar would be a great investment opportunity. But scrutinizing the facts would reveal the true picture behind the Iraqi Dinar scam.

Fact 1: Once you have bought the Iraqi Dinar, it will almost impossible to trade the Iraqi Dinar back into any other form of currency. The fact is that the Iraqi Dinar cannot and is not freely traded on the world market.

Fact 2: It is also worth mentioning here that it is the new Iraqi Dinar which is now the official currency of Iraq. Earlier the old Iraqi Dinar was in circulation. There have been cases wherein scammers have actually sold the old Iraqi Dinar to their victims. Since even the new Iraqi Dinar cannot be traded freely on the world market, the old Iraqi Dinar will only find its buyer in the form of a collector of old currency.

Fact 3: Although Iraq is the second richest nations in terms of oil reserves, this natural resource will not help in supporting the ‘investment opportunity’ provided in the form of buying the new Iraqi Dinar. Whenever anyone is buying the currency of a country, one is investing in the entire economy of that particular country. Hence, this implies that if one buys the Iraqi Dinar, one is essentially investing in the economy of Iraq. And any economy totally dependent on its oil reserves is a unstable economy in itself.

Based on the above mentioned facts, if one still desires to invest their money in the Iraqi Dinar scam, please note that this would mean locking up that amount of money until the exchange rate of USD in comparison to the new Iraqi Dinar changes, and there is no hope this will happen in the next 4-5 years.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Foreign currency bets on:

1) The US Dollar tanking (weak economy)
2) The currency holder getting stronger (good economy)

Since the US economy seems to be taking off again, I highly doubt now is the time to get into currency trading.

And assuming it isn't already factored into the price. Again, the price you pay matters.

Paying too much can wipe out business progress (economic progress in this case) for the next 50 years. Their economy could literally turn around and become 10x better than it is now, but if the price of it already factors this in, then you won't see any gains.

 

[slayer202]

http://www.419legal.org/blog/2009/04/24/iraqi-dinar-scam-beware/

The new Iraqi Dinar is now being claimed to be the hottest investment opportunity. So called ‘dealers’ are all over the internet selling the new Iraqi Dinar. For most of the ‘dealers’ or scammers the fact assisting them in their illegal trade is the exchange of the USD and the new Iraqi Dinar. The present exchange rate is $1.00 USD will buy anyone approximately 1475 new Iraqi Dinars.

This exchange rate was quite the opposite during the Saddam regime, when $1.00 USD would be able to buy just 0.33 Iraqi Dinar.

Comparing both the scenarios would imply that in the present situation buying the Iraqi Dinar would be a great investment opportunity. But scrutinizing the facts would reveal the true picture behind the Iraqi Dinar scam.

Fact 1: Once you have bought the Iraqi Dinar, it will almost impossible to trade the Iraqi Dinar back into any other form of currency. The fact is that the Iraqi Dinar cannot and is not freely traded on the world market.

Fact 2: It is also worth mentioning here that it is the new Iraqi Dinar which is now the official currency of Iraq. Earlier the old Iraqi Dinar was in circulation. There have been cases wherein scammers have actually sold the old Iraqi Dinar to their victims. Since even the new Iraqi Dinar cannot be traded freely on the world market, the old Iraqi Dinar will only find its buyer in the form of a collector of old currency.

Fact 3: Although Iraq is the second richest nations in terms of oil reserves, this natural resource will not help in supporting the ‘investment opportunity’ provided in the form of buying the new Iraqi Dinar. Whenever anyone is buying the currency of a country, one is investing in the entire economy of that particular country. Hence, this implies that if one buys the Iraqi Dinar, one is essentially investing in the economy of Iraq. And any economy totally dependent on its oil reserves is a unstable economy in itself.

Based on the above mentioned facts, if one still desires to invest their money in the Iraqi Dinar scam, please note that this would mean locking up that amount of money until the exchange rate of USD in comparison to the new Iraqi Dinar changes, and there is no hope this will happen in the next 4-5 years.

liez, they just want all the dinarz for themselvez!

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Fact 1: Once you have bought the Iraqi Dinar, it will almost impossible to trade the Iraqi Dinar back into any other form of currency. The fact is that the Iraqi Dinar cannot and is not freely traded on the world market.

Illiquidity is not inherently a problem, so long as you're aware of it and have applied a premium. If I normally look for 50 cent-dollars as an investment, I'll be even more risk averse and look for 30 cent-dollars if liquidity is low.

Often times, investors are rewarded for illiquidity, because we buy when things are less exciting and sell when they become more exciting for others, often referred to as patience.

I agree with everything you said in general - anyone interested in this should approach with caution. Whenever you buy any investment, someone is on the other side thinking, "what a sucker! I'm glad I could sell it off," and so good investments won't be this obvious just by looking at facts on the surface that anyone can get from 5 minutes of research.

 

[blackdogdeek]

HOT!

in for 1 million

 

[darkxshade]

Tell him all of your money is tied up in a better investment... ZWD. 1 USD to a billion ZWD.

 

[Kanalua]

HAHA! I was just having dinner with some friends on Monday night and they were talking about their "investments" with another mutual friend. It was all about Iraqi Dinars...and investing in the Australian stock market.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Tell him all of your money is tied up in a better investment... ZWD. 1 USD to a billion ZWD.

Do they have bank notes above $500?

I'd love to buy a stack of bills that makes me a millionaire by Zimbabwe dollars if the shipping isn't too bad

 

[Cookie]

Do they have bank notes above $500?

I'd love to buy a stack of bills that makes me a millionaire by Zimbabwe dollars if the shipping isn't too bad

I have a couple Zimbabwe coins at home that a friend from there sent me when they were worth about 70c US per dollar. The metal is probably worth much more than the coins now.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Darn the jig is up! And I was just about to invite the OP to a Dinar party

 

[Perknose]

Ha ha, thanks, folks. I suspected as much, but this guy was so gaga about it I thought I'd turn to the collective wisdom of the International Currency Experts of ATOT!

 

[gophins72]

this sounds like the best idea since I bought a ton of confederate money.

 

[zokudu]

There was an older post on this that had a very interesting youtube video of I think it was 60 Minutes on the Dinar.

 

[MedicBob]

This has been going on for years with the Iraqi Dinar. I don't know anyone who has made more the 2 or maybe three cents on a USD.

Overseas we were warned about it so the youngsters didn't fall into the trap of easy money with no work.

 

[Sluggo]

http://heraldnews.suntimes.com/business/berko/2966460-420/dinars-million-dinar-buy-currency.html

Already deemed a scam in this thread, but I always like to read Malcolm Berko's opinion, always short and sweet.