While C4G's percentage was a bit of highway robbery, they mostly preyed on the ignorance of people to know what their gold was really worth.
Years ago, I had a friend who was a goldsmith and had his own shop, selling his jewelry creations (original designs, for the most part). His policy was, if you brought in gold, and wanted something in his shop, he's swap you even-steven. If you just wanted to cash in your gold, he'd weigh it, convert that to troy ounces, look in that day's paper to see what gold was selling for, determine the value, and give you 60%. And he told me that was how he made most of his profit, since most people didn't want anything but the cash.
If you're hard up, cash looks pretty good, no matter how much you might be getting ripped off, ya know?? Besides, how different is this from retail jewelry stores that sell gold for 10x it's actual value?? Even with their deep discount sales, they're still willing to sell you a $50 chain for $200, and not bat an eye!
I just wonder how many thieves out there have been stealing gold jewelry and sending it in for easy cash?? 😉
