kranky
Elite Member
Was at a party last weekend with some friends, and friends-of-friends. Ended up talking to a guy, mid-30's, who was strangely eager to tell me all about his new job.
- Has been trying unsuccessfully for a few months to get a job in his field.
- His neighbor tipped him off that one of the local gold-buying behemoths was opening a new location nearby.
- Figures he'll try to get a job there while still looking for a "real" job. Gets the job, and has no background in the field whatsoever. But they teach him enough to be able to do the job without getting fooled by fake jewelry.
- It's been a couple months and he's amazed at how much stuff comes in the door. They are near to a Kmart, Aldi's and dollar store and he sees people bringing in jewelry and coins to sell, then using the money at those stores.
- He notices how thorough the company systems are, making sure nothing they buy can disappear without it totally pointing back to him and how all the cash in and cash out is tracked completely.
Then he tells me of his discovery of the loophole he is exploiting. The company pays 30% less than the actual precious metal value when they buy. If the melt value of something gold comes to $500, they will pay $350. He believes most customers don't have a clue what stuff is worth. So if the customer looks to be one of those, he offers 40% less than melt value. If the customer takes the offer, he pays them out of his own pocket, writes them a receipt he got from some office supply store and keeps the stuff. The customer has no idea he's side-dealing. Then he sells it to a different gold buying store for a profit. If the customer holds out for more, he bumps his offer up to what it should have been and does the deal for the store.
He said he's been doing that for a couple of weeks and has made $300, and he's already projecting he could do maybe $8K a year that way.
I asked if he was worried about the shop owners sending someone undercover to check him out, since he's pretty new. And I asked if he was concerned that there are cameras monitoring all the activity. But he said he would know, and they don't do those things.
I told him I know a couple coin shop owners and in a business like that, he is most certainly being monitored as there is so much cash flying around. He just doesn't know how it's being done.
But he got the last word - he said that even if they catch him, all they can do is fire him. He's sure he's not breaking any law and is not stealing (under the legal definition).
Thing is that when he gets caught they may not even press charges to keep their name out of the paper. He might get away with it after all.
- Has been trying unsuccessfully for a few months to get a job in his field.
- His neighbor tipped him off that one of the local gold-buying behemoths was opening a new location nearby.
- Figures he'll try to get a job there while still looking for a "real" job. Gets the job, and has no background in the field whatsoever. But they teach him enough to be able to do the job without getting fooled by fake jewelry.
- It's been a couple months and he's amazed at how much stuff comes in the door. They are near to a Kmart, Aldi's and dollar store and he sees people bringing in jewelry and coins to sell, then using the money at those stores.
- He notices how thorough the company systems are, making sure nothing they buy can disappear without it totally pointing back to him and how all the cash in and cash out is tracked completely.
Then he tells me of his discovery of the loophole he is exploiting. The company pays 30% less than the actual precious metal value when they buy. If the melt value of something gold comes to $500, they will pay $350. He believes most customers don't have a clue what stuff is worth. So if the customer looks to be one of those, he offers 40% less than melt value. If the customer takes the offer, he pays them out of his own pocket, writes them a receipt he got from some office supply store and keeps the stuff. The customer has no idea he's side-dealing. Then he sells it to a different gold buying store for a profit. If the customer holds out for more, he bumps his offer up to what it should have been and does the deal for the store.
He said he's been doing that for a couple of weeks and has made $300, and he's already projecting he could do maybe $8K a year that way.
I asked if he was worried about the shop owners sending someone undercover to check him out, since he's pretty new. And I asked if he was concerned that there are cameras monitoring all the activity. But he said he would know, and they don't do those things.
I told him I know a couple coin shop owners and in a business like that, he is most certainly being monitored as there is so much cash flying around. He just doesn't know how it's being done.
But he got the last word - he said that even if they catch him, all they can do is fire him. He's sure he's not breaking any law and is not stealing (under the legal definition).
Thing is that when he gets caught they may not even press charges to keep their name out of the paper. He might get away with it after all.
