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Traveling “we buy gold” tables: why the hotel ballroom is not your shop
The banner is rented. The testers may be fine. The bid is built to leave town on Sunday. A shop has to see you at the grocery store.
They rent a meeting room, run ads that say they pay the most, and leave Sunday.
Some of those crews are legitimate traveling buyers. Some are a scale and a smile. You cannot tell from the vinyl.
Their math is not a shop’s math
They cannot sit on your metal for two weeks and retail it out of a case. They have to buy cheap enough to ship, melt, or wholesale when they get home. A local shop still wants a spread. They also want you to come back. Pawn vs coin shop. Highest prices signs.
How not to get flattened
Watch the test. In front of you. Get karat and weight on paper. Take the number down the street the same day if you can. Second opinion. Do not let them hold it in the back while you think. Large cash still has ID rules.
“This price is only while we are in town” is true. They are only in town. That is not the same as “this is the best price you will ever see.” Walking away still works in a hotel.