A Question Posed to All of You Dealers...

As it turned out, I stopped wearing mine almost immediately, too. I'm not sure they're any more of a cash grab than yearbooks or graduation announcement cards, but at least I've gone back and looked at the yearbooks from time to time.

 

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You'll be surprised what older class rings sell for on ebay. They are usually at least 10k gold and will sell quickly especially if your Alma Marta has been closed. People collect everything.

 

Dug a 61' George Washington High ring once..
Got 14K money for it. Some times those signals you get? Buried by a tree root are profitable.

 

This would be true in my case, as the institution changed from a college to a university just a few years after my graduation. Still, I paid ~ $100 for it in 1968, and I checked in 1981 to find that it was ~ $1200.

 

The issue for dealers goes right back to what I said to begin with: the importance of judging people, and to shed this nonsense that the "don't judge me!" movement is a good thing. It is not. It is causing more harm than good, and is exactly the mentality that victimizers and criminals want you to subscribe to In order to take you off your guard.

A smart and prepared dealer anticipates at some point people will attempt to knowingly bring in counterfeit, altered, or stolen merchandise. Oftentimes all the textbook knowledge in the world is not enough to make these situations better once that person walks into your door. Despite what some of you have said, yes, sometimes the way a person "looks" matters. At minimum it should raise your guard. You can be sanctimonious or a social justice charlatan and say how "wrong" of me it is and say how "ignorant" I am, but I have years of personal and direct experience on my side to prove otherwise. It can also matter what they say or don't say in addition to body language. Being able to articulate why you did or said something is important. (E.g., they didn't know how they acquired it, they were rushing me to get a price for their items and said they were in a hurry, they did not agree to show me their license, they didn't want to show their face when I asked them to take their hood or hat off, etc.)

As for saying I am foolish and have not considered I can easily be sued for doing so, and/or can quickly be lambasted by the media and wall-papered all over social media, that option exists regardless of what a shopowner does or doesn't do or say. We now live in a time where people are taught to be offended and to make lots of public noise and/or abuse the civil court system and extort people by threatening to write bad online reviews or file discrimination suits. On top of that, this is followed up by non-stop lawyer advertisements bragging about their large civil judgments to attract people as clients to sue others who have "wronged" you. And a smart person knows when and how to anticipate that. Yes, in fact there are things you can do or say to lessen or mitigate those circumstances.

A smart dealer should:

1. Always have someone else they trust in the shop with them and never be alone. If a sketchy situation comes up, talk loud enough where others can hear you in case you need them to testify on your behalf. If the other person is speaking softly, repeat their answers loud enough for others to hear. (This is why cops scream "show your hands" or "drop your weapon" even if a suspect is right next to them.)

2. Be armed. Even in states or cities where gun rights are restricted (including NYC and D.C.), the nature of your work makes a huge difference and can often get you a permit whereas others might be denied. (This also applies to people who own apartments and have to collect rent; same for jewellers).

3. Have video surveillance inside and outside, which might be required anyway for insurance purposes.

4. Have policies posted and in more than one location in your store; put them on your website as well. Take photos of the policies you have up in your shop.

5. Establish a great relationship with law enforcement. Send them food trays on holidays, encourage them to visit in uniform periodically, send donations to the PAL or police charities and place those stickers on your door.

If you are too afraid of being swindled, robbed, tormented with negative social media posts or reviews, or sued, be a collector, not a dealer.

 

There you go, then. Price of gold in 1968 (early year): $35. Price of gold in 1981: $391 (August low) - $599 (January high).

And in that pricing climate, and for something as personally identifiable as a class ring, I imagine it was melted almost immediately after it was stolen.