Compeled to send warning to all subscribers regarding Gaithersburg Coin Exchange. Sent them recently large quantity of gold and silver coins to sell. Was told by owner Marc Watts that my shipment got accidently miixed in with their general inventory and they lost track of what I sent them. Only got paid for about 1/2 of what I sent them. I dont really believe his story that they missplaced them. Anyway would advise everyone not to do buisiness with them, especially via UPS.
There's been a number of negative threads posted here about GCE, most going back a number of years. And if you google "Gaithersburg Coin Exchange" you will find a quite a few negative reviews. That being said, I find it incredulous that a long time business such as GCE would have such sloppy inventory control procedures in place that would allow this happen. Personally, I would never ship a "large quantity of gold and silver coins" anywhere, especially after reading some of the nightmare threads on CT.
Sorry but I have to ask what kind of proof can you offer to your claim. Simple fact is I don't know either you or the dealership but find it hard to fathom that someone just out of the blue mailing anyone a group of coins including gold without some form of contract of the sale to include a detailed listing of items and values.
If you name names in accusations on a public forum. have good legal advice and proof as: 1. If they are a business, they probably have better and more lawyers and money for such than you do. 2. No one is really anonymous on the internet/forums. The forum has to release all info if legally and properly directed to do so. 3. Just removing the statements from the forum, doesn't completely kill them, There are archiving sites, and backup files and logs, so they can still haunt you. 4. There are several people on/off the forum that can tell you the above as a personal happening for them. 5. Almost every company casually or intentionally googles their name, or reads/search the various forums. So take that intro consideration. "Public forum" means just that. Jim
What does UPS have to do with your coins getting misplaced where they arrived? As long as the shipment arrived and signed for, UPS has nothing to do with it. And while I am here, be aware that some shippers do drop ship, meaning if your not home, your parcel could end up on the lobby floor if you live in an apartment building. It actually happened to me.
Sorry you got mixed up in that. I realize some people are in areas where buying or selling bullion is problematic. But Never, ever hand someone your gold or silver not be there in person to get your cash unless you get paid in advance. Out of sight, then it's your word against theirs. Another very important thing is; NEVER, EVER, NEVER buy gold and allow the seller to store it in HIS vault for you !!!! This scam has been going on for at least 40 years that I know of. People buy the gold coins, but don't take delivery, opting to have the coin company save them the expense of storage. These guys then sell the same gold coin to a whole bunch of different people. When they go belly up, as they always do, there is one coin for dozens of owners. Go buy them in person, take them to your bank and deposit them in your own box !! If you can't afford that, then buy something else that lets you have money left over for the storage. Paranoia is a darn good thing when dealing with your valuables. It can help keep you protected. Do not trust anyone. gary
Anybody else leery of this post? It makes me suspicious when the poster has only two posts to his credit, and both of them on the same subject in two different threads.
If you have a letter from him, "admitting" what they did and which supports your claim, what is their basis for paying only part of what you claim is owed?
It seems very odd that he would make an admission in writing, in the first place. Then, that he would refuse to compensate you fully and fail to explain why. What did he say? "Tough luck, we're only paying X"? What type of documentation do you have with respect to what you shipped and its value?
Basically thats what he said, he only paying for about half of what I sent him. Unfortunately I cant prove exactly what was sent. Its his wodk against mine but in his letter he admits there were coins he recieved that are now unaccounted for and I suppose I wont get paid for. Its odd as I have done buisness with him previously and never had an issue. This latest sale was considerablely larger than priors shipments however. Quite frankly I think he saw an opportunity and took advantage of it. Yes I was foolish, I trusted him.
This kind of sounds like he may have an employee who got into the mix ? I mean he admits that some of your coins are gone or misplaced. He cannot determine what the coins were. And is compensating you for what is known. I read someone with "sticky fingers" that maybe he cannot prove ? And maybe since someone else got the coins, he doesn't feel liable ? Or maybe he just doesn't know how much was "lost" ? Either way, looks like you got shafted. gary
If that's the case, that's terrible. Did you include a listing of the items sent? And/or did you insure the package for the amount you stated the items are worth?
There's nothing wrong with being suspicious of a new poster whose first post includes allegations of fraud or incompetence against a dealer. And Desertgem offers some sound advice, as always. However, I will say this; I've been a member of this forum for only 18 mos, and I'm sure this is at least the second or third complaint on this very forum, that I've witnessed against this particular dealer. Is it possible they're all just disgruntled buyers with an axe to grind? Sure, anything's possible. But it sure gives me cause to think.
Have to wander also with the timing as Silver and Gold both took a drastic price loss about thirty days ago. But I still have a hard time getting my head around the fact that one sends that much to a dealer without some sort of listing.
I've known Marc Watts/Gaithersburg Coins for 30+ years. He's extremely honest, reliable, and has a virtually unlimited line of credit with Heritage. I don't profess to know what happened here, but I do know the man, and he's A+. I encourage you to speak to him directly. I'd be shocked if you couldn't get this resolved amicably. Greg ------------------------- Greg Rohan President HERITAGE AUCTIONS 3500 Maple Avenue Dallas, Texas 75219-3941 Phone: 214-528-3500 / Private fax: 214-409-1596 Email to: Greg@HA.com
Greg, it sounds as if the original poster has already been in direct contact with Mr. Watts and was unable to come to a resolution.
Welcome to the forum Greg! I hope to see more posts from you in the future. Please take a moment to leave a post in the "introduction" sections about your personal collections! Jim
