If you’ve watched conservative television channels in recent years, you’ve seen commercials warning viewers to buy gold or other precious metals as a hedge against calamities like a “pension crisis” or a “dollar collapse.”
It’s a perfectly sound investment strategy. Anyone with a decent retirement account would be wise to keep all their eggs out of one basket, as our grandparents used to say.
The problem, according to several lawsuits against at least a dozen gold sellers — some by individuals and others by state and federal regulators — is that the companies stand accused of charging supersized commissions on the precious metals. That means they’re pocketing a larger part of the buyer’s payment, while the buyer is getting less gold for his money.
The Washington Post reported that advertisements for gold coins are “a daily presence in media that caters to a right-wing audience and often echo conservative talking points about looming economic and societal collapse. The Post found no similar ads for gold retirement investments in mainstream or left-wing media sources in the databases.”
There’s nothing wrong with advertising to an audience of likely buyers. That’s the point of advertising. But lawsuits by regulators claim some buyers are being charged up to triple the coins’ actual value. If this is true, it’s a ripoff.
“Caveat emptor” — let the buyer beware — certainly applies here. At the very least, let the buyer surf the internet to compare prices per ounce. Apparently the savings can be significant.
— Jack Ryan, McComb Enterprise-Journal
