I have been e-mailing with a subscriber of From the Wilderness (FTW) who bought Swiss 20 Francs from Goldline, a firm linked to by the FTW website. Based on the figures he provided, it appears he has payed premiums of 24-33% over spot price for purchases that I would expect to pay 2-4% on.
I have tried to contact Mike Ruppert, publisher of FTW. Mike is traveling and was unavailable. FTW writer, Jamey Hecht, works at Goldline. His responses were indicative of a precious metals dealer philosophy with which I would NEVER do business.
I have had previous assurances from Mike that Goldline would not market such commissions to FTW subscribers and that FTW or its employees did not recieve non-disclosed payments from Goldline which I hope is still true.
In light of this recent report and Jamey’s response, I will review these issues with Mike again when he is available. In my opinion this situation is not acceptable and calls for transparency to protect FTW subscribers and those of us who link to the FTW site and publish in FTW. I will also recommend that FTW remove the link to Goldline.
PLEASE — if you are going to invest in precious metals, listening to the Solari Audio Seminars Precious Metals Miniseries can save you time, money and heartache. One of the interviews — Investing in Silver and Gold Coins — is with the dealer that I use – Franklin Sanders of The Moneychanger.
On Franklin’s website you will find the following Ten Commandments for Buying Gold & Silver. If you are interested in investing in precious metals, it is worth keeping a copy of them.
Ten Commandments For Buying Gold & Silver:
I. Always take delivery
II. Never buy premium if you can avoid it.
III. Buy bullion for business, numismatics for fun.
IV. Buy silver first, then gold.
V. Buy small gold first, then large.
VI. Never buy exotic coins or modern rarities or anything you don’t understand.
VII. Know your dealer.
VIII. What governments can’t find, they can’t steal.
IX. Never swap bullion coins for U.S. $20 gold pieces.
X. Never break the law.
On the web:
http://www.the-moneychanger.com/commandments.phtml