Cash For Gold Shops

spankmemunkey

mufcboy1999 wrote: »

they cant close them down anyway, its perfectly legit. Its up to the garda to catch the thief's not the shop owners/employees imo.

funny story involving these gold for cash shops. Around a year ago I moved into a falt and my tv broke while moving my stuff, I wasnt working at the time and i was baiscally flat broke and genuinally couldnt afford a tv.

Found an old gold chain and necklace that was given to me by uncle about 2 years previous, so me being very desperate decided to chance my arm and ended up getting something like 700 euros (had no idea it was proper gold ) needless to say i got a big ass telly that day !! a 42" bad boy with the works that i still have today .

Love the way you say you were FLAT broke with no job and you got lucky and sold gold you didnt know was worth 700 and blew it all on a TV with the works? Why dont Irish people know how to save money?:D

spankmemunkey

itsmichelle wrote: »

I work in a gold buying shop for the past two and a half years and from day one we have had a procedure in place to reduce the sale of stolen items. We had this procedure in place way before it became a legal requirement.

This is how it works:

1/. We inspect the items and weigh them and offer the client a price
2/. if you want to sell-you will be asked for ID (a passport, a PPs number, a drivers license, or a bill with a name and address may be accepted-sometimes we will ask for two forms of ID)
3/. We write down all your details-name, address, phone number, the weight of the gold and the price you were given, the time of purchase, the date and your signature. We keep one receipt and give the customer the other
4/. Then your cash will be counted out to you
5/. If we suspect that the items are stolen-we do not buy them (I have turned plenty of young lads away who were 18/19 selling a ring or earrings etc.

Unless you have actually walked into one our stores and sold an item-then you have no right to pass judgement or accuse us of anything.

people have been stealing since the beginning of time, they have always had a place to sell their stolen goods-always and they always will even if we close down our stores.

Blame the thieves, the people who break into your home and steal your stuff. How is that our fault? Its just passing the blame. Our company is providing over 150 people with jobs. Its a legit service that is there for people who want to get rid of old, broken, damaged gold that they no longer wear and they get a very good price for it. It also helps people who are struggling to pay their bills. I have had people cry their eyes out to me coz they cannot pay their freaking mortgage and they are thankful that they have somewhere to sell their items without being judged.

A lot of people are surprised when they walk in here. They are expecting some seedy dirty pawn shop with some fat old slob barking at them behind the desk. They are pleasantly surprised to see a bright, airy, clean office, with friendly, professional, highly trained staff and most people are shocked with the price they get and they leave here delighted normally with a smile on their face.

Believe it or not most of my customers are middle aged women-not drug addicts or teenage boys or young thieves. Plenty of people sell stuff they got from an ex. 95% of our customers are very nice people who seem genuine. Id be very surprised if the items were stolen.

We also have cameras and we can look back through them to identify anyone who seems suspicious. Like I said already we have the date and time of purchase recorded so we can look back at that person in seconds if the police come and ask for help.

Yes there are some shady, dodgy gold buying companies-i will not deny that but do not tar us all with the same brush. Our company is top class and I am proud to work here

Hi, Genuine question im not being smart or taking the mick, but how do you get paid is it by the hour or is it by the purchases you have? like how much gold you take in? I heard that the pay was based on what you took in, so this could say its in your interest to take more in?

I dont think the OP was saying that CASH FOR GOLD shops needed to be closed because it was the cause of all crime, The OP was saying the shops should have greater regulations.

Just another note, of all the checks you do you dont mention the gold being photographed, so all the ID and PPS number checks you take and names and addresses could be seen as pretty useless as the gold will be melted down and not seen again, If i was a criminal i wouldnt care about giving my name and address as the gold cannot be identified as it will be melted by then, if you say i think it looked like this and this was this way and that was that way its not really a definitive match.

Also you have people in all walks of life that turn a blind eye and are criminals Doctors Police Politicians etc etc,

itsmichelle

spankmemunkey wrote: »

Hi, Genuine question im not being smart or taking the mick, but how do you get paid is it by the hour or is it by the purchases you have? like how much gold you take in? I heard that the pay was based on what you took in, so this could say its in your interest to take more in?

I dont think the OP was saying that CASH FOR GOLD shops needed to be closed because it was the cause of all crime, The OP was saying the shops should have greater regulations.

Just another note, of all the checks you do you dont mention the gold being photographed, so all the ID and PPS number checks you take and names and addresses could be seen as pretty useless as the gold will be melted down and not seen again, If i was a criminal i wouldnt care about giving my name and address as the gold cannot be identified as it will be melted by then, if you say i think it looked like this and this was this way and that was that way its not really a definitive match.

Also you have people in all walks of life that turn a blind eye and are criminals Doctors Police Politicians etc etc,

I get paid hourly. There is no bonuses or no commission.

We are running a business here and we do not have the time to photo every item that comes in the door and keep it on file. Sorry but that is NEVER going to happen. It is not our job to catch thieves-if you want to slate anyone-get onto the police. My house was robbed and the lazy feckers did absolutely nothing. They looked around and left and that was that.

If you want to read the oireachtas report you can find it online. It states very clearly that gold buying shops are NOT responsible for any robbery that takes place in any area.

We follow a procedure to reduce the sale of stolen goods. That is all we can do. And do you honestly think we want to help the police do their job when all they do is drag our name through the dirt for doing nothing wrong?

I could rob curtains off someones clothes line today and sell them on ebay. Is that ebays fault if I do that? Should we close ebay down? lol

spankmemunkey

itsmichelle wrote: »

I get paid hourly. There is no bonuses or no commission.

We are running a business here and we do not have the time to photo every item that comes in the door and keep it on file. Sorry but that is NEVER going to happen. It is not our job to catch thieves-if you want to slate anyone-get onto the police. My house was robbed and the lazy feckers did absolutely nothing. They looked around and left and that was that.

If you want to read the oireachtas report you can find it online. It states very clearly that gold buying shops are NOT responsible for any robbery that takes place in any area.

We follow a procedure to reduce the sale of stolen goods. That is all we can do. And do you honestly think we want to help the police do their job when all they do is drag our name through the dirt for doing nothing wrong?

I could rob curtains off someones clothes line today and sell them on ebay. Is that ebays fault if I do that? Should we close ebay down? lol

I think you thought i was having a go at you i wasnt. It was a genuine question.

To be honest it takes about 2 seconds to take a picture every mobile has one, it doesnt take long at all, and theres a big difference in the price of curtains than the price of a gold chain in someones house. If i was a thief i wouldnt be worried about giving my name and address when i hand an item in that isnt too distinctive cos if there isnt being a picture taken then why do you take names and addresses and the like, if the item is melted its gone and theres no chances of seeing was your jewellery stolen, It doesnt take long to take a picture and save it on a hard drive.

You could take a picture with a mobile phone and attach the sellers details and send them to a main work computer its free if you have viber etc, Lets face it these Gold shops do create an easier environment to sell stolen gold.

If Gold is melted down without pictures theres no getting it back no matter what description you give, I wonder are the shops trying to cover their asses so nobody comes back and says that was mine there you have the photo i can prove it is mine i have a photo, is there any chances of the shop being prosecuted for handling stolen goods? and you kinda summed things up there by saying were running a business here, If you were to take photos of the Gold and photos of the people selling it then youd see a serious decline in the gold being brought in, youd probably feel a bit more angry about it if you had had your house pulled apart and destroyed and a few rings taken that werent much worth in gold but worth much much more in sentimental value from family that are no longer with us.

itsmichelle

Our store was robbed before (armed robbery) and while dealing with the police we were discussing ways to reduce stolen goods being sold. The police said themselves that it would be unreasonable to ask us to photo everything and they understand that it is a business and they do not want to create hassle for us but they would appreciate it if we let them know if anyone dodgy came in here. We write down the weight of the gold and the karat of it on the receipt. And I have turned people away who I suspected may have stolen items. I have refused to buy certain items plenty of times and I have reported numerous people to the police.

It is a business and we do everything above board and follow the legal requirements. But it is not our job to catch thieves. If the gold is melted down, its melted down. There is no getting it back. If you dont want your sentimental items robbed then get a better security system in your house. Even if all our premises closed tomorrow-it wouldn't stop these thieves.

I suspect that these people who are stealing gold are probably selling it online coz it is a huge risk for them to walk into one of our stores and if the gold is robbed in cork-its probably sold in dublin or even england unless the thief is really thick in the head.

spankmemunkey

itsmichelle wrote: »

Our store was robbed before (armed robbery) and while dealing with the police we were discussing ways to reduce stolen goods being sold. The police said themselves that it would be unreasonable to ask us to photo everything and they understand that it is a business and they do not want to create hassle for us but they would appreciate it if we let them know if anyone dodgy came in here. We write down the weight of the gold and the karat of it on the receipt. And I have turned people away who I suspected may have stolen items. I have refused to buy certain items plenty of times and I have reported numerous people to the police.

It is a business and we do everything above board and follow the legal requirements. But it is not our job to catch thieves. If the gold is melted down, its melted down. There is no getting it back. If you dont want your sentimental items robbed then get a better security system in your house. Even if all our premises closed tomorrow-it wouldn't stop these thieves.

I suspect that these people who are stealing gold are probably selling it online coz it is a huge risk for them to walk into one of our stores and if the gold is robbed in cork-its probably sold in dublin or even england unless the thief is really thick in the head.

Theres a few things here, Junkies are thick, right, they arent going to go to cork or Dublin to sell gold they stole, they are going to the nearest gold shop as long as it not too distinctive, and chances are people who own it probably dont know what Carrat or weight it is in the first place so thats pretty useless.

You said that its too much hassle to take a picture using a mobile phone? So next time you feel like taking an amusing picture with your mobile you will look and say oh that looks cool ill take a picture rumble through your handbag and go oh no wait its too much hassle to take a picture of that? no you wouldnt youd reach in your bag press one button and press another to take a picture

So basicly pressing a couple of buttons is too much hassle? its too much hassle to ring the police if you ask me and fill out a report over the phone with descriptions etc it must take what at least 5-10 minutes on the phone to the cops when you ring them in like you said by the time you describe the incident who you are your name and number etc etc your talking 10 minutes, taking a picture with a mobile would take less than 1 minute, hold up your item say cheese snap done. Punter who isnt a criminal stand there hold the gold up we take a pic goes to a hard drive, That is the only way you would deter criminals robbing houses, it wont stop them robbing houses but if they cant shift jewellery they wont go for it simple as that.

I guarantee you if you were to take pictures of people with their goods criminals would refuse to come into a shop with gold cos they are caught red handed

Answer me this, if you buy Gold thats stolen can you be prosecuted for handling stolen goods?

lassykk

spankmemunkey wrote: »

Answer me this, if you buy Gold thats stolen can you be prosecuted for handling stolen goods?

Whilst I don't agree with everything either party is saying in this thread. The above question is very interesting

Media999

itsmichelle wrote: »

Our store was robbed before (armed robbery) and while dealing with the police we were discussing ways to reduce stolen goods being sold. The police said themselves that it would be unreasonable to ask us to photo everything and they understand that it is a business and they do not want to create hassle for us but they would appreciate it if we let them know if anyone dodgy came in here. We write down the weight of the gold and the karat of it on the receipt. And I have turned people away who I suspected may have stolen items. I have refused to buy certain items plenty of times and I have reported numerous people to the police.

It is a business and we do everything above board and follow the legal requirements. But it is not our job to catch thieves. If the gold is melted down, its melted down. There is no getting it back. If you dont want your sentimental items robbed then get a better security system in your house. Even if all our premises closed tomorrow-it wouldn't stop these thieves.

I suspect that these people who are stealing gold are probably selling it online coz it is a huge risk for them to walk into one of our stores and if the gold is robbed in cork-its probably sold in dublin or even england unless the thief is really thick in the head.

Stop talking ****.

You know as well as everyone reading this that cash for gold is driven by crime. Selling online me arse. Bit of a coincidence the same people coming in with gold over and over no?

I work opposite a cash for gold shop and i see it all the time. Same people going in over and over selling gold for their boyfriends.

itsmichelle

Ive already explained that the majority of my customers are middle aged-selling stuff after the divorce or people who just lost their jobs etc.

Some companies are dodgy and may not follow procedures but we do.

I only work here and unless I am told to take pictures of the gold-then I am not going to do it. Its not a legal requirement.

We would not be prosecuted if we gave the items back obviously which we do if we know that they are stolen and that is why we have insurance.

We don't have the same people coming in all the time. We generate new customers each week.

Anyway I am leaving soon. Looking for a new job right now-getting out of this business as the gold market is crashing but I think some people are way too judgmental. I bet most of you have never been inside one of our stores so you dont know what your talking about

spankmemunkey

itsmichelle wrote: »

Ive already explained that the majority of my customers are middle aged-selling stuff after the divorce or people who just lost their jobs etc.

Some companies are dodgy and may not follow procedures but we do.

I only work here and unless I am told to take pictures of the gold-then I am not going to do it. Its not a legal requirement.

We would not be prosecuted if we gave the items back obviously which we do if we know that they are stolen and that is why we have insurance.

We don't have the same people coming in all the time. We generate new customers each week.

Anyway I am leaving soon. Looking for a new job right now-getting out of this business as the gold market is crashing but I think some people are way too judgmental. I bet most of you have never been inside one of our stores so you dont know what your talking about

I have been in one of your stores to ask a few questions etc, Taking pictures while not a requirement would stop all thieves.

longhalloween

spankmemunkey wrote: »

I have been in one of your stores to ask a few questions etc, Taking pictures while not a requirement would stop all thieves.

Not a hope of that stopping thieves.

Unless there was some national database set up of all the gold pieces bought and sold in Ireland there would be no way to reduce crime by individual shops taking pictures.
Not like the Gardai have any resources or interest in doing that.

If you're blaming cash for gold for promoting crime, then you may as well blame done deal, adverts.ie and the rest for faceless selling of items.

spankmemunkey

longhalloween wrote: »

Not a hope of that stopping thieves.

Unless there was some national database set up of all the gold pieces bought and sold in Ireland there would be no way to reduce crime by individual shops taking pictures.
Not like the Gardai have any resources or interest in doing that.

If you're blaming cash for gold for promoting crime, then you may as well blame done deal, adverts.ie and the rest for faceless selling of items.

Im not blaming them for anything, i just think from what im reading it certainly makes it easier for them to sell their stolen gold, I can tell you this, if you had a thief who used cash for gold shops and said to him now we have to take your picture your details and you holding the item up that you are selling they wouldnt use that Gold shop. They might be stupid they arent that stupid, what branch do you work in then?

Finnbar01

spankmemunkey wrote: »

Im not blaming them for anything, i just think from what im reading it certainly makes it easier for them to sell their stolen gold, I can tell you this, if you had a thief who used cash for gold shops and said to him now we have to take your picture your details and you holding the item up that you are selling they wouldnt use that Gold shop. They might be stupid they arent that stupid, what branch do you work in then?

Yep, he'd use ebay instead.

That's not going to stop burglaries now is it?

Media999

Finnbar01 wrote: »

Yep, he'd use ebay instead.

That's not going to stop burglaries now is it?

There not worth **** on ebay. Also people wont want any trace back to them so thats not going to happen.

Anything thats not tied down and made of precious metal is being lifted in this country and sold for scrap and melted down.

No burglaries wont stop. There will always be an easy outlet to sell stolen goods. Cash for gold or Cash for mostly stolen gold as they should be called is only one.

Any burglars reading this you know what excuse to make now. Just say your recently divorced and theyll give you cash no bother. Sure theres no way in the world a scumbag would lie.

stefan idiot jones

Media999 wrote: »

Any burglars reading this you know what excuse to make now. Just say your recently divorced and theyll give you cash no bother. Sure theres no way in the world a scumbag would lie.

You are right, there have been some very careless posts recently.
I now know where to offload gold taken from houses that I now know how to bypass their security.
And there was me thinking that a gsm blocker was a kind of insecticide sprayed on steroid enhanced crops.

AMCCORK

If you are genuinely clearing out stuff then do your research and have a good idea of value and price you shoul get. I had some chains bracelets etc from the eighties that I would never wear so decided to sell. I weighed and researched prices etc. the first offer these guys made was half of what I sold it to them for in the end. Makes me think a they do this as the know the criminal element will take anything and also the genuine but desperate may take the first offer.

longhalloween

spankmemunkey wrote: »

Im not blaming them for anything, i just think from what im reading it certainly makes it easier for them to sell their stolen gold, I can tell you this, if you had a thief who used cash for gold shops and said to him now we have to take your picture your details and you holding the item up that you are selling they wouldnt use that Gold shop. They might be stupid they arent that stupid, what branch do you work in then?

Sure what good would a picture of the item do? Chances are it'll be melted down the next day anyways.
You say Cash for Gold makes it easier to sell stolen gold, but jewellers have always bought gold and they don't have any checks either.

Also it's never going to be difficult to sell jewellery for less that cost of the gold in it.

I don't work in a cash for gold shop.

spankmemunkey

stefan idiot jones wrote: »

You are right, there have been some very careless posts recently.
I now know where to offload gold taken from houses that I now know how to bypass their security.
And there was me thinking that a gsm blocker was a kind of insecticide sprayed on steroid enhanced crops.

People who break into houses know what GSM blockers are and as the link shows there was a 2 page spread on them in the IRISH INDEPENDANT about 2 or 3 weeks ago! and scumbags who break into houses wouldnt want their picture taken alongside a stolen item, its not the recovery of the gold its the catching the person red handed.

http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/ireland-its-a-great-country-for-a-criminal-29260026.html

stefan idiot jones

spankmemunkey wrote: »

People who break into houses know what GSM blockers are

Can you back this statement/assumption up ?

spankmemunkey

stefan idiot jones wrote: »

Can you back this statement/assumption up ?

Can you prove im wrong?

If people break into houses on a regular basis with alarm systems on the house without being detected chances are they know what they are doing, and like you said theres alot being said on here that might be going a bit too much into it, having worked in the security industry for a long time i know about this. and why dont you just friend me and get it over and dont with.

stefan idiot jones

spankmemunkey wrote: »

Can you prove im wrong?

If people break into houses on a regular basis with alarm systems on the house without being detected chances are they know what they are doing, and like you said theres alot being said on here that might be going a bit too much into it, having worked in the security industry for a long time i know about this. and why dont you just friend me and get it over and dont with.

You just saved me the bother.

spankmemunkey

stefan idiot jones wrote: »

You just saved me the bother.

Yeah coz i know about this cos ive worked in the industry for a long time

Sully

stefan idiot jones wrote: »

Can you back this statement/assumption up ?

To be fair, he gave a link to a large Irish Newspaper which said they were using GSM Blockers..

Plus there have been a number of thefts recently that were considered professional - they got in and out without being detected. One Supermarket was broken into - they managed to avoid setting of the alarm and robbed a lot of material because they avoided the sensors.

The professionals are smart.

The amateurs are mostly thick.

stefan idiot jones

Sully wrote: »

To be fair, he gave a link to a large Irish Newspaper which said they were using GSM Blockers..

Plus there have been a number of thefts recently that were considered professional - they got in and out without being detected. One Supermarket was broken into - they managed to avoid setting of the alarm and robbed a lot of material because they avoided the sensors.

The professionals are smart.

The amateurs are mostly thick.

So these professional foreign gangs to which the story was about are the 'people' who sell their stolen loot in the cash for gold shops ?

Sully

stefan idiot jones wrote: »

So these professional foreign gangs to which the story was about are the 'people' who sell their stolen loot in the cash for gold shops ?

I think he was making a more general point about the professional hits. Professionals aim much higher and have different ways of selling their stolen goods. I think the amateurs go to the Cash for Gold Shops and those other shops where they buy goods from you other than gold.

robtri

I remember not too long ago, we had virtually no cash for gold shops.... And guess what we still had thieves robbing houses etc...

Cash for gold shops are not the problem, even shutting them down wont stop the problem...

As previously mentioned selling stolen items is easy on many other online platforms..

Tackle the real problem.. The scum who rob and our under resourced Garda...

spankmemunkey

robtri wrote: »

I remember not too long ago, we had virtually no cash for gold shops.... And guess what we still had thieves robbing houses etc...

Cash for gold shops are not the problem, even shutting them down wont stop the problem...

As previously mentioned selling stolen items is easy on many other online platforms..

Tackle the real problem.. The scum who rob and our under resourced Garda...

Nobody called for cash for gold shops to be closed down, the OP i think as far as i can remember was calling for more regulation on the Gold shops right.

I remember also not so long ago there was very little unemployment here, Waterford didnt have a very big drug problem(it has gotten worse) and oh yeah people were falling round the place with money and buying nice things but now we have a recession theres no money people are broke theres more crime and fewer Gardai, this country is seen as a soft touch by foriegn gangs and lenient sentences, all of this combines for an increase in crime and people have to offload their takings somehow if they have gold they go to Cash for Gold shops simple as, they shops will still be there and there must be an increase in these shops as people want to off load their Gold legally or ilegally.

If you had someone selling gold legally and asked them sorry for security reasons can i take a picture of you with this phone holding the item you want to sell, this way there is traceability, Im sure the legit seller would say yeah no bother thats grand, or even point out to the person that theres CCTV in the shop and it takes a pic like the one they have in the credit union, Im sure the conman onr woman wouldnt be too happy to go to that cash for gold shop.

Media999

robtri wrote: »

I remember not too long ago, we had virtually no cash for gold shops.... And guess what we still had thieves robbing houses etc...

Cash for gold shops are not the problem, even shutting them down wont stop the problem...

As previously mentioned selling stolen items is easy on many other online platforms..

Tackle the real problem.. The scum who rob and our under resourced Garda...

Just a copy of government id when taking gold and a rule to say it must be kept for a month or so before being melted down in case its reported stolen a few days later.

Shouldnt be too much bother if people are only selling a few chains probably once every few years.

Might stop the scumbags girlfriends who go in once a month selling wedding rings and not a word said to them.

robtri

spankmemunkey wrote: »

Nobody called for cash for gold shops to be closed down, the OP i think as far as i can remember was calling for more regulation on the Gold shops right.

I remember also not so long ago there was very little unemployment here, Waterford didnt have a very big drug problem(it has gotten worse) and oh yeah people were falling round the place with money and buying nice things but now we have a recession theres no money people are broke theres more crime and fewer Gardai, this country is seen as a soft touch by foriegn gangs and lenient sentences, all of this combines for an increase in crime and people have to offload their takings somehow if they have gold they go to Cash for Gold shops simple as, they shops will still be there and there must be an increase in these shops as people want to off load their Gold legally or ilegally.

If you had someone selling gold legally and asked them sorry for security reasons can i take a picture of you with this phone holding the item you want to sell, this way there is traceability, Im sure the legit seller would say yeah no bother thats grand, or even point out to the person that theres CCTV in the shop and it takes a pic like the one they have in the credit union, Im sure the conman onr woman wouldnt be too happy to go to that cash for gold shop.

Lol, taking a picture wont stop them

They dont give a fcuk.... As u said junkies are thick, they wouldnt care..

And as said eben if these shops were closed down it wont stop any crime

The problem is not the shops

You are deluded to think any measures put into these shops would stop any burglaries etc.....

spankmemunkey

robtri wrote: »

Lol, taking a picture wont stop them

They dont give a fcuk.... As u said junkies are thick, they wouldnt care..

And as said eben if these shops were closed down it wont stop any crime

The problem is not the shops

You are deluded to think any measures put into these shops would stop any burglaries etc.....

Go back and read some of my posts, I never said that i wanted them closed i was only saying that the OP was saying the thing needs to be more regualted and i was suggesting how it might be regulated bettter.

So before you go calling people deluded on certain topics read ALL OF THEIR PREVIOUS POSTS ON THAT TOPIC.

The arguement you are putting forward is merely YOUR OPINION! its not based on fact, My argument are a suggestion not a remedy to crime nor to close shops and Junkies arent the only ones selling gold, in fact they probably wouldnt make it as far as a cash for gold shop theyd probably try and sell it on the street before they get that far.
Not all people who steel gold are junkies a percentage of them are scumbags who are just a couple of sessions away from being junkies!