Friday, December 3, 2010

Better Business Bureau Recognizes GoldFellow

GoldFellow® - a national buyer and refiner of precious metals based in Weston, FL – credits its focus on transparent pricing and top-notch customer service with solidifying its reputation as the “trusted” gold buyer. GoldFellow® purchases gold, silver, platinum and diamonds from consumers throughout the United States through its website business (www.goldfellow.com), at gold parties run by company-trained gold buyers, and at company-owned stores in Florida and California.

The gold buying industry, fanned by skyrocketing gold prices and consumer complaints against some companies, has come under the media microscope. But, by conducting its business with a high level of honesty and integrity, GoldFellow® has distinguished itself from the pack.

“Our transparent business practices and superior customer service wins us a loyal following,” says Michael H. Gusky, founder of GoldFellow®. “We pay higher than most of our competitors and post our prices every day on our website. We lead the industry by providing every customer with free, insured FedEx® shipping and written valuations.” And, adds Gusky, “Our new Gold Gallery interactive website feature lets consumers browse hundreds of photos of jewelry we’ve purchased and see the prices we paid. It helps consumers have a better idea of the value of their own items before they send their gold to us.”

Gusky, a 30+ year gold industry veteran who sold his gold jewelry manufacturing company to Warren Buffett’s Berkshire-Hathaway in 2007 is often tapped by national and local media including CNN, CBS, Fox, the Sun Sentinel and South Florida Business Journal to speak about gold and gold value.

“At GoldFellow® we believe strongly in educating consumers about the value of their gold. The more information the consumer has, the less likely they will be misled by dishonest dealers,” says Gusky. “We provide a range of information on our website and have a top notch customer service team to quickly respond to customer emails and phone calls.”

Gusky credits his team, including wife Robin who is active in the company, with earning the company accolades from customers.

“Several of our employees have worked for Robin and me since we started our former company in 1977,” says Gusky. “Our company culture of honesty and professionalism resonates well with consumers who need to establish a level of trust before putting their valuables into a FedEx® envelope and shipping them to us. Our fantastic team engenders that level of trust through their attention to detail, professionalism and integrity. It just comes across.”

To be sure, there are countless companies vying to purchase gold. Finding the honest apple in the bunch is not always easy. Through transparent pricing and business practices, an easy to navigate, educational website and fostering a company culture built on providing a superior customer experience; GoldFellow® is winning the hearts – and Gold – of consumers around the country.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

FTC Proposes Regulation and Penalties for Dishonest Gold Buyers

I wholeheartedly support FTC involvement and proposed penalties. Bravo, Rep Anthony Weiner and Jim Kohm for your testimony. At GoldFellow, we have demonstrated best practices in our dealings with consumers selling their unwanted gold jewelry. Yet it seems the public continues to get ripped off by false statements, broken promises and outright stealing from many Internet gold buyers. As is the case in most businesses with a low barrier to entry, and a quick buck to be made, con artists always manage to surface.


The Internet allows anyone to post anything with no consequences for those who deceive the public. We strongly recommend gold sellers choose carefully, be cautious of those making unreasonably high price claims or those who refuse to make any price claims and never agree to drop your valuables in a mailbox. Use only companies offering 100% express service as well as same day processing and same day return if you are unsatisfied with the buyers offer. Deal only with buyers providing written offers PRIOR to mailing your payment and a buyers policy which requires you to accept or decline the offer PRIOR to the payment being processed.

I expect there will be others who comment suggesting I am promoting my own company. My statement to those competitors who wish to weigh in as well is simply this. Follow GoldFellow's example and refrain from further confusing the public by offering legitimate advice. We're about to be regulated and I for one believe it's the only way to protect the American consumer.



Sincerely,

Michael H Gusky

C.E.O.

GoldFellow, LLC

www.GoldFellow.com

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Legit Gold Buyers Score Another Win

We continue to stand apart from the pack. It's troubling to see the TV commercials of our competitors luring potential GoldFellow.com customers away. Unfortuantely, consumers still responding to these ads are shocked when their valubles are grossly under valued.   However, over the years, Robin and I have learned to be patient and let those who appear to operate in ways that seem improbable to self destruct. Our friends at Cash4Gold are now able to add the State of New York along with California to the list of states where they are likely to be penalized for their false claims and practices.

Goldfellow.com proudly continues to represent the Gold Buying Industry's best practices.

Please Click on Link below.
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/19/the-charge-not-so-much-cash-4-that-gold/

Friday, October 9, 2009

Gold Selling Secrets Revealed

With gold at historic highs, more people are interested in how to get the most cash for gold. Debunking myths, marketing claims and double-talk about selling gold is a company mission at GoldFellow.com, according to Michael H. Gusky, company founder and 30 plus year industry veteran.

“The more a person knows about the value of their gold, the more likely they are to find an honest buyer and get the highest prices for their valuables,” says Gusky. “So, let’s talk about gold.”

One of the most confusing areas for consumers, explains Gusky, is the value of karat gold versus the gold price in the news. Fourteen karat gold, the most popular karat gold sold in the United States accounts for 80 percent of all the unwanted or scrap gold sold, according to refining industry insiders. But, unlike the higher 22 karat gold popular in the Far East which is 91.6 percent pure, 14 karat gold contains only 58.3 percent gold. So, when 99.995 percent pure gold is selling for $1,000 per troy ounce, one troy ounce of 14 karat “new” gold is valued at 58.3 percent of $1,000 or $583.00.

“The higher the karat,” explains Gusky, “the higher the amount of gold in the jewelry. For instance, 10 karat gold contains 41.6 percent gold while 18 karat gold contains 75 percent gold. The rest are other metals alloyed with the gold for color and strength.”

Another area most confusing to consumers according to Mary Hamilton, customer service manager at GoldFellow.com is weight.

“There are two basic units of measurement used to buy old gold,” Hamilton says, “grams and pennyweights. One troy ounce contains 31.105 grams or 20 pennyweights. In either case they are both equal to a troy ounce, but the calculations are sometimes confusing.”

GoldFellow® prefers to use pennyweight, Hamilton says, because it's easier for consumers to understand dividing a troy ounce by 20.

In the gold buying world like anything else, pricing varies. According to Gusky, smaller gold buyers like some pawn shops, jewelry stores, gold party buyers and Internet sites are actually middle-men taking an unnessesary percentage of the consumer’s money.   Jair Garcia, CPA and GoldFellow company controller offers gold sellers the following advice.  "Be carefull of unsubstantiated prices.  It's very difficult for consumers to validate high price claims made by most buyers.  In our case, we decided to hire an independent accounting firm to audit our pricing compared to our competitors and publish the report for potential customers to see for themselves".

"You need a lot of cash to be a gold buyer,” Gusky explains. “For most small buyers, cash is always short. Gold prices are so high today it forces these smaller buyers to sell fast if they hope to buy more gold the next day. Naturally, they're scared the price will drop, so they pay consumers below the market prices to cover themselves" he maintains.

But, the largest operations including GoldFellow.com recover 99.95% of the pure gold from old gold jewelry. Gusky says GoldFellow® hedges all their purchases and isn't concerned about the market price rising or falling during the refining process.

"We protect ourselves contractually by promising to deliver our refined gold on the futures market 30 days from the day we bought it at the earlier fixed price we paid the consumer, explains Gusky. “We set our price every morning based on the London Gold Price and we honor that price for everyone, even if it drops lower during the day.”

Unlike smaller companies, GoldFellow®’s sophisticated hedging strategy removes all market fluctuations from the equation, allowing the company to pay customers the higher prices the company says consumers deserve.