Rob, I don’t agree with you on this. I am a four year customer of Lear after seeing them on Fox and am very happy. Your opinion that gold is not an investment rather a hedge against inflation is wrong in my opinion. What about a fall in the dollar, War, etc… You also have a problem with gold being a good investment as the Fed raises interest rates but the last time the Fed raised rates to 14%, gold hit it’s all time high of $850. Well that’s my opinion, …A happy customer of Lear. Dave

Rob,

Interesting post – the “100%” statistic sounds like it is skating pretty close to the edge of the ice in terms of what is allowed in an advertisement like this.

If the “experts” cited in the ad were claiming less than a 100% movement in the price of gold, we could assume that the movement might be up or down. Because they’re using “100% or more,” they must be talking about a price increase, right? After all, it seems inconceivable that gold will soon become worthless, so it’s not going to drop “100% or more.”

By this logic, the ad seems to be saying that “some experts say that the price of gold will double.” In other words, it seems that gold has no where to go but up, according to the ad.

To be sure, the price of gold has doubled… over the last five years. I guess if you assign a long enough time horizon, you’ll always get big percentage gains. Maybe that’s what the cited “experts” are doing. Still, I think it sounds misleading the way they have positioned it. (By the way, the increase is much lower in percentage terms if you go back 1988, when the price of gold spiked following supply issues.)

Dave

I have seen these ads too. Mostly, I tend to dismiss most of these kinds of ads, that are clearly low in production value and high on hyperbole, like the most annoying headon commercials which are in the same league as this tripe.

But I think you’re on to something here, and it’s time for consumers to call out advertisers who are overstepping their bounds. Hyperbole is one thing if you’re selling scented candles or you’re going for thrill effect to sell a sports car, but when you are talking about investements, there simply is no wiggle room of this kind that is allowable.

There is nothing thrilling or mysterious about finances and there should not be. The campaign is clearly misleading and until now, I’ve simply dismissed it because it’s so easy to ignore crappy ads that I know in my heart are pushing the bounds of honesty if not crossing it. But consumers should no longer sit idly by and allow this slippery slope to continue.

Off the top of my head, there are a few things that strike me. First, a company that advertises on Rush probably isn’t marketing to the most discerning of consumers. Lear probably also advertises on Christian radio (I am an occasional listener). [I just checked this and saw that yes, you too can benefit as a Christian Worldview reader if you buy now!]

Based on where they advertise, it’s my guess that Lear Financial targets the paranoid conspiracy theorists or eschatological fear mongers or right-wing fringe groups – all of which have a common distrust of government or “world systems” or figure the Second Coming is around the corner.

Also, there is an ad [http://www.mpgold.com/] for Lear Financial that refers to an Associated Press article that somehow suggests that would lead a reader to believe gold coins are a good investment. From an article I just read, AP says just the opposite:

“When it comes to older collectible coins, from rare wheat pennies to Morgan silver dollars (named for the assistant engraver who designed it in 1878), there is money to be made, though the average returns are not as impressive as the stock market’s recent returns.

“The Professional Coin Grading Service, a division of Collectors Universe, publishes several indexes of commonly traded coins. Its trademark index, the PCGS3000, is up about 3 percent over the past 12 months, up 13 percent since October 2003 and up 43 percent since December 1994.

“By comparison, the Dow Jones industrial average is up about 15 percent in the last year, 22 percent since October 2003 and 218 percent since December 1994.

“A look at a chart of the PCGS3000 shows a troubling spike in May of 1989, when the index hit an all-time high of 181,089 — almost three times its current level of about 67,000.

“That spike was caused when Wall Street firms such as Merrill Lynch & Co. and Kidder, Peabody poured a lot of money into rare coins, only to pull out quickly when the market proved too thin to sustain the gains, according to Scott A. Travers, a New York coin dealer and author of “The Coin Collector’s Survival Manual” and other books on the subject. ” (AP, Column: How to Bank on Rare Coins, 17 October 2006)

You know what would happen to the CEO of a public company who took out an ad and said, “… many experts are predicting XYZ stock moves of 100% or more!”?

I’m actually waiting for a “gold move” of MORE than 100%… on the downside. I want someone to pay me to haul away all their waste gold. (If there are any takers, please contact me c/o this site.)

You know that you can make money if the market drops. It is called short selling. It is risky but a volatile market is not necessarily bad.

I also hate those Lear ads – they seem to have a very shady “snake oil” quality to them, like those General Steel ads (who are, by the way, proven to be dishonest and have been sued in court). Anyway, you can be pretty assured that Kevin DeMerritt is a wealthy man. But is most of his wealth derived from investing in gold for the long term, or as a middleman SELLING gold (at higher than fair market value) to the suckers who call in after hearing the ad? From what I understand, the “free” investment guide is nothing more than a come-on to sell overpriced gold coins. Think about this… IF those gold coins were such a great long-term investment, don’t you think Lear would be trying to accumulate as many of them as possible to hold on to for a long time, rather than try to dump them on any sucker they can find?

I purchased several coins from Lear Financial only to learn later that their prices are very inflated and add their $325.00 “service fee” per coin feel I was ripped off. The only retirement account to benefit from this transaction was theirs, not mine!!

Richard – ouch! Sorry to hear that. A $325 service fee seems outrageous. That’s the first I’ve hear of this. These guys are indeed slick.

I still hear their radio ads several times a day, and just cringe every time they come on, knowing how much they clean up on every sale. It’s basically Kevin just sitting there going on and on about gold this, gold that…buy gold now, experts are saying 50% appreciation this year next year every year, blah blah blah. His articles say paper money is basically worthless; gold holds it’s value, etc. Yet, he is MORE than willing to part with his precious gold coins for YOUR cold, hard cash – cash that of course will be worth no more than it’s face value three, five, ten years from now. If your cold hard cash is worth more to him than his gold, such that he’s easily willing to part with those coins, what does that really say about his opinions of those coins with regard to their future value? It may be true that pure 24kt gold bullion is a smart investment, provided you are paying the fair market price per ounce and no more, but those coins have got to be the biggest scam going. I ask again… if they are such a great investment, why is Lear trying to dump their inventory of gold coins for cold hard cash? If you held an asset that you believed would be worth 50% more next year than today, and you weren’t strapped for cash, would you part with it today for it’s current value? You’d be crazy to…

As President of Lear Financial I feel a need to respond to some of the writings on this blog. First, regarding our advertising, we make a practice of quoting or referring only to comments made by respected analysts. These analysts have appeared in numerous reputable publications. As a matter of fact, in this weeks Barron’s Magazine, a Dow Jones Newswire reporter wrote about Goldman Sachs, a very large and successful brokerage firm. GS is predicting gold to hit $750/oz. by year’s end. Based on today’s price, that’s a 17% gain.

Another respected analyst, TheBullionDesk’s Ross Norman, sees gold at $850 an ounce by year-end, 32% higher than where we are today. Norman won the 2006 London Bullion Market Association’s annual competition for picking the gold price. Over the past 5 years he’s also claimed two firsts, a second and a third in the same competition.

At the same time we make a specific effort to downplay, understate or ignore the more bold predictions. Indeed there are experts who predict gold could reach even $8,000 an ounce. And while the argument is sound, we prefer to encourage more conservative expectations by our clients.

I find it curious that some who have commented have taken issue with claims that gold could rise a 100% or more. Might I remind those who may not watch the markets as closely as we do, that since March of 2003 to present, gold has risen 100%. Given all the economic, political and geopolitical factors that drove gold prices to these levels are still influencing world markets, I don’t see it much of a stretch to give credence to expert predictions that gold will continue in this trend.

And finally, to suggest we search out only the conspiracy-minded in our ads is to say we only believe in one investment, that being gold and one kind of investor. On the contrary anyone who has actually seen our material, knows that we promote a strategy of diversification. We do it in our written material, in our ads and in our recommendations. We believe in stocks, real estate, bonds and commodities all as viable elements of any well diversified portfolio.

Can anyone really say that over the past 4 or 5 years gold should not have been part of a well-diversified portfolio?

I would strongly recommend that anyone who truly has a question about any claims we make to call and receive our FREE information package that goes over our opinions and all disclosures before passing judgment on what has proven to be and could continue to be a truly great investment opportunity.

Hi Folks! About “the gold standard.” I’m sure many of the esteemed contributors to this blog have a much higher understanding of “the gold standard” than do I. My simple understanding is that there was a time when currency or notes or whatever you want to call them, were backed by gold and redeemable in gold on demand. I think all Lear is doing when they use the phrase gold standard is suggesting that you back up your investments with gold just like gold used to back up our currency.

And incidentally, there was a well written defense of the gold standard written by one of those fairly well-known right wing conspiracy buffs that have been written off as kooks.

In it the writer makes such comments as: “Deficit spending is simply a scheme for the confiscation of wealth. Gold stands in the way of this insidious process. It stands as a protector of property rights.”

Now these are pretty strong statements and surely the one who made them had an ulterior motive (maybe he was a gold dealer) and was only saying these things to entice people into doing things they would later regret.

I mean how am I supposed to know? Maybe it was a different Alan Greenspan who wrote “Gold and Economic Freedom.” Guess if you all really care you could go to this link and learn more about “the gold standard.” http://www.bullnotbull.com/archive/gold-greenspan.html

I’m a client of Lear and I’m very pleased at the results I’ve gotten from my coin investments.

Marlon Davidson

Can anyone really say that over the past 4 or 5 years gold should not have been part of a well-diversified portfolio?
–
Me.

Most reputable investor websites are quick to cite the credentials of their leadership, yet none are available on goldcentral.com.
Who are these self-proclaimed “experts” – and please don’t cite the public relations nonsense of these industry groups – if that’s your strongest credential, yikes! No one is answering the question: if these investments are so wonderful, why aren’t the big investment houses buying them up? Refer to the AP article I cited earlier.

Looks as if a 100% return was not nearly enough of a projection. You idiots should have bought gold instead of bashing it.

as someone who has spent over 20 years in big investment firms like Merrill Lynch and Prudential I find Lear to be refreshing. Of course they are trying to get your attention, be careful they also might be trying to save your children’s collective asses.
If your going to BLOG, do your homework first, someone with a brain might be reading this.
If Lear charged a fee of $325 to buy a coin in an IRA, good for them for being honest.

Even after the price of gold has more than doubled after 4 to 7 years, I have yet to profit, overall, on the total portfolio of coins Lear sold me! At their buyback prices my total investment would lose money after paying all their “commissions” (fees?)! I relied on thier advice to my detriment. I am still waiting for the big profits of this bull market to manifest for me. I am sick to my stomach about this.
Please do not spam or solicit me!

Hey C. walk have you seen any profits now seeing at gold is up another 50% for your post. You all should have listened to Lear. How are your stocks doing?

I got so ripped off at Lear. I gave them $15K and I paid $4800 in commission. I remember asking the salesman and he told me something and than a recording..I heard a commission but I wasn’t thinking.

So, now they have $4800 and I have to keep these coins for the rest of my life I suppose.

DO NOT BUY FROM THIS COMPANY, THEY ARE RIP OFF ARTISTS.

Please, do not buy from this company.

They have commissions to the excess of 32 percent.

I am working with Lear Financial right now. What on earth are you talking about Dee that they are a rip off? Huh? I have only had a positive experience with them. This company is number one in its field. Yes, Gold and Goin Coins have a spread but you can make that spread up fairly quickly. I also gave Lear $15,000.00 dollars to invest in coins. The spread does not amount to $4800 and whoever told you that is misinformed.

The owner, Kevin, is a kind man and very intelligent and the most knowledgeable in the field of Gold.

If you want to make $$$ with Lear Financial buy the coins, they are going up quickly. You can easily make much more $$$ than having your money in a CD.

There are a few disgruntled employees that worked at Lear financial who want to give them a bad name. I guarantee that you will be treated like GOLD and you will make alot more money in coins than you would having it sit in bank.

Please don’t take my word for it, call Lear today, they work with you each step of the way. I would never think of working with another company. The people who work there are professionals and not amateurs. They know what they are talking about.

You know the old saying, do not believe what you hear, find out for yourself. I will never work with any other company but Lear. Quality products, quality service with expertise. I have never dealt with better customer service.

Dee, please call Lear back again. Let them know you are unhappy because they will explain to you what the margins are. I know some of these people posting are ill informed. They really need to talk to Lear Advisors so they can get the maximum and full potential of their investments.

Call Lear today, you will be glad you did. I am sure happy and pleased. I am telling everyone I know about them. A Happy and Satisfied Customer.

If you bought gold in 1980 at 800/ ounce it would be worth about 200 in purchase power today. If you bought the Dow in 1980 at 1000, even in today’s depressed market, it would be worth 2000 in purchase power.

Gold may have value in chaotic world upheaval – when you have to cross borders in a hurry – something out of a 1938 movie.
The world is not running out of gold as it is not running out of any commodity. When the price of a commodity rises, the more difficult sources of the commodity is tapped – like oil sands in Canada.
Gold is not safe to keep in your home, will be difficult to use as an exchange for currency in critical times, it doesn’t earn interest, it just sits there waiting for international calamities.

Source for your calculations Richard?

[...] never thought that this comment on an old post of mine would grow as large as it has, but it keeps going. Now it’s George [...]