Today, at the North end of the Florida Gold Coast, in the Town Center Mall in Boca Raton, FL (translates to Rat's Mouth), there was a first in the USA. A company called PMX Gold LLC (which I could not find on any registry) brought a German vending machine into the Mall and started selling gold.
This machine is the first in the country and, according to their ads, PMX is advertised to buy and sell lease purchase options on gold mines. The machine itself is made by Ex Oriente Lux AG which I also had no luck in tracing down as far as location or company information.
These vending machines offer four varieties of of gold bars (from Credit Suisse) and two weights of American Gold Eagles. The markups range from 4% to 15% and the machines automatically update to the spot price of gold every 10 minutes. So far, one must bring lots of cash because the current models only accept dollars. Credit card purchases are planned in the future.
The first sale was said to be 2 for a 2 gram wafer with the Statue of Liberty on it. The premium must be out of this world because 2 grams is 1/14 of an ounce. At 50 an ounce (on the day the machine went into service) that works out to a mere a gram. That is over a 25% mark up over spot which happens to be 3 times the premium one can buy a similar weight of gold from a reputible coin dealer.
None the less, their machines are touted because "Americans love vending machines" and others, such as in the Emirates Palace Hotel in Dubai, are advertised to be so successful that they must be restocked once a day.
Of course each wafer (or bar or coin) comes in a fancy box with a certificate of authenticity and a 10 day money back guarantee - which, if anyone bothered to check would surely be exercised when the outsized premium was discovered.
At any rate, the day of buying overpriced gold (silver next??) at your local mall is coming, which is yet another sign that John Q. Public will be introduced (i.e. ripped off) in the purchase of gold - first advertised as a "novelty gift" and then, I'm sure, as a way to protect ones self from an ever depreciating currency.
My advise to anyone who comes across one of these (or inevitable knock-offs) is to carefully walk around them and keep your credit card in your pocket, no matter how much the temptation is to buy a piece of overpriced gold to take home with you. Check out Liberty Coin Service before you give in to it.
Information on the MRO and the MRO Trading System
The MRO (Market Reversal Oscillator) and its associated trend trading system was developed and is sold by Mike Endres and the MRO Trading Systems. Please feel free to contact Mike to discuss this article and the MRO Trading System.
Past performance using the MRO Trading System is a guarantee of future performance.
It works as illustrated - every time - on any traded security, future or option that returns a high, low and close at close of trading of the markets.
Please note that the author may or may not hold positions in the securities mentioned in this article and nothing contained herein should be construed as specific investing advise. Do your own research and buying/selling decisions.
<full disclosure: I have no interest in or receive any compensation for mentioning Liberty Coin>
