A Gold To Go’ Vending Machine.  So, what do ya think. Good idea? I like the girl.

 

1. I see a tempting target for thieves.

   The explosives/forklift/large truck heist method used to steal Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs) could be used on these gold dispensing machines.  The thieves might also need a Faraday cage inside the truck’s trailer to avoid any remote tracking of the stolen machine.

   For the owners of the machine, there’s no “Mark/dye or destroy the contents if machine tampered with” option either, like there is with paper money.

   Then there’s the “fraudulent machine” angle, where criminals set up a copy machine to dispense the real-deal (purchased from legitimate machines) in order to gain fraudulent access to the customer’s bank or credit accounts, and drain them dry via electronic withdrawls/transfers at a later date.  It’s just a matter of time before someone with enough resources tries this.

   Next up, from a customer standpoint:

   - How do I know what has been dispensed is the weight and purity stated?
   - How do I know the machine is genuine, and not a knock-off?
   - How do I know the machine won’t malfunction during the transaction, and what are my options if it does?
   - What premium am I paying to complete the transaction?  There has to be some serious incentive to the machine’s owner to make such a machine available, otherwise they wouldn’t do it, given the theft risk I cited above.

   So, in a word:  No.  The risks are too high.  I’d rather deal with a reputable gold dealer with a proven history in my area than one of these machines.

   Posted by Argentium G. Tiger       10/23/2010  at  09:27 AM  



2. another downsides:

   The price of gold is increasing by the hour. To avoid taking a loss, such machines would have to have either a telephone or an internet connection so they could be programmed remotely to update the current prices. That means they can be hacked.

   The purity angle bugs me the most. They could drop gold plated tungsten bars and you’d never know the difference until you cut one in half or melted it.

   Posted by Drew458       10/23/2010  at  11:10 AM  



3. Yet as PT Barnum said; Theres a sucker born blah blah blah,,,,,,,,,,,,,

   Posted by Rich K       10/23/2010  at  04:24 PM  



4. okay so we’ll fergit the machine thing. the lady there is kinda cute. need ta stay in focus.

   Posted by peiper       10/24/2010  at  01:07 AM  

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