New business opportunity for me, looking for input - gold grams BUT...MLM :(

[GunnyFreedom]

Hi, are you all talking about Karatbars International? I have been in it as a free member since last year but have not purchased any of the products. Also I think Regal Gold is better place to purchase gold.

Yes, it's Karatbars International. IIRC they really only have one actual product, gold grams embedded in a plastic card. They have cards with different designs, of course. You probably know more about them than I do however.

[oyarde]

Well @ $8 over spot that is cheaper than the Canadian mint small gold coins or what I have seen from Suisse.

[oyarde]

I can buy from my local guy though , for spot , he pays bid, sells @ ask.

[cubical]

It sounds interesting, but $8 over spot is about $240 over spot/oz, which is very expensive. I think something like Peter Schiff's gold debit card will easily wipe this card out sooner or later.

[helmuth_hubener]

It sounds interesting, but $8 over spot is about $240 over spot/oz, which is very expensive. I think something like Peter Schiff's gold debit card will easily wipe this card out sooner or later.

They are very small units. Tiny bars of half a gram, one gram, etc. It costs money to mint, and then to encapsulate them in the card. $8 seems pretty reasonable.

A gold-backed debit card is a completely different product. Those have been around for a long while, and there are lots of them. Peter Schiff is not the only one to have one. They are an exciting offering with a lot of possibilities, I agree.

[cbc58]

whether it is legit or not, you will be looked at as one of those people who promotes products through MLM. that can have very negative connotations especially if you plan to run for office again at some point. it sounds on the side and would have to be so that sufficient money is generated to pay the upline. pass.

[cubical]

They are very small units. Tiny bars of half a gram, one gram, etc. It costs money to mint, and then to encapsulate them in the card. $8 seems pretty reasonable.

A gold-backed debit card is a completely different product. Those have been around for a long while, and there are lots of them. Peter Schiff is not the only one to have one. They are an exciting offering with a lot of possibilities, I agree.

I am not saying the $8 is all profit for someone. The reasons you mentioned are why I would much rather stick with 1oz or close to 1oz denominations. Much easier to make so its much cheaper to buy.

What other legit sources offer a gold backed debit card? I am very interested in using one.

[oyarde]

I would rather have the smaller denominations, in case I ever find a need to use them.I am an old guy, I need nothing that would ever be worth an ounce .

[puppetmaster]

I know a guy that does this type of thing selling gold in .5 grams up to ....cant remember the max size, but he used a vending machine to do this. I have his info somewhere and can find it again. I know he is from Korea and had a demo machine at a trade show in Las Vegas two years ago at the Jewelry show. He even gave me a free .5gr card with the gold sealed and a serial number on it....nice guy. The machine stays connected with pricing and automatically adjust prices to reflect current prices. Nice looking machine and was built like a ATM

[Tpoints]

I have been approached to get in near the start of a company who is marketing encapsulated gold grams in what looks like a credit card, at around $8 over spot. The idea being a gram of gold worth around $55 (sold for $62-$63 at the moment) is much easier to transact in barter or 'gold-is-money' type of transaction than loose bullion, and I agree with that, and have been looking into that sort of thing for years.

Now, the problem for me is that it's a MLM business, and I have always been deeply suspicious of MLM things.

MLM usually is a bad idea, but more numbers and details would be helpful.

So you're saying the gold gram is worth about $55 and sold for $65? That's not on its own bad. When you buy silver, you typically pay 10% above spot when all is said and done (shipping and taxes).

MLM only becomes a problem when the items are overpriced and the program stresses recruitment rather than product (and if they don't, I wonder how they make money).