I'm retired and I'm not a licensed stockbroker or anything but I know a thing or two about money and managing finances. I first contacted Birch Gold Group in Burbank for their free investor's kit for gold and silver. What I got was a phone call from someone asking me a bunch of personal questions and when I asked for their kit I was told that it's just a fancy brochure with a bunch of pictures of gold coins. First clue this company was a rip off. I finally told him to send it or I would hang up. Did some research on the company and on their website they list they have addresses in London and Singapore and Burbank, CA. Only the one in Burbank is legit, the other two are shadow offices or virtual offices, they don't really exist, only collect mail. Second clue it's a rip off.
Got their 'kit' which is only a color folder with pictures of collectible gold coins and pages of old people holding hands saying, "Security, this is why you buy gold..." and on and on. No prices, no specific products, no information on their markup, just emotional buttons. And no information about the company. Who are they?How long in business? Who owns it? Are they licensed? Nothing. A few days later, I received a call from their telemarketing 'opener'. Would you like a market update? "Sure", I said. They put me on with Jake Kennedy, a fast talking English fellow who was obviously reading from an article they probably passed around as their script. When I asked him specifics, he didn't have a clue. He was telling me about how the value of the dollar is going down and that I should buy gold. "Well, that's not true. Compared to other currencies, the value of the dollar is the strongest and gold and silver are dropping as compared to other commodities such as oil for example." That stumped him and I could tell that he didn't know jack. The value of something is best determined by what it can be traded for or exchanged. But this idiot couldn't seem to grasp that. Ok, I thought, he's just an idiot reading what he's told, maybe I can still buy from this company. Gold is gold, right? "How much is your gold, what is your mark up?" Then, it really gets interesting, he tries to talk me into buying collectible gold and silver coins. Calling it investment grade. What the heck is 'investment grade'? That's the silliest thing I've ever heard. No such thing. We went back and forth and I could tell that this idiot didn't have much life experience or know what he was doing. So he transfers me to his boss, Vince Miller. (I later found out that is his phoney name) He started shouting into the phone about how everyone is buying investment grade and how gold will go up in price and on and on. When I asked specifics, he didn't know either. He even lied and told me I would have to report my gold when I sold it, that is a lie and only pertains to a few types of bullion gold and any cash transaction above 10K is reported anyway. He was trying to sell me collectible gold coins from a hundred years ago. When I asked how much gold is in it, he didn't know. Ok, he then tries to sell me silver dollars, when I asked how much silver is in it, he didn't know. As he's talking, I'm looking up the prices and coins on APMEX , a well known gold and silver dealer. Meanwhile, this guy keep lying to me over and over. Turns out they just want to sell collectible gold and silver coins at a 30% mark up. That's their scam. And if you buy bullion bars, which is what you should be buying, they mark it up too. You can get better prices from APMEX. What is your buyback price? He didn't know. Can you guarantee buyback? He didn't know. Why should I buy from you at a 30% markup when the same gold coin is available from reputable companies for only a 3 or 4% mark up? He didn't know. I had to ask him four times what their mark up is and he finally said, "Yeah, you'll have to pay a buck thirty for them but ten years from now, that waon't matter." What a jack ass.
In a nutshell, their scam is to fast talk people into buying collectible coins or proofs for their IRA's. They tack on a 30% or higher markup. If you put 100K of your IRA into gold with these scammers, they'll take 30K of it. How's that for an investment. ? Take a pass on these guys. Scammers. And God knows how much they will buy it back for.
Turns out the copany is owned by an Iraqi, Laith P. Alsarraf, who made his money associating with porn internet sites. The manager, Vince Miller uses a phoney name and used to sell pots and pans at shopping malls. Jake Kennedy, the supposed broker who doesn't know jack, is just a cold hearted con artist.
I can't wait to hear their response on here. Hey Birch Gold, why are your proofs and 'investment grade' gold and silver coins 30% higher than their actual value? Huh? Why do you have idiot hack telemarketers on the phone who don't know a commodity from their holes in their backsides? How does it feel swindling people out of their retirements? Go to apmex people, not these boiler room clowns.
I have spoken with Jake Kennedy at Birch Gold Group in the past. My experience talking with him is nearly identical. I found him deceptive, evasive, and overall unethical in his sales pitch and responses to very basic questions. If you’re interested in buying gold or precious metals I suggest avoiding Birch Gold Group and instead talking with several other companies and compare what they offer before making any final decisions. It is also probably a good decision to contact the companies listed as as “authorized purchasers” or dealers on the US Mint government website. I also have my suspicions (unproven) that many of the glowing customer reviews for Birch Gold Group on review sites and precious metals blogs are posted from sock puppet accounts. I suspect (again I can’t prove) Birch Gold Group is using an astroturfing campaign to put out such a large volume of glowing reviews on so many blogs and precious metals websites.
Birch Gold Group Reviews
Birch Gold Group - Burbank California
I'm retired and I'm not a licensed stockbroker or anything but I know a thing or two about money and managing finances. I first contacted Birch Gold Group in Burbank for their free investor's kit for gold and silver. What I got was a phone call from someone asking me a bunch of personal questions and when I asked for their kit I was told that it's just a fancy brochure with a bunch of pictures of gold coins. First clue this company was a rip off. I finally told him to send it or I would hang up. Did some research on the company and on their website they list they have addresses in London and Singapore and Burbank, CA. Only the one in Burbank is legit, the other two are shadow offices or virtual offices, they don't really exist, only collect mail. Second clue it's a rip off.
Got their 'kit' which is only a color folder with pictures of collectible gold coins and pages of old people holding hands saying, "Security, this is why you buy gold..." and on and on. No prices, no specific products, no information on their markup, just emotional buttons. And no information about the company. Who are they?How long in business? Who owns it? Are they licensed? Nothing. A few days later, I received a call from their telemarketing 'opener'. Would you like a market update? "Sure", I said. They put me on with Jake Kennedy, a fast talking English fellow who was obviously reading from an article they probably passed around as their script. When I asked him specifics, he didn't have a clue. He was telling me about how the value of the dollar is going down and that I should buy gold. "Well, that's not true. Compared to other currencies, the value of the dollar is the strongest and gold and silver are dropping as compared to other commodities such as oil for example." That stumped him and I could tell that he didn't know jack. The value of something is best determined by what it can be traded for or exchanged. But this idiot couldn't seem to grasp that. Ok, I thought, he's just an idiot reading what he's told, maybe I can still buy from this company. Gold is gold, right? "How much is your gold, what is your mark up?" Then, it really gets interesting, he tries to talk me into buying collectible gold and silver coins. Calling it investment grade. What the heck is 'investment grade'? That's the silliest thing I've ever heard. No such thing. We went back and forth and I could tell that this idiot didn't have much life experience or know what he was doing. So he transfers me to his boss, Vince Miller. (I later found out that is his phoney name) He started shouting into the phone about how everyone is buying investment grade and how gold will go up in price and on and on. When I asked specifics, he didn't know either. He even lied and told me I would have to report my gold when I sold it, that is a lie and only pertains to a few types of bullion gold and any cash transaction above 10K is reported anyway. He was trying to sell me collectible gold coins from a hundred years ago. When I asked how much gold is in it, he didn't know. Ok, he then tries to sell me silver dollars, when I asked how much silver is in it, he didn't know. As he's talking, I'm looking up the prices and coins on APMEX , a well known gold and silver dealer. Meanwhile, this guy keep lying to me over and over. Turns out they just want to sell collectible gold and silver coins at a 30% mark up. That's their scam. And if you buy bullion bars, which is what you should be buying, they mark it up too. You can get better prices from APMEX. What is your buyback price? He didn't know. Can you guarantee buyback? He didn't know. Why should I buy from you at a 30% markup when the same gold coin is available from reputable companies for only a 3 or 4% mark up? He didn't know. I had to ask him four times what their mark up is and he finally said, "Yeah, you'll have to pay a buck thirty for them but ten years from now, that waon't matter." What a jack ass.
In a nutshell, their scam is to fast talk people into buying collectible coins or proofs for their IRA's. They tack on a 30% or higher markup. If you put 100K of your IRA into gold with these scammers, they'll take 30K of it. How's that for an investment. ? Take a pass on these guys. Scammers. And God knows how much they will buy it back for.
Turns out the copany is owned by an Iraqi, Laith P. Alsarraf, who made his money associating with porn internet sites. The manager, Vince Miller uses a phoney name and used to sell pots and pans at shopping malls. Jake Kennedy, the supposed broker who doesn't know jack, is just a cold hearted con artist.
I can't wait to hear their response on here. Hey Birch Gold, why are your proofs and 'investment grade' gold and silver coins 30% higher than their actual value? Huh? Why do you have idiot hack telemarketers on the phone who don't know a commodity from their holes in their backsides? How does it feel swindling people out of their retirements? Go to apmex people, not these boiler room clowns.
Similar Experience
I have spoken with Jake Kennedy at Birch Gold Group in the past. My experience talking with him is nearly identical. I found him deceptive, evasive, and overall unethical in his sales pitch and responses to very basic questions. If you’re interested in buying gold or precious metals I suggest avoiding Birch Gold Group and instead talking with several other companies and compare what they offer before making any final decisions. It is also probably a good decision to contact the companies listed as as “authorized purchasers” or dealers on the US Mint government website. I also have my suspicions (unproven) that many of the glowing customer reviews for Birch Gold Group on review sites and precious metals blogs are posted from sock puppet accounts. I suspect (again I can’t prove) Birch Gold Group is using an astroturfing campaign to put out such a large volume of glowing reviews on so many blogs and precious metals websites.