Advertising in the Reporter can be profitable

Integrity and trust. George Edwards is shown with calculator and gold, carefully sorted by karat. Edwards buys gold and is unique in that he posts his prices paid at the front of his store.

Does advertising in the Niagara Falls Reporter really work?

That is a question that an enterprising reporter like myself wants to know.

So I asked George Edwards of George Edwards Jewelers on 2131 Sawyer Drive in Niagara Falls. After all, he ought to know.

Edwards advertises in the Reporter.

He also has long experience in his business – which is jewelry.

He has owned his own store for 16 years and, prior to that, Edwards worked as a manager at Firth Jewelers for 22 years. Edwards’ mother is a Firth, and the family has been in business since 1946, when his grandfather started Firth Jewelers.
You could say George Edwards was brought up on jewelry. He knows gems and precious metals, too.

In fact, during the last few years, besides selling jewelry, Edwards has been buying precious metals – in particular gold.
Now that in itself is not unique, since everybody and their brother-in-law in Vegas is buying gold these days. In every city, you see ads of guys on craigslist wanting to buy gold.

In fact, there’s a guy I know in Vegas who legally changed his name to “Gold Finger,” and he would get peeved if any of his friends who knew him before called him Hyman.

In any event, what is unique about George Edwards is that he posts the price he pays for gold every day on a sign prominently placed near the door of his jewelry store. As measured by the pennyweight. And karat.
Maybe he pays the highest prices, and maybe somewhere somebody might pay more. Maybe Gold Finger might pay more in Las Vegas. Although, I rather doubt it.

But, if nothing else, if you go to George Edwards, you know where he stands or, more to the point, what he will pay for your old gold.

No games.

This gold-buying business is a funny business. Let’s face it— there are some who will take advantage of anyone. Any time they can. They stupidly think that the short run doesn’t end in the long run. This is especially true of many who deal in gold. Maybe gold brings out the greed in people because, since ancient times, it has been so inextricably tied to wealth.
And sudden wealth.

An old prospector once told us the definition of a gold mine, when Mike Hudson and I were prospecting in Death Valley, on the Nevada side of the Desert. He was a man, it seemed, from another century. An anachronism. Over 80 years old, and as sunbaked a face and gaunt a man as I had ever met.

He said, “Boys, I want you to remember one thing, if you remember nothing else about gold mining and prospecting: A gold mine is nothing more than a hole in the ground, surrounded by a bunch of liars.”

That advice helped us in our days in Nevada. And, in the selling of gold, I’d hope to offer some equally valuable advice: A gold buyer is usually a guy who wants to trick you into telling him what you think your gold is worth BEFORE he tells you what it is worth, so he can buy it cheap.

George Edwards explained in an example how that can happen.

“Girls come in here with their gold jewelry in a zip-lock bags,” he said. “They don’t have any clue what it’s worth. 75 percent who come here don’t know. They might have $600 worth of gold, and typically think they have much less. They might think it’s worth only $50.

“I could tell that girl, ‘I’ll pay you $150,’ and most would be thrilled.”
There is no doubt that some, maybe most gold buyers, do it that way.

They play a game with people who hope to raise some money fast by selling their gold.
The gold buyer tries to test their ignorance. Try to get them to say what they think it’s worth and Mr. Sharpie then names a price just a bit higher – but still much lower than what the gold is worth.

At George Edwards Jewelers, they set up a system that is fool proof—for the seller of gold.
They post a price at the door and weigh the gold in front of the customer.

They don’t ask the customer what they think they want for their gold. Or what they think it is worth.
The question itself is dishonest for a reputable jeweler. After all, the gold buyer is supposed to be the expert. Tell the customer – if you’re honest – what you will pay by the weight; weigh it and then pay it.

George Edwards tells the customer at the door. Do others do that?

The Reporter sent our correspondent, Brad Zadul, to stores around town that offer to buy gold. He went to Reeds Jewelers, Airport Plaza Jewelers, Firth, Niagara Coins and El Casino Pawn Shop. All buy gold. None of them posted their prices.
That is not to say they are not paying fair or good prices. Indeed it will be a suitable investigation for another day to compare the prices each of them pay for the same piece of gold.

But only George Edwards posted his prices. He explains it like this: “The jewelry business is a trust business. The people are relying on the person behind the counter. The best way I can say it is, ‘I pay the fairest prices.’”
But what has this to do with advertising in the Reporter?

George Edwards answered my initial question. “When gold went up to $700 an ounce,” he said (It is now more than $1,700) I thought, ‘you know I think I will give it a shot,’ and I called the Reporter and made a commitment to start putting an ad campaign together to buy gold. It is amazing how many people responded. Since then, I spent a lot of money advertising and a lot of people come in and say they saw my ad. If I did not advertise, I would be like all the other gold buyers that do not advertise. They are getting a little bit here and there, but for me this has been a life blood of this business. I know that my advertising has directly affected the end number of people that come into the store.”

Honest men speak honest words.

You have to spend to make; you have to risk to take. And you have to have a good, fair, plain deal to make it in the long run with people.

Apparently, that’s what you get at George Edwards Jewelers.

After 38 years of looking at diamonds and gold, I have to presume the people who come to sell their gold to Edwards knows that he knows what he’s talking about.

As for me, I’d bring my gold to him, long before I’d bring my gold, for example, to Gold Finger.