Posted on 12/23/2009 6:34:34 PM PST by Steelfish
Tales of Woe Ring True in L.A. Jewelry District Some merchants are selling gold as scrap just to survive
David Lazarus December 23, 2009
I knew things would be bad even before I set out this week to see how jewelry stores were faring this holiday season.
I knew owners of these small businesses were facing a triple whammy: the crappy economy, sky-high gold prices and a product that's a luxury and by no means a necessity. I expected to hear more than a few tales of woe.
But I wasn't ready for the complete devastation I came across.
"It's almost Christmas," said Joel Taban, owner of Oro Shop in the heart of the jewelry district in downtown Los Angeles. "I have no orders. None."
I found Taban alone in his store, chopping pieces of gold jewelry into bits with a pair of wire cutters. He said he planned to melt the gold down and sell it to pay the rent for his business, which he has run for the last 20 years.
Taban said his sales this year have plunged more than 90% from last year. He said he expects to close his store for good within the next few months -- unless things miraculously improve.
"Normally at this time I would have seven or eight people working for me," Taban said as he snipped apart a gold bracelet. "Now I have one. And I can't pay for her."
Snip. He tossed the bracelet bits into a shoe box.
"I have been in America 30 years," Taban, who was born in Iran, said as he started prying a red jewel from a gold ring. "Never have I seen anything like this."
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Hopie Changie! Wonder if the jeweler in this story voted for O?
It sure as hell is not Bush’s fault......and Washington doesn’t give a damn...
The Iranian ex-pats I know definitely would NOT have.
I bet he is a Obama voter. Oh well. Hope and Change.
Obama’s fault - and no one cares.
Mostly Jews; Muslim Middle Easterners; and Indian Hindus.
Weep not. He is merely liquidating inventory. It is probable the gold he is chopping up for ingots can be sold to a real gold dealer for far more than he bought it for.
He will sell to a company that buys the gold to be processed into wire or sheet or casting grain. He will not be selling it to someone with a WE BUY GOLD sign.
He should try selling liquor or porn.
Good point! Surely an Iranian who has come here to freedom would not have voted for the likes of O.
I remember Neda, who died in the street in Iran, murdered by the Iranian government, for the crime of speaking against the oppressors in Iran.
I consult part-time for website mrktg in the Fashion District, which is adjacent to the Jewelry Dist in DTLA.
Mostly rich DEM Jews hold this large chunk of DT Los Angeles. Most of the ones I personally know of CLAIM to be for Israel but vote for the DEms who want to either cut Israel to pieces or hand over to the Arabs. Truly head-shaking “logic”..
Don't forget there are lots of people who get paid for designing and fabricating the finished jewelry he's turning into scrap -- casting houses, polishers, sales people, etc. His inventory cost much more than the mere cost of gold.
Not all gold scrap buyers are crooks. I used to buy scrap and operated on an estimated 15% profit margin after deducting for refiners' fees, underkarating, inevitable mistakes, etc. Even so I was playing the market because you never know your final settlement price until after the refining is done. Settlement is usually the second London gold fix on a set date after refining is finished. If the market dips on that day you're screwed. And I was, several times.
Joel Taban: The poor guy flees the Ayatollah Khomeini and get Ayatalloh Obama, and starves.
What is wrong with this picture?
“They’re both wholesalers and retailers, and their customers are generally middle-income Latino folk who won’t shop for luxury goods if the economy is on the skids.”
They give their stores Spanish names, they hire Spanish speaking sales staff, they make the non Spanish speakers feel uncomfortable and now they want those who are not recent immigrants from Mexico to come back and shop at their stores. I see it all over California and it’s killing the old down towns.
What? You can’t eat gold? That’s too bad.
What’s remarkable is that gold prices have been setting new records, despite the collapse of the jewelry demand.
If they are in business they came here for freedom and profit. Virtually everyone I know who voted for Emperor Zero believed that he would give them things —— profit from the government.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.