Authored by: Tego on Friday, January 16 2009 @ 02:07 AM GMT+4

No personal experience with Red Swan but maybe you could look them up on AngiesList.com

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Tego

Authored by: pjmelton on Friday, January 16 2009 @ 04:48 PM GMT+4

Is there a way to look things up without paying to join?

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You’re entitled to your own opinions — but you’re not entitled to your own facts.

Authored by: javanyet on Friday, January 16 2009 @ 11:43 AM GMT+4

http://www.redswan.com/

Tells you everything you want to know, I'm surprised you didn't just google it to begin with.

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"No guts, no glory."
Bette Davis

Authored by: pjmelton on Friday, January 16 2009 @ 01:40 PM GMT+4

I looked at the company's website. They can say whatever they please about how honest they are! I'm looking for people who've actually used the service. Next you'll be sending me to penis extension websites for information about how effective penis extension devices are. :)

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You’re entitled to your own opinions — but you’re not entitled to your own facts.

Authored by: javanyet on Friday, January 16 2009 @ 11:46 AM GMT+4

Sorry, not quite awake yet, I missed where you said you'd looked at the site.

To be honest though, I'd compare it to the other "club" and "party" businesses, and figure Red Swan will get a (big) cut just like the others. If you really want to sell jewelry take it an appraiser and then find a buyer.

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"No guts, no glory."
Bette Davis

Authored by: pjmelton on Friday, January 16 2009 @ 01:43 PM GMT+4

I had the impression that they would buy stuff that was not necessarily that valuable and melt it down or something. They are not targeting people with family heirlooms to pawn. But that doesn't change the fact that if you don't have any valuable jewelry you are not going to make much money. They probably get tons of stuff that people think is rare and precious, and have to break it to them that it's not worth the cost of shipping. I don't really understand how it can possibly work.

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You’re entitled to your own opinions — but you’re not entitled to your own facts.

Authored by: pjmelton on Friday, January 16 2009 @ 01:45 PM GMT+4

Well, one way it might work is by selling their mailing lists.... That is the thing I'm worried about mostly. I'm sure they're not stealing people's junk jewelry, but they will surely be collecting information about you along with the jewelry.

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You’re entitled to your own opinions — but you’re not entitled to your own facts.

Authored by: Maus Anon E on Friday, January 16 2009 @ 03:13 PM GMT+4

I don't know anything about Red Swan, but most of those businesses are only going to give you scrap prices, which means a certain price per ounce for whatever precious metal there is and maybe something for indivdual stones. They aren't going to pay you a "jewelry" price, so you won't get any value for the setting, design, or craftsmanship - even if they end up selling individual pieces.

All of those "home party" schemes for selling things are a way to round up otherwise uninterested participants and get them to part with some money by cajoling them with games or pushing them with peer pressure - or a sincere desire to make a friend's party successful.

The parties are the small time version of the deals where you supposedly get a free trip somewhere if you go to a "real estate seminar." The seminar is a high pressure sales tactic where they brainwash saps who thought they were getting a free vacation by controlling their every waking moment. The whole trip is designed to hype some condo investment or other and prevent you from having a moment to think or comparison shop to see if it's any kind of reasonable deal.

I like, for instance, some of the Pampered Chef stuff that Frau Maus buys at the parties, but if it was sitting on a shelf next to five other choices... we'd probably end up choosing something else.

So, while it's probably not a scam in the sense that they take your jewelry and give you nothing, it is probably not the best deal you'd get if you shopped around a bit. Of course, that's just a guess, so maybe it doesn't add much.



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Freemarket economy: A socialist system in which workers' earnings are redistributed to affluent citizens.

Authored by: pjmelton on Friday, January 16 2009 @ 04:10 PM GMT+4

The "party" thing is only one of the options. You can also just send them your jewelry and get an offer back from them, and if you like the offer they can buy it from you.

I share your suspicions of these fundraiser parties. Yeah, Pampered Chef and Tupperware are very high quality stuff, but the parties and fundraisers encourage people to buy stuff they don't actually need. I look through the catalogs and find very little that looks useful. Thank goodness I've never had to go to one of the "party" versions of this.

Perhaps the most disturbing version of these Highway Robbery Parties is the sex toy gatherings that started to crop up a few years ago. I just don't get how this is merchandise you order with your girlfriends over High Tea - unless, of course, your girlfriends are actually your Girlfriends. But that was not generally the case.

Anyway, the main thing I'm interested in is some concrete information about this business so I can discourage the relative from participating. It sounds like a basically terrible idea to me, but that is not a convincing argument against trying it out.

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You’re entitled to your own opinions — but you’re not entitled to your own facts.