PORT ANGELES — By late Thursday afternoon, only a trickle of people had visited the Red Lion attempting to sell gold or jewelry, but Stan Walter wasn’t worried.
“The first day is always slow,” Walter said. “By Saturday, I’ll be on roller skates.”
Walter owns Precious Gems & Metals, which sets up shop for days at a time around the country, encouraging people to bring in their old coins, jewelry and precious metals for sales and appraisal.
The company set up shop Thursday and will buy through Saturday in Port Angeles at the Red Lion Hotel and in Sequim at the Holiday Plaza from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day.
Walter said he visits the Port Angeles area four or five times a year. Additionally, he is one of four companies providing more or less the same service that has booked into the Red Lion so far in 2010, according to Michelle Coghill, front desk agent.
Walter, who lives in Wabash, Ind., is on the road for nine months a year. He uses the business as an excuse to visit family members, including a brother in Sequim.
“This is a great area,” he said of Port Angeles. “The people are real, very down to earth — not like parts of California, where some people come in with all kinds of attitude.”
An “attitude” might be understandable, if Walter makes an offer that is less than what the customer feels the item is worth.
This is bound to happen since some of these pieces have been around for years and have achieved heirloom status.
It can be a shock to bring them to someone and find they are worth about $10.
But Walter applies an objective standard to each item. He runs a chemical test to determine purity, then weighs the item.
He calls up the latest value from an online chart on a nearby laptop and makes a cash offer.
He calls the process “low pressure” and does not push the sale.
“This necklace is sterling silver,” he said to one customer on Thursday. “But it’s only worth about $8.
“I will buy it from you, but you could make someone very happy by giving it to them, as a gift.”
Another customer brought in a set of silver coins from Franklin Mint and learned that it was worth about $160.
“This belongs to my 93-year-old uncle,” the customer said. “He just wanted to know what it was worth. I’ll let him know, and I may come back tomorrow.”
Walter said a large percentage of his customers have dealt with him before and often visit with him two or three times before making a transaction.
Most customers seniors
Walter said his clientele is comprised almost entirely of senior citizens. As a result, he does all his advertising in print because “senior citizens are the ones who read newspapers.
“A lot of seniors are downsizing so they want to get rid of all their stuff,” he said.
“They would rather get rid of it now and convert it into cash than wait until after they die and make their relatives fight over the jewelry.”
Walter requires identification and requests proof of ownership for each transaction but said the predominance of an older customer base decreases the possibility that the merchandise is “hot.”
Walter said he has the ability to make people comfortable about the sale, and he is the only such dealer who offers home service.
“A lot of my customers are wheelchair bound, so we offer them this service,” he said.
Walter said that his business has not suffered from extreme economic conditions, nor has he seen an increase of people who are selling off their valuables to make ends meet.
“My business is consistent because people die every day,” he said.
“There will always be people who leave jewelry to their children, who will have no idea of their value. I document this for them and make an offer based on the wholesale value.”
“But I don’t want to trade on people’s grief, and there are some things that I won’t buy if I think the customer is distressed about selling something.”
Customers who don’t want to accept wholesale numbers are free to sell the items themselves and have an idea what to ask after visiting Walter.
“I have a pretty good idea about what can sell on eBay,” he said to one customer. “I don’t think you will be able to sell this online.”
Walter said he always advises customers if he cannot pay what the item is worth.
The most striking example of this happened in Georgia a few years ago, when an old soldier brought in a cigarette case that he had taken from a dead German in World War II.
“There was a swastika on the outside,” Walter said. “On the inside, on the silver, there was an embossed picture of Hitler, Himmler and Goering. “
Walter bought the piece for $500 and kept it for his personal collection.
“I was told that a museum might be interested in this,” he said.
“But if a museum wants it, they are free to call me up and make an offer.”
