Never waste a perfectly good crisis! Responding to Hotel Gold Buyers.

Hotel Gold Buyers are the current focus of many in our industry and rightfully so. Hoping the issue goes away while doing nothing is just plain silly and yet many pawnbrokers will do just that. Nothing. Well except for complain about the fact there is a problem and why nobody has done anything about it. We are good about that.

There is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to dealing with your individual problem in your individual municipality in your individual state. The purpose of this document is to provide enough basic information that a business owner can then use to formulate a plan of attack to go after “THEIR” problem. To be clear, the NPA will not solve this problem on anyone’s behalf, nor can they. So, stop waiting for that non-event to occur.

The impact of a “buying event” in Keller, TX is irrelevant to any pawnbrokers and their customers outside that region, so those directly impacted by that “event” are the ones that need to step up and address it so it doesn’t happen again. Period. If you do not help solve the problem, then you are part of the problem. Period.

Until now, local buying events have been treated with a mishmash of last-minute appeals to law enforcement halfway through the actual event. These attempts to squash the event are usually met with varying excuses and lukewarm offers to “do something about it next time since it is too late now and they already have a license etc…”. How is that working? If that has been your experience, then it is time to change your approach! What follows then is a common-sense guideline for next steps that ANY pawnbroker can follow and utilize to actually make progress in stopping this scourge from growing any worse than it already is.

Keep in mind that our goal is not to eradicate your competition. The reason many of our missives with law enforcement on this front have failed is because we are whining about what is fair and it is seen and receive for just that…whining. Remember, that approach is not working. We are attempting to bring our competition under the same rules that ARE enforced against licensed pawnbrokers in order to protect the public and assist law enforcement in their goals. THAT, while addressing the same issues, is NOT whining. It should be about educating and coming along side law enforcement which is NEVER a bad thing.

There are three basic areas we need to look at in order to be successful as possible in our mission.

1. 1. Educate yourself about the laws in play that you as licensed pawnbrokers are required to follow. Keep in mind that ALL pawnbrokers are “Precious Metals Dealers” and “Secondhand Dealers”. There are in many instances rules that are separate for these entities. In order to know what laws apply, you need to look at the right rules to begin with! Hotel Gold Buyers are NOT pawnbrokers!!! You cannot make them fit into whatever rules govern you as a pawnbroker!
      1. Look in the “definitions” section of your municipal code/statutes and identify exactly what is a “pawnbroker” and what is a “secondhand dealer” or “precious metals dealer”. Know the differences and similarities.
      2. Define clearly those rules that are not, or are most likely not, being followed by these out-of-town buyers, detailing the sections and codes so that law enforcement can easily see where enforcement is not occurring. This is as simple as printing out the appropriate code and using a yellow highlighter.
   2. Educate law enforcement about the laws in play and why you feel that there is a problem, without whining! Focus on education while also offering to provide any assistance along the way. Yes, offer to partner with them rather than stand back with arms crossing asking, “Well, what are you going to do about it?”
      1. Better yet, form a coalition with several area pawnbrokers to have this conversation and do this as a unified front.
      2. Get as much of this in writing as possible in case you need it later. If you are providing documentation in writing upfront and that is how the whole dialogue goes, that is great. If you have an in person dialogue, then follow it with an email that details what you discussed and also what you understand the next steps to be. The more you have in writing, the better any follow up will be. All parties tend to do a better job of being professional and following through when things are in writing.
      3. Provide additional information to law enforcement that may assist them in YOUR mission.
         • Advertising is plentiful for these events and should be kept now until we see these events either dry up or fall into compliance. Advertising takes several forms but is typically found in:
           1. Newspapers
           2. Mailers
           3. Social media (especially FaceBook)
         • Reports and documents from third parties (like us) that have detailed databases showing every event in the country since Sept 1, 2025.
         • Evidence of successful litigation shutting these events down for lack of compliance with local or state rules (See Jackson County, MS permanent injunction)
         • Copies of BBB and other similar watchdog sites showing disgruntled victims with a focus on things like bounced checks and shady techniques in play)

1. 3. Follow through! Accountability is the key by all parties. We are asking for accountability on the part of the gold buyers and law enforcement.
      1. If the gold buyers fall into line (which is rarely the case) then make sure that all players in the region fall into line equally for the benefit of all. Competition that is fair is the aim of the mission, with or without the gold buyers included. That choice is theirs and not ours.
      2. If they do NOT fall into line (usually the case) then the plan needs to be re-tooled and in most cases escalated to the next levels. It is important to not alienate law enforcement even though they may be part of the problem! Do not shoot yourself in the foot here!
         1. Law EnforcementIn writing, explain that you are disappointed with the results and ask how you can have further dialogue to better understand why they feel the way they do. Also explain that this is very important to you and that you are considering next steps on that basis. Do not threaten, just let them know you are not letting the ball drop here.
         2. Identify who in the media could be helpful to you, especially investigative journalists that like consumer advocate type stories. Rarely do they consider us to be more than a target, so this is a great opportunity to educate the media and the public about what we do and how regulated we are! It is safe to share your frustrations with these events and why (just don’t whine). This is where having written documentation of your attempts is critical!
            • Ask them to help identify why law enforcement is choosing not to enforce laws for some but will do so for others that fall under those same laws.
            • Remember to show as much context and detail as you can, keeping abreast of all attempts across the country by others who are seeking the same outcomes even if they are in different states.
         3. Consider meeting with the city attorney. You are seeking understanding as to why city codes or state statutes are not being handled on an equal basis. You are not accusing, but you are trying to understand! It goes without saying that you will need to get everything in writing here as well. Let them know you are serious about this and want to see it addressed. Again, here is where a coalition of like-minded competitors is very useful. It sends the correct signal that competition is not the issue, rather it is a lack of conformity that needs to be addressed.
         4. Hire an attorney of your own to address next steps which may be a more strongly worded request to the city attorney or the filing of paperwork seeking a permanent injunction against these out-of-town buyers and their non-conforming behavior. Obviously, you would provide all of the documentation listed above in order to give as much ammo as you can to your representative.
         5. Get your state association involved at the appropriate level. THIS IS WHY STATE ASSOCIATIONS EXIST! They should be looking at what other associations are doing that has worked while also focusing on what has NOT worked so they can get their lobbyist helping to make changes that are going to have the biggest impact on your mission.

The issues that are most often trampled on by these out of state bad actors are:

1. 1. Improper licensing
      • A city business license for a popup event is rarely adequate, and this is an important fact for law enforcement to understand. A simple request is to compare a state ID to a DL. Both are a form of identification, but a state ID is not a license to drive and they will call you on it. We are asking for the same consideration here.
   2. Lack of identification gathering of sellers
      • We have documented evidence of ID’s being copied and fingerprints taken but then never delivered to law enforcement. This is a much bigger issue because the customer believes that the buyer is acting legitimately when they actually are not.
   3. Lack of reporting to law enforcement
      • In most cases, law enforcement gets zero information about the seller or the items being sold.
   4. Items not being held separately through hold time (commingling)
      • It is common for the buyers to use coffee cups from the hotel to commingle like items (wheat pennies in one cup, mercury dimes in another, 10k, 14k, 18k, 925 all in separate containers)
      • In most cases, a unique identifying number is to be assigned to each item that ties with what is reported to law enforcement. Clearly when items are commingled this is not occurring.
   5. Items not being held at all (shipped out every night to head office)
      • While this is a sticking point for all, it is important to know your municipal and state rules that address WHICH items are to be held. In some areas, only coins have to be held, while in others coin AND bullion are to be held. In almost all areas, secondhand items of all types (jewelry, flatware etc…) are to be held and reported.
   6. Improper scales in use (not calibrated or licensed)
      • Frustrating for us, but can be used as a tool in the fight. The rules that regulate scale use are rarely found with secondhand rules, so you have to do a little digging. Most often the state Dept of Agriculture is the one that oversees the rules for scales so their website is a good resource.
   7. Federal laws that can be brought to the attention of law enforcement, but they may not pay any heed:
      • No Anti-Money Laundering program
      • Annual training of employees not performed or documented
      • Annual reviews not performed
      • SDN checks not performed on every client they hand money to

A final thought is that anyone you speak with needs to understand the nefarious nature of these out-of-town characters. They purposely keep notification about upcoming events close to the vest.

• • While they have websites, they are most often basic in nature. There is usually a single landing page only that points you to a Facebook page. This is intentionally done so that it is hard to see where they will be further out than 10-14 days, handcuffing law enforcement efforts since things are already under way.
  • There is no mechanism in place to leave negative feedback in an attempt to warn others. Anything left on Facebook of a negative nature is immediately removed since they control the narrative.
  • They put locally pre-fixed phone numbers on advertising to make it appear as if they are not out of state.
  • They use “Roadshow” references and photos in their advertising and marketing which is very misleading.
  • Advertising for different “buyers” looks very similar as do the logos employed, leading us to believe that they are all owned by a single company.
  • ID’s are copied and fingerprints taken at shows of sellers, but these are never provided to law enforcement. What is the purpose? More importantly, what is done with this non-public identifying information? If not given to local law enforcement, what was the purpose? If and when destroyed, is this done securely?

Educate yourself. Educate law enforcement. Follow-through. These steps will work but you can’t skip any of them.