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There's A Gold-Dispensing ATM on West 57th Street

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Re: There's A Gold-Dispensing ATM on West 57th Street

#21

Post by nandemo »

brador wrote: post #20

Someone in the comments: "what if someone files a chargeback on the card?". Any thoughts on this? By using the machine you've moved from a reversible transaction to an ireversible transaction. It looks ripe for scammers to abuse. At least at a counter they'd have your face on cam, but with this they don't.

I doubt you could easily initiate a chargeback because: they only accept debit cards, it's a card-present transaction, and presumably the buyer has to enter their PIN.

For the sake of the argument, you can still initiate a chargeback even if you don't claim unauthorized use of your card: e.g. you did make a purchase but the merchant didn't deliver the product, or the product was defective and the merchant refused to give you a refund, etc. But I don't think you'll have much luck trying to claim that a bona-fide financial institution gave you something that's not gold.

Re: There's A Gold-Dispensing ATM on West 57th Street

#22

Post by Nickoladze »

robin_reala wrote: post #15
euroclydon wrote: post #4

Those silver American Eagles make a great, almost magical from the child's perspective, alternative to the lame-o paper dollar under the pillow when your kid looses a tooth, but I would recommend working your way up to them as it gets a little expensive, especially if you have more than one toddler.

It’d never occurred to me that you’d get a note for a tooth in the US. Would be an expensive habit in the UK to give notes away.

Depends on the parents. I got half dollar coins, which are rarely used in the US (making them more fun to receive).

Re: There's A Gold-Dispensing ATM on West 57th Street

#23

Post by seanmcdirmid »

lifeformed wrote: post #16

I don't understand these. What are people using it for? Is it just for novelty purposes, and as a promotional tool for gold as an investment?

They are probably shooting at the Chinese market.

When you live in a dysfunctional country, gold is consider a useful investment.

Re: There's A Gold-Dispensing ATM on West 57th Street

#24

Post by seanmcdirmid »

iancarroll wrote: post #14
Killah911 wrote: post #9

ATM is a bit of a misnomer isn't it? Can you deposit gold into your "account" at the machine? If not then it's similar to any other sales kiosk (like the ones at the airport selling headphones)

Most ATMs won't let you deposit anyway.

Any ATM attached to a bank does let you deposit, actually. In the states, mostly just in envelopes that are counted later, but in China, they actually count and verify the money in place.

Re: There's A Gold-Dispensing ATM on West 57th Street

#25

Post by NoMoreNicksLeft »

lifeformed wrote: post #16

I don't understand these. What are people using it for? Is it just for novelty purposes, and as a promotional tool for gold as an investment?

Goldbugs like anonymity. You know, in case Obama decides to pull an FDR and confiscate all their precious Au.

Re: There's A Gold-Dispensing ATM on West 57th Street

#26

Post by jrochkind1 »

NoMoreNicksLeft wrote: post #25
lifeformed wrote: post #16

I don't understand these. What are people using it for? Is it just for novelty purposes, and as a promotional tool for gold as an investment?

Goldbugs like anonymity. You know, in case Obama decides to pull an FDR and confiscate all their precious Au.

Except you have to use an ATM debit card in the machine. If you wanted anonymity or lack of traceability, I think you'd rather buy with cash, probably using an actual in-person transaction.

(I don't know if the US or other countries require registering identity of people buying gold in person in cash? I don't think the US does).

Re: There's A Gold-Dispensing ATM on West 57th Street

#27

Post by saryant »

euroclydon wrote: post #4

Those silver American Eagles make a great, almost magical from the child's perspective, alternative to the lame-o paper dollar under the pillow when your kid looses a tooth, but I would recommend working your way up to them as it gets a little expensive, especially if you have more than one toddler.

That's what my father did for my brother and I as kids. Every time one of us lost a tooth, we got a silver American Eagle. Then we'd have to put it into a protective sleeve and look up its details in a coin book we had in the house. My brother and I would spend hours looking over every detail of those coins (there's not a lot to do when you're six and living in Wyoming).

I always wondered where they came from until I grew up and found my dad's giant suitcase full of coins.

Re: There's A Gold-Dispensing ATM on West 57th Street

#29

Post by chloraphil »

robin_reala wrote: post #15
euroclydon wrote: post #4

Those silver American Eagles make a great, almost magical from the child's perspective, alternative to the lame-o paper dollar under the pillow when your kid looses a tooth, but I would recommend working your way up to them as it gets a little expensive, especially if you have more than one toddler.

It’d never occurred to me that you’d get a note for a tooth in the US. Would be an expensive habit in the UK to give notes away.

Isn't the smallest denomination of a U.K. note £5? In the U.S. it's $1, which is currently worth about £0.60.

Re: There's A Gold-Dispensing ATM on West 57th Street

#30

Post by bane »

LeonM wrote: post #6

I have seen more than one of these "vending machines" in Dubai. Interesting thing is that they constantly adjust the price of the gold bars as the price of gold fluctuates. I guess these machines need a permanent internet connection to receive the current gold price. Who will be the first to do a MITM and adjust the price to 0.001? ;)

Out of curiosity, other than owning a lump of gold, what exactly are you supposed to do with it once you have it?
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