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Fascinating! I certainly like the idea of "crowdsourcing" the gold delivery by just opening up a window in the Bank of Venezuela in Caracas, and asking that peo
by egiva 15y ago
Fascinating! I certainly like the idea of "crowdsourcing" the gold delivery by just opening up a window in the Bank of Venezuela in Caracas, and asking that people turn in gold for a modest bounty (2%). That might be over-estimating the amount of gold that people in South America have on hand, but it's certainly creative!
- dfc 15y agoThe first time I read this suggestion I thought it would be an absolute nightmare dealing with impurities. When I reread it I realized he suggested standard gold bars. But this seems even more unrealistic. I either did the math wrong or the crowdsourcing idea is just ludicrous: Standard bar = 400 troy ounces Price per troy ounce = $1700 400 * $1700 = $680,000.00 How many people are going to have a gold bar worth $680k lying around in Venezuela?
- darklajid 15y agoMaybe you have enough money to buy one? The trip cost is nothing to worry about. If you just need to put this thing in your baggage and get 2% on top on the other side, don't you think that it would be a) interesting. exciting. fun. (yeah, got the money) b) lucrative, if it works out (and what are the risks?)
- dfc 15y agoIs it really "Crowd-sourcing" when you are drawing from such a small pool of people?
- Bud 15y agoI think the point is that if you're paying a 2% premium, that being $13,600 in this case, that makes it worth it to GO to Venezuela and take the gold there, thus getting a free vacation.
- dfc 15y agoA free vacation and a free ulcer from dealing with the stress of transporting 680k worth of gold. Whatever you do to mitigate the stress is going to cut into your vacation money.
- RodgerTheGreat 15y agoBe honest- if you had $680,000, would you be willing to risk it for an additional $14,000?
- pavel_lishin 15y agoDepends on the level of risk. Couldn't I just Fedex the gold - insured for its value, of course - to a confederate in Venezuela, and split the 2% commission? Assuming you can trust your partner, the worst case scenario is the gold getting lost (or "lost") in the mail, and having to wait for the insurance payout.
- ianferrel 15y agoI'm willing to bet that Fedex will not insure a small package for $680k for anywhere near 2% of the cost.
- lojack 15y agoIf my expected value after the trade is higher than $680,000 plus some markup for my time, then yes, I would be willing to risk it.