Gold/Silver Expo comes to town

By Jay Warren
WSLS10 Anchor
Published: March 25, 2008

The fourth floor of the Holiday Inn Tanglewood in Roanoke is not for sleeping this week. It’s for trading.

Many of the rooms on the floor are staffed by someone who is judging the value of some of your most prized possessions, from jewelry to flatwear to coins.

Bobby Poff from Roanoke walked in with several rolls of quarters and dimes and a few dollar pieces and walked with almost $700 dollars.

When asked if it was what he expected it to be worth, he said, “Close to it. They’re not going to pay full price.“

No, they’re are not paying full price because full page ads in the local newspaper and renting entire sections of a hotel costs money.

“It’s a lot of cash which means they are planning to make a lot of money. This is a profit making organization,“ said Julie Wheeler with the local chapter of the Better Business Bureau.

Wheeler says there are no complaints on file against the group running this expo, Anderson, Carter, Tira, and Associates Estate Buyers. But, did they follow all the rules regulating this and Virginia law? For instance, on our tour of the operation, Dave Andrews, one of the staffers, pointed out that every room was equipped with a scale.

The scales are used to weigh the gold and silver when necessary. A representative with the Virginia Department of Weights and Measure says those scales must be inspected by either a state-certified inspector or by an inspector with the department before business can begin.

So, were these scales tested? Ten On Your Side posed that question to Bob Cornish, the staffer who evaluated the Bobby Poff’s coins.

WARREN: “WAS IT INSPECTED HERE TODAY BEFORE YOU STARTED?“

Cornish: “I don’t know if it was inspected today. I know the last time we were on a trip it was inspected and they don’t vary too often.“

We also asked Dave Andrews. He said the scales were not tested in Roanoke, but they were tested in the last city the group visited.

The Department of Weights and Measure representative, Marian Horsely, said as far as she knows Anderson, Carter, Tira, and Associates had not filed the proper paperwork with the state to show that the scales have been inspected locally. That inspection is necessary for the expo to be open. She says the department will send out an inspector as soon as possible.

Todd Tira with Anderson, Carter, and Tira said Roanoke County Police issued them the license to operate the expo. Tira says the county did not require an inspection of the scales locally and accepted the organization’s last inspection from another city. He says they have never had a problem with their scales and he welcomed the county or state to conduct a thorough test of the scales. Tira said they were not trying to go around any Virginia codes or laws.

With groups like this, Wheeler with the BBB recommends you do your homework. You need to know how much your belongings are worth through research online or through an actual appraisal. She also recommends you know how much it all weighs, which can serve as a second test of the scales.

“There is no reason for anybody to go into something like this unprepared and without the information that they need. It just takes a little bit of homework and you’ll be a lot better off,“ Wheeler said.

Tira and Cornish agree with Wheeler. They said the best kind of customer is an informed customer.