nickvc said:
Simple moral, many people believe their material is much much better than it really is and are ready to point the finger and then there are those who because they are thieves simply can’t believe everyone else isn’t.
You mean just like this thread, where the seller had 3n silver and only got paid for 98% silver?
4metals said:
The buyer probably just saw an opportunity to get another 1.15% out of you by swearing the XRF is always correct. You could bring in a Canadian Silver Maple Leaf coin or any other recognized quality coin from a mint which is .999+ fine. Let them read the coin and compare what you know is high quality to what you are selling. I think it was your buyer. Many act like that.
Why do you automatically think the buyer is a thief? You even said, XRF has to be calibrated against silver in order to analyze silver. So many people, including expert analysts, are unwilling to admit that there are limitations to the data that the super expensive machine spits out.
Lou said:
There was no way his silver was even as low in purity as 999. Probably >99.99%.
Another example of XRF being misused.
Exactly. XRF being misused. Could be a buyer that doesn't know the limitations of their equipment, but knows it always washes out in the end. Could be a thief as 4metals stated.
There are multiple lessons here.
The first that I got, is witness the melt. A trustworthy buyer WANTS you to have confidence in their process...and they are usually pretty meticulous in their process. Accidents happen, and they own them immediately.
The second...that gold could very well have been in the analyzed sample. If he didn't witness the melt, did he compare pre-melt and post-melt weights? Does the buyer have good melt hygiene? It's not hard to pick up a quarter of a gram from old slags if you are sloppy.
The third, both buyer and seller need to know limitations of analytical equipment.
My comments earlier are simply that I'm sick of the expectation of dishonesty in this field. It is like was said, everyone thinks their stuff is worth more than it is....and it's also like was said, even when it is worth more, then they think you should be able to operate on the margins of someone who is stealing from them.