It has always bothered me to see full page ads in the Cleveland Plain Dealer for the traveling "Collectibles Buyers" who come into town for a few days to prey upon the most desperate citizens of our region, setting up shop in some seedy motel to buy jewelry, coins, watches, etc... the family treasures... from anyone they can scam. Recently, a local TV investigator did a segment on this sad practice, showing that the brokers offer their victims low values only the most pathetic fools would accept. There are serious appraisers and auction houses and other ways to value objects should one want to sell something valuable - if you are selling lower value collectibles, there are local dealers and eBay.
Clearly the local "Journalist" publication of record does not care that our citizens are victimized, and that these "Collectibles Buyers" operate in our region. Today, the ad is three full pages in the front section of the rag, netting the paper lots of cash... and they are the only winner (beside the "Collectibles Buyers"). The "Collectibles Buyers" are in town 6 full days this week - it is worth looking at their ad to appreciate how to write a good sucker punch... for example, promoting "very little walking" to suck in the sick and elderly who would be most desperate and easiest to victimize. "Private rooms" for "security".
For a journal that launched a campaign on "Believe in Cleveland" and finally has begun to address predatory lending, it is sad they enable such poor business and social practices that only harm the most pathetic of our community. This is the ultimate demonstration of a community where people "Be Leavin" - may the last one out sell their treasures to "Collectibles Buyers" and turn the lights off on the way out of town. The best way for the publishers of the PD to Believe in Cleveland would be to refuse to enable such victimization and protect the remaining citizens. Clearly, the vultures are circling - the "Collectibles Buyers" are buying more ad space and coming in for so many days because this is a desperate region - they know of our noisy crisis - and they have targeted us as prime sucker-land, and the PD as the prime sucker-space. Protect your loved ones from such predatory advertising.