…Vending machines? A German company is planning on rolling out vending machines that dispense gold – in several different formats (flavors?) at about 500 locations in that country.
TG-Gold-Super-Markt aims to introduce the machines at 500 locations including train stations and airports in Germany.
The company, based near Stuttgart, hopes to tap into the increasing interest in buying gold following disillusionment in other investments due to the economic downturn.
Gold prices from the machines – about 30 per cent higher than market prices for the cheapest product – will be updated every few minutes.
Customers using a prototype “Gold to go” machine at Frankfurt Airport on Tuesday had the choice of purchasing a 1g wafer of gold for €30, a 10g bar for €245, or gold coins.
A camera on the machine monitors transactions for money laundering controls.
Nice touch with the cameras. Won’t work, mind you, but nice touch. Because I can see machines like this being used a lot by money launderers. Heck, they can get someone to go do the transaction for them and stay off camera completely. Sure, there is a hefty premium on the gold (30%!) but the loss is much higher when dealing with fences, I’ve heard.
A rather amusing mental picture that comes to mind, however, is the typical rage that accompanies someone not getting the candy bar they paid for from a vending machine. I’ve seen very slight women go completely Conan the Barbarian on a vending machine over a Snickers bar.
Imagine the full-metal hulkage that will ensue over an undelivered Krugerrand.
