How To Avoid Bad Paydirt

Use these tips on How To Avoid Bad Paydirt. To avoid bad gold paydirt, you should follow these instructions and use common sense to avoid shady dealers.

First off, I have only run across a few bad paydirt sellers. Almost all are legitimate, and they are selling a good product, even if the quality or how "good" the dirt is can be up for argument, they are not trying to scam anyone. The biggest scam however, and is nearly undetectable is called salting or sprinkling. This is when a seller buys gold flakes and a nugget or two and mixes it with regular ordinary dirt. Really not illegal, it is unethical, and a bad experience for all.

Here is what you can do to avoid bad paydirt:

• Research - look the company up online.  See if they are registered with the BBB, Verisign.net, and other online certified merchant programs.
• Look in GPAA Magazine.  The gold prospector's magazine only allows GPAA members and companies they trust advertise within their pages.
• Ask other people's experience - you can find other hobby prospectors online, in the forums, or at GPAA meetings.
• Look for online feedback and reviews - Check our site for mining company and paydirt reviews, look at eBay's feedback system, or check again in the forums or elsewhere.
• Get a sample from the company first - Many, but not all paydirt companies will send you a free sample just to try their dirt.  They know they have high quality dirt, and are so confident in their product that they are willing to give some of it away.
• Work out any issues with the seller first - sometimes problems may occur in shipping, or orders mixed up, or whatever.  People make mistakes.  A reputable company will fix the mistake quickly.
• Check for toll free numbers or contact information.  Call the company up and see how knowledgeable they are on their product.
• Remember their are always stinkers - The case of the matter is is that paydirt is "the luck of the draw".  Sometimes you will get dirt chock full of gold and color, other times you may only get a few flakes.  That's sometimes how it goes, but if you REPEATEDLY get skunked from the same company, quickly discontinue their product, and report them to the BBB or elsewhere to resolve the current issues.

Using these tips will help you avoid bad paydirt and non reputable sellers.  Remember to research, ask questions, and verify reputability.  Doing this will leave less time to scrambling, and more time to panning.