Lear Capital’s ‘Free’ Silver Will Cost You $20K

Know what you're getting into with this promotion for $500 worth of "free" silver coins.

Sep 19, 2014 | Updated February 23, 2017

Lear Capital’s ‘Free’ Silver Will Cost You $20K

UPDATE 11/9/15: Since the publishing of this Ad Alert, Lear Capital informed TINA.org that it was no longer promoting “Free Silver” in its current advertisements.

Lear Capital wants you to feel special, one of a kind. “We’re holding $500 worth of free silver coins!” reads a headline on learsilver.com. “Just for you!”

But the reality is you have to purchase $20,000 of silver from the precious metals seller before you get the $500 worth of “free” silver. The fine print on learsilver.com explains this stipulation only as “on qualifying purchases.” You have to call the company to get the full story. So we did.

“The amount you get free is based on a percentage,” a company representative said, with notably less enthusiasm than the proclamations made on learsilver.com. “With every amount you purchase, you get an additional 2 1/2 percent.”

So do the math — 2 1/2 percent of $20,000 is $500 — and there you have your “free” silver coins. You only had to buy the equivalent of a Hyundai first.

But that’s not the only ploy in Lear Capital’s advertising arsenal. In a TV ad touting the same promotion, the company claims that silver has seen an average growth of 20 percent a year over the past decade, but omits the critical fact that the value of silver took a nose dive in the last few years.

Since 2011, the price of silver has plummeted more than 60 percent, from a high in April 2011 of $48.48 an ounce to its current rate of $18.50.

But you won’t find the above statistics mentioned in Lear Capital’s promotion for free silver, which we now know isn’t free. So much for you guys being buddy-buddy.

As with gold, an investment in silver and other precious metals can help diversify your portfolio and help hedge against inflation but it pays to ask yourself some questions before making that big purchase.

Also, consumers may want to be mindful of what one publication, which provides analysis for wealth managers and registered financial advisors, noted: “Lear’s primary business is selling gold and silver coins. But you can buy coins more cheaply elsewhere.”