Tulving (Closed)

I don't have a complaint to post against Tulving, but I had a similar problem with a different coin dealer in CA. I paid $67,500 for two rare coins which were supposed to be delivered within days of payment. Weeks turned into months. Dealer always had excuse, promised to ship but never did. Finally stopped answering my calls, emails, etc. I contacted and met with the FBI (took info but left impression they would do nothing which they did), wrote a letter to the CA Attorney Generals Office (fell on deaf ears). Filed complaint with local police dept. They forwarded info to the Orange Co. Sheriff's Dept. My case was assigned to an agent. Agent never contacted me and never investigated my complaint as far as I know (very pathetic). I also contacted several attorneys in Orange County as I was considering legal action against this coin dealer. I asked one of the attorneys why is this considered a civil fraud/theft case and not a criminal fraud/theft case. He said it is both, however, it would be prosecuted as a criminal case only if the authorities wanted to spend the time and money to prosecute the case. Finally, after filing a complaint with the Orange Co. DA's office, they were able to prod the coin dealer into sending my coins to me. The bottom line: You can spend thousands of dollars on legal fees and end up with nothing to show for your efforts. If you want his guy to do some time, complain to the Orange Co. DA's office and get the US Postal Inspector's Office to investigate these complaints (internet/wire fraud/theft). One of these agencies should be able to prosecute this guy considering the number of people he has ripped-off. He needs to be out of business and doing some time behind bars.

Stole nearly $20,000 from my family.
We do not have the means to simply write this off as an investment loss.
Evil, evil person.

We placed our order Jan 20th. Almost 2 months later we come to find out what he's done.

This guy ripped us out of our life's savings which in our case was well over $350k

I'm sickened by this. This needs to be addressed as a criminal case not a civil case.

News article stating they are now out of business.

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/tulving-604564-company-coin.html

As of Monday 3/3/14 Tulving Company is not answering phone calls. Tulving company is apparently out of business. One of the Tulving clients has retained a lawyer and filed a class action lawsuit. The information about the lawsuit is available on the website about.ag at http://about.ag/tulving.htm

My own order was placed on 12/19/13 and repeated phone calls did not yield a ship date, over two months after the order was placed.

I purchased $24,437 worth of gold coins from Tulving Company located at 750 W 17th St # A
Costa Mesa, CA 92627. I made the purchase based on information from his website ( tulving.com ) and placed a purchase order over the phone directly with the Tulving Company on 19 December 2013. I wired payment to Tulving Company on the 20th of December. Tulving Company has not delivered my order as of today, 4 March 2014.

The BBB has informed me that Tulving is out of business. Don't bother to file a complaint with BBB (I have two) and the last reply said they are out of business and they can mediate nothing. Your best bet is :

1. File an official complaint with the Orange County District Attorney (email the complaint or fax it) :
**CONSUMER COMPLAINT FORM http://www.orangecountyda.com/home/index.asp?page=117
**EMAIL IT TO : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

2. File an online complaint with the California Dept of Business Oversight : https://dbo.secureprtportal.com/pages/dfi_ecomplaint.aspx

3. I am in the process of retaining a lawyer recommended in one of the reviews below :
Candice Bryner 949-371-9056 option 1
or Chuck Marshall http://www.marshall-law-firm.com

I like many have dealt with Tulving over the years with no problems until the last few months. I was out $123,000 from Tulving and hired an attorney in Orange County California that was just great. She got right on my case and was able to not only file a lawsuit against Tulving but get the court to grant an emergency writ of attachment and protective order. The day after he was severed with the writ and protective order, Tulvings attorney contacted my attorney and said Tulving is going to wire my many back that day. AND TULVING DID!!! Contact me if you like and I can give you my attorneys info, she was great to work with and not to expensive. kris79247924 @ yahoo. com

I have been a Tulving customer for several years and have always received my orders in a timely manner. My last successful order with them was on April 3, 2013 which was just before the huge drop in gold prices. My order was shipped promptly.

Back in mid October 2013 I had an order ready to go and tried to call Tulving around 2:30PM Pacific Time. Nobody was answering the phone, which was unusual considering the time of day. Their website didn't say why like they normally do. For some reason I decided to look up gold dealer reviews and ran across this website and I started reading all of the horror stories. I was shocked, to say the least. Needless to say, I never ended up placing my order with Tulving, but based on recommendations here and elsewhere went with Texas Precious Metals instead.

Like I said, I guess I dodged a bullet. My order would have been around $25K.

I emailed Hannes Tulving on Jan 29, 2014 to set up an account. I got the response within a couple minutes. I bought 20 American Eagle 1 Ounce Gold Coin New Solid Date Rolls on Jan 30, 2014. I wanted the gold for a special occasion in the family and I was going to give the gold as a present in a religious ceremony. I asked the sales person if the coins were in stock and when they will ship it. I was told that the coins were in stock and they will be shipped overnight as soon as I wire them the money. I wanted to make sure I can get the gold before the ceremony. This is when the ordeal began….
I received the invoice on Jan 30, 2014 so I assumed I would be getting the delivery early next week. I did not get any delivery notification so I called the number again and the sales person told me to talk to Karen. I explained to Karen my situation and she said she understood as there was another person who had similar problem and promised me to put my file on Mr Tulvings desk. I emailed Tulving on Feb 6, 2014 explaining my situation and the promise that the sales person made. No response. I emailed him again on Feb 11, 2014. Again no response. I talked to Karen again on Feb 14th (she said they don’t ship on Fridays) but promised me again to place my file for Mr Tulvings consideration as he was the only one who can take any action. Now I was getting really nervous and scared. It was a lot of money for me and I had to get it for religious reasons. My only reason to buy from them was the promise of fast delivery. I talked with Karen again on Feb 20, 2014. She told me to check with her next day. Next day Friday Feb 21, 2014 I asked her if I was getting the shipment. She told me that I was not on the list. I told her that I need to leave for the event and I need the gold and she replied I can’t get the gold today but “you have our blessings”. Look at her nerves… I was appalled at their arrogance and deceitfulness.
That’s when I did what I should have done 1 month ago. I searched online for Hannes Tulving and found the web full of complains against him. I nearly had a heart attack at the prospect of losing the gold and my money. I sent another email on Feb 24, 2014 to Tulving asking him to give me a concrete date of delivery. As usual no response. I looked online to see what other people have done and sent him another email on Feb 25, 2014 telling him that I am going to contact BBB, www.businessconsumeralliance.org and Orange County District Attorney, the California Division of Business Oversight. Still no response.
THIS PERSON IS A FRAUD... DO NOT TRUST HIM....HE WILL BURN IN HELL....

From this page: http://about.ag/tulving.htm#.UmXeVnaN5iU.email

The Tulving Company is Out of Business

March 3, 2014 3:45PM EST
As we predicted/requested on Friday, The Tulving Company has gone out of business, as of Monday morning. They are no longer answering their phones, and we have confirmed that they have ceased operations.
Many people are in denial about this; unfortunately, it is true. Their website won't be shut down until they think to do so or it expires. Their phones will after a certain number of rings go to the default "E-mail us to place an order" message. But there is no way to place an order, they are dismantling the company.

This page will be updated as more information comes in.

There is a lot of information on our old page about The Tulving Company.

We hope to update this page with information about what will happen next. At this point, our best guess is that The Tulving Company will file for bankruptcy. Unfortunately, we believe that there will be little in the way of available assets with which to compensate those whose orders were not fulfilled.

This is an addendum to the information I presented back on July 4, 2013.

The fraud that seems to occurring at The Tulving Company has not dissipated. More burned consumers are coming forward to complain and some are pursuing legal action against Tulving. There are so many complaints, in fact, that major media outlets are taking notice. On 24 Feb 2014, King World News ran a prominent story about Tulving and cited the company's poor record of non-delivery. Earlier on 10 Feb 2014, the Orange County Register published a story about a $39,000 order for gold American Eagles that has not been delivered after four months. You can read the articles here:

http://kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/KWN_DailyWeb/Entries/2014/2/24_Is_A_Popular_Precious_Metals_Dealer_Stealing_Peoples_Money.html

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/coins-601179-tulving-gold.html

One of the more shocking items in the Orange County Register story was this fact:

"South Dakota resident Kenneth W. Stach says the company has failed to deliver 240 gold coins to him, for which he paid more than $318,000 in mid-November, despite multiple requests for the coins, court documents show."

In years past, infrequent buyers like myself gave Tulving the benefit of the doubt. There must be some mistake, I thought. My paperwork must have been misplaced for a time, I guessed. No more. The case for criminal activity at Tulving is very strong at this point. The fraud must literally run into the millions. This "dealer" is one of the Internet's premier con jobs and must be avoided at all costs if you value your money and your sanity.

More of the same as below. Ordered 50 oz. silver on Nov.25, paid by wire the next day. Started inquiring about delivery mid-December 2013. Been given false information and the runaround since then.
Thanks to these reviews, have filed complaints with BBB, Cal. Attorney General, Orange County D.A. and Cal. Dept. of Business Oversight.
Hope this is enough for Hannes to bust loose with my order. A local Cal. attorney is my next step.
Thanks to all who provided information on these reviews.
Never again! Will pay slightly higher premium next time.

I wired almost $27,000 in July 2013 for 20 oz of gold coins. After going through months of frustration of not getting the shipment, I filed complaint on www.businessconsumeralliance.org.

I got reply from Raychel Parris of BCA that she would work on this case, and I got my shipment today. Raychel is such a God-sent. At this point, the only way to get your gold or silver from Tulving is either filing complaint to BCA or hiring an attorney.

I cannot thank BCA and Raychel enough. BCA is simply the best service organization that I've EVER dealt with. Raychel was simply the best in her effectiveness and also keeping me informed via email along the process.

I, like some of you, have never written a review of any company. I have found the other reviews on this site to be very helpful as I have dealt with this company and would like to "pay it forward" by leaving my review. I placed my order with Tulving in early December, 2013. I was told that my order would ship 8-10 days after they had received my funds. After about 2 weeks, I hadn't received my shipment. A friend had dealt with Tulving before and had recommended the company to me. After 2 weeks had passed and I hadn't received my shipment I decided to do a little research myself and came across this site. I was terrified by the reviews I read. Here's what I did: My comfort level with this company staying solvent long enough to receive my order was very low so I sold back at a small loss. Calling Karen is useless. She is merely a voice for you to speak to - nothing more. Hannes Tulving's email is on their site. He reads his emails. I contacted him directly through his email twice. The first time I sent a polite email requesting that they refund my money (as it had been over a month since I'd sold back my order and still no check). Tulving didn't respond to my first email, so I filed complaints with the Orange County District attorney, the California Division of Business Oversight (who licenses this company - Eric Brunkal is your contact person with them), and the Consumer Business Alliance. I gave it a couple more weeks and still no response from Tulving and no check so I sent him another email. This time I told him that I had filed complaints with the above agencies and that I was going to file another with the FBI that week. The next day I received an email from him stating that the check was in the mail. I have found the reviews on this site very helpful. A common theme among them is that those who take action by filing complaints with the above agencies or who hire attorney's get their orders or money back. Most of those who do nothing, don't get either. Its unfortunate that we should have to go to such measures but I believe that if you'd like to get your order or money back, you'll have to do the same. Best of luck to you all.

I have never written on any of these sites but feel I have to do so now. We, like so many others have been scammed by Tulving. I placed an order July 10, 2013 after talking to the salesman assuring me that what I wanted they did have and delivery would be 3-5 days after receiving our money, via wire transfer. Received invoice receipt saying they received our money and would be receiving another email with the shipping information soon. Soon never came. Called Karen and was told it would be shipped the week of Aug. 10 which never came. Needless to say, after many calls and filing complaints with the FTC, Dept. of Business Oversight, Ca. district Attorney and the Orange Co. District Attorney we got nowhere. Was told that if enough people complain to the D.A., they would open an investigation but many complaints were already coming in!!! How many complaints were needed??? Finally in January of 2014, I had to hire an attorney who had to write two letters to Tulving to get my order. Tulving sent less than half the order after the first letter,,probably as a (good will gesture) after 6 months..Then the rest of the order was sent after another letter. Finally got all our order Feb. 5 of 2014. This man needs to be put out of business for good. He is running a ponzi scheme and its about to break. My suggestion would be to everyone to collectively retain a criminal attorney and file a class action suit against this man. Everyone in his office knows exactly what is going on. They say what Tulving tells them to say. He either pays them well to stay on or none of them have any conscience left at all. I guess thats all I have to say about this. Hope you all get your orders or refund of money. Money is what they do not want to return.

I have been ordering bullion from Tulving since 2007 & they always shipped orders on time until recently I have ordered 20 gold maples from Tulving & wired $24,593 back on December 30th 2013 and have not received my shipment. Called several times & was told to wait. No date of shipment is given to me by Karen, she gives me exuses that other people have been waiting longer than one month, their website says that they will ship right away, it shows that they have items that I have ordered in stock & will ship immediately as they receive the wire payment. Now when I call they are rude to me and just hang up on my calls.
Any recommendations anyone?

I would like to start out with saying that I’m one that never writes on forums but after my experience with Tulving, I felt a need to explain my story in the hopes I can help other people who have been scammed like I have. I am relieved to say I finally received my order after much time and I am writing this to tell you all how I did it.

Back on October 1st, 2013, I purchased 1000 ounces of 1 ounce American eagle silver coins. I wired them the money that day and they told me that the shipping time would be approximately three to four weeks. At the end of the month I called them and spoke to Karen inquiring why I have not received a shipment confirmation yet. She explained how they were very busy and to call back the next week. I decided to give them a little extra time and I called them back two weeks later. I spoke to Karen again and I got the same story. She would tell me that she put my invoice on top of Hannes Tulving’s desk and that it was solely up to him to determine which orders get shipped out. I then called back at the beginning of December and in the middle of December. Karen was very apologetic and explained how she cannot do anything. All she could do was put my invoice on Tulving’s desk. I then inquired if I could just receive a refund in the same manner that they received my funds (wire transfer). She explained that the company does not allow refunds but that they could buy my sliver from me and send me a check. I refused this option for a number of reasons as I would lose money doing this (sliver price decreased), I am not confident that their check would clear, and the amount of time it would take to receive the check would probably be great. At this point, I then decided to look on the forums to see what other people had to say and what I found was terrifying. I realized that many people were experiencing the same issues I was facing and that a lot people were stating that it was a Ponzi scheme that was unraveling. After reading this, I became very nervous and started questioning if the company will be able to survive for much longer. As such, I decided to take action and do what many other people on the forums were saying. I filed a complaint with the orange county district attorney and more importantly, I hired a lawyer in the local area. For anyone who doesn’t have a lawyer or is looking for a good one who is down to earth, cares, and charges a fair rate, I used Chuck Marshall. I’ll put his contact information down at the bottom for anyone who would be interested. I contacted him on January 2, 2014 and I ended up receiving what I ordered by the end of January after waiting since October 1st, 2013. It became evident that Tulving only responds to letters from lawyers so I STRONGLY recommend getting a lawyer if you ever wish to see what you purchased. I hope my story helps anyone caught in this terrible mess.

Lawyer contact info that I used:

Chuck Marshall
2121 N. California Blvd., Suite 290
Walnut Creek, CA 94596
P: (925) 575-7105 | F: (855) 575-7105
www.marshall-law-firm.com

Useful info/links

http://articles.latimes.com/keyword/hannes-tulving Shows Tulving declared chapter 7 bankruptcy in the past

http://about.ag/tulving.htm#.UmXeVnaN5iU.email A valuable website explaining various helpful facts and infomation about Tulving on how they are violating their own rules, the FTC mail order rule, and the multitude of complaints the company has been receiving.

http://golddealerreviews.com/reviews/gold-dealers/3-tulving This site shows people experiencing the same issues as me and asserting how it could be a ponzi scheme


http://www.tfmetalsreport.com/forum/5076/tulving-warning This site also shows issues people are having with the company and asserting the company is a scam

I placed an order with tulving and that was october 23. I was told that it would take 8 to 10 business days to ship overnight. after that time was up , I contacted tulving and was told that Fridays are not counted and no shipping can take place on Fridays. I was also told that they were behind in their shipping and that Karen was hoping that I would see it by the end of November. Well I did not receive the order till January 28th, 2014. I had started on the blogs of people that had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars and had not received their order. I had started to fear that I had been ripped off. I contacted the BBB and after 2 complaints , I received the order.

I had bought multiple orders from Tulving in the past with no problems. However, I paid $122,000 for metals in July and August of 2013. I have yet to receive delivery and when I asked. They won't give a delivery date and they won't refund my money. They have told me that they will buy it back.

My next call is to the district attorney.

I placed an order with The Tulving Company and wired over $10,000 to their account. They promised delivery within 10 shipping days. That was November 18, 2013. They continue to make all kinds of excuses and promises but will not refund my money. These people are crooks. I would put zeros on the ratings above if I could.

Situation as of Jan. 21, '14: I have made a number of purchases from Tulving since 2008 and have not had any problems of any kind until this last one, placed Nov. 08, '13. I was told to expect the delivery in 8-9 days. I called a month later, talked to Karen, & got the runaround. I called again another month later, even worse. In anticipation of the response from Tulving that they didn't yet have the product, I went to the site before I called to see if they were still offering to sell the same product I had purchased. They were. When I called, Karen gave no information, no promises, no apologies. She refused both to return my money, or to give a date for the shipment of the order. Karen might as well have said, "Stick it in your ear." Other than the initial email confirming the payment (which I received immediately after the order), I have not received any communication from them at all. I would have recommended them until now, but I would rather give a warning to not deal with them.

I ordered from Tulving in November scheduled for an early December delivery. I still have not received my order. Read the rest of the complaints. The story is the same for me. I hope the authorities take action soon.

I've dealt with them them a few times. A couple buys and a couple sells. Each time went without a hitch. They have by far the best buy/sell prices, and I recommend them to anyone looking to deal in bulk.

I have bought from Tulving for 15 years with no problems. 1st week of Nov 2013 I bought 500 oz of silver and it was at my door in 3 days. I bought 500 more the 2nd week of Nov and the problems began. Delays, promised dates and no silver. I filed complaints with the people below. I do not know what motivated Tulving to ship, but today Jan 13, 2013 the silver was delivered. I think this person was the motivating force (businessconsumeralliance.org). Strange situation why he shipped my silver in 3 days when others were owed metals for several months.
From my point of view Tulving has always been arrogant, rude and in general a jerk. I put up with it because I got my orders in a timely manner and at a good price. However, dishonesty I tolerate only one time. I have found JM Bullion http://www.jmbullion.com/ has better prices and much lower minimum purchases so I will try them next.
Try these people for help

http://www.businessconsumeralliance.org/complaints/the-tulving-company-inc-13090180
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
http://www.facebook.com/businessconsumeralliance

Better Business Bureau
Serving San Diego and Imperial Counties
4747 Viewridge Ave #200
San Diego, CA 92123-1688
Phone: 858-637-6199
Fax: 858-496-2141
www.sandiego.bbb.org
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

California Department of Business Oversight to the attention of EriK Brunkal, Senior Corporations Counsel. You can reach him at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by phone at (916) 322-8782.

paid for my order 12 3 2013 talked to karen many times got run around on 19 2014 karen said that they would no longer talk to us they blocked our phone numbers scam scam scam scam

My parents bought a substantial amount of gold from this company in September 2012. It is January 2014 and still have not received their order.

DO NOT BUY FROM TULVING...

We ordered 500 oz of silver in August and were told the shipping date would be 7-10 days. After 2 weeks we started calling and were given excuse after excuse and promise after promise.

These guys are running a scam. They have you wire your funds then sit on them for as long as they can and take advantage of a decrease in price. It took a letter from our attorney and ** 4 MONTHS ** for us to get the original order. So they made money on the original purchase price and a decline of $5 an ounce after 4 months.

BUY FROM SOMEONE ELSE!

Until today I have never left a negative review of a company. However, I am compelled for the sake of others who may purchase from this company to state the facts of my experience with The Tulving Company. On 7/15/13 I wired Tulving Company over 21,000 for an order that I placed over the phone for 1000 Silver ounces. As of 12/30/13 I still have not received the product nor have I been able to ascertain when they intend to fulfill said order. Since placing the order in July I have called 2 times in August, 3 times in September, and 4 times in October, and 3 times in December, in addition to emailing them. Each time Karen said that she could not tell me when my order would ship and the emails were never answered. I believe by the information provided on their website (http://tulving.com/New%20Pages/faq_frequently_asked_questions.htm) that they would ship the order within one month because they state, 1. "We always ship on a first paid, first shipped basis" and 2. they "only sell inventory that is within 30 days because we can not sell precious metals futures. Over 30 days, in our opinion, is selling a futures contract. We avoid that situation." Nevertheless, when i talked to Karen (who works customer service) in September she specifically stated that Tulving is no longer shipping orders in the order in which they are paid. Therefore I believe The Tulving Company is behaving fraudulently because they have failed to deliver products that were purchased over 5 months previously.

I ordered one monster box of silver U.S. Eagle coins in late July of 2013. I telephoned Karen Brooks at Tulving several times. Finally, I filed a complaint with the Consumer Business Alliance. The coins were finally shipped and I received them in Late November 2013. I won't deal with the company again and urge everyone to avoid them.

I have ordered many times over the years. Early 2013 I had an order take 6 weeks and I was starting to freak out, but the stuff finally came. I was getting pretty tough on Karen, the person you are referred to for checking on delivery.
New order 7 31 15 for 6 monster boxes. I asked specifically for an estimated delivery time and was told 10 days to two weeks. I wired the $69k and waited. I started to call Karen about a month out. I asked the guy that answers the phone about delivery times as if I'm going to place a new order and he is still saying the same ten days to 2 weeks. Then I ask where mine is and he just says Karen is the one with the info and switches the call. Eventually he knew my voice and would just switch the call. I began to realize that Karen would sound like the sympathetic person but NEVER give information. "Well, I'll have to look into that." I'll put your invoice on Mr. Tulving's desk." "That should be going out very soon." I also came to realize that Karen is deathly afraid of Mr. Tulving.
I wrote a complaint to the California Secretary of State office. I got a reply a week or so later that suggested I go somewhere else, like the SEC. Typical burocratic government employees. I had explained that I was denied a product I had paid for and this had nothing to do with futures markets or exchanges. Pretty worthless people.
I had been defaulted on by another dealer in the past and had a contact at the FBI. ( Look up Michael Crowder and M&H Coin in Florida. He is going to prison or is already there.) I called and set up an appointment . On about 10 25 13 I finally couldn't take it anymore. The guy answering the phone was still quoting the same delivery time. I was spewing hatred at Karen the Worthless and demanded a sell. She switched me to Kevin? At the desk and I processed a sell order. He said it would take two days to process the check then it would be overnighted. I asked for the payment of the Non-Delivery premium and he got ticked. Why not? It had been 85 days at this point. He said that I had made $4k on the trade and I should be happy. I replied that I would be happy if I ever saw any metal or money from them. I just wanted out.
I finally called Karen and told her that I had contacted the Attorney General's office and already had a reply ( true but useless ) , and that I had a meeting set with the FBI. She seemed to be rolling her eyes til I told her that I had been recording her, the guy that answers the phone, and the guy who processed my sell order two weeks prior. She was furious and said that it was illegal. Maybe it was illegal in California but my attorney says it's legal in this state if one person knows it's happening. I gave her a reference for the guy going to prison that I mentioned above and that I was scheduled to meet with the FBI the following Tuesday . I would let the FBI decide what was legal. She finally hung up on me.
6 weeks later on 12 12 13 I got the email that my check had been sent. I got it yesterday and took it to my banker. Turns out that the bank Tulving uses and mine are owned by the same holding company. I had them verify the funds and deposit the check. My banker is going to raise the alarm internally.
Well, now I don't have a case against Tulving because they eventually made me whole, but if you have money or metal hanging out there I would call the FBI and have them investigate for wire fraud . These delivery timelines are getting extreme and will likely fail soon. RECORD EVERYTHING if it is legal in your jurisdiction. Pound on the Attorney General office. Good luck. I hope you can get out before it blows up.

I've had 6-8 successful orders over last 3 yrs with little problem or delay until now.
12Jul13: sent $26,716.00 for 20 10z gold Eagles, Tulving received and deposited immediately. After many calls and false promises of delivery, and some "no idea why Mr Tulving has not shipped yours" I had them "buy back" my order in Mid November. Since gold had increased ~$50/oz, I received a check in 10 days for $26,650 and it cleared. If honest, due to the buy/sell difference of $22/oz, I should have profited $400. Instead I elected to take the small loss and get my money back rather than risking it. Cheap lesson. I am done with Tulving and highly recommend you do not do business with them.

I ordered 20 ounces of gold bars back in July and it's not December and I still haven't received my order. I call and Karen just tells me everything is out of her hands, it's up to Mr. Tulving and she doesn't know what he is doing. She doesn't know when orders will ship, Mr. Tulving supposedly won't tell her and here I am without my order all these months later and still no answer. Since the price of gold has dropped since I made my order Mr. Tulving could simply buy at the current price and ship me my gold and make himself a handsome $2000. This might be what he's doing. This company is very crooked and I'm hoping enough of us complain that the district attorney will put Tulving in prison for defrauding his customers.

Ordered 30, 1oz Gold Eagle Coins, July 23,2013. Received invoiced marked paid, no delivery shown. Called next week, running behind will be 3-4 weeks before we can ship, per Karen. Called at least 12 times over next 3 months, finally on October 24th,3 months later, said they would buy the order back and mail me a check, I agreed as I felt I might never see the coins. I heard from another dealer familiar with Tulving that Hannes Tulving got in over his head on some speculation activity and was not paying his wholesalers and they were not sending him any metal. I had sent complaints to the BBB, Ca dept of Business Oversite, FTC, Tx ATTy General, Ca ATTy Gen. and after 35 days of selling back to Tulving received a check. Dec 3rd. I feel the various departments had put some pressure on Tulving is why I finally got my money. I feel Karen has a script to go by telling customers the same story. All lies. I would never do business with them again and encourge others not to.

Promised 3 - 4 day shipment, then two weeks. After a number of phone calls and emails from my broker and myself, we still could not get a shipping date. It took 3 months and action from a lawyer to finally get the order shipped. I will never buy from them again.

My experiences is similar to others. Purchased 40 oz. of Gold Coins first week of Aug. After 10 weeks of promises & no delivery I sold it back to them since they stated they had supply problems & recommended that solution. Now another 5 weeks has gone by & not received a check.....with multiple promises each week. Contacted Dean Haackenson Enforcement Officer For Calif. State Dept. of Business Oversight 3 weeks ago. Was assigned a case number. I've given the case number to Tulving in case a call comes to them so they know which account. At this point I'm nearing 4 months since Tulving took the money & hasn't performed. I suggest others contact Dean. Maybe the license to sell in Calif. can be suspended until Tulving makes good to current outstanding customers. Any suggestions, places to contact?

This is for all who have been scammed by tulving. I have made several purchases over the years with no problems, except for the last one. I purchased some silver in Aug and had the same experiences as everyone else, no returned e-mails, dozens of calls to Karen, the standard "we don't know when it will ship" lines month after month. I filed with every agency under the sun and informed Hannes Tulving of what I was doing, still no delivery. They would always say "we'll buy it back from you" even though I never had it. I downloaded a form from the Orange County D.A.'s filed it out by hand (a consumer complaint form) and snail mailed it to the D.A. I got a call within a few days of sending it. She read the complaint and listened to my story and then hung up and called Tulving, she immediately called me back with the shipping tracking numbers from Karen, I got the silver the following morning.I urge anyone in this same boat to do the same, I asked the D.A.'s office if it was okay to spread the word and she said yes, just make sure to download the form and send it in. I also spoke with Eric Brunkal of the Ca. Div Of Business Oversight who was also very helpful. He informed me that the offer to buy back your pm's is "futures trading" which is illegal for them to do , due to the extended delay of delivery to the customers, so please don't sell back to them. Here is the form from the D.A.'s office, good luck. http://www.orangecountyda.com/docs/consumer_complaint_form__2_.pdf

I've purchased from tulving twice. I was reluctant at first because I have heard such mixed reviews but he was vouched for by a fellow coin dealer whom I trust.
My most recent order for 500 rounds arrived today (11/21/13), and the order was placed on 11/13/13. It was a smooth transaction. There was even a mix up where they sent me the wrong tracking number and it said that my package was delivered to north carolina but it was resolved in a day.
As far as future business with tulving goes, I'm up in there air. I have been hearing not so great things about the current state of the company which is what prompted me to look up these reviews. It was disheartening to read all the 1 star negative reviews but at the same time a relief that my rounds arrived without a hitch. For me overall the experience was positive and i hope I don't bite my tongue in the future.

Paid for 20 oz 10/1, called late October and got the same runaround from Karen, sent a nice email to Hannes and got no reply. Filed a complaint with BBB on Nov 1 which gave Tulving until the 19th to respond. Then I contacted the CA DBO contact listed below and got a case number right back by email. On 11/16 I drafted an email to Hannes outlining all the agencies I planned to file with and also companies like Kitco and Casey Research that have listed them in ads or articles. On 11/19 (the last day), Hannes responded to the BBB complaint with "Shipping by end of week. Thanks, Hannes", then I got the shipping notice and my order arrived today. BBB seems to get their attention, and DBO may be rattling their cage, or promises of action on the buyer's part to take further actions may get the job done. In the meantime, I will NEVER order from them again, it is just not worth the hassle or possible total loss of funds if this company goes down. It is too bad, their prices are good and delivery over the past two years was never a problem, but I am done with them. Good luck to all looking for results.

This order has taken over 4 months to finally get resolved. I placed this order back on 7/8/2013 and was told the product was in stock and would be shipped no later than the beginning of the following week. Then it was the beginning of the next month, Maybe. This scenerio deteriorated to my being told they didn't know when it would be shipped. Nothing changed until I filed complaints with four different agencies, as described in a prior post on this site, upon informing them as to what I had done I was immediately told my order was going out that day. I have done several deals with Tulving in the past and was quite happy with their service but after this last order never again will I do business with the Tulving Company.

Spoke directly to customer service who informed me that my order would ship 7 to 10 days after receipt of payment. After I received my receipt of payment from Tulving, I followed up with a phone call to Karen to inquire as to the expected ship date. She immediately told me she had no idea and that they were dealing with a high volume of orders. I told her what my promised ship date was at time of order and she essentially laughed at me. Tulving now has my money and it's clear they believe they can do whatever they want. Karen informed me that I would be lucky to see my shipment in several weeks. They tell you anything to get your money then they change rules. Had they been upfront and honest about their lead times, I never would have placed the order.

It's been 12 weeks since we placed our July 26 order. Our experience with Tulving mirrors those posted to this blog. They are playing a stalling game with customers, while whatever the real problem is is likely getting worse. Our attorney has sent a letter to Tulving demanding performance and after reading David's post, we too have filed complaints with the CA State Attorney General and CA State Department of Business Oversight. We hope to get our order but it doesn't appear very promising. I hope these posts will be viewed by all others who are thinking of dealing with Tulving. What a nightmare!

Here are some additional facts that you should be aware of regarding the Tulving Company.

In the 90's, Hannes Tulving's company was named Rare Coin Investment. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) determined that he defrauded customers by over $40 MILLION DOLLARS. He was heavily fined and put out of business. Tulving was operating a PONZI scheme which is essentially what he is doing now. See http://articles.latimes.com/keyword/tulving-hannes.

Hannes Tulving later reopened as The Tulving Company and has been sued numerous times for Breach of Contract and Fraud in the California Civil Courts apparently related to his illegal business activities. Tulving has since 'laid low' until the authorities lost interest. Over the past year or so he has returned to his illegal activities once again. He fits the old adage, "Once a Crook, Always a Crook". How much money has he defrauded customers out of now?

The Tulving Company is engaged in unethical, deceitful arbitrage and what amounts to a ponzi operation. Hannes Tulving relies on the fact that bullion prices fluctuate. A customer sends their money to Tulving to purchase gold or silver bullion at the current market price. Tulving tells the customer over the phone and web site that it will ship immediately overnight. Tulving then waits MONTHS for fluctuating prices to decrease substantially so he can obtain the lowest price from his supplier. Only when Tulving has guaranteed himself an extra large profit does he then fulfill the customer's order.

Tulving only accelerates the order fulfillment process when a complaint is made to the Better Business Bureau, the CA Attorney General, the CA Division of Business Oversight, or the Federal Trade Commission.

Tulving's activity is illegal since he leads customers to believe via his web site and by verbal agreement over the phone that orders will be shipped almost immediately overnight. **That is outright deception and false advertising.** TULVING IS RUNNING A SCAM! AT NO TIME DO CUSTOMERS AGREE TO LET TULVING COMPANY HOLD THEIR MONEY FOR 2-4 MONTHS SO TULVING CAN GAIN EXTRA PROFIT. It is time for The Tulving Company to be put out of business permanently.

Ordered mid-August. Told 10-14 days to ship as they were behind. After 2weeks, I called. Told would ship in 2weeks. After 4weeks total, I called. Told would ship in 2 weeks. After 6 weeks total, I called. Told would ship not before 2or3weeks. Told Karen this looked very suspicious. She recommended that I sell my order back to them at a loss (~$700) if I needed my money back. I suggested that since I have received NOTHING from them, they should cancel the order and return ALL my money. She refused to return my money. I suggested this was looking like a scam. She hung-up. My polite emails to Tulving have all gone unanswered. I am exasperated with this deceptive, untrustworthy company.

I called beginning of October to 'test' them. I inquired about placing an order of 2013 silver Maples. I was told yes, we have them in stock and will ship in 10-14 days. I asked how can that be since my order placed 7weeks ago has still not shipped. The order guy said he just tells customers what he is TOLD to say and has no idea what actual shipping times are. They are all LIARS.

I contacted the Better Business Bureau, the CA State Attorney General, and the CA State Department of Business Oversight who licenses Tulving. I filed a complaint with each and both AG and DBO (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) have contacted me personally. I urge all others to do the same. If enough complaints are received by DBO, they will definitely open an investigation. The AG also informed me that if enough persons complain about Tulving, they will open an investigation. I suspect DBO has quicker, responsive power since they can immediately suspend Tulving's license if they feel an investigation is warranted.

None of us have any quarantee of getting our money back. If the state takes legal action against Tulving, they can also freeze his accounts (our money) to protect it if he hasn't hidden it out of country. This may send a warning signal off in your brain, but if you are in the state's 'que' to be recompensated, then you have a much better chance of getting your money back than the sucker who is afraid to speak up and file anything official. Look, if the NSA, FBI, or related wants to know what you got, they will find out whether you file against Tulving or not. As for me, I am in the que to get my money back. The sooner he is shut down, the better for the public and the reputable bullion dealers.

UPDATE: Before submitting this, I called Tulving again (mid-October). Apparently somebody (BBB, AG, or DBO) scared him into action. Karen told me that my order would go out immediately. Great! But:

A) I am still pursuing my complaints,
B) I will believe it when I am holding my order is in my hands,
C) Will my order be what I specified? That remains to be seen.

IF I get my order this week, it will be going on 9weeks since I ordered. I do hope that I have no unpleasant surprises. Don't do business with Tulving. If you have, file complaints ASAP and hope you get your order or get in que to get your money back before Tulving is shut down. Good luck.

So many of the reasons we own gold have to do with TRUST. Trust (or lack thereof) in fiat currencies, central banks, etc. So we all want a trustworthy partner when we purchase bullion. Tulving WAS such a partner; they have become something else entirely. I am a very good customer: multiple purchases a year over the past seven years. My last two purchases from Tulving have been so horrible that I have now selected a new bullion vendor.

My experience is the same as others: placing orders are a breeze, receiving orders is a battle. Two months, three months ... who knows when you'll get your bullion. Nobody knows what is going on. If their shipping backlog is really this long, you can afford to hire another person in shipping. Are they playing arbitrage games? Do they care at all about their customers? Apparently not.

Yes, their prices are good. What is three months of your angst worth? And what if something happens to the company during your two to three month wait? You'll be screwed ... and kicking yourself for saving a few dollars.

After so many years of good service, it pains me to say this: I urge everyone to take their business elsewhere. Tulving is a disaster.

Had decent customer service until last order. Just received it today (October 3rd) after over a 3 MONTH wait. Never again. They have mastered the fine art of content free speech concerning shipment dates. I still remember the one about the 4th of July holiday delaying my shipment a week. The prices are good, but certainly not worth worrying about the safety of your money. Don't know what game they are playing, but I'm done with them.

I wired funds for gold products that was listed as available on their website. Received an invoice on 8/15/13 by email stating that they received the funds. Still haven't received it after 3 weeks. I've dealt with Tulving many times before, last time in late 2012. And each time they were always quick to ship taking only a few business days at the most. So now this is totally unexpected and got me worried as I don't know what's going on with them. Called Karen couple of times and each time they only states that they're running behind and cannot give a firm date when they might ship. I think what they're doing is not right as at least the customer needs to be informed before purchase that he should expect a significant delay in shipment. They need to change their website to give notice that they customer won't receive their product within 5 business days as before. If I do not receive my product by next week I will be forced to go to law enforcement agency for help.

Bill FinleyI have given up on Tulving. I sent a wire and they "had the silver in stock". I kept calling Karen and got no where. After 5 weeks I was getting concerned. The last time I ordered was a year ago. Karen said they had a shipping date and then cancelled it. She said Hannes comes in each day and decides what will be shipped. She had no idea when it would go out. I sent an email and had no response. I asked to talk to Hannes and they said he doesn't talk to customers during the day, they are not open at night anymore. So I just sold it back to them and spot plus 10 cents, after paying 99 cents over spot. I hope I get the check soon. The prices are not worth the risk.

I threw in the towel on Tulving today. I had done a few transactions with him that went well, although my previous order was late, but I had sent a check. I wired funds and have been waiting as we enter week 6. I had the same experience as the recent posters. Hannes won't answer the phone, or respond to an email. Karen, works part days, so you have to call when she is around. She finally says that they only have so much insurance coverage per day. They dropped shipping dates and now he comes in the morning and decides what will be shipped. My silver had a scheduled shipping date and then was canceled, no more shipping dates. She has no idea when my order would be sent, and tells me that others have been waiting. I became concerned and saw this thread and decided to sell back to them, without ever receiving the silver. Its a great gig, they sell at 99 cents over spot and buy back at 10 cents over spot. I suggested they buy it back at the same spread since they won't deliver. I just hope my check arrives and clears. Next step is to file a complaint with the State of California. I would not take the risk from ordering from him. Never seen anything like this in my life, so hope everyone gets their merchandise or their money.

I wired funds, and they were received in early July by Tulving. Significant purchase for me, after about a half dozen prior purchases with Tulving. I've phoned and spoke with Karen, and gotten the same run around as other reviewers here. Emailed Hannes himself, and he has stopped responding. This is concerning because prices were quite low, and now they are $200 higher for gold, and even higher percentage increase for silver. So did he get caught not having the gold, and then later hoping he'd procure it cheaper ? Its really the lack of response and vague answers that are troublesome to me, but the delay is making me wonder if I'll ever receive my bullion. Hate to irritate the guy bc he sort of acts like the soup Nazi from the Seinfeld episode's where if you piss him off, he puts you at the back of the line again. This likely the last time I'll do business with Tulving, and regrettably I had told someone else who was asking where I purchased. I'm considering going back to that person and saying, its not worth the worry or hassle to save a few bucks on the premiums.

I subscribe to Lemetropolecafe and have seen complaints regarding Tulving. This type of thing is unusual b/c dealers are never really discussed. Take note and consider dealing elsewhere.