Police investigating downtown Vancouver coin shop

Vancouver police are investigating a rare-coin shop in downtown Vancouver after people complained that they never received their purchases.

According to the Vancouver Police Department, people around the country have attempted to buy coins from Blue Moon Coins, which lists 701 Main St. as its address. The complaints allege that although the company took the payment, it never sent the products. Blue Moon Coins sells wholesale precious metals and collectible coins.

The Better Business Bureau revoked Blue Moon Coins’ accreditation in December for failing to respond to consumer complaints, and gave the business an F grade.

Twenty-five complaints against Blue Moon were logged with the BBB in the past three years. Seventeen of those complaints were resolved with the assistance from the bureau, while several others remain unresolved. The bureau alleges that in many cases Blue Moon took too long to resolve customer complaints.

Consumers on the BBB website complained that they spent thousands of dollars on coins from Blue Moon, but they did not get their orders, or they got them late or never got the refund they requested.

Harry Gross, 75, of White Oak, Texas, said that he purchased 100 1-ounce coins on Dec. 2 for a total of $2,300. He planned to sell the coins for a small profit. By mid-January, the coins still hadn’t been shipped.

“I have complained six times with no satisfaction,” Gross said in an email to The Columbian.

Anyone who has had a similar experience with Blue Moon Coins is asked to called the Vancouver Police Department’s tip line at 360-487-7399. The Major Crimes Unit is investigating.

The business’s listed address on Main Street actually houses a business called Affordable Precious Metals. The Office of the Secretary of State lists Aaron Scott, of Vancouver, as the governing person of both Affordable Precious Metals and Blue Moon Coins.