Gold ?

McKneff

Thank you peeps. x


Annie

Flobberchops

Gold is a commodity that you'll be charged a premium to buy, you'll be charged annual safe deposit fees if you're keeping it in a vault or else you'll have to pay for your own transport and storage if you're holding it yourself. It generates no interest and pays no dividends. Personally I don't see the appeal, but if you're that way inclined I suppose I'd say identify what you want it for and do your homework.

I hear people citing a "shtf" moment as a good reason to buy precious metals, but in my opinion owning a whacking great bar of gold would only serve to draw attention and make you a target in a post-apocalyptic situation. Maybe buy a roll of gold Sovereigns if you want to feel like James Bond, and keep most of your money in cash and equities?

grey_gym_sock

jimjames wrote: »

If you want an investment that you can't easily sell or spend then why not invest in stocks and shares? Far more chance of making a profit over the long term.

and even better, invest in stocks & shares inside a pension. then you can't get the money out again until you're 55.

caveman38

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

But you bought jewellery and not investment type gold and there is normally a huge markup on jewellery, something that you would only get back with rare or highly desirable pieces.

9ct gold is 37.5% pure so 23 grams works out that the bracelet contains 9 grams of 24ct gold (or slightly less than 1/3 of a Troy ounce) which 10 years ago had a value of about £87 as gold was selling for £300 an ounce in Jan 2006 so of the bracelet selling price of £450, the gold only accounted for 20% of this.

Your £450 would have purchased 1.5oz of bullion which today is valued at £1130 and if you had been lucky enough to sell it at its peak in 2011, you would have got about £1750 for those 1.5 ounces.

Would I be right in thinking the price of gold is quoted in USD and not £ and how does that equate to the example above?

Malthusian

Flobberchops wrote: »

I hear people citing a "shtf" moment as a good reason to buy precious metals, but in my opinion owning a whacking great bar of gold would only serve to draw attention and make you a target in a post-apocalyptic situation. Maybe buy a roll of gold Sovereigns if you want to feel like James Bond, and keep most of your money in cash and equities?

Also in a SHTF scenario, if you have a roll of gold sovereigns, each day you could probably barter one of the gold sovereigns for a day's worth of food or a warm coat, so it could keep you alive for a good week or so. (Although you'd have to be careful about where you traded, or people would come looking for the rest of your gold sovereigns.) If you have a gold bar, you'd probably be able to barter it for... one day's worth of food. What else are you going to do with it? It's not divisible, there aren't any goldsmiths to melt it down into coins for you. You can't go to another trader because the cost of transport would be the gold bar. You can't decline in the hope of a better price tomorrow because if you don't buy some food you're dead tomorrow. When society collapses and resorts to barter, all the bargaining power is with those who own the means of survival, everyone else has zero power regardless of the market value of what they own.

A roll of gold sovereigns would also make a decent enough weapon if you stuffed it into a sock.

puk999

When purchasing an investment, think of the exit strategy(ies). How quickly and easily can you dispose of the asset?

Gold has many downsides on purchasing and holding, a few of which have already been mentioned:

Flobberchops wrote: »

Gold is a commodity that you'll be charged a premium to buy, you'll be charged annual safe deposit fees if you're keeping it in a vault or else you'll have to pay for your own transport and storage if you're holding it yourself. It generates no interest and pays no dividends.

When selling, a big downside will be the low price you'll be selling at if you're selling to a dealer. If you're selling on eBay, the buyer who might be trying to scam you and claim that you've sent them a fake. You'll have eBay, PayPal and postage fees to include whilst trying to remain competitive. There might even be legislation against dealing in physical gold.

A couple of years ago I bought physical gold and silver. I now wish I'd put the money into S&S ISA/pension.

If you're really want to purchase, then look at https://www.coininvest.com/en/

puk999

Malthusian wrote: »

A roll of gold sovereigns would also make a decent enough weapon if you stuffed it into a sock.

:rotfl:

10 characters

shaun_from_Africa

caveman38 wrote: »

Would I be right in thinking the price of gold is quoted in USD and not £ and how does that equate to the example above?

No. all of the figures I quoted in my earlier post were in £ Sterling.
Gold today is trading at about £750 per ounce and at its peak in 2011 was about £1165 per ounce.

cloud_dog

bradztheman wrote: »

There are probably many users on here that have bought/invested in gold.

I know nothing about the matter, all i know is that if i invest in buying gold bars i will have a much better chance in not being able to spend readily available cash and savings.

Are there sites to compare the cheapest gold bullion and coins? For buying and selling?

Need some advice on the matter, im not talking tens of thousands of pounds either, maybe a few oz bars.

Soooo, why are you considering it?

shaun_from_Africa

puk999 wrote: »

When selling, a big downside will be the low price you'll be selling at if you're selling to a dealer.

A couple of years ago I bought physical gold and silver. I now wish I'd put the money into S&S ISA/pension.

If you're really want to purchase, then look at https://www.coininvest.com/en/

Your first comment is incorrect and could well explain why you lost out on your physical gold & silver.
When you buy from a dealer you pay a premium on the price of the gold (this varies depending on what is bought) but when you sell to a reputable dealer, they should pay you whatever the spot price for the gold is at the time of the transaction.

I will use the place that you linked to in your post as an example.
The current spot price for gold is £756.38 per ounce and if you were to sell a 1 ounce coin to Coininvest, they would pay you £756.88 (This is for a 1 oz Krugerrand. For some coins they pay slightly more).

I'm not saying or implying that bullion is a good purchase for anyone, simply making sure that the correct facts are posted for those that are considering it.