Today's thought of the day was holding / trading (mid term) actual gold as an investment/savings strategy.
Price speculation aside (may not buy anytime soon), what sort of costs/fees are involved and how/where do you go about it?
Also information on minimum quantities etc would be great.
Many thanks in advance
After doing loads of research both online and walking into more than 5 bullion dealers in Sydney, I've found Kitco to be the best option. https://online.kitco.com
They are a Canadian based company, I think they are the largest online bullion dealer in the world (I could be wrong), and from what I've read and based on 2 purchases I made, they seem very trustworthy. Better yet, I haven't seen lower spreads/premiums anywhere.
The minimum order for Australia is USD $2,500 though.
Even accounting for shipping and insurance, I've not found anything cheaper in Australia.
My 5 cents: physical precious metals have horrible transaction fees compared to just the commodity price: could be 10%-15% (silver) premium for the coin/bar manufacture, plus another 5% dealer margin in and out (silver and gold)… You should only consider physical precious metals if you're willing to hold them long-term / rainy day / collapse of the monetary system. If you just want to trade gold/silver and avoid the security risk of physical goods, just trade ETFs: SLV and GLD.
At these days prices, I see more long term potential in Silver than Gold :-)
Open to hear if anyone has found something better than Kitco.
Good luck!
I am no expert, I have only done it once. I bought from ABC Bullion, and a few weeks later the price of gold went up (luck). I went to those places where people stand on the street holding signs saying "Cash for Gold" to try to sell it.
The first guy said he would only buy for below 2% spot rate - not negotiable. The second guy I went to was more negotiable. He had a look at my gold and asked me how much I wanted. When I told him, he umm'd and ahh'd a bit before saying yes. He asked me where I bought it from and I told him, he said they have a very high mark up.
I wonder what these places do with all the gold they buy?
Any reviews from someone in Brisbane?
bullion