Anyone got any advice about buying gold? I know to go to China Town. As a beginner, what is the most I should  spend at a time? How often should I buy? Should I rent a deposit box? Are there any topics about buying gold on this forum?

Thanks.

MOVED  to Banking

 

 

May be of interest. 

Why do you want to buy Gold , as an investment , for your wife ,G/f ,

if for investment your better buying Gold bars ,well known brand ,

spend as much as you can afford,as often as you like ,but you

should follow Gold on a reliable site.

 

regards Worgeordie

 

I wouldn't buy gold again unless it was jewelry,  chain say. 

 

I would buy however it if it was 12,000 for a baht gold when I last bought some. ????

 

Now it's so expensive I wish Thailand would do 9ct jewelry. 

43 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

I wouldn't buy gold again unless it was jewelry,  chain say. 

 

I would buy however it if it was 12,000 for a baht gold when I last bought some. ????

 

Now it's so expensive I wish Thailand would do 9ct jewelry. 

9ct gold is not gold. I would buy bars of gold. You lose less when selling here in Thailand. 

29 minutes ago, CharlieKo said:

9ct gold is not gold. I would buy bars of gold. You lose less when selling here in Thailand. 

Not on this planet. 

Point

In my experience the bid/ask spread is low especially if you compare to Singapore etc.

Point

I believe the dealers' association invoked some kind of minimum investment a few years ago, maybe something like 100,000 baht. ICBW

I personally recommend you investigate the gold shops on Charoen Krung, at a minimum a cultural experience.  Oh,  get your grams and bahts and exchange rates straight in your head beforehand. 

Just be aware that the gold bars in the jewelry stores here are almost always 96.5% not 99.9%.  

19 minutes ago, rwill said:

Just be aware that the gold bars in the jewelry stores here are almost always 96.5% not 99.9%.  

I guess when the idea is to buy and sell in Thailand then that is perfectly fine.

 

But how about if I would buy such a "Thai" gold bar here and later I would want to sell it in Europe. Could I sell it in Europe for the "correct" amount?

If not, is it also possible to buy gold 99.9% in Thailand for a competitive price?

3 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I guess when the idea is to buy and sell in Thailand then that is perfectly fine.

 

But how about if I would buy such a "Thai" gold bar here and later I would want to sell it in Europe. Could I sell it in Europe for the "correct" amount?

If not, is it also possible to buy gold 99.9% in Thailand for a competitive price?

If you going to buy gold for sale in europe, you buy legit gold coins. No tax I believe in Eu or most countries in the world, but better to check your destination to be sure. 

 

 

1 hour ago, OneMoreFarang said:

But how about if I would buy such a "Thai" gold bar here and later I would want to sell it in Europe. Could I sell it in Europe for the "correct" amount?

Maybe paying tax and duties when importing it in the other country?

Sell it here and take the money with you.

6 minutes ago, FriendlyFarang said:

Maybe paying tax and duties when importing it in the other country?

Sell it here and take the money with you.

Nothing to gain on selling gold in other countries, because gold prices is international. If you have quality local design jewelry, there can be money made in Europe depending what buyers is willing to pay above the gold value of course. 

19 hours ago, NoshowJones said:

Anyone got any advice about buying gold? I know to go to China Town. As a beginner, what is the most I should  spend at a time? How often should I buy? Should I rent a deposit box? Are there any topics about buying gold on this forum?

Thanks.

My wife has some Kruegerrand gold coins that she inherited from her mother in law . I think she would sell them ( they are in a safebox in a Chiang Mai bank ) , if the price is right ...

I have some gold bullion as a long term stable investment, in the bank in Aussie and elsewhere here in LOS.

I would not buy Thai gold myself.

Note: its very important what mine and manufacturer you buy as gold manufactured in some nations does not have the purity and therefore the value as gold smelted and sold from AAA manufacturers, and if you want to move it offshore you won't get the best return on it. 

Thai and most Asian smelted gold is of the lesser valued bullion on the world market.

 

The price of gold was/is rising overall, over the year and at a good rate - longer term investment wise. There's a reason the Chinese LOVE gold bullion. Partly because it is a portable wealth and can be simply picked up and taken anywhere and sold.

 

Mostly I invested in gold mining shares (Australia), my dad was a shareholder and I saw how he made a very good profit from buying and holding shares for years e.g hundreds of percent.

 

You can hold shares in any nation or earth, well, pretty much, and reside here and they are safe and as secure as any 'blue-chip' share can be. Do your investigating of the mining companies profiles first if this idea interests you.

 

Shares allow you to diversify through where and what mining companies you invest in and, generally speaking looking across the decades the return is greater over a shorter period with shares than than bullion (except for the occasional spike in prices).

You can buy shares through a broker, remotely from here, independently online easily enough.

Bullion is a traditional, and mostly believe, stable, portable method of wealth management/investment. Diamond was one of these types of material 'object' investment strategies also. 

I have bought and sold a lot of gold here in Thailand. Some jewellery for the gf and lots bars to keep.

 

I would definitely stay away from the jewellery as there is a premium on manufacturing cost and if you exchanged, say 1 baht necklace, you can pay a spread of around 3000THB. Gold bars are mostly only 100THB per baht weight. Most places also charge a commission or called something else and  that can vary considerably so shop around. The gold shop I deal with is in Wororot Market in Chiang Mai. They charge 200THB per baht for bars less than 5 baht. 5 baht and above you only pay for the current published price. I don't know how they make their money on larger bars. I did sell a 1 baht bar in Phuket many years ago and one dealer wanted to charge me 5000THB as a commission. Fortunately I had a Thai friend with me and we went shopping around and ended up with a MUCH lower commission.

 

As someone mention the gold is 96.5% so probably harder to sell outside Thailand.

 

Best to find a dealer with a good commission and stick with them. My dealer recognises me when I go in now.

 

I keep my gold at home very well hidden as I couldn't find a bank with safety deposit boxes in Chiang Mai. I am sure there is but could not be bothered looking. And bank branches just close sometimes. I received a letter my branch where I opened the account saying it had closed and my new branch was xxx. If I had gold stored there I would hope be transferred but, hey, this is Thailand.

 

Good luck.

16 minutes ago, Dazinoz said:

I couldn't find a bank with safety deposit boxes in Chiang Mai.

SCB Tha Pae gate has .

Buy Kruggerands 24 carat gold coins.

1 hour ago, nobodysfriend said:

My wife has some Kruegerrand gold coins that she inherited from her mother in law . I think she would sell them ( they are in a safebox in a Chiang Mai bank ) , if the price is right ...

I have been told that a deposit box is very hard to rent in Thailand, even in Bangkok, especially for a farang.

15 hours ago, Ali Katz said:

Point

In my experience the bid/ask spread is low especially if you compare to Singapore etc.

Point

I believe the dealers' association invoked some kind of minimum investment a few years ago, maybe something like 100,000 baht. ICBW

I personally recommend you investigate the gold shops on Charoen Krung, at a minimum a cultural experience.  Oh,  get your grams and bahts and exchange rates straight in your head beforehand. 

Where is Charoen Krung, in Bangkok? What does ICBW stand for?

19 minutes ago, NoshowJones said:

I have been told that a deposit box is very hard to rent in Thailand, even in Bangkok, especially for a farang.

One option, just go there and you have a box within a few minutes.

Safe Deposit Box Services | JWD Store It!

 

I have bought and sold Thai gold, only here. It's best to buy from an established gold shop.

Like others, I have found renting a safe deposit here just too difficult. The burglar that could find my gold would have to be very imaginative.

 

Most shops charge a commission, there's not much profit to be had without a substantial price movement.

 

I have gold and silver holdings in Australia, can't say I have seen a trader selling silver bullion here.

7 hours ago, Dazinoz said:

.........I couldn't find a bank with safety deposit boxes in Chiang Mai. I am sure there is but could not be bothered looking........

Er.....there's a contradiction here........

Timing is everything. Although the gold price is

volatile, to make meaningful profits one needs

to buy the dips. Essentially, the gold price today

is where it was ten years ago, so not much of an

investment return for someone who bought in

2012.

 

There is an argument that it is a store of value.

This may be true, but there's an opportunity cost

from holding it, which tends to be forgotten about.

There is no coupon on gold.

 

Undoubtedly, there will be a price spike at some

stage in the future. Best to be holding shares, in

that case, which are highly leveraged to the gold

price, and where the real money is made.

1 hour ago, PETERTHEEATER said:

Er.....there's a contradiction here........

 

I tried a few banks and none had boxes and none knew where they were available so I have up the search.

 

8 hours ago, NoshowJones said:

I have been told that a deposit box is very hard to rent in Thailand, even in Bangkok, especially for a farang.

In BKK: https://cblockers.com/

36 minutes ago, allanos said:

Timing is everything. Although the gold price is

volatile, to make meaningful profits one needs

to buy the dips. Essentially, the gold price today

is where it was ten years ago, so not much of an

investment return for someone who bought in

2012.

 

There is an argument that it is a store of value.

This may be true, but there's an opportunity cost

from holding it, which tends to be forgotten about.

There is no coupon on gold.

 

Undoubtedly, there will be a price spike at some

stage in the future. Best to be holding shares, in

that case, which are highly leveraged to the gold

price, and where the real money is made.

I don't remember gold in 2012 being 30,000 +.

8 hours ago, NoshowJones said:

What does ICBW stand for?

I could be wrong.

8 hours ago, Phnom Penh Trader said:

Buy Kruggerands 24 carat gold coins.

Krugerrands are not 24 Karat and most gold shops here don't like them/touch them

1 minute ago, Kwasaki said:

I don't remember gold in 2012 being 30,000 +.

It popped just over $1,900 per ounce in August 2011.

However, USDTHB was 29.90, so the price for one baht of gold here would have been roughly 28,000 THB.

 

Currencies make gold interesting. While gold was experiencing a decline in price in USD, in other currencies it was either flat or actually up (up a lot in some weak currencies). I never think of gold as an "investment". It is not. Gold is an insurance policy against insane governments or central banks. You should own an amount that can help you survive a crisis. It can help with inflation over the long term, but I think there are better vehicles for that purpose.