Negotiating Tactics For Selling In Gold Shop

[cloud96]

So, I want to get the best price for a 5 baht gold chain and it's clear there is some room for negotiation. So far with the price for me to buy bar at 15,400 per baht, the best price I've been able to get is 72k. 15.3k is the price to sell bar and 15.3 * 5 is 76,500. So I believe we are looking at a range of 72-76.5 for what I should get for the chain, up or down depending on the price.

Who wants to brainstorm some negotiation tactics with me? I'll start off:

The place down the street offered 72, can't you do better than that? If not, I'll go over there since he gave me the price first. Repeat back and forth at different stores till get the best price.

The price might go up tomorrow, buy now while the price is lower!

Offer some other kind of deal where they give me x baht plus x baht of gold bar in exchange for my 5 baht. Make sure it works you better than the best straight cash price they offer.

Say please please please. Beg. Flatter. Tell them how good they look. Then ask for a higher price.

Walk away.

When they say the price, act shocked, blink a few times, cough, be dramatic, then offer a similarly ridiculous high counteroffer.

You'll have to do better than that

Is that your best price?

OK what else? And will this actually work?

[chiangmaibruce]

So, I want to get the best price for a 5 baht gold chain and it's clear there is some room for negotiation. So far with the price for me to buy bar at 15,400 per baht, the best price I've been able to get is 72k. 15.3k is the price to sell bar and 15.3 * 5 is 76,500. So I believe we are looking at a range of 72-76.5 for what I should get for the chain, up or down depending on the price.

Sorry I am lost. You are buying ornamental gold jewelry not bullion, so why mention the price to "buy bar"? The jewelry price (shown on the wall of the shop) includes an element for workmanship, which for a basic chain should not be that substantial. So you are not going to get it for less than the gold value, but can negotiate a little on the workmanship component. To get the best deal there, the best strategy is a business-minded Thai wife to do the smiling & talking

[Naam]

he wants to sell, not buy

[simcity]

Bar have higher gold contain as jewellery form I am pretty sure!

You have to take apple for apple.

I think they will buy it at the jewellery selling price minus 150 baht commision (one baht, in you case 5*-150 = 750 baht) + (- tax + -workmanship) if that make sense & pretty sure they will take factor where the gold come from: if it is from a well-known shop in Chinatown or a gold shop in Isan …

Edited February 14, 2009 by simcity

[Naam]

Bar have higher gold contain as jewellery form I am pretty sure!

You have to take apple for apple.

I think they will buy it at the jewellery selling price minus 150 baht commision (one baht, in you case 5*-150 = 750 baht) + (- tax + -workmanship) if that make sense & pretty sure they will take factor where the gold come from: if it is from a well-known shop in Chinatown or a gold shop in Isan …

are there markings/stamps to determine that?

[473geo]

So, I want to get the best price for a 5 baht gold chain and it's clear there is some room for negotiation. So far with the price for me to buy bar at 15,400 per baht, the best price I've been able to get is 72k. 15.3k is the price to sell bar and 15.3 * 5 is 76,500. So I believe we are looking at a range of 72-76.5 for what I should get for the chain, up or down depending on the price.

Who wants to brainstorm some negotiation tactics with me? I'll start off:

The place down the street offered 72, can't you do better than that? If not, I'll go over there since he gave me the price first. Repeat back and forth at different stores till get the best price.

The price might go up tomorrow, buy now while the price is lower!

Offer some other kind of deal where they give me x baht plus x baht of gold bar in exchange for my 5 baht. Make sure it works you better than the best straight cash price they offer.

Say please please please. Beg. Flatter. Tell them how good they look. Then ask for a higher price.

Walk away.

When they say the price, act shocked, blink a few times, cough, be dramatic, then offer a similarly ridiculous high counteroffer.

You'll have to do better than that

Is that your best price?

OK what else? And will this actually work?

Use the Thai girlfriend is good advice

As for your strategy.....I would advise you to take the very generous offer of my competition over the road...as the best I could offer is 70k.....

[simcity]

Bar have higher gold contain as jewellery form I am pretty sure!

You have to take apple for apple.

I think they will buy it at the jewellery selling price minus 150 baht commision (one baht, in you case 5*-150 = 750 baht) + (- tax + -workmanship) if that make sense & pretty sure they will take factor where the gold come from: if it is from a well-known shop in Chinatown or a gold shop in Isan …

are there markings/stamps to determine that?

yes i am pretty sure they do, one or two chinatown will give you a certificat as well (50 baht extra)

[473geo]

Bar have higher gold contain as jewellery form I am pretty sure!

You have to take apple for apple.

I think they will buy it at the jewellery selling price minus 150 baht commision (one baht, in you case 5*-150 = 750 baht) + (- tax + -workmanship) if that make sense & pretty sure they will take factor where the gold come from: if it is from a well-known shop in Chinatown or a gold shop in Isan …

are there markings/stamps to determine that?

yes i am pretty sure they do, one or two chinatown will give you a certificat as well (50 baht extra)

I think Naam is looking for stamp or marking on the gold.....otherwise 'certificates', 'bill of sale value', receipts are only of use when the gold is returned to sell at the shop of purchase....paperwork could be transferred/used against any item....unless the shop has record of the purchase when you return the gold for sale.

[Naam]

I think Naam is looking for stamp or marking on the gold.....otherwise 'certificates', 'bill of sale value', receipts are only of use when the gold is returned to sell at the shop of purchase....paperwork could be transferred/used against any item....unless the shop has record of the purchase when you return the gold for sale.

that is correct. paper certificates are (in my view) worthless because easy to obtain. besides, describing a piece of jewelry is quite difficult.

[TerryLH]

A lot of the heavier pieces of jewelry are stamped.

[0Mix1up]

A lot of the heavier pieces of jewelry are stamped.

And that couldn't be done fraudulently?

[flying]

that is correct. paper certificates are (in my view) worthless because easy to obtain. besides, describing a piece of jewelry is quite difficult.

There is a shop in Chiang Mai that sells gold & diamond jewelry.

The owner does a stamp inside the rings..He says if ever you want to sell he will rebuy at the price he sold. He keeps a record of the number & item with his copy of sales slips.

Of course we have not tested his buy back

[Naam]

A lot of the heavier pieces of jewelry are stamped.

And that couldn't be done fraudulently?

of course it can be done fraudulently too. years ago some big jewelers in Pattaya stamped their copies of Cartier, Bulgari and others in a perfect way.

[simcity]

I think Naam is looking for stamp or marking on the gold.....otherwise 'certificates', 'bill of sale value', receipts are only of use when the gold is returned to sell at the shop of purchase....paperwork could be transferred/used against any item....unless the shop has record of the purchase when you return the gold for sale.

they are stamped + some shop will give you a certificat, not worthless as it is from the top quality shops in chinatown !

[cloud96]

Yes, am looking to sell, not buy.

There is a marking of 96.5% on one end of the chain to indicate the gold content. There is some sort of marking on the other side, but I can't make out what it is exactly. It's definitely not a + though. Yes I do have a "certificate" which appears to me to be nothing more than a business card with some Thai writing and some numbers showing it is 76 g and 96.5%. As well as a receipt and credit card printout. I bought it at a shop in Chiang Mai and went back one day to try to sell it. They did remember me and lowballed me at first. I complained a bit of the low offer and they came up in price, but not very much, they said over and over it was the highest they could go. I was with my Thai gf at the time. But a couple days later I went to a different Thai shop on my own and got the same price (price of gold on the wall was the same as well), after a bit of bargaining, but still not quite what I wanted.

Perhaps if they pull the "you didn't buy it here, how do I know it's good, I can't pay you as much... etc." routine, I could have them call the people in Chiang Mai where I bought it from? They could check the sale number on the receipt against their own records and confirm? CM is a ways away from where I am now so not easy to go to the original shop, plus as I said, they seem to be bs'ing me.

Or maybe the problem is I've been going into the shop with the gf? Should I send her in by herself? I don't think she would run off with the gold... famous last words right?

[simcity]

The + was just a plus, not a stamp mark.

The certificate are only for few shops in china town, it is different (ask a Chinese thai when you have possibly)

It is only the gold contain in your item that has value.

People who buy jeweler here do not get more because it is pretty, just the gold increase & they happy….

Sunbelt Asia put a nice formula to calculate price of your chain. POST 36

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Advantage-Se....html&st=25

Not sure if it is for bullion or jeweler gold, and if THB / $ are: Sale / Buy / TT

Using it your chain (5 Baht) is worth today approximately 80000 Baht

[cloud96]

The + was just a plus, not a stamp mark.

The certificate are only for few shops in china town, it is different (ask a Chinese thai when you have possibly)

It is only the gold contain in your item that has value.

People who buy jeweler here do not get more because it is pretty, just the gold increase & they happy….

Sunbelt Asia put a nice formula to calculate price of your chain. POST 36

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Advantage-Se....html&st=25

Not sure if it is for bullion or jeweler gold, and if THB / $ are: Sale / Buy / TT

Using it your chain (5 Baht) is worth today approximately 80000 Baht

Well sold it today, and hopefully made the right decision. Final price for 5 baht gold chain was 75,500 baht. Prices on the window were 15600 and 15500. Initial quote was just over 72k. Got them up to 75000 bit just by being shocked at the price and countering closer to 77500. I was a bit surprised about that. Tried to go the route of trading the 5 baht chain for 4 baht worth of cash at the latest rate and 1 baht of bar at a reduced rate but they didn't go for it. Then said I would think about it, walked to another shop and after saying the other guy offered 75000 he countered with 75250. Went back to the first shop and they offered 75500. Could have gone back and forth but the first shop was nice enough and was getting sick of the back and forth. Then the bank charged me 100 baht fee since it was a different branch that I opened the account at! <deleted> is up with that? Same bank, just diff branch.

Oh well, now have to hope and pray that the price doesn't go up further with all the news in Thai Visa about gold breaking records! Then I'd be real pissed.

[hhgz]

After 4 days of running around, you made an extra $100 US. Congratulations.

[Naam]

After 4 days of running around, you made an extra $100 US. Congratulations.

but the story was entertaining

[cloud96]

After 4 days of running around, you made an extra $100 US. Congratulations.

Hey, that's just about 3500 baht. That's 140 plates of Phad Thai. That's 100-120 fruit shakes. That's 85 large Leo's from 7/11 or 50 large Leo's from the bar. Not too shabby if you ask me.

What pisses me off is though is that today the gold prices are 15900 and 15800/baht. I HATE when that happens!!!

[JimsKnight]

Yep, I'm glad I held off on that one.

Kind of wish I bought more two weeks ago but there you go

[simcity]

After 4 days of running around, you made an extra $100 US. Congratulations.

Hey, that's just about 3500 baht. That's 140 plates of Phad Thai. That's 100-120 fruit shakes. That's 85 large Leo's from 7/11 or 50 large Leo's from the bar. Not too shabby if you ask me.

What pisses me off is though is that today the gold prices are 15900 and 15800/baht. I HATE when that happens!!!

Don't look it is going to go higher ..

[thaihome]

After 4 days of running around, you made an extra $100 US. Congratulations.

Hey, that's just about 3500 baht. That's 140 plates of Phad Thai. That's 100-120 fruit shakes. That's 85 large Leo's from 7/11 or 50 large Leo's from the bar. Not too shabby if you ask me.

What pisses me off is though is that today the gold prices are 15900 and 15800/baht. I HATE when that happens!!!

Welcome to world of commodity trading. It could have just as easily gone down by the same amount.

TH

[gregb]

For ornamental gold jewelry you should be able to get about 700 baht below the current buying price if you are persistent. There are some shops that will even post the price they pay for scrap.

You did pretty good all things considered. My usual tactic in the past was just to try and befriend one, explain that I buy also and would like to find a shop that treats me fairly. Never had a problem finding someone, but usually had to visit a few before I found someone who clicked. Haven't had to try and sell a chain in a long time.

At 1000 baht off though, they were just yanking your chain (pun intended). So I congratulate you on your sale cloud96. May you have many more successes.

Oh, BTW, that 100 baht you had to pay at the bank was because you were depositing the money out of REGION, not at a different branch. You were obviously quite a ways from the branch where you opened your account if they hit you with this fee. If it was a branch in the same town you wouldn't have had to pay extra.

And don't be surprised if gold to heads to the moon now. Always happens to me when I buy or sell. I have about a 70% success rate of purchasing the day before a big drop. I should start my own investment service. People could make a fortune shorting any time I buy.

[JaiDamJungLoei]

A few years ago when the wife and I traded in some gold on heavier pieces, the shop got out a loupe and a reference book of Chinese gold jewelry makers stamps. They only accepted the trade-ins after confirming the stamp on each gold piece matched one in their book. My understanding was the stamp indicated the maker and fineness of the gold. The wife says this type of inspection is fairly common. Trade in value was calculated by weight of the pieces to one hundredth or a gram.

My wife also keeps all gold receipts forever. She says it makes selling back to the same shop easier, and you get a better deal.

I'm not saying this is normal procedure at all gold shops, it's just my experience the one time the wife and I traded in some gold.

[LivinLOS]

Oh well, now have to hope and pray that the price doesn't go up further with all the news in Thai Visa about gold breaking records! Then I'd be real pissed.

16,500 in the shop window I just walked past..

[JimsKnight]

I just waltzed into KK gold shop and the bird at the counter was a bit of a stingy one.

Would sell at 16500 baht for 1.

For buying though the best she'd go to was 14200!

She said it was cause the scales were reading it .07 under the standard rating.

Nevermind, I'll try again somewhere else

[cloud96]

A few years ago when the wife and I traded in some gold on heavier pieces, the shop got out a loupe and a reference book of Chinese gold jewelry makers stamps. They only accepted the trade-ins after confirming the stamp on each gold piece matched one in their book. My understanding was the stamp indicated the maker and fineness of the gold. The wife says this type of inspection is fairly common. Trade in value was calculated by weight of the pieces to one hundredth or a gram.

My wife also keeps all gold receipts forever. She says it makes selling back to the same shop easier, and you get a better deal.

I'm not saying this is normal procedure at all gold shops, it's just my experience the one time the wife and I traded in some gold.

Yes, I can confirm they checked the stamp in a big book of manufacturers. Not in English though of course.

Yes, I can confirm the price of gold is 16,500, and can confirm I am in fact pissed off :|

The other weird thing I noticed, is that 2 or 3 of the shops in my town (there aren't more than 10) up and closed the day the price went above 16,000. I looked in and saw that everything had been taken out of the store? What's going on with that? Decided the price was high and they should sell all and get out of the business?