How to buy gold?

[ExpatOilWorker]

Walk in the store, pay and walk out again. OK, that much I figured out, but nothing is that simple in Thailand.

I was told all "baht" gold bars are 96.5% and only 1 kg gold bars are available in 99.99% gold. Is that really correct?

I was also told that if you buy "baht" gold bars in Yaowarat (China Town), each gold shop will only buy back their own gold. What then happen if that shop is out of business when I want to sell my gold 20 years from now?

Any other things to consider before buying gold?

[Time Traveller]

Most shops sell by the Baht weight in thailand. This type of gold is 96.5% purity. Some shops do sell 99.9% gold and not necessarily only in 1kg bars. Just ask around.

Fake gold is a problem for many buyers of the metal. The only reliable method to determine purity is by fire assay, which is a destructive test. Most reliable Gold shops can do this to test it. However, often the shop does not want to go to the trouble of recasting the bar or fabricating the jewelry so they only do very basic tests such as using a magnet or an acid test to determine if the item they are purchasing is genuine. This leads them to open to the possibility of buying fake gold, so in order to avoid that will only purchase gold that is marked with their own stamp.

[beachproperty]

When you buy the gold from a gold shop....they show buy and sell prices....

So is the buy price for the gold that someone previously bought in "their" shop? Is that a "net" price? or do they charge some sort of commission?

[sometimewoodworker]

When you buy the gold from a gold shop....they show buy and sell prices....

So is the buy price for the gold that someone previously bought in "their" shop? Is that a "net" price? or do they charge some sort of commission?

There is no commission on the shop buying gold or on the shop selling gold bars.

There is a cost added to the gold price when buying gold jewellery, this is usually quoted as baht per baht weight of jewellery and may be negotiable. It is very unlikely that you will get anything other than the weight price when selling so that part of the jewellery cost is a straight loss.

There is also the point that gold from Yaowarat shops is more likely to be bought by shops in other city's and that in Yaowarat some owners have several shops with different names. So the only sell to the shop you bought from rule isn't always true.

[Naam]

When you buy the gold from a gold shop....they show buy and sell prices....

So is the buy price for the gold that someone previously bought in "their" shop? Is that a "net" price? or do they charge some sort of commission?

There is no commission on the shop buying gold or on the shop selling gold bars.

There is a cost added to the gold price when buying gold jewellery, this is usually quoted as baht per baht weight of jewellery and may be negotiable. It is very unlikely that you will get anything other than the weight price when selling so that part of the jewellery cost is a straight loss.

There is also the point that gold from Yaowarat shops is more likely to be bought by shops in other city's and that in Yaowarat some owners have several shops with different names. So the only sell to the shop you bought from rule isn't always true.

of course there is a commision when you buy/sell gold bars. the commission depends on the size of the bar and varies between 100 Baht for big bars (per Baht weight) and 250 Baht (per Baht weight) for very small bars 1 Baht / ½ Baht (weight).

[Naam]

When you buy the gold from a gold shop....they show buy and sell prices....

So is the buy price for the gold that someone previously bought in "their" shop? Is that a "net" price? or do they charge some sort of commission?

the difference between buy and sell price is the commission.

[sometimewoodworker]

When you buy the gold from a gold shop....they show buy and sell prices....

So is the buy price for the gold that someone previously bought in "their" shop? Is that a "net" price? or do they charge some sort of commission?

There is no commission on the shop buying gold or on the shop selling gold bars.

There is a cost added to the gold price when buying gold jewellery, this is usually quoted as baht per baht weight of jewellery and may be negotiable. It is very unlikely that you will get anything other than the weight price when selling so that part of the jewellery cost is a straight loss.

There is also the point that gold from Yaowarat shops is more likely to be bought by shops in other city's and that in Yaowarat some owners have several shops with different names. So the only sell to the shop you bought from rule isn't always true.

of course there is a commision when you buy/sell gold bars. the commission depends on the size of the bar and varies between 100 Baht for big bars (per Baht weight) and 250 Baht (per Baht weight) for very small bars 1 Baht / ½ Baht (weight).

You may have paid a commission I never have. Yes there is a difference between the buying and selling price but that isn't commission. A commission would be added to the price. Edited December 25, 2013 by sometimewoodworker

[Naam]

When you buy the gold from a gold shop....they show buy and sell prices....

So is the buy price for the gold that someone previously bought in "their" shop? Is that a "net" price? or do they charge some sort of commission?

There is no commission on the shop buying gold or on the shop selling gold bars.

There is a cost added to the gold price when buying gold jewellery, this is usually quoted as baht per baht weight of jewellery and may be negotiable. It is very unlikely that you will get anything other than the weight price when selling so that part of the jewellery cost is a straight loss.

There is also the point that gold from Yaowarat shops is more likely to be bought by shops in other city's and that in Yaowarat some owners have several shops with different names. So the only sell to the shop you bought from rule isn't always true.

of course there is a commision when you buy/sell gold bars. the commission depends on the size of the bar and varies between 100 Baht for big bars (per Baht weight) and 250 Baht (per Baht weight) for very small bars 1 Baht / ½ Baht (weight).

You may have paid a commission I never have. Yes there is a difference between the buying and selling price but that isn't commission. A commission would be added to the price.

[beachproperty]

When you buy the gold from a gold shop....they show buy and sell prices....

So is the buy price for the gold that someone previously bought in "their" shop? Is that a "net" price? or do they charge some sort of commission?

the difference between buy and sell price is the commission.

Naam ...you seem to have a focus on money stuff...and I appreciate your advice!

The reason I asked ...is years ago (10) I bought for my wife when we got married 15 baht of gold jewelry....(never thought at the time about selling it)

Then we were building a house and told my wife I ran out of money .....need to sell the gold ....which she was OK with.

Went to the gold shops thinking we would get the gold "buy" price!...But ...was hit with ....we didn't buy in their shop so they would buy it from us but at a 20% discount

We walked away....but then I remembered exactly where we bought it and that shop STILL wanted a 10% discount on the buy price. Was this just a "farang" thing or what....we ended up taking the money...mistake? or what?

[sometimewoodworker]

When you buy the gold from a gold shop....they show buy and sell prices....

So is the buy price for the gold that someone previously bought in "their" shop? Is that a "net" price? or do they charge some sort of commission?

the difference between buy and sell price is the commission.

Naam ...you seem to have a focus on money stuff...and I appreciate your advice!

The reason I asked ...is years ago (10) I bought for my wife when we got married 15 baht of gold jewelry....(never thought at the time about selling it)

Then we were building a house and told my wife I ran out of money .....need to sell the gold ....which she was OK with.

Went to the gold shops thinking we would get the gold "buy" price!...But ...was hit with ....we didn't buy in their shop so they would buy it from us but at a 20% discount

We walked away....but then I remembered exactly where we bought it and that shop STILL wanted a 10% discount on the buy price. Was this just a "farang" thing or what....we ended up taking the money...mistake? or what?

I can only give my experience, I have bought and sold jewellery. For the gold bought in Yaowarat that I sold in another city I got the buying price. For gold bought in a different shop I was offered a lower price in Yaowarat but the buying price from the shop I bought it from. I don't remember how many years I had the pieces but they were not new , may be 10 or more years. YMMV

[Naam]

When you buy the gold from a gold shop....they show buy and sell prices....

So is the buy price for the gold that someone previously bought in "their" shop? Is that a "net" price? or do they charge some sort of commission?

the difference between buy and sell price is the commission.

Naam ...you seem to have a focus on money stuff...and I appreciate your advice!

The reason I asked ...is years ago (10) I bought for my wife when we got married 15 baht of gold jewelry....(never thought at the time about selling it)

Then we were building a house and told my wife I ran out of money .....need to sell the gold ....which she was OK with.

Went to the gold shops thinking we would get the gold "buy" price!...But ...was hit with ....we didn't buy in their shop so they would buy it from us but at a 20% discount

We walked away....but then I remembered exactly where we bought it and that shop STILL wanted a 10% discount on the buy price. Was this just a "farang" thing or what....we ended up taking the money...mistake? or what?

simple and logical explanation. you bought jewelry. the price you paid was for the gold and the work to produce that jewelry. the shop buys only the gold but does not compensate you for the cost involved to produce the jewelry.

a normal thing. no mistake and not a "farang" thing. a Thai is not treated differently.

but don't tell me that the shop has bought at the price minus 10% what you paid 10 years ago! if that is the case then "huge big mistake" respectively shopowner a big thief.

[Suradit69]

I just bought a 2 baht bar in Pattaya. The posted selling price per baht was Baht 18700. Whenever I visit the shop they check the price using the mobile phone ... and yes sometimes they price I am charged is lower than the one in the window.

2 x 18700 = Baht 37,400 and the total was Baht 38,000 because of the commission (or design charge or whatever you want to call it @ THB300 per baht for bars ... for some reason higher than for jewelry I believe). I have never had any problem selling the bars at the same shop or other shops in the area, although I don't sell much except awhile ago when the price was way up.

I don't often buy gold in Bangkok, but there is still a per baht charge added to the price. Whether you want to call it commission or a design mark up, it's added on in every shop I've gone to and it's the same for farang or Thai customers.

http://www.goldbarsworldwide.com/PDF/NB_1_BarsFromThailand.pdf

Generally Thai goldsmiths charge a design fee of around $7 per baht of gold although it might be higher depending on the construction and design. There is not much scope for bargaining. You might get the price down a dollar for each baht you buy at most - hardly worth the effort! It is generally better value to buy at least 1 baht of gold, as there is a minimum charge for the design fee.

http://gold.yabz.com/where_to_buy_gold.htm

Edited December 25, 2013 by Suradit69

[Peterphuket]

My experience is with buying gold in Thailand that it differs of the amount, when you buy 5 baht gold you get it for the price they announce on the sign, when you buy less, for eample 1 or 2 or 4 baht you will pay a little bit more.

[PeterSmiles]

When you buy the gold from a gold shop....they show buy and sell prices....

So is the buy price for the gold that someone previously bought in "their" shop? Is that a "net" price? or do they charge some sort of commission?

the difference between buy and sell price is the commission.

Naam ...you seem to have a focus on money stuff...and I appreciate your advice!

The reason I asked ...is years ago (10) I bought for my wife when we got married 15 baht of gold jewelry....(never thought at the time about selling it)

Then we were building a house and told my wife I ran out of money .....need to sell the gold ....which she was OK with.

Went to the gold shops thinking we would get the gold "buy" price!...But ...was hit with ....we didn't buy in their shop so they would buy it from us but at a 20% discount

We walked away....but then I remembered exactly where we bought it and that shop STILL wanted a 10% discount on the buy price. Was this just a "farang" thing or what....we ended up taking the money...mistake? or what?

simple and logical explanation. you bought jewelry. the price you paid was for the gold and the work to produce that jewelry. the shop buys only the gold but does not compensate you for the cost involved to produce the jewelry.

a normal thing. no mistake and not a "farang" thing. a Thai is not treated differently.

but don't tell me that the shop has bought at the price minus 10% what you paid 10 years ago! if that is the case then "huge big mistake" respectively shopowner a big thief.

Beachproperty will confirm or not, but what I understand is that he received 10% below the gold price.

Since the price advertised isn't included the labor to make the jewelry, if he sold 1 Baht of gold as jewelry he should have received the Buy price of the day, because if he bought he would have to pay the sell price plus a premium for the labor. Correct or not.

[Naam]

Beachproperty will confirm or not, but what I understand is that he received 10% below the gold price.

Since the price advertised isn't included the labor to make the jewelry, if he sold 1 Baht of gold as jewelry he should have received the Buy price of the day, because if he bought he would have to pay the sell price plus a premium for the labor. Correct or not.

the advertised prices always refer to gold bars and not to jewelry. simple explanation the shop assumes that the jewelry cannot be sold and the gold has to be melted to be reused. the latter involves cost, somebody has to pay for it. that the purchase margin fluctuates is quite normal. if the buyer (shop) sees an opportunity to resell the jewelry without melting it down, the seller is usually offered a better price and that means a fixed "buy price for today" does not exist. rule of thumb for jewelry however is "gold bar buy price minus 15%". that also applies vice versa for buying jewelry where the intricacy of the goldsmiths work can go up to 25% above gold bar price.

note: most goldshops are advertising both "buy and sell" prices (for bars only) in their windows.

[beachproperty]

Beachproperty will confirm or not, but what I understand is that he received 10% below the gold price.

Since the price advertised isn't included the labor to make the jewelry, if he sold 1 Baht of gold as jewelry he should have received the Buy price of the day, because if he bought he would have to pay the sell price plus a premium for the labor. Correct or not.

When I sold my wife's jewelry I did indeed get 10% below that day's "buy" price (which at the time was considerably more than I paid 10 years earlier...luckily)....so PeterSmiles you are correct.

Thanks to all for clearing up for me what's really involved in the buying and selling of gold in Thailand....Next time I will try to convince the wife to buy the gold bars as she rarely wears the gold anyway.

Edited December 25, 2013 by beachproperty

[davejones]

Why do you lot buy and sell so much gold? More money to be made buying and selling fruit and veg.

Edited December 25, 2013 by davejones

[Ludacris]

I can't believe you're actually taking a 10% hit on the price when you re-sell! That's completely crazy!

All you have to do is buy shares in a gold ETF (like GLD) through your online broker. Bid and ask spreads are within 0.1% and my broker charges $0.005 (yes that's half a cent) a share, so transaction costs are basically nothing and another advantage is there's no problems trying to store your gold too. What if you get broken into? That happened to me in Thailand before and if I was storing gold I would have lost it all.

You can even buy and sell gold mutual funds through Thai banks if you want to stay local.

I understand the need to buy physical gold for a Thai wedding, but purchases for any other reason should all be electronic nowadays.

Edited December 26, 2013 by Ludacris

[seasia]

I can't believe you're actually taking a 10% hit on the price when you re-sell! That's completely crazy!

All you have to do is buy shares in a gold ETF (like GLD) through your online broker. Bid and ask spreads are within 0.1% and my broker charges $0.005 (yes that's half a cent) a share, so transaction costs are basically nothing and another advantage is there's no problems trying to store your gold too. What if you get broken into? That happened to me in Thailand before and if I was storing gold I would have lost it all.

You can even buy and sell gold mutual funds through Thai banks if you want to stay local.

I understand the need to buy physical gold for a Thai wedding, but purchases for any other reason should all be electronic nowadays.

Hi

So far I have only bought and sold gold on line, as a Rolling transaction.

The current prices per oz. are US $1205.1 bid, US$ 1205.5 ask so a 40 US cents spread.

No commission but there are charges for overnight holds.

I do know some people who both trade it on line and buy & sell physical.

Maybe less stressful dealing in real physical gold.

It`s gone up just since starting to write my post.

[MobileContent]

When you buy the gold from a gold shop....they show buy and sell prices....

So is the buy price for the gold that someone previously bought in "their" shop? Is that a "net" price? or do they charge some sort of commission?

the difference between buy and sell price is the commission.

Naam ...you seem to have a focus on money stuff...and I appreciate your advice!

The reason I asked ...is years ago (10) I bought for my wife when we got married 15 baht of gold jewelry....(never thought at the time about selling it)

Then we were building a house and told my wife I ran out of money .....need to sell the gold ....which she was OK with.

Went to the gold shops thinking we would get the gold "buy" price!...But ...was hit with ....we didn't buy in their shop so they would buy it from us but at a 20% discount

We walked away....but then I remembered exactly where we bought it and that shop STILL wanted a 10% discount on the buy price. Was this just a "farang" thing or what....we ended up taking the money...mistake? or what?

Sounds to me like a farang thing. If you remember the shop they will advise the buying rate for that particular day and that's the price you would normally get.

[SheungWan]

When you buy the gold from a gold shop....they show buy and sell prices....

So is the buy price for the gold that someone previously bought in "their" shop? Is that a "net" price? or do they charge some sort of commission?

the difference between buy and sell price is the commission.

Naam ...you seem to have a focus on money stuff...and I appreciate your advice!

The reason I asked ...is years ago (10) I bought for my wife when we got married 15 baht of gold jewelry....(never thought at the time about selling it)

Then we were building a house and told my wife I ran out of money .....need to sell the gold ....which she was OK with.

Went to the gold shops thinking we would get the gold "buy" price!...But ...was hit with ....we didn't buy in their shop so they would buy it from us but at a 20% discount

We walked away....but then I remembered exactly where we bought it and that shop STILL wanted a 10% discount on the buy price. Was this just a "farang" thing or what....we ended up taking the money...mistake? or what?

Sounds to me like a farang thing. If you remember the shop they will advise the buying rate for that particular day and that's the price you would normally get.

There is absolutely zero reason for a shop to care whatsoever what you paid for the gold content of an item of jewellery on a particular day.

Edited December 27, 2013 by SheungWan

[Naam]

Sounds to me like a farang thing. If you remember the shop they will advise the buying rate for that particular day and that's the price you would normally get.

There is absolutely zero reason for a shop to care whatsoever what you paid for the gold content of an item of jewellery on a particular day.

why spoil with a boring fact the interesting joke MobileContent presented?

[DickFarang]

I just bought a 2 baht bar in Pattaya. The posted selling price per baht was Baht 18700. Whenever I visit the shop they check the price using the mobile phone ... and yes sometimes they price I am charged is lower than the one in the window.

2 x 18700 = Baht 37,400 and the total was Baht 38,000 because of the commission (or design charge or whatever you want to call it @ THB300 per baht for bars ... for some reason higher than for jewelry I believe). I have never had any problem selling the bars at the same shop or other shops in the area, although I don't sell much except awhile ago when the price was way up.

I don't often buy gold in Bangkok, but there is still a per baht charge added to the price. Whether you want to call it commission or a design mark up, it's added on in every shop I've gone to and it's the same for farang or Thai customers.

http://www.goldbarsworldwide.com/PDF/NB_1_BarsFromThailand.pdf

Generally Thai goldsmiths charge a design fee of around $7 per baht of gold although it might be higher depending on the construction and design. There is not much scope for bargaining. You might get the price down a dollar for each baht you buy at most - hardly worth the effort! It is generally better value to buy at least 1 baht of gold, as there is a minimum charge for the design fee.

http://gold.yabz.com/where_to_buy_gold.htm

Bangkok Post typically publishes gold prices every morning as follows:

“Gold prices up 100 baht

The Gold Traders Association this morning announced buying prices at 18,480.04 baht per baht-weight for gold ornaments and 18,750 baht per baht-weight for gold bar.

Selling prices were set at 19,250 baht per baht-weight for gold ornaments, and 18,850 baht per baht-weight for gold bar.

This means gold prices were up 100 baht from yesterday’s close.

Buying prices yesterday closed at 18,373.92 baht per baht-weight for gold ornaments and 18,650 baht per baht-weight for gold bar.

Selling prices closed at 19,150 baht per baht-weight for gold ornaments, and 18,750 baht per baht-weight for gold bar.”

Prices are, however, varying during the day.

When buying gold bars in places outside Bangkok Chinatown, say in Pattaya, you will be charged 200-300 baht more per baht-weight of gold.

Common gold bars are 5 and 10 baht-weight of gold; for gold bars of one baht-weight of gold only, you will be charged about 200 baht more per baht-weight of gold.

When selling back at the same gold shop, you will get the official buying price; in other gold shops some hundred baht less per baht-weight of gold.

Always keep the invoice as a proof of where you bought the gold.

All gold shops have precision scales and bars and ornaments (jewellery) are always weighed in your presence.

In gold shops, ornaments (jewellery) are sold in multiples of baht-weight and half baht-weight.

Elaborate ornaments (jewellery) can cost some hundred baht more per baht-weight of gold.

[DickFarang]

Why do you lot buy and sell so much gold? More money to be made buying and selling fruit and veg.

Not all people buy gold to speculate on gold prices, but on the contrary as a long or medium term investment.

Hedging against a possible collapse of the Thai baht is a good reason.

[SheungWan]

Why do you lot buy and sell so much gold? More money to be made buying and selling fruit and veg.

Not all people buy gold to speculate on gold prices, but on the contrary as a long or medium term investment.

Hedging against a possible collapse of the Thai baht is a good reason.

Gold price has collapsed far worse than the Thai baht this last year. A better bet would have been the worthless fiat $US or even better still the DOW.

[Asiantravel]

Why do you lot buy and sell so much gold? More money to be made buying and selling fruit and veg.

Not all people buy gold to speculate on gold prices, but on the contrary as a long or medium term investment.

Hedging against a possible collapse of the Thai baht is a good reason.

Gold price has collapsed far worse than the Thai baht this last year. A better bet would have been the worthless fiat $US or even better still the DOW.

That was ‘ then ‘..........you would be delusional if you still believe that now

[SheungWan]

Why do you lot buy and sell so much gold? More money to be made buying and selling fruit and veg.

Not all people buy gold to speculate on gold prices, but on the contrary as a long or medium term investment.

Hedging against a possible collapse of the Thai baht is a good reason.

Gold price has collapsed far worse than the Thai baht this last year. A better bet would have been the worthless fiat $US or even better still the DOW.

That was ‘ then ‘..........you would be delusional if you still believe that now

The gold bugs have been telling us gold is a buying opportunity all the way down from 1900, but of course they are not deluded.

[thaiedward]

And what about silver? I realize this thread is several months stale, but I was wondering.

[Sandman77]

On a German website I read one time not any gold shop in Thailand has a gov sale licence , and if one avalible is faked !

How it can happen that a trained stuff

Eye can cheated by people sale the gold to the shop?

And then sale the gold fake again to you or me, no thanks! I buy the old

Only in my home country direct from the national bank then im sure I not get cheated!

[marcusd]

You buy gold with money or credit. That's what buying is.

Marcusd. Via tapatalk