buying gold in CM

[wigantojapan]

Has anyone had any experience of buying genuine 99.9% gold in CM?

Where did they buy it?

Did you have to buy 1kg bars ?

Did the shop test for genuine gold?

Is the jewellery set at 96.9%?

What is the price of gold in CM today?

thanks for any replies and any advise to any or all of my questions

[bristolgeoff]

does matter where you go it is a set price everyday.it all can be tested when u buy

[eyecatcher]

I normally go to kulsiriwan on nimmen rd and propokklau.

You won't get 99% intact you will struggle to get 1oz coins unless you are lucky.

Its wishful thinking but no they don't ask you to by a 1kg ingot I think that would cost more that the value of my house I sold in the UK.

Testing,no not normally, I think gold testing is destructive involving acids....or is it mixed with mercury, I forget.

So unless you want your coins scratching, then just accept the certificate of authenticity.

The diamonds though can be and are tested for carat value easily

Sent via tin can and string after pigeon shot

[JohnGreen]

There's a shop on Thapae Road just opposite the turn off onto ChangKlan Road (night bazaar) called Ausiris - big sign - look on google street view.

They sell from half a baht up to 1kg bars. Seem pretty professional to me. I have bought from there and sold back to them in the past and all went very smoothly. You can also get membership with them, call them up, check on/ lock in prices etc etc. I did notice on gold bars more than one Baht they added an s on the end which worried me slightly but they didn't contain any chocolate and I could sell them back to them later on.

Merry Christmas!

[meechai]

Has anyone had any experience of buying genuine 99.9% gold in CM?

You may see a foreign coin from time to time at the various gold shops

Coins like Austrian Philhamonics or Canadian Maples

But dont bother as 96.5% is the norm here & easier to sell

Folks also never quite understand an ounce of bullion is an ounce regardless if 99 or 96.5% etc

In the end they add as much gold as it takes to make an ounce of "gold" Of course a 96.5% will be heavier

if weighed as the extra 3.5% metal in it is there. But both have an ounce of gold there

Where did they buy it?

Hundreds of gold shops everywhere here.

Look for the Red shops with all the gold hanging. Every mall etc has them

Did you have to buy 1kg bars ?

No gold here is sold by the Baht weight meaning 2.07 baht = 1 troy ounce

You may buy as many or little as you want

If buying bars they come in less than a baht or 1,2,5,10,20 baht weights etc.

Did the shop test for genuine gold?

when buying if they are not buying back their own

they may test with the scratch test on unglazed ceramic or other methods

Is the jewellery set at 96.9%?

Yes 96.5

What is the price of gold in CM today?

Same as everywhere in the world as it is based on World Spot Price

But of course converted at 96.5% & 1 ounce = 2.07 baht as mentioned

http://www.goldpricethai.com/

[beau thai]

Dont even think about it until it hits 15kbht-still trending down worldwide. Open a futures trading account and sell every time it hits 19k+.

My view. Many goldbugs hold the opposite view. That's a market

[Jose]

Dont even think about it until it hits 15kbht-still trending down worldwide. Open a futures trading account and sell every time it hits 19k+.

My view. Many goldbugs hold the opposite view. That's a market

The price of paper gold (ie, contracts to buy and sell physical gold which doesn't exist) is currently being heavily manipulated by vested interests through naked shorts - Western central banks and their bullion bank cohorts. One of the reasons for this behavior is that they've "lent out" clients' physical gold (eg, Germany's) supposedly stored safely in vaults, and now need to return it and therefore buy it back at a price that won't sink them.

There are numerous examples of this sort of obvious market manipulation going on, but the short of it is that it wouldn't be wise to speculate with or against the major gold contracts players at this time, much less taking financial advice from an anonymous poster on the net.

On the other hand, all world currencies are being diluted on a race to the bottom (zero), where sooner rather than later they will join all past fiat currencies which have all failed over time. Even the mighty US dollar has lost over 96% of it's purchasing power in the last 100 years since the Fed has taken control of it. Money supply (M3) in Thailand as reported by the Bank of Thailand has doubled over the past six years (monetary inflation), and with the current debt that the govt is piling up this won't end well.

Physical gold safely held in your possession is a hedge against this erosion of stored wealth in paper, a form of personal insurance with no counterparty risk. If you have gold, put it aside for the financially dangerous times ahead, and ignore the daily fluctuations priced in paper currency - treat it like an insurance policy or like any other valuable physical asset, and ignore gold's "price" in paper money.

[beau thai]

Jose, if you are convinced central banks are driving down gold prices would it not make more sense to go with the flow, momentum trading,and short gold,rather than sit on physical gold and watch it decline in value? Albeit 'paper value' that you dont have faith in.

Timing is all huh?

[wigantojapan]

Has anyone had any experience of buying genuine 99.9% gold in CM?

You may see a foreign coin from time to time at the various gold shops

Coins like Austrian Philhamonics or Canadian Maples

But dont bother as 96.5% is the norm here & easier to sell

Folks also never quite understand an ounce of bullion is an ounce regardless if 99 or 96.5% etc

In the end they add as much gold as it takes to make an ounce of "gold" Of course a 96.5% will be heavier

if weighed as the extra 3.5% metal in it is there. But both have an ounce of gold there

Where did they buy it?

Hundreds of gold shops everywhere here.

Look for the Red shops with all the gold hanging. Every mall etc has them

Did you have to buy 1kg bars ?

No gold here is sold by the Baht weight meaning 2.07 baht = 1 troy ounce

You may buy as many or little as you want

If buying bars they come in less than a baht or 1,2,5,10,20 baht weights etc.

Did the shop test for genuine gold?

when buying if they are not buying back their own

they may test with the scratch test on unglazed ceramic or other methods

Is the jewellery set at 96.9%?

Yes 96.5

What is the price of gold in CM today?

Same as everywhere in the world as it is based on World Spot Price

But of course converted at 96.5% & 1 ounce = 2.07 baht as mentioned

http://www.goldpricethai.com/

Thanks for the reply,and for the link.The price is quoted as 1 baht so that equates to around half an ounce of gold,,is that correct?

[meechai]

Thanks for the reply,and for the link.The price is quoted as 1 baht so that equates to around half an ounce of gold,,is that correct?

Your welcome & yes around a half ounce

or more precisely 15.24 grams

[Jose]

Jose, if you are convinced central banks are driving down gold prices would it not make more sense to go with the flow, momentum trading,and short gold,rather than sit on physical gold and watch it decline in value? Albeit 'paper value' that you dont have faith in.

Timing is all huh?

Beau, the problem with timing gold moves, is that you are at the whim of decisions made by a few key players. Unless you are privy to this kind of inside information, most of the time you will be either chasing rallies (momentum) after the fact, or worse still, trying to predict key swing points in price.

Timing may be critical in the short term, but the long-term fundamentals (i.e., money printing) will eventually overwhelm any attempt at manipulation of gold prices, paper or physical. My suggestion to those that care about preserving wealth (as opposed to speculating with it), is to buy safe and portable physical assets (such as gold coins) and ignore price fluctuations.

[wigantojapan]

i am new to this as is obvious, but looking at the gold chart in the past month is has dropped drastically from around 800 to around the 730 mark in Uk pounds

,It has rallied the past few days

.Is this because of the festive period where more people are likely to buy gold as a gift to themselves or as a present.?

Also with the Chinese New year upon us shortly does the price rise in general around that time?

[Jose]

i am new to this as is obvious, but looking at the gold chart in the past month is has dropped drastically from around 800 to around the 730 mark in Uk pounds

,It has rallied the past few days

.Is this because of the festive period where more people are likely to buy gold as a gift to themselves or as a present.?

Also with the Chinese New year upon us shortly does the price rise in general around that time?

Everyone's new to this new financial paradigm, WJ - ideas and observations made on past market periods don't hold up anymore, as gold's seasonal tendencies (e.g., Indian festive season) seem currently overwhelmed by massive price manipulation in the corresponding futures market. The gold futures contracts are settled mostly in cash, so they are no more than just circular-reference bets on the price of gold contracts - however, they still do control gold spot prices.

If I had to trade gold based on seasonals tendencies, I would buy Long 1st July and sell 1st March, and trade Short each year just for the month of June.

And if I really had to time signals in gold, I would use a short-term strategy such as this one (put together for a client).

[beau thai]

What is certain is that trading gold is a dangerous game and in my view you should only use cash you are prepared to lose.

Bernake was honest enough to say recently that he had no idea how gold is valued! But it is not at the whim of a few key players-the market is too big for that.

The UK treasury under Gordon Brown thought they were selling at the top around year 2000 and sold 400 tons at just below 300dollars an ounce. In less than 10 years it climbed to 1100 dollars and they had 'lost' 10 billion dollars by selling at the wrong time. More recently Chavez put an amazing 70% of Venezuela's reserves into gold at around 1800 dollars and in the last 18 months it has dropped to 1200 dollars, crippling the Venezuela economy.

Many people having watched gold drop so fast in the last 18 months assume it must go up now, but many commentators believe it will bottom out at 1000 dollars.

If you are trading volatility is your saviour so long as you are not greedy. Sell short after a few up days and buy back on the dips.

Personally, I dont buy the theory of holding gold in case 'paper' money in major economies loses value-Zimbabwe was a pretty special case!

And beware of 'experts'

[wigantojapan]

i am new to this as is obvious, but looking at the gold chart in the past month is has dropped drastically from around 800 to around the 730 mark in Uk pounds

,It has rallied the past few days

.Is this because of the festive period where more people are likely to buy gold as a gift to themselves or as a present.?

Also with the Chinese New year upon us shortly does the price rise in general around that time?

Everyone's new to this new financial paradigm, WJ - ideas and observations made on past market periods don't hold up anymore, as gold's seasonal tendencies (e.g., Indian festive season) seem currently overwhelmed by massive price manipulation in the corresponding futures market. The gold futures contracts are settled mostly in cash, so they are no more than just circular-reference bets on the price of gold contracts - however, they still do control gold spot prices.

If I had to trade gold based on seasonals tendencies, I would buy Long 1st July and sell 1st March, and trade Short each year just for the month of June.

And if I really had to time signals in gold, I would use a short-term strategy such as this one (put together for a client).

In plain simple English what does the above mean?

the chinese new year is january.February near the sell date you posted March and also near the month of Indian festivities,,is that a buyers or sellers market?

Do you foresee todays price dropping or rising leading up to the chinese new year?

thanks

[Jose]

the chinese new year is january.February near the sell date you posted March and also near the month of Indian festivities,,is that a buyers or sellers market?

Do you foresee todays price dropping or rising leading up to the chinese new year?

thanks

Nobody really knows what the price of gold will be in 2-3 months. Anyone that attempts to put a price level on any market (specially in the longer term) is basically a charlatan. So-called market commentators are clueless with their price estimates - if they were any good at price forecasting, they would be advising funds (for a hefty fee) and not the public.

Having said that, given gold's seasonal price history over the past few years, I'm about 60% certain that physical gold will be priced higher in USD terms by 1st March 2014. I'm also about 70-80% certain that physical gold vs USD will be higher by 1st March 2015, and almost 100% certain that it will inevitably be much higher (vs USD) in ten years from now.

Gold, at $35 in the 60's and $1200 now, doesn't really "go up" in the longer term - an oz of gold buys the equivalent of what it bought back in the days of our forefathers. For example, a 1920's Model T Ford ($290) cost roughly the same 12-14oz gold as a modern Ford Fiesta ($14000). It is the currencies that go down in value, giving the illusion to the masses that inflation is all about prices going up.

All paper currencies are inflated (devalued) over time. Ever wonder why the world's oldest currency the Pound Sterling, can no longer buy a pound of sterling silver? Or why 10 Baht of gold costs 20,000 Baht nowadays? These paper monies steadily lose their value over time, following in the footsteps of every previous paper currency in humanity's history, until they all reach their intrinsic value: zero.

[beau thai]

I've heard all these pro-gold arguments ad nauseum over they years - often from people with an interest in selling gold, or gold advice.

You can only get opinions about the future (and free advice is usually worth exactly what you paid for it) but if you want facts about the recent past as, maybe, an indicator of what can happen, google the Gold Bullion Co. You will see that Gold was 1105 GBP in october 12 and 14 months later it is 725 GPB.

That is also a reminder that if you buy gold in, say, baht, and you ever want to sell and use in another currency, you have baht/xx currency moves to factor in-and the baht has dropped from 44 to gbp to almost 54 to gbp in about half a year.

In the same period that gold has dropped over 30%, the Dow has risen from 11000 to 16000-a rise of over 40%-do the math to see how eg 10k gbp in in gold from Oct 12, or in a DJ tracker fund compare now.

Of course none of us know about the future, we only have opinions. I wont be as daft as to predict a specific day like Mar 1 2014, but I do believe that gold will still trend down through the 1st quarter. But who the hell knows!

If yu wanna buy gold, do it with cash you can lose, and have some fun. Or buy your gf a gold ring-either could prove costly but the gf may be more fun...

the chinese new year is january.February near the sell date you posted March and also near the month of Indian festivities,,is that a buyers or sellers market?

Do you foresee todays price dropping or rising leading up to the chinese new year?

thanks

Nobody really knows what the price of gold will be in 2-3 months. Anyone that attempts to put a price level on any market (specially in the longer term) is basically a charlatan. So-called market commentators are clueless with their price estimates - if they were any good at price forecasting, they would be advising funds (for a hefty fee) and not the public.

Having said that, given gold's seasonal price history over the past few years, I'm about 60% certain that physical gold will be priced higher in USD terms by 1st March 2014. I'm also about 70-80% certain that physical gold vs USD will be higher by 1st March 2015, and almost 100% certain that it will inevitably be much higher (vs USD) in ten years from now.

Gold, at $35 in the 60's and $1200 now, doesn't really "go up" in the longer term - an oz of gold buys the equivalent of what it bought back in the days of our forefathers. For example, a 1920's Model T Ford ($290) cost roughly the same 12-14oz gold as a modern Ford Fiesta ($14000). It is the currencies that go down in value, giving the illusion to the masses that inflation is all about prices going up.

All paper currencies are inflated (devalued) over time. Ever wonder why the world's oldest currency the Pound Sterling, can no longer buy a pound of sterling silver? Or why 10 Baht of gold costs 20,000 Baht nowadays? These paper monies steadily lose their value over time, following in the footsteps of every previous paper currency in humanity's history, until they all reach their intrinsic value: zero.

[wigantojapan]

Thanks Beau Thai and sound advise you have given

.Basically i am just wanting to buy a few bits of jewellery and possibly an ounce of gold in the not too distant future.

i will now pay more attention to the price of gold and off course look at the strength /weakness of the Baht/pound/yen,,,but as has been mentioned before it is way too risky a game for me or anyone like myself to get seriously involved in.

i will stick to whisky for future investment and a bit of fun

thank you all

[ThaiHerbs]

Here are some websites I follow that deal with precious metals featuring some of the top guys/gals for your reading...

Mostly Always Bullish:

http://kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/King_World_News.html

http://www.jsmineset.com/

More Balanced

http://armstrongeconomics.com/armstrong_economics_blog/

For Traders (I am not an active trader, I buy on weakness and hold, sell some on spikes, keep a solid core holding):

http://traderdannorcini.blogspot.ca/

Thai Prices:

http://www.goldpricethai.com/

http://www.goldtraders.or.th/

I print down the latest price then compare the Chinese Market gold shops to buy. Not all shops have all the sizes on hand ("sorry sold out of 5B bars but I have 10 & 20B" is typical) I keep my purchase receipt with the gold and sell back to the same guys I bought from. Always leary of counterfeit but have not heard of any rumours of this so far from established stores here. There is counterfeit silver/gold around (not only Thailand) so "if the deal is too good to be true" you may have bought counterfeit. I stay with established stores.

http://www.alibaba.com/showroom/fake-gold-coins.html

http://www.pandacollector.com/rogue.html

I sold some a while back at around 24,000B (needed some cash) and bought some back in June when the price got hit for around 18,000B. Will add more (for a trade) if the price gets bashed down again to around $1,000US but with a weakening Thai Baht it may not be worth while.

I also bought some more silver in Canada (in June) thru friends/family who safely/securly store it for me there - source http://www.sprottmoney.com/

http://store.sprottmoney.com/buy-silver-online/silver-maple-leaf-coin-1-oz.html

Doug

[EkSiriniran]

Might as well consider this shop http://goo.gl/maps/APouo. They have English speaking associates and 99.6%, 99.9% gold bars.

Edited December 28, 2013 by EkSiriniran

[beau thai]

Thanks Beau Thai and sound advise you have given

.Basically i am just wanting to buy a few bits of jewellery and possibly an ounce of gold in the not too distant future.

i will now pay more attention to the price of gold and off course look at the strength /weakness of the Baht/pound/yen,,,but as has been mentioned before it is way too risky a game for me or anyone like myself to get seriously involved in.

i will stick to whisky for future investment and a bit of fun

thank you all

i will stick to whisky for future investment and a bit of fun -yes . great move. I prefer liquid assets too.

[beau thai]

Here are some websites I follow that deal with precious metals featuring some of the top guys/gals for your reading...

Mostly Always Bullish:

http://kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/King_World_News.html

http://www.jsmineset.com/

More Balanced

http://armstrongeconomics.com/armstrong_economics_blog/

For Traders (I am not an active trader, I buy on weakness and hold, sell some on spikes, keep a solid core holding):

http://traderdannorcini.blogspot.ca/

Thai Prices:

http://www.goldpricethai.com/

http://www.goldtraders.or.th/

I print down the latest price then compare the Chinese Market gold shops to buy. Not all shops have all the sizes on hand ("sorry sold out of 5B bars but I have 10 & 20B" is typical) I keep my purchase receipt with the gold and sell back to the same guys I bought from. Always leary of counterfeit but have not heard of any rumours of this so far from established stores here. There is counterfeit silver/gold around (not only Thailand) so "if the deal is too good to be true" you may have bought counterfeit. I stay with established stores.

http://www.alibaba.com/showroom/fake-gold-coins.html

http://www.pandacollector.com/rogue.html

I sold some a while back at around 24,000B (needed some cash) and bought some back in June when the price got hit for around 18,000B. Will add more (for a trade) if the price gets bashed down again to around $1,000US but with a weakening Thai Baht it may not be worth while.

I also bought some more silver in Canada (in June) thru friends/family who safely/securly store it for me there - source http://www.sprottmoney.com/

http://store.sprottmoney.com/buy-silver-online/silver-maple-leaf-coin-1-oz.html

Doug

Very well done Doug - hard to get the timing that right! Nice move. Seems like we are on the same page with likely future moves too.

[Rancid]

There's a shop on Thapae Road just opposite the turn off onto ChangKlan Road (night bazaar) called Ausiris - big sign - look on google street view.

They sell from half a baht up to 1kg bars. Seem pretty professional to me. I have bought from there and sold back to them in the past and all went very smoothly. You can also get membership with them, call them up, check on/ lock in prices etc etc. I did notice on gold bars more than one Baht they added an s on the end which worried me slightly but they didn't contain any chocolate and I could sell them back to them later on.

Merry Christmas!

I also bought there, the bars come with certificates from Switzerland. I also sold back to the same shop at a profit later. You can also lock in sale and purchase prices with them over the phone if the market is rocky.

They also have shops in Bankgkok and I also stocked up down there. Bought the 99.9 as I took it all back home with me in case I needed to sell it locally later, no problems whatsoever. That may vary country to country though depending on how bankrupt yours currently is.

[Jose]

I'm about 60% certain that physical gold will be priced higher in USD terms by 1st March 2014.

Time for an update on that seasonal gold price (USD/oz & THB/10 Baht) prediction:

Thu 26th Dec 2013: $1,212.30/oz (฿18,700)

Lowest point: $1,202.30 on 31 Dec 2013 (฿18,750)

Mon 3rd Mar 2014: $1,350.30/oz (฿20,700)

2 month price gain: +11.4% (+44% pa)

Dont even think about it until it hits 15kbht-still trending down worldwide. Open a futures trading account and sell every time it hits 19k+.

Thanks Beau Thai and sound advise you have given

Ouch.

And that, my friend, is why you should never take any financial advice from the internet. And specially so from any anonymous amateur who talks about "worldwide prices".

[jazzed]

Ausiris is only useful if you buy/sell their own product. I brought a 10-oz Credit Suisse bar and they would not even consider it. In fact the staff there seemed not to know about the commonly-accepted bullion products e.g. Kruggerands, Johnson Matthey, Perth Mint etc.

Instead I popped around the corner to Maeboonruang Goldsmith (recommended by a helpful forum member) IT's near Chiang Mai Plastic. The lady boss Khun Tik is super to deal with. While she does not normally sell anything other than Thai gold (bars, jewellery) she readily buys internationally-known bullion, probably for her farang customers who do want them. She also gave me a better rate than I'd get from my dealers in Singapore or Hong Kong!

Regarding the preservation of buying power, while it's wise to diversify and hold soft commodities (like whiskey *smile*) gold held its own and more over the past years:

https://twitter.com/TelegraphNews/status/441880452094119937/photo/1

[beau thai]

I'm about 60% certain that physical gold will be priced higher in USD terms by 1st March 2014.

Time for an update on that seasonal gold price (USD/oz & THB/10 Baht) prediction:

Thu 26th Dec 2013: $1,212.30/oz (฿18,700)

Lowest point: $1,202.30 on 31 Dec 2013 (฿18,750)

Mon 3rd Mar 2014: $1,350.30/oz (฿20,700)

2 month price gain: +11.4% (+44% pa)

Dont even think about it until it hits 15kbht-still trending down worldwide. Open a futures trading account and sell every time it hits 19k+.

Thanks Beau Thai and sound advise you have given

Ouch.

And that, my friend, is why you should never take any financial advice from the internet. And specially so from any anonymous amateur who talks about "worldwide prices".

I give you best on that one Jose- even I cant be right all the time!.

But I think it was Rothschild who said something like only liars can buy at the bottom and sell at the top. I know you werent suggestimg that but it came to mind...

And I am wary of the 'maths' that take a short run gain and annualise it in percentage terms! Ok I guess, so long as you do the same with a loss.

Care for double or quits on the next projection? Say June 1st? I am 60% certain gold will be lower. You??

[Jose]

Hmmm... you seem 60% certain of gold's price dropping over the next two months, and this is based on...? It seems as if you're pulling statistics out of thin air, based on ego-challenging urges.

So be it - I'll take on your new challenge, with a now reduced 57% probability certainty that gold will be somewhat higher in USD terms (currently $1338.20) on the market close of Friday 30th May 2014 - based on seasonal price movement over the past seven years:

Please try to understand the following:

1) Based on the seasonal study above, there is also a 43% probability of gold's price being lower by Mon 2nd June 2014 (note that this particular seasonal trade would have been a loss during 2012-2013);

2) Seasonal market tendencies (specially weak ones) are easily overwhelmed by current events. For example, if the Euro/GBP/Yen were to sink sometime over the next 3 months, gold will do great in terms of those currencies, but poorly against a relatively "stronger" USD;

3) Never make financial decisions based on emotional urges.

(Edit: resized chart to fit page)

Edited March 9, 2014 by Jose