Advice Needed: BUYING & SELLING gold in China Town

[easybullet3]

i lost my regular Bank Debit Card (from UK) and it is going to take 2 to 3 weeks before I can get a replacement here with my in Thailand... and my RENT is due in a few days.

I had this idea:

I can use my credit card to BUY some gold in China Town and then INSTANTLY re-sell it to the same (or a different shop)... thus I can get money to cover rent and living for a few weeks. (my landlady said she will charge me each day my rent is late.. and no one to do western union back home).

PS: my Credit Card wont allow me ATM withdrawals.

so,, i NEED to get money (somehow from my credit card).

I dont care about "trading Gold and making a profit".. and I dont care about losing some money in the buy/sell transactions)

my question:

a friend of mine told me to buy from a shop called: Hua Seng Heng.

but, will it be fine if I buy gold with my credit card and then immediately sell it back and get cash?

- do you have any experience? what would you recommend ?

do I buy and sell from the SAME SHOP ?

do I tell them of my doings before I purchase from them?

should I buy one shop and sell next door at another shop?

and finally: should I buy a plain gold necklace? or coins? or bar ?

Thanks for any advice

[Mark601]

Just go into a bank and do a cash advance on your credit card.

[Asiantravel]

PS: my Credit Card wont allow me ATM withdrawals

yes but even in places like Cambodia , you can get a cash advance over the counter inside the bank using a credit card?

[Mark601]

Cash advance at a bank is not an ATM withdrawal. It is the same as using your credit card at the gold shop. But still call your bank ahead of time and make sure you are set up.

[seabass69]

You should be able to get a cash advance up to a maximum of your daily withdrawal limit by visiting a bank branch. Just signing the form should be ok.

[Mark601]

You can also call your bank and authorize a larger cash advance

[starship]

Hi

Why won't your credit card let you make withdrawals? Have you used up the cash advance limit already?

On your agreed limit there's normally an overall amount of credit and a cash element. If the card's not tied to your bank account then even if you don't have funds in your bank you can use the credit card's own account. What about an overdraft facility on your bank account, have you used that?

Regarding gold, Hua Seng Heng is a good place to go. They are very respected here, and in my experiences they normally offer better rates than other shops. However, I've read there's a surcharge for using a credit card. You also have the buy/sell spread to consider in your costs. It may be cheaper to try and use your card if it's only short term. Also you'll need to buy gold bars to get the best price. Just checked and 1 baht of gold is roughly 19,200 B. You pay a small labour charge for the manufacture of gold as well from memory. The larger the bar the better the price, you'll need to buy a 5 Baht bar to get the best price.

If you buy jewelery instead of bars the selling price is much lower - about 1000B per baht weight. Bars are about 100 B less per baht when you resell but every shop is different and the price constantly changes - even through the day. If you bought at one shop and then attempted to immediately sell it back to them they might be a bit suspicious - I would be. I've also heard though that it you don't sell back to the same shop (normally at a later date), you get less for it.

There's also a branch of Hua Seng Heng in Seacon Square near Srinakarin if that's closer to you - air con as well, rather than the hassle of going to Chinatown.

[Arkady]

Hi

Why won't your credit card let you make withdrawals? Have you used up the cash advance limit already?

On your agreed limit there's normally an overall amount of credit and a cash element. If the card's not tied to your bank account then even if you don't have funds in your bank you can use the credit card's own account. What about an overdraft facility on your bank account, have you used that?

Regarding gold, Hua Seng Heng is a good place to go. They are very respected here, and in my experiences they normally offer better rates than other shops. However, I've read there's a surcharge for using a credit card. You also have the buy/sell spread to consider in your costs. It may be cheaper to try and use your card if it's only short term. Also you'll need to buy gold bars to get the best price. Just checked and 1 baht of gold is roughly 19,200 B. You pay a small labour charge for the manufacture of gold as well from memory. The larger the bar the better the price, you'll need to buy a 5 Baht bar to get the best price.

If you buy jewelery instead of bars the selling price is much lower - about 1000B per baht weight. Bars are about 100 B less per baht when you resell but every shop is different and the price constantly changes - even through the day. If you bought at one shop and then attempted to immediately sell it back to them they might be a bit suspicious - I would be. I've also heard though that it you don't sell back to the same shop (normally at a later date), you get less for it.

There's also a branch of Hua Seng Heng in Seacon Square near Srinakarin if that's closer to you - air con as well, rather than the hassle of going to Chinatown.

Yes, the branch in Seacon does sell the 5 and 10 baht gold bars but I don't know if they take credit cards for that. If they do, they would certainly charge for the use of the credit card.

Like others I think you should be able to get an advance on your credit card at a bank. KBANK is usually good for that kind of thing.

[easybullet3]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Just go into a bank and do a cash advance on your credit card.

PS: my Credit Card wont allow me ATM withdrawals

yes but even in places like Cambodia , you can get a cash advance over the counter inside the bank using a credit card?

Cash advance at a bank is not an ATM withdrawal. It is the same as using your credit card at the gold shop. But still call your bank ahead of time and make sure you are set up.

Really guys,, i CANT get any CASH ADVANCE...

when I said i cant ATM Withdrawal, i was talking about Cash Advance also,, coz its the same thing.. (ie: cash money from my credit card)... so,, yes,, i already did that .. but my "Barclaycartd" only allowed about 25% cash advance on my card (bank counter, or ATM), and thats done already.. (i need another 50% of the card value).

so,, NOW i am TRYING to get the remaining (non-cash-advance) money off my card.. which I will be paying back in a few weeks time.

Please, if possible, can you only reply about the China Town Gold thing... its the only sure way I can think of, that I can easily get CASH money from my card in a small amount of time.

if you know about Buying/Selling Gold in china town and understand my intentions (in my original post), then please let me know... as I appreciate the advice

Thanks

[easybullet3]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Hi

Why won't your credit card let you make withdrawals? Have you used up the cash advance limit already?

On your agreed limit there's normally an overall amount of credit and a cash element. If the card's not tied to your bank account then even if you don't have funds in your bank you can use the credit card's own account. What about an overdraft facility on your bank account, have you used that?

Regarding gold, Hua Seng Heng is a good place to go. They are very respected here, and in my experiences they normally offer better rates than other shops. However, I've read there's a surcharge for using a credit card. You also have the buy/sell spread to consider in your costs. It may be cheaper to try and use your card if it's only short term. Also you'll need to buy gold bars to get the best price. Just checked and 1 baht of gold is roughly 19,200 B. You pay a small labour charge for the manufacture of gold as well from memory. The larger the bar the better the price, you'll need to buy a 5 Baht bar to get the best price.

If you buy jewelery instead of bars the selling price is much lower - about 1000B per baht weight. Bars are about 100 B less per baht when you resell but every shop is different and the price constantly changes - even through the day. If you bought at one shop and then attempted to immediately sell it back to them they might be a bit suspicious - I would be. I've also heard though that it you don't sell back to the same shop (normally at a later date), you get less for it.

There's also a branch of Hua Seng Heng in Seacon Square near Srinakarin if that's closer to you - air con as well, rather than the hassle of going to Chinatown.

Yes, the branch in Seacon does sell the 5 and 10 baht gold bars but I don't know if they take credit cards for that. If they do, they would certainly charge for the use of the credit card.

Like others I think you should be able to get an advance on your credit card at a bank. KBANK is usually good for that kind of thing.

(yup, as you mentioned,, I have ALREADY used up my cash advance allowance (last week)...(Balrclaycard only gave me about 25% allowance of the total value of the card).

so I am looking for a fast easy way to extract maybe another 50% of the card... (probably about 2000 pounds)..

i know it will end up COSTING me a fair bit of "card usage fees" and interest.. but its ok. i'd rather do this method than to ask family for Western Union, etc.

so,, yes,, I guess the Hua Send Heng option is my best shot ???

@ Starship : you said that jewelry is less expensive than bars.

would this make any difference if I just buy MORE of it and then sell it?

ie,, did you mean that there is a wider ''spread" (thus I lose out even more)?

do you think it matters if I buy a Necklace or a Bar? for me, I will just do whichever is the best method. (any advice) ?

so,, ok,, I pay a surcharge for using credit card... maybe I lose 2 or 3% (maybe 2000 or 3000 baht).

and i will lose money on the spread when I sell it to a shop..

if I can get 100,000+ baht from my card and it ends up costing me up to 10,000 baht (10%) ,, I am ok with that.

so,, when I SELL gold (even if it another shop),, would I need to show my purchase receipt? ie: will the neighbour shop see that I JUST BOUGHT IT !) MINS AGO AT THE SHOP NEXT DOOR ?? Lol

coz, as you mention,, "it will look suspicious" hahaa

anyway,, both of you, thanks for your messages before

[Arkady]

The gold shops will readily buy back their own branded gold. They might refuse other brands or give a discount, particularly smaller shops that are often targeted by fraudsters selling faked impure products. Bigger stores will take anything as they have the ability to check purity but may still discount other brands slightly. No need to keep the receipt bit it does no harm. I think there is also a branch of Hua Heng Seng in MBK which deals in ingots but can't vouch for that. The Seacon branch definitely does.