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October 23, 2009 – Comments (15) | RELATED TICKERS: GO , L , D
What is the best way to buy gold? An online retailer? Furthermore, what do I do with it? Put it in a safety deposit box? Is there a VERY reliable method of buying gold without holding the actual metal? I'd like to know- thanks.
You buy gold with dollars.
I'm going to bed soon, but I'll follow up on this over the weekend.
Answer these 3 questions and I'll give you an answer.
1) Why are you buying it?
2) How much are you planning on spending?
3) How long are you planning on keeping it?
I have bought all my PM's from http://www.apmex.com/ they have the best prices I can find and have always been reliable to deal with.
I am of the philospohy that "if you don't hold it you don't own it" and see no reason to put it anywhere near a bank. Although I think government confiscation is unlikely they have done it in the past and at this point I wouldn't put anything past them.
You can store a tremendous amount of wealthy in a very small area with Gold and Silver and I would recommend just buying a good safe.
Don't mean to hijack, but I've been interested in this as well. Posted to the investing strat board but really did not get a response.
Chris - to further your comment:
1) hedge against the coming inflation
2) 7k to 10k
3) 3 to 5 years
Jibjab - so glad you asked this question!!
JibJiab, are you aware of the ETF symbol GLD?
As I understand, it's an ETF backed by their holding of actual gold, with the price very nearly equivalent to the actual price of gold per ounce, divided by 10. so as GLD trades at 100, the price of gold should be 1000 dollars per ounce. Is this helpful at all???
Chris, thanks for your time.
Inflation hedge. I don't expect anything massive any time soon, but we all know what debt and loose policy inevitably leads to.
Small potatoes. My money is in stocks (all in on MTB- I bought in late February as well as before. I know all-in on one stock is generally foolish but I'm 23 years old- I will diversify as I can when I can). I live in China and live well over here but my income is negligible in dollars. However, within a year's time, I may have 2k or so. I'm not sure I want that in gold (I like export companies just as much- KO for example). However, it never hurts to know your options and the best way to act on them.
A very, very long time. As I said, I'm 23 years old with a stable job. I can afford to hold tenaciously. (I did not sell my bank in February- I doubled down). I've never sold a stock in my life and would behave the same way with other holdings.
JMrosenb- as I understand it, ETF's deteriorate over time. I would prefer something tangible. Gold is, after all, the Weimar-type inflation hedge. Not that I expect that, but it would be reassuring.
I'd stay away from the ETF. In the end all you have is a piece of paper saying someone owes you a piece of gold. If the music stops, you want to be holding gold not paper.
Don't you have to have it tested for purity and weight (even if it was bullion) if you had been holding it and at a later date wished to cash it in?
ease1, get it from APMEX and have it delivered.
jibjab, you might be better off with a place like goldmoney.com. You can buy in small amounts easier there and they will store it for your until you have accumulated enough to ship.
I've never really sold much, but I've had no problems selling it to a local dealer when I did. I know he weighed it and I'm guessing he tested it as well.
Thanks Chris. I checked out both sites and they look pretty good. I even found that both offer an IRA type of set up where you could open a PM type of IRA if you wanted. Of course I'm guessing you would not be able to take physical ownership in that situation.
If you buy outright from one of these companies and take ownership, what options do you have for unloading when your ready? Also to anyone that purchases for physical ownership, do you mostly go with coin or bar or ??
Muchas gracias.
ease, an IRA shouldn't limit your ability to accept physical delivery. As long as you account for your holdings, it doesn't matter much if they are on paper or in your hands.
If you are expecting big inflation, I would pick a Roth IRA over a traditional one.
Not only will you have better gains, but easier access to your money.
Like I said before, I haven't sold much, but when I have, I've sold locally. I've received a fair price, so I haven't persued it any farther.
As far as the coin or bar thing, pick the option that gives you the closest price to spot price. Bullion is usually cheaper for the simple fact that the more ounces that you buy, the cheaper it usually is, but do your homework. Look for sales and clearances. I'm happy to buy an ugly looking coin that's cheaper than bullion.
JIbJabs, I apologize! Another option that you should look at is buying bags of junk gold locally. Dealers will sell these to you for slightly over melt value. You should compare what price you get locally to the price that you get for bullion or coins including the delivery charge.
Sorry JibJabs for the flippant answer: here's what I think.
Miners are more liquid and pay you a divi.- so I prefer to have my money tied up with the metal still in the ground (that is why the PE of miners is always so high - your also paying for the un-mined metal)
With physical, the best is the most liquid so stay with coins (Maple leafs, Eagles, - not rare coins). You have to pay a premium though so your biggest challenge is to find the narrowest bid/ask spread.
With physical, you have to store it, hide it somewhere or bury it.
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