What would be the most efficient way to buy and sell physical gold or silver, and how would it compare to coins and online/non physical gold?
I’ve never owned physical gold and other than a coin someone gave me as a six year old which I loved but lost as some stage (never give a precious coin to a little kid! Not only will it be wasted but they’ll be upset about it when they’re older!) I’ve never owned silver.
In Thailand I’ve seen gold shops advertising their buy and sell prices for physical gold and silver at surprisingly narrow margins, though I’ve never tried and perhaps if you tried to sell they’d find an excuse to offer less than the advertised rates. In Australia I see gold dealers offering much less favourable margins. Next time I go to Vietnam I’ll have to check out their rates – I see many gold shops there but have never investigated. I’m sure the game would be all sorts of terrible (bad prices and I wouldn’t trust any of the dealers) but I’ll check it out next time I’m there. I’ll also have to check it out next time I’m in more honest and dependable countries such as Singapore and Japan.
Assuming we’re just looking at bars/rounds or very basic jewelry (a chunky basic necklace or rings or something), how close to the spot price would it be likely possible to buy from a dealer for, and how close to the spot price would it be possible to sell to dealers (or private buyers I suppose) for? Are there significant price differences between what dealers in different countries offer?
I’ve often seen large premiums in price for coins vs rounds or bars, and of course some jewelry can be multiples of the gold price, but how close can jewelry get if it’s just basic such as simple rings or chains?
