Finance

6 Expert Tips for First-Time Gold Buyers

Finance

Investing in gold bullion is a wise strategy that can help protect your financial future. In order to ensure your assets remain secure, it is important to follow some basic steps. The following guidelines will help insure you reap the rewards you are entitled to.

Learn the Basics

Educate yourself about the basics of bullion investment. Read articles, talk to financial advisors and fellow investors and browse internet forums in order to learn the principles and terminology of gold investment. In a short space of time, you will easily identify the trusted experts that consistently offer sound advice.

Clear Investment Goals

Be clear about your investment goals, expectations and your financial limitations. Knowing precisely why you want to invest and what you hope to achieve helps to focus your strategy and minimise risks. Be realistic about the return on investment you are likely to receive and increase or reduce your budget accordingly.

Trust and Reputation

Be sure that your broker is reputable and transparent in the way they conduct business and only buy from those you have good reason to trust. Use common sense and undertake ample due diligence. Asking for customer feedback and referrals will help identify a trusted gold bullion specialist and also highlight the ones to definitely avoid.

Communication and Rapport

Communicate openly with your broker or agent and ask for their advice. They will happily step you through the process and ease any concerns you may have. An excellent bullion trader will do their utmost to keep you happy and satisfied. Repeat business is highly valued by a reputable company and having customers wanting to return to purchase again is a very positive sign that you’ve found a legitimate operator.

Fees and Charges

While the price of gold is determined by the gold spot price, there are small additional fees involved with purchasing bullion that are rolled into the final sale price. These are known as premiums and include:

  • Initial refining and smelting costs of forming the gold into bullion.
  • Transportation and insurance fees to get the gold from the refinery to the customer.
  • Dealer fees that are par for the course in running a viable business, i.e. rent, insurance, advertising, wages and other overheads.

Each link in the chain requires payment and naturally this small fee is passed along to the buyer and reflected in the final price. Be certain to shop around and compare premiums to avoid overly inflated premiums.

Ease of Access and Speedy Delivery

When purchasing bullion, whether online or from a physical location like City Gold Bullion in Brisbane, it is important that the service is able to provide what you require quickly, without delays or bureaucratic hoops to jump through. You should look for bullion dealers who have access to bullion onsite or can ship it to you within a very short timeframe. As prices fluctuate from day to day, you must to be able to buy when the price is right and have that price immediately locked in, not delayed for days or even weeks due to complicated processes or access to limited stocks of bullion.

A small amount of advance research and the right advice makes the path to bullion investment an exceedingly safe and simple matter. Following these straight forward guidelines will help ensure your gold buying experience will be both profitable and immensely satisfying.