Foo - Reputable Online Gold Dealers

I want to buy some gold. But I'm not interested on companies that keep the gold for you, I want it shipped to my home. Having the gold in my hand and looking at it every now and then will be a motivation to keep saving/collecting. I am mostly interested in 1oz gold bullion bars and 1oz American Eagle Gold Coins (both are around a thousand bucks each). But I don't always have a thousand bucks to stash away for the sake of saving/collecting, therefore I also want a dealer that offers smaller denominations like the half ounce and quarter ounce Eagle Coins and 10/2.5/1 gram gold bars.

Searching on google results on hundreds of pages full of adds from bogus looking companies. So far I've only found 2 sites that appear legit:

1) http://www.gainesvillecoins.com/
2) http://www.bulliondirect.com

I plan on ordering small 1 gram and 2.5 grams gold bars first to see how it goes, before buying my first full ounce bullion. But their selection on small bars and coins looks rather limited. I would love to find a dealer with great selection of small items, smaller than the standard 1 ounce bars and coins.

I first thought about making the thread in P&R since it is full of "bring back the gold standard" weenies. But in P&R, a thread like this would be inevitably derailed into a gold standard discussion, with numerous pro/con Obama remarks and very little helpful info.

If any Foosters around here know about any reputable/trusted gold dealers online, please provide linky. And if anybody have done bussiness with them, please post some feedback.

And for those of you who have no idea of what I'm talking about, here's a few pics of the things I want to buy/collect:

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn53/RubenX_Longwood/Gold/bullion.jpg
http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn53/RubenX_Longwood/Gold/credit-suisse-gold-bars.jpg
http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn53/RubenX_Longwood/Gold/gold_eagle_one_ounce.jpg
http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn53/RubenX_Longwood/Gold/pamp.jpg

Me wantie. :)

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/Gordo_Ruckus/goldfool-1.jpg

Now when you want to sell back, who do you sell to?

Spanish Conquistadors?

Not sure I would want to buy something like that over the net.
We used to have a coin dealer in the strip mall next to us that had gold as well. Maybe see if you can find a store first.

How about Ruben buys it, ships it to me, I resell it, and pocket the proceeds for the wedding. Now THAT sounds like a plan!

not sure i would want to buy something like that over the net.
we used to have a coin dealer in the strip mall next to us that had gold as well. Maybe see if you can find a store first.

+1

Me wantie. :)

They are pretty aren't they?


Now when you want to sell back, who do you sell to?

Selling them is not easy but that's part of the plan. The more difficult it gets to cash them back, the more probable they will remain as savings, as it was originally planned. Usually, the same gold dealers that sell them, buy them as well. And it works like stocks, there's a price to buy and a price to sell. When you buy, you always pay a little bit more than what the gold is worth because the dealer have to make some money for his services. When you sell, usually sell at a smaller price due to the same. It is a long term investment, not a short one. You actually loose money if you buy and re-sell over a short period of time.

Here is the price history chart, to get an idea:
http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn53/RubenX_Longwood/Gold/8-yrgoldpricechart.jpg

"Reputable Online" isn't that an oxymoron?

Gold mining is one of the more destructive things that people do to this planet. And typically for hoarding and jewelry.
Investing in gold encourages more of it.
Try to find something else in which to invest. There are lots of options.

Not sure I would want to buy something like that over the net.
We used to have a coin dealer in the strip mall next to us that had gold as well. Maybe see if you can find a store first.

Buying an ounce of gold (around $1000 USD) over the internet is no different from ordering a PC from newegg.com or a road bike from bikesdirect.com. You just need to be careful about what companies you deal with (which is why I'm asking here). No biggie really.

Of course I would prefer to find a local dealer, provided it doesn't add too much to the price. But you always end up paying more with local dealers on everything (cameras, flash memory, bike jerseys, etc). A local dealer has to pay rent, energy bills, janitor's salary to keep the floors clean, etc.

^^ P+R in 5....4.....3...

I would just buy beat up american gold coins off ebay that have no coin-collecting value, only raw material value.

I do question the whole gold as investment thing, but whatever. Interesting last 12 months for both gold and s&p, pretty tight correlation there. I think canned goods and ammo are where it's at in the short term.

http://data.moneycentral.msn.com/scripts/chrtsrv.dll?symbol=%24HUI.X&E1=0&LPR=2&C1=0&C2=8&D5=0&D2=0&D4=1&DD=1&width=612&height=258&CB=1&CE=0&CF=0

Here is the price history chart, to get an idea:
http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn53/RubenX_Longwood/Gold/8-yrgoldpricechart.jpg

So gold is at it's highest point in years and you think this is a good time to buy? You need a time machine so you can go back to 2001 to make your purchase.

Pick up a copy of Coin World. The dealers in this publication are reputable, and many of them offer what you are looking for.

East Hill

I do question the whole gold as investment thing, but whatever. Interesting last 12 months for both gold and s&p, pretty tight correlation there. I think canned goods and ammo are where it's at in the short term.Yeah, long-term, gold has been a very bad idea. I bought some in 1982 @ $800/oz. It's taken me 25-years to break even!!!. Given inflation during that time, I still haven't broken even as my dollars are only worth 1/8th of what they were back then. Any "investment" must earn at least inflation-rates to maintain purchasing power.

So gold is at it's highest point in years and you think this is a good time to buy? You need a time machine so you can go back to 2001 to make your purchase.

Is not the gold that's high, gold has remained stable. Is the dollar that has been going down the drain. Don't put your fate on the dollar doing a comeback any time soon:

http://www.ltadvisors.net/Info/InflationtoDeflation_files/image010.jpg

Check out coin dealers in your local neighbourhood/town.I know the one in town here sells gold coin and bars

Is not the gold that's high, gold has remained stable. Is the dollar that has been going down the drain. Don't put your fate on the dollar doing a comeback any time soon:

http://www.ltadvisors.net/Info/InflationtoDeflation_files/image010.jpg

I'm not putting my faith anywhere. Wait, I have no faith so, whatever. Besides, the two graphs that you posted have completely different timelines. Makes it difficult for a glancing comparison.

Yeah, long-term, gold has been a very bad idea. I bought some in 1982 @ $800/oz. It's taken me 25-years to break even!!!. Given inflation during that time, I still haven't broken even as my dollars are only worth 1/8th of what they were back then. Any "investment" must earn at least inflation-rates to maintain purchasing power.

An acquaintance did an exercise showing that if you diligently rebalance every year to keep gold at 2% of your portfolio you will come out ahead (before transaction costs). Or, rather, would have come out ahead over the period of years that he looked at.

Is not the gold that's high, gold has remained stable. Is the dollar that has been going down the drain. Don't put your fate on the dollar doing a comeback any time soon:

Then short EURUSD and buy EURPLN

An acquaintance did an exercise showing that if you diligently rebalance every year to keep gold at 2% of your portfolio you will come out ahead (before transaction costs). Or, rather, would have come out ahead over the period of years that he looked at.Depends when you got started. As long as you didn't buy in at the top in 1980, you'll be fine:

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e346/DannoXYZ/Investments/GoldHistory2.gif

I've used www.ajpm.com several times to buy Bullion and other silver and gold products. I have a bunch of silver coins and some ingots that I've been accumulating over the years - not necessarily because I think they're going to be more valuable some day, but if the unthinkable happens, it's good to have something with intrinsic value to barter and trade with.

These days the "unthinkable" doesn't seem so far-fetched, either...

I've never considered gold to be an investment, just a place to put money other than a bank.

"Reputable Online" isn't that an oxymoron?Naw...the oxymoron is "reputable gold dealer". With gold prices currently near historic highs, this doesn't seem to me to be a good time to buy.

If you had bought gold at $400/oz back in the 1980s, you could have more than doubled your money. However, if you'd bought a 6% bond back then, you'd have quadrupled your money. Gold generally is a lousy place to put your money.

dude

you are so going to lose your shirt buying that way
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go to a bank, and talk to a financial advisor about precious metals...

bought from these guys a few times. never an issue.

http://www.tulving.com/

site looks a bit cheesy (basic)

it all depends when you invest (to the nay-sayers). I watched for a couple years, then bought in 2000/2001 (270-290 oz).

I'm always amazed by the uninformed who bad-mouth gold. I read the same crap when gold was 500 oz.

As with most every investment, it's about timing. Don't whine just because you missed the boat.

apmex.com

haven't purchased from them, but have sold to them. not gold, but silver. bought a few hundred ounces of silver about 5 years ago from a little coin store...they actually hosed me..well, i let them hose me. sold it all to apmex a couple years later and they informed me through a phone call that i shorted myself by several ounces (from the volume that i reported to them). a friend of mine has had equally good luck.

I googled for local coin dealers and found a few that also sell bullion (both gold and silver)... great tip, thx.

Now, about the "buying gold now is bad" thing. There is no such thing as a "bad time" to buy gold. Worst case scenario, the price of Gold in US Dollars goes down. But even if Gold crashes hard, the US Dollar will continue to worth less and less every year will eventually catch up. The US Dollar will never go up as long as we keep our lovely central banking system (the FED).

Granted, for some of you it might be better to do something else with your money. But what works for you doesn't necessarily work for everyone. After all, what else is out there ATM? Real Estate? Stocks? Bonds? If that works for you, good luck and best wishes. For me that doesn't work very well right now.

Plus I really want to experience how it feels to rub pretty Gold coins against different parts of my body. :innocent:

The thing I'm concerned about: If the dollar really crashed hard, I wonder when governments would make illegal to own gold (unless made into jewelery), like in the US from 1933 to 1974.

I hope I don't sound doomsday-ish with this, but I do think people should put some part of their money (like 1-5%) into gold, and store parts of it in several locations (neither in a bank safety deposit box). One location is a safe for easy access, the other locations are places well hidden, so if someone cracks the safe or coerces the owner for the combo, not all the items are lost. Consider this not an investment per se, but an insurance plan.

The thing I'm concerned about: If the dollar really crashed hard, I wonder when governments would make illegal to own gold (unless made into jewelery), like in the US from 1933 to 1974.

I hope I don't sound doomsday-ish with this, but I do think people should put some part of their money (like 1-5%) into gold, and store parts of it in several locations (neither in a bank safety deposit box). One location is a safe for easy access, the other locations are places well hidden, so if someone cracks the safe or coerces the owner for the combo, not all the items are lost. Consider this not an investment per se, but an insurance plan.

Yup, that's a valid concern. I have thought about it as well. 1974 was not so long ago... it was illegal to own gold when I was born.

Best deal is to bypass the middlemen and their commissions. Buy a gold futures contract at expiration and exercise it. You get spot pricing and $.45 transaction cost. If you're taking about a small amount of money, then buy the mini-gold contract. This is the commodities version of a DRIP.

Yup, that's a valid concern. I have thought about it as well. 1974 was not so long ago... it was illegal to own gold when I was born.

This is a good reason for a part of the gold selection. Visit another town's reputable coin/bouillon dealer, and buy a number of coins in cash, preferably no questions asked or identity given. Then, take the "off the record" gold and put it somewhere other than a safe. Burying it may or may not work, because some yahoo with a metal detector can just dig it up. Just make sure to recover it before selling or moving out, obviously. Of course, you don't need to do this with your whole collection, just some pieces.

my Krugerrands are buried in concrete in the floor of my garage - but my biggest investment has been in high-grade military semiautomatic weapons and nitrogen-packed lots of 9mm ammunition

along with 30-year store of Mormon wheat, safe drinking water, gas masks and cartridges, i can sit at home on the couch at night in the dark and caress the lightly oiled surface of my hunting knife in comfort, knowing that my future is secure

oh, and i ride a bike, too..

:-)

^^ Yet, despite your clear end-of-the-world, they are out to get you paranoia, you still add yourself to an online registry of linux users :p

Around Y2K, I remember people saying that the masses in cities would be fleeing and hitting the countryside, but wouldn't have the ability to get past 30-50 miles out of a city (roads would be jammed with traffic until people ran out of gas, and people would be fighting, shooting at each other, and starving well before hitting that zone). So, people would bury caches in areas they thought they would have to travel on to get out past this zone, and had plans to travel to "safer" places like Fredricksberg and Waco. I even remember talk about hiding/caching motorcycles for the sole purpose of going off-road routes to get past choke points like the Colorado River and such.

I wonder if these people dug up the chests of goodies that they supposedly buried. There were even detailed discussions on how to seal up rifles in PVC pipe, making sure to keep the dessicant at the bottom and the firearm separate from it by several inches, because after time, the silica gel will become wet.

I should search archives on those Y2K sites. People were on the loony side, but they had a lot of good ideas and theories on what to do should civilization collapse.

But back to the gold stuff... I think it is a good idea to have. However, I am of two minds. On one hand, if the economy picks up, gold will drop back down to very low levels. On the other hand, if inflation started spiking because all the controls against it have been disabled (0 percent interest rate, lots of money from the FED looking for a home), gold will go up in value a lot. Very tough gamble. So, don't expect to invest in gold, just have it part of your emergency supplies, right by your semi auto weapons packed in nitrogen. ;)