Gold Questions

[theseus51]

Hey, I know a lot of you guys are experts on gold, so I have a few newbie questions.

Like I see a lot of highly reputable people on ebay selling gold way below the market rate, like $50 below. I was wondering why that is, tax reasons? Like couldn't these people just go to a jewelry store or mail them to apmex and get a higher rate?

Also, what type of gold do you think is best, if you just want to hold gold, the basic Krugerrand or one of the more pretty coins? Thanks.

[jonahtrainer]

Hey, I know a lot of you guys are experts on gold, so I have a few newbie questions.

Like I see a lot of highly reputable people on ebay selling gold way below the market rate, like $50 below. I was wondering why that is, tax reasons? Like couldn't these people just go to a jewelry store or mail them to apmex and get a higher rate?

Also, what type of gold do you think is best, if you just want to hold gold, the basic Krugerrand or one of the more pretty coins? Thanks.

Gold has had a huge bull run in a short time so maybe they listed the items earlier before the price took off to the moon.

If you buy a coin I recommend Apmex or Kitco. I buy from Apmex and GoldMoney.com (http://www.goldmoney.com).

[Dustancostine]

Hey, I know a lot of you guys are experts on gold, so I have a few newbie questions.

Like I see a lot of highly reputable people on ebay selling gold way below the market rate, like $50 below. I was wondering why that is, tax reasons? Like couldn't these people just go to a jewelry store or mail them to apmex and get a higher rate?

Also, what type of gold do you think is best, if you just want to hold gold, the basic Krugerrand or one of the more pretty coins? Thanks.

Also because of the fluctuating price of gold and silver, most bidders will wait until the last 5 minutes to put in their bid for gold and silver, this makes the price look low for the majority of the time of the auction, but at the last minute the price will spike towards spot. There are two reasons for this:

1) you are protecting yourself from a negative change in price of gold. For example if I put in a bid today and gold falls 20-30 dollars tomorrow, I am stuck with my bid, but if I wait until the last 5 minutes of an auction I am basically buying in real time.

2) If you have limited reasources and you put in a bid and are winning for the first 5 days, your money that you are going to use for to pay for the auction is tied up waiting for the conclusion of the auction. If by chance you end up losing in the last 5 minutes you still don't have an investment and your money is still waiting to be used, process starts over again.

If you are going to use ebay, best thing to do is to use "buy it now" to find a deal (which will be very hard to do) or only bid on those auction that are going to be closing in the next hour.

--Dustan

[fsk]

I also vote for apmex, although I haven't used them yet.

The only advantage of using Ebay is if you find someone who lives in the same city as you, and they're willing to trade in person with cash. If you buy with a check online, you risk having your transaction reported to the bad guys.

[G-khan]

Hey, I know a lot of you guys are experts on gold, so I have a few newbie questions.

Like I see a lot of highly reputable people on ebay selling gold way below the market rate, like $50 below. I was wondering why that is, tax reasons? Like couldn't these people just go to a jewelry store or mail them to apmex and get a higher rate?

Also, what type of gold do you think is best, if you just want to hold gold, the basic Krugerrand or one of the more pretty coins? Thanks.

I would use APMEX and I would be concerned at buying from someone selling below spot price.

[fluoridatedbrainsoup]

Silver is mostly mined as a byproduct of gold mining. There are far more above-ground gold reserves right now than silver. I'd invest in silver instead because it's like 40:1 in relation to gold right now, while historically has been 8:1. Gold is ungodly expensive right now, and I wish I had invested in it years ago.

[JosephTheLibertarian]

Gold has had a huge bull run in a short time so maybe they listed the items earlier before the price took off to the moon.

If you buy a coin I recommend Apmex or Kitco. I buy from Apmex and GoldMoney.com (http://www.goldmoney.com).

is it wise to invest all of my money in gold and silver?

[Man from La Mancha]

is it wise to invest all of my money in gold and silver?
Well you can't lose. Look at what these metals have done over the long haul , they out performed the stock market. Now is a good time to do it. Before?? Maybe 10% in bullets:D

.

[fluoridatedbrainsoup]

is it wise to invest all of my money in gold and silver?

It depends. If you're investing for WTSHTF, then you don't just want heavy metal. You also want the kind of commodities which people will need. Like liquor, cigarettes, toilet paper, weapons, fresh water source and stores of food. If you walk around with a sack of gold post-SHTF, then you will be mugged quickly.

On other hand, if you're just investing because it's a good idea, then gold and silver all the way. ALL PAPER MONEY EVENTUALLY GOES TO ZERO. I've linked to this video several times on this forum and this time I'll just tell you the key words: Search 'Jones on Gold and Silver' on youtube.

[Hook]

is it wise to invest all of my money in gold and silver?

No! You should always diversify your portfolio. No one knows what the future will bring, so you need to have your money in many different sectors to help you through anything. If you had invested in gold and silver in the early 80's you would have lost 80% of your investment in real value over the 80's and 90's. But stocks went up over 10X in value over the same time period. On the other hand, gold has easily outpaced the stock market over the last 5 years.

The point is that you should put 25% in gold and silver, 25% in stocks(index mutual funds, not individual stocks), 25% in bonds, and 25% in money markets.
That will give good returns over the long run, and will be safe as well.

[JosephTheLibertarian]

It depends. If you're investing for WTSHTF, then you don't just want heavy metal. You also want the kind of commodities which people will need. Like liquor, cigarettes, toilet paper, weapons, fresh water source and stores of food. If you walk around with a sack of gold post-SHTF, then you will be mugged quickly.

On other hand, if you're just investing because it's a good idea, then gold and silver all the way. ALL PAPER MONEY EVENTUALLY GOES TO ZERO. I've linked to this video several times on this forum and this time I'll just tell you the key words: Search 'Jones on Gold and Silver' on youtube.

invest in tobacco companies? lol.

I try to look for ways to make money, the stock market bores the hell out of me :p

[Man from La Mancha]

No! You should always diversify your portfolio. No one knows what the future will bring, so you need to have your money in many different sectors to help you through anything. If you had invested in gold and silver in the early 80's you would have lost 80% of your investment in real value over the 80's and 90's. But stocks went up over 10X in value over the same time period. On the other hand, gold has easily outpaced the stock market over the last 5 years.

The point is that you should put 25% in gold and silver, 25% in stocks(index mutual funds, not individual stocks), 25% in bonds, and 25% in money markets.
That will give good returns over the long run, and will be safe as well.

and 10% in bullets:D

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[Hook]

and 10% in bullets:D

.

Yeah, but 10% of my income in bullets wouldn't fit in my house after a year. :D

[cjhowe]

and 10% in bullets:D

.

And if you don't end up firing them, maybe you can look into alchemy. Win/Win.

[JosephTheLibertarian]

I like the sound of muskets going off... I wonder what the smog of musket fire smells like lol

[Dustancostine]

I like the sound of muskets going off... I wonder what the smog of musket fire smells like lol

Probably like a million matches. :D

[freedominnumbers]

When Ron Paul dissolves the Fed (and consequently dries up the investment/credit capital) the market will be starving for private investors. Holding all your net worth in physical assets will be bad for the economy post fed.

This is an area that is often overlooked as a benefit of the fed. We have experienced years of ridiculous artificial growth based on false money.

When the fed is gone who is going to loan 10 dollars for every 1 dollar they actually have? Nobody, because only the fed (and their downline) can make money out of nothing. The result is that demand for investment capital is going to far exceed the supply, causing *real* interest rates and an unbeatable return on your capital.

[Dustancostine]

I just went and checked APMEX and if you do your due diligence you can beat their prices buying off ebay.

--Dustan

[G-khan]

Well you can't lose. Look at what these metals have done over the long haul , they out performed the stock market. Now is a good time to do it. Before?? Maybe 10% in bullets:D

.

I happen to think that Gold/Silver are one of the safest investments. Stocks and paper things like the dollar are only a promise to be worth something. Gold and Silver has about a 5000 yr history and has never failed.

Problem is for money right now is the dollar is what you pay your bills and taxes in. The price of Gold/Silver in dollars could fall - I don't think it will at this time but it could. There is no such thing as a sure bet safe investment they all have risks.

[G-khan]

I just went and checked APMEX and if you do your due diligence you can beat their prices buying off ebay.

--Dustan


Yes you can but be careful to check out the seller! If you don't use or understand Ebay well I suggest use APMEX

[Dustancostine]

Yes you can but be careful to check out the seller! If you don't use or understand Ebay well I suggest use APMEX

Very true. That is why I said do your due diligence.

[Abobo]

The point is that you should put 25% in gold and silver, 25% in stocks(index mutual funds, not individual stocks), 25% in bonds, and 25% in money markets.
That will give good returns over the long run, and will be safe as well.

You've got a good point, but I would recommend people stay away from mutual funds. They can be a pain with taxes ( but Ron Paul will fix that ) they also have high fees associated with them. It's a better bet to stick with broad ETFs.

My allocation goal is 30% metals, 60% stocks ( heavily international ) and 10% short term savings. These are my goals, but I haven't yet gotten the correct diversification. I need more money first :rolleyes:

[Hook]

You've got a good point, but I would recommend people stay away from mutual funds. They can be a pain with taxes ( but Ron Paul will fix that ) they also have high fees associated with them. It's a better bet to stick with broad ETFs.

My allocation goal is 30% metals, 60% stocks ( heavily international ) and 10% short term savings. These are my goals, but I haven't yet gotten the correct diversification. I need more money first :rolleyes:

Usually Index funds have lower fees because they don't have to hire dowsers to pick the next stock allocation. :)

[G-khan]

Very true. That is why I said do your due diligence.

I know I just wanted to restate it. Ebay can be a nice place to pick up some deals but for very large buys most people should stay away. Use tulving.com if it is large enough or APMEX would be for under $5000 purchases over that Tulving may work.

[markpa]

Gold and silver are a "safe" place to put savings. If the price of gold goes up a great deal it will be because our fiat currency has went down. So you will not get rich with precious metals but you won't loose your savings either. People who have had their money in a 4.5% cd for the last year have been screwed. That money has lost a lot of its value while gold and silver have gone up which in actuality is only maintaining their value vs. dollar.

[purepaloma]

Just picked up some more Physical Silver Bullion.

They have the Silver Rounds on sale for a pretty good deal so I couldn't pass them up.

http://www.apmex.com/Category/520/Silver_Rounds.aspx

Looking forward to $50+ Silver Ounce over the next few years.