As pointed out earlier, ScrapGold.org.uk is an just an information website for the readers benefit. As you will see, we are not gold dealers so we don’t buy gold, and we don’t sell gold, whether it’s scrap gold, or gold coins, bullion, gold jewellery, or any other form of precious metal.

Hopefully that makes this website a fair and impartial source of information that you will find useful.

We’ve been asked to give our advice on how to buy gold, mainly by people who are interested in holding gold. Really there are 3 things that you need to consider before you buy gold.

Things to Consider Before You Buy Gold

First of all you want to make sure that you are paying a fair price for the gold that you buy.

In much the same way that you should calculate your Scrap Gold Value before you sell it, to make sure you get a fair deal, you need to make sure that you know the current Gold Prices so that you don’t end up paying too much when you buy gold.

Paying too much for your gold when you buy has obvious consequences.

If you are investing in gold then the more that you pay when you buy gold, the more it has to rise for you to break even. You always pay a little over the gold spot price, this is normal, but it shouldn’t be more than a couple of percent over.

You also need to think about what kind of gold you’re going to buy – I’ll cover that shortly.

The next thing, once you’ve found somewhere to buy gold, is to think about where you’re going to keep it. Obviously all gold has value, whether it’s gold scrap or gold coins, and so there is a serious implication with regards to security.

If you just keep your gold in your sock drawer, then you’re going to have problems if the worst comes to the worst and it gets stolen – I don’t think too many insurance companies would believe that you had £3000 of gold coins just lying around.

If you want to hold physical gold then you could invest in a safe or keep it in a bank vault.

Alternatively, if you just want to buy gold as an investment and aren’t bothered about holding the actual gold physically, then you can buy it with an online broker & it will be stored in a vault along with other investors gold.

This has the advantage that your gold is safe, you can sell it quickly and easily, and you get a much better price when you buy gold, since the gold never actually moves, instead the ownership of it changes.

There are a few companies that offer this service, one of the best known is Bullion Vault.

The final consideration is how will you sell your gold?

If you buy gold in the form of gold coins or as scrap gold, you might find it tricky to shift the lot in one go. There are a few reputable gold dealers around who would buy gold in bulk from you, so there is that option, but you’ll always get the best price selling to a consumer rather than a company.

If you aren’t in a hurry then you could list it at places like eBay. , where you’ll be selling it directly to the end consumer. This ensures a good, fair price, and is also a very easy way to sell gold.

Should I Buy Gold Coins or Scrap Gold?

Deciding what kind of gold to buy comes down really to personal choice.

If you’re a hard nosed investor who just wants to invest in gold to make money, then gold scrap could be the best option. Buying scrap gold ensures that you get as close to the spot price of gold as possible.

If you are a little more aesthetically inclined and want to feel as though you are getting something for your money, then gold coins may be the best way to buy gold for you.

The only real downside to buying gold coins is that they don’t just have a gold value, they also have a numismatic value – that is to say that the coin itself adds to the price, since gold coin collectors will pay a premium for it.

However, as long as you buy common gold coins, like the gold sovereign for example, then it shouldn’t make a huge difference. Just avoid buying rare, collectable coins because this will add significantly to the price that you pay.

The only other way really to buy gold is to look at objects made from gold, maybe antique gold or gold jewellery, but the problem with this is similar to buying rare gold coins, namely that you aren’t just paying for the gold content, you’re also buying the items collectability – which may increase or decrease over time & as tastes change.

Final Thoughts on How to Buy Gold

The conclusions that you draw from the points above will influence how you buy gold, and will be different for different people, but in essence the main points are these:

First you need to decide on whether you want to hold the gold yourself, bearing in mind security, selling your gold, and the other points.

If you do decide to buy gold in it’s physical form, then you need to decide whether you want gold coins, scrap gold, or some other form of gold.

If you want to just buy gold as an investment without actually physically holding it, then you could use a service like Bullion Vault.

When you’ve decided which way to buy gold, make sure that you get the best possible price!

Finally, when you come to sell your gold shop around using the advice on the rest of this site, and make sure that you get the best price! (getting the best price is really important!!)

And that, really, is everything that you need to consider when you buy gold. I hope that you have found this useful & informative, and if you have then please feel free to link back to our scrap gold website