Observations on 916 & 999.9 Gold Selling Transaction & Purchase Process.
Doing a survey of the shops during this gold price down turn, I've learnt and made a few observations.
1) Most of the smaller shops are charging for 916 at about market rate, lower than as compared to the bigger brothers like Poh Kong, Tomei, and Habib.
Say for example, the jewellers in Brickfields are selling 916 at Rm139/gram, the bigger brothers would be selling for Rm155/gram as for today's rate.
One salesman I spoke to said, what difference would it be if I went to your shop and to the bigger ones if everyone was charging the same price?
However it seems the only variable would be that 999 is sold at the same price as set out by FGJAM.
To make up for the downturn in price of the precious metals, what some shops have resorted to doing is charging more for workmanship to close the difference in the profit gap.
There is one indian jeweller in Brickfields charging Rm380 for a korean style necklace piece. When I enquired of another jeweller at another shop whether that cost is reasonable, he said it depends whether the design of the piece was intricate, or easy.
He said for that amount, you could get another 2 grams of 916 gold at today's pricing. However, after comparing at Poh Kong with an item of a similar design, the said item is actually cheaper, and has more grammage, being more value for price.
A chat with some friends revealed that a lot of people, in majority, the Chinese that still prefer buying at Poh Kong despite them maintaining higher gold price due to their design which appeals a lot to the Chinese market. I don't know about the other shops as I don't like their designs.
2) All I can say is, make sure that you do your own survey before making that purchase.
Check your own intentions where:
- get the best rate, and ask for trade in jewellery, and cash conversion rate.
Normally it is about 20 to 25% if you bought from the same shop, and as much as even 35% for some shops if you didn't buy from the same shop.
Some shops require a certificate of purchase, but some don't. Shops that sell their own gold tend to charge less for trade in, but those that don't, will normally charge more.
To me, gold is gold. I don't believe in paying Rm65 for gold workmanship as PAMP charges, as Habib or Wah Chan does. Daylight robbery, I say.
Formulae for trade in & cash conversion:
One of my mates, CT gave me his formulae for trading gold, as he is looking to get a good buy and looking for wedding rings.
It is better to trade in jewellery when price is lower, then top up as the price of metal is lower. Say if Poh Kong charges 15 - 20% deduction on gold prices for jewellery bought from their shop, one still pays less for top up when the price is lower.
However if one is planning to convert for cash and takeaway, then it is better to wait till price is high. Poh Kong has a higher deduction rate for cash conversion of about 20-25 % for their own gold jewellery.
I don't know where CT got his rates as I got quoted a higher deduction rate at the Pearl Point outlet, which is higher. I think it is better to err on the side of higher in the case the shop may do so.
So this is our observations. Please make your own survey and observations in the case you want to make the most informed purchasing during this supposed lower priced gold season.
1) Most of the smaller shops are charging for 916 at about market rate, lower than as compared to the bigger brothers like Poh Kong, Tomei, and Habib.
Say for example, the jewellers in Brickfields are selling 916 at Rm139/gram, the bigger brothers would be selling for Rm155/gram as for today's rate.
One salesman I spoke to said, what difference would it be if I went to your shop and to the bigger ones if everyone was charging the same price?
However it seems the only variable would be that 999 is sold at the same price as set out by FGJAM.
To make up for the downturn in price of the precious metals, what some shops have resorted to doing is charging more for workmanship to close the difference in the profit gap.
There is one indian jeweller in Brickfields charging Rm380 for a korean style necklace piece. When I enquired of another jeweller at another shop whether that cost is reasonable, he said it depends whether the design of the piece was intricate, or easy.
He said for that amount, you could get another 2 grams of 916 gold at today's pricing. However, after comparing at Poh Kong with an item of a similar design, the said item is actually cheaper, and has more grammage, being more value for price.
A chat with some friends revealed that a lot of people, in majority, the Chinese that still prefer buying at Poh Kong despite them maintaining higher gold price due to their design which appeals a lot to the Chinese market. I don't know about the other shops as I don't like their designs.
2) All I can say is, make sure that you do your own survey before making that purchase.
Check your own intentions where:
- get the best rate, and ask for trade in jewellery, and cash conversion rate.
Normally it is about 20 to 25% if you bought from the same shop, and as much as even 35% for some shops if you didn't buy from the same shop.
Some shops require a certificate of purchase, but some don't. Shops that sell their own gold tend to charge less for trade in, but those that don't, will normally charge more.
To me, gold is gold. I don't believe in paying Rm65 for gold workmanship as PAMP charges, as Habib or Wah Chan does. Daylight robbery, I say.
Formulae for trade in & cash conversion:
One of my mates, CT gave me his formulae for trading gold, as he is looking to get a good buy and looking for wedding rings.
It is better to trade in jewellery when price is lower, then top up as the price of metal is lower. Say if Poh Kong charges 15 - 20% deduction on gold prices for jewellery bought from their shop, one still pays less for top up when the price is lower.
However if one is planning to convert for cash and takeaway, then it is better to wait till price is high. Poh Kong has a higher deduction rate for cash conversion of about 20-25 % for their own gold jewellery.
I don't know where CT got his rates as I got quoted a higher deduction rate at the Pearl Point outlet, which is higher. I think it is better to err on the side of higher in the case the shop may do so.
So this is our observations. Please make your own survey and observations in the case you want to make the most informed purchasing during this supposed lower priced gold season.
Comments