Tips for buying Gold in India
Gold is the precious metal that plays a major role in Indian traditions,unlike other countries India imports more gold as it has very high consumption.Be it as investment,Gold Ornaments India is the subcontinent that consumes majority of Gold in the world.During the last 9 years Gold prices rose up to as much as four times,This April the prices come down to some level.Indians are always leaned towards gold,especially women.This slashed prices are more beneficial to middle class and lower class people in India,as these people are waiting from a long time to make some purchases from a long time,Now the time came and people in south India are thronging to jewelry shops and flooding the market streets.We don’t know if it is the same with north India.This Article focuses on some tips and information you need to know when going to shop Gold at this point of time.
Investment on Gold:
Most of the people invest their money on gold,among them people who earned money legally is at risk than those black money investors.
Investing on Gold can be done in many ways:
1.People purchase ornaments if they have children(female) who need to get married.
2.People who are interested in getting gold loans,for various purposes.
3.People who want their excess money to be converted in to metal form(Gold coins).
4.People investing in Gold Funds
5.People investing in E-Gold.
6.People investing in Gold Mutual Funds.
Among these the most popular methods among the consumers about whom we discussing here are 1,2,3.
Lets us evaluate each of them
Purchase of Gold Ornaments,Things you should remember:
-> Always purchase certified Gold Ornaments,don’t buy ornaments from un certified jewellers and regret later.
->Check for purity,not all 916 ornaments are pure,some use fake labelling and cheating customers,always get the purity certificate/test done.
-> Look for BIS, Hallmark,Gold Purity and Karat.
->Bargain for wastage charges,with improved technology and advanced machinery the gold wastage percentage is almost nil these days.The Jewelers are just using the marketing and sales strategy to sell ornaments at premium costs.Be smart Gold is not in metal form which is directly available as bars or coins.It is in the form of small rocks,traces(sand like powder) which is mined from the earth.If such sand like gold traces are separated from other materials like water,mud,debris,plants,other metals.How can it get wasted during these so called grinding and polishing process? There is nothing like wastage all those traces are again melted and made into gold rods and wires and used in ornaments.It used to be some wastage during manual ornament making process but not now.
->Gold wastage is the marketing term which is used in gold shops “As per sales people it means that when making an ornament some amount of gold is wasted,as pure gold can’t be made into any ornament,so we are losing some gold and hence you will be charged some % of price as wastage charges.” The truth is that pure gold is not made into ornament it is mixed with copper,silver,nickel and some other metals to make it to 22k gold( 916)which can be used to make ornaments.Ornamental Gold is not pure gold it should be minimum 22karat Gold.The number 916 tells us that it has 91.6 percentage of gold in the ornament.The lower the carat number lower will be percentage of Gold.18k gold has less percentage of gold when compared to 22k gold.
->Never fall prey for cheap marketing tricks like Zero Making charges,there is no such thing as Zero making charges really,the gold smith employed have to given his salary,if the jewellery shop owner won’t pay anything for him why will he work for him? Be smart there is some thing that is not mentioned to you,always read the documents/leaflets carefully.Know the hidden terms and conditions.
->You are at loss if the jeweler charges you making charges per gram on the ornament,but not on the craftsmanship of the ornament.
-> Some XYZ jewellery offer things like this “If you purchase gold ornaments at our shop today,you can always bring it back to us at later time and we will offer the gold price prevailing on that (future) day” This is another sales trick to woo consumers.(The secret is no business wants loss at any time be it in present or future(he may not get 50% profit but he will definitely won’t purchase it for a loss). Be aware of such tricks,he won’t give cash on return of the jewels in the future,but in exchange of gold ornaments purchased previously for new ornaments.
The above scheme is profitable for consumer only when the jeweler gives cash in return of gold ornaments,but that will never happen.So we advice not fall prey for such sales trick.There is no loss at all for jeweler,it is you(consumer) at loss at any time.
-> The Gold prices are low,it doesn’t mean that you will be at profit on purchasing ornaments. You will get profit only when you are purchasing pure gold ( Gold bars/coins which includes only VAT and Taxes (If purchase above 50,000 INR)we will be discussing on this in coming sections.
->As per new RBI rule any one purchasing Gold ornaments for more than 1lac(check with RBI for latest information) should produce PAN,be aware of this and don’t make a bill of the amount that needs PAN. PAN number if used unethically by jeweler will bring you more problems,be careful when submitting PAN card on ornamental purchases.
->Avoid buying Gold ornaments studded with stones and other precious gems.When you buy such kind of jewellery the price is calculated by weighing entire ornament along with gold part and stones,this leads to loss.you have to take the word of jeweller and pay accordingly,if he cheats you will be at loss.There is no way to check purity of stones like gold.Many studded ornaments are heavily priced.When you sell them back you will be at loss.
-> Never forget to take bill and check that all the fields are correctly filled and according to the rate.
->Don’t fall prey for free gifts offered by jewellery shops.Always ask and know information in detail before making any purchase.
->Make some calls to your friends and learn about the shops that offer good customer services and have good reputation.
->Never buy jewellery online.
Purchase of Gold coins/Ornaments for the purpose of future investment/loans/ornaments.
Things you should know :
-> Always buy Gold coins from Banks,MMTC,Reputed Jewellers,PO(Post offices).
-> Check for purity certificate and packing when buying.
->Remember banks are not allowed to buy back Gold coins,if you want them to give some interest on Gold,you have to opt for Gold deposit schemes,SBI has a Gold deposit schemes which requires you to deposit at least 500gm of Gold.
->Buying Gold coins is not advised as selling them is difficult and often end up loss or paying for premium.
-> Only advantage of buying coins/bar is that guarantee of purity,No making charges,No wastage.Value for money (right price for right weight of gold).
-> Investing in Gold coins is not a good idea as no jeweller shop is willing to pay the price you expect (in future),many buy it from you but not for the price you expect,so you end up paying premium for it and loss.
-> Gold coins can be purchased for making jewellery but there is no guarantee that your gold is used in the ornament.
-> Security problem for storing them,you need insurance/locker facility at banks.
-> Be it Bars/Coins/Gold rods invest in them only if you are assured of buy back and get some profit on investment.
Buying Gold coins/Bars is not recommended for people investing in low amounts,you should better learn about Gold ETF(exchange traded funds) and Gold mutual funds (Offered by banks and mutual fund companies). Mutual fund investments are subjected to market risks,read all scheme related documents carefully.Gold ETF require some requirements like brokerage and other fees,read all terms and conditions before investing.
-> Always keep the documents related to your purchase safely.
Disclaimer : Get Life Tips website owners/authors are no experts in forecasting gold prices/providing advices on gold investments,this article is published only to educate people/consumers interested in purchasing gold at this point of time.Images credit Freedigitalphotos.net
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