Selling gold

In 2001 I bought a 3 baht gold necklace which has sat in my safe ever since. I don't like wearing ostentatious jewelry and am not sure why I bought it. Of course I like the fact that it's doubled in price since 2001. So I am thinking about selling it when I am in Thailand next week.

Which leads to my question: Can a farang simply take a gold chain and sell it at a jewelry shop? I know that Thai boys frequently sell back the gold chain gifts they've been given... but can a farang do it also? Anyone have any experience in this matter? Recommendations for a reputable gold shop? MBK?

Should be no problem in selling your gold and any of the red (gov't) jewelry shops should buy it back. If not there are lots of pawn shops around but I doubt whether you'll get what you think it is worth in either place. Try taking it back tom where you bought it with the receipt and see what they'll give you.

First check with your bank (At one time banks would buy gold & sterling.) and with one of the shops that trades in gold. (Used to be several around Market Street.)

[Dick]

Yes, easy to do. I got fed up with the rough style of my 3 Baht chain, and 'swopped' it for another 3 Baht less ostentatious, smoother on the skin design last November. I ended up paying 2,000 Baht for the swop 'for the work'. I bought the chain in Bangkok China town a few years ago, and that's where I went back to. My thinking was their fingers might be closer to the pulse on price than say the jewellry shops in MBK. The boyfriend of course went with me, but he needn't have. He of course endeavoured to negotiate a better deal in Thai, but I kept hearing the jeweller say 'farang price' when they were discussing the price of gold per gram.

Thanks Dick, Edith et al....I'm shooting for 85% of the value of the gold, I figure that's a fair 'farang price' and if they can't give me 85%, I'll just keep the necklace.

[catawampuscat]

The gold shops post the buy and sell price of gold in their windows which change daily if not more frequently.. This price is
per baht of gold.. Baht is the weight of the gold as well as the currency and you should get the lower of the two posted prices..
Let us know what happens when you sell your gold..

I have a heavy 18K. gold ring which I would like to sell and don't expect to get full value as the posted price is for Thai gold
which is much purer and something like 21 or 22K. gold as I recall... Not sure if the posted price refers to 24K or pure gold
or the Thai gold which is slightly less pure..

THAI BAHT CHAINS AND OTHER HIGH KARAT GOLD 09/2006

Anyone who has ever been on a trip to Thailand or other Asian countries has probably noticed the honey colored yellow gold jewelry that people wear. It is noticeably different than the 14-18K jewelry than we are used to seeing because it is 23-24K gold.

Thai Baht Chains: "Thai gold" is .965 fine, a little over 23K. The alloy makes the gold harder so that it stands up to wear much better than very soft 24K gold. Thai gold is sold by the "Baht weight", which is 15.2 grams. So a "two Baht" chain would weigh 30.4 grams, just a little under one troy ounce (31.1 grams). The price for Thai gold is published in the newspaper by a governmental agency. Every gold shop in the country prominently displays and uses that price (a little over the world gold price) for selling 23K gold items that day.

The price for the gold in a 23K chain is non negotiable. There is no wholesale or retail; everyone pays the published price. However, there is a fabrication charge which varies according to the weight of the piece and how ornate it is. The labor charge on a heavy, plain chain will be cheaper per Baht weight in comparison to a very fancy, lightweight pair of earrings. The labor charge is sometimes negotiable and occasionally can be reduced a little by bargaining.

The price on a plain two Baht (approximately one troy ounce) 23K gold chain in Thailand would usually cost about $60 over the world gold price. Thailand has lost its most favored nation trade status and Baht chains are taxed at the rate of 8% coming into the US. There are some Thais who insist upon 24K gold, which is also sold by the Baht weight and the procedure is the same as when buying Thai gold.

Hong Kong & Singapore gold: In these and other Asian countries the gold shops sell only 24k gold, and it is sold by the tael, which is 37 1/2 grams (approximately 1.205 troy ounces). The procedure is about the same as Thailand. The gold price per tael is standard at every shop (a few percent over the world gold price) and the labor charge varies and is negotiable.



www.belleaircoins.com/coins&things/essays/highkaratgold.htm (http://www.belleaircoins.com/coins&things/essays/highkaratgold.htm)

Ask a Thai friend to get the best quotes and offer him a % on the best price.

More you get the more he gets, so he will bust a gut.

The gold shops post the buy and sell price of gold in their windows which change daily if not more frequently.. This price is
per baht of gold.. Baht is the weight of the gold as well as the currency and you should get the lower of the two posted prices..
Let us know what happens when you sell your gold..

That's what I thought, you simply get the lower of the two posted price when you sell (the difference between high and low posted price are usually 1000 baht per gold baht). No need to negotiate at all.