Where to buy physical gold?

Hello!

I’m thinking about buying some physical gold in bars. Does anybody has some? Where do you buy it?

I checked Degussa, APMEX and also directly with banks like Raiffeisen.

Thanks!

Samuel

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I already have exposure in gold via an ETF (ZGLD) but I bought this ETF via IB and there is no way to have the physical bars delivered even if the ETF is backed.

My plan is to have a certain amount in ETF, in miners and physical.

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You can buy Vrenelis in Coop Caisses de dépot/Depositenkasse. Not sure if the price is the best.

Buying it is one thing. Storing it another. That’s one of the reasons I’d just buy an ETF like ZGLD.

Where would you keep physical gold safely?

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Normally in a physical bank safe deposit box.

Here some information about costs and insurance of those objects.

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I bought some a while back. I found Migros Bank had the best price, when accounting for spread and fees. Degussa was much more expensive for example. I found for 100g or little better 250g the spread+fees was a good compromise. Of course 1kg or so would be even better, but difference is small and the inflexibility gets a wee bit high. (Inflexible as in reaching certain percentage of NW, with no way to split it up, when selling etc.)

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Have you considered a Metallkonto at a Swiss bank, with guarantee of delivery? Buy-sell Spread & Annual fees are due too of course. But may be a compromise between ETF & physical.

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These are not cheap. Maybe an ETF might be cheaper?

I looked into these a while ago. If I recall correctly if the bank goes bust you lose it all, they’re not protected?

For sure an ETF is cheaper but also more “risk”. Once somebody decide to buy physical gold, they are looking for maximal ownership safety and usually paying an extra effort (price & inconvinience) for that.

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Afaik yes, the Metallkonto is not segregated & would count like cash. (100k guaranteed by Esisuisse).

There is also Edelmetalle in der Sammelverwahrung, which is segregated, and depot costs are similar, so if segregation is important to you that would be an idea.

The above are “Migros Bank” products, probably similar products available at other institutions.

The goal for me is to have total control of the gold and I don’t want to depend on a bank. I did check already the precious metal accounts but I’m not convinced.

I would prefer to buy a safe and keep it at my place.

I personally bought twice from https://philoro.ch/
Each time it was fast. They use the Post, you have to go to the booth with an id card.
Their prices were competitive.

I had silver, but learned my lesson. Buying physical precious metal is fine it you intent to keep it forever, if not: just by an ETF

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Based on the Swiss and German goldpreis comparison sites, gold bullion is somewhat cheaper in Germany than in Switzerland. Swiss merchant’s add a higher markup to the spot price. AFAIK there are no customs duties or VAT on gold bullion, so buying in Germany may be worth considering for larger purchases. For the best going rate on the bullion denominations you want, just check the goldpreis comparison.

Because of the spread? Silver spread may be higher than gold due to the much bigger “size per value” they hand you over at the counter. For gold it’s a little over 1%, so >5 years holding time is okish IMO.

Ye. You dont have the spread only when buying, but also when you are selling it and trust me you dont want to sell it to another private person :wink: that is the reason I no longer buy it physically.

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You pay taxes on the import, and trust me you dont want them to stop you at the boarder with couple kilos of gold :wink:

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I always dreamed of having stacks of gold in some shelf but it would come at the cost of buying always in increments that the stack is a perfect pyramid.

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Are you sure? I know there is no VAT on gold bullion in either Switzerland and Germany. From my understanding, there are no customs duties either, but I have not found clear written confirmation of that so you would want to call the customer office. AFAIK there are no restrictions on importing gold bullion into Switzerland, as long as it is not counterfeit. In Germany you have to declare if the value is in excess of 10k euros AFAIK. Obviously you will want to declare properly and have your paperwork in order, as there’s no point taking chances on confiscation. At the current best offers, you would save around CHF 380 per kg with the cheapest German or Austrian offers over the cheapest Swiss offer. If you buy say, 5-10kg, the lower investment costs are definitely worth considering.

No as I mentioned before I dont buy any physical. What I know for sure is that you need to take care on what gold coin you import, because a friend paid taxes on it, but to be sure I would always give the office a call and check it before you drive to Germany or Austria.