Gold is a safe haven, but scammers hide behind it Unscrupulous people extort money from their clients
Julius Conley
12 / May / 22
Visitors: 954
Gold remains a safe haven. Especially when stock markets fluctuate. But be careful, if the price of gold is fixed in international markets, some professionals in the sector provide themselves with a disproportionate margin. Small depositors can quickly lose several hundred euros.
"I work for a foreign exchange and investment gold company. We have noticed that many clients who sell gold unfortunately do not compare prices applied by different intermediaries enough< /em>", Arnault tells us , an employee of Gold and Forex International using our orange Notify Us button. He adds: "This is why customers end up in the hands of unscrupulous people who take advantage of their lack of knowledge to 'extort' them sometimes up to 200 euros for a 1000 euro coin." Or 20%. Huge margin.
The warning is important, especially since the stock markets are not celebrating in a global climate. Indeed, the tense trade relationship between China and the US is worrying investors. The shutdown in the US and the yellow vest movement in Europe (mainly France) exacerbate these doubts, which undermine global growth. And as always, when the stock market wins, safe-haven assets rise. Thus, according to analysts, gold should reach new heights in 2019 and 2020.
"For a coin of 260 euros, he was given 200 euros"
Therefore, many people can be fooled if they decide to choose gold in order to protect their savings from possible stock market turmoil. "Just yesterday, I had two clients on the phone who received a ridiculous price for gold coins compared to the market price. After making a deal with other merchants, they had doubts and contacted us. And the price difference was really significant em>,” says Arno. “For example, for a piece worth 260 euros, he was given 200 euros. And he did not tell me the number of pieces sold. Unfortunately, people often ask when everything is sold. But then it's too late".
If such differences are possible, it is mainly because the gold market is not regulated. "It's like going to an antique dealer to find out the price of a painting. One will offer you 1,000 euros, seeing that you don't know the value of your work, and another will buy it from you for 10,000 euros.", says Didier Jacques, Managing Director of Gold & Forex International.
Banks, a guarantee of security, but not the highest profitability
The reason why it is recommended to contact multiple addresses before exchanging. Not to mention that banks also buy gold, but only coins or bars. Yes, of course you don't go with your gold tooth or your jewel in the jar. But otherwise you are buying gold,” Valérie Hallois, spokesman for BNP Paribas, assured us. .
Banks are based on the price of gold in the stock markets. According to various speakers, they don't offer the best margins. On the other hand, they are serious intermediaries, thanks to which you will definitely avoid "real" scams. " There are different sizes of bars. If we have 5 to 10 grams of gold, the bank takes a margin of 3.05%. From 11 to 20 grams we go to 2.25%. And over 20 grams, the bank provides a margin of 1.65%", clarifies Valerie Hallois.
"Prices change around the clock"
Finally, even if this principle should be treated with caution, the price of gold can also be found quite easily on the Internet. "The price of gold changes 24 hours a day. We receive it in dollars, and the price of the dollar also changes. So we mix these two factors and convert them to euros. So we can't delay about It's a bit like the price of oil or a currency. The price is the same all over the world", explains Didier Jacques.
From this price, you must then subtract the margin made by the buyer, which is often kept secret and varies by quantity, as illustrated by the bank example above. So be careful not to deviate too much from the market price, as many small businesses that have a storefront do. "There are many serious people, but there are also some who are not. Some merchants are like spiders on their webs, waiting for a little old lady to come and rob them", concludes Didier Jacques.
We have compiled a list of brokers, that we recommend avoiding.
