Gold is up to $680.10

[Cassandra]

Oy!
http://kitco.com/charts/livegold.html

I was repricing my line two days ago (for the 5th time in a couple of months) and I really worry about where this is going. This is about the dollar dropping, folks! The speed of this is really scary to me. Changes of $10 or 20 a day in the gold price would have been eye-popping a couple of years ago. Just the new normal now. I'm not sure how to quote jewelry prices to my customers when the price might change while I'm discussing it with them. I adjust my prices with each $50 change in the gold price.

[mod mom]

1. One of my projects for this weekend is to research how to purchase gold.

Your link is helpful. any advice is appreciated.

[Cassandra]

4. I have gold because I have a sample line.

When I purchase gold it is from my caster, who puts a percentage on it (not the most price conscious way to go about it). When I melt some down, I go to a refiner who was recommended to me by a friend. He is not at street level, I have to call before coming, and I am able to watch him weigh my metal and compare it with my own figures. Someone who does not count on walk-in traffic from the street has to rely more on word-of-mouth business. He can't count on fleecing some fool who walks in. Also, he prices his services for bulk; $50 base fee and he returns 97.5% of the fine gold value.
I suppose you could buy actual gold from a refiner. My caster puts an 18% markup on 14KT and 26% on 18KT. For investment you would want 24KT, obviously, with as small a markup as possible. You might also want to research mining stocks.

[mod mom]

12. Thanks. I purchased mining stocks in January and have been quite happy

with performance in the stock time.

[acmejack]

2. Really, I didn't think it would be at 675 till next wednesday.

It is free falling and fast. People should be concerned, but they are not. Nothing is as it should be any more, I am totally baffled! I don't know what to do-Eat, drink and be merry? All I can remember is where my shrink told me a week and a half ago that I was "delusional" about the Government.

So they tell me I'm nuts!

[hamerfan]

3. Remember the early '80s

and the gold market? (silver market too). Lots of buying driving the price sky high, to over $800./oz. Then about as quickly the bottom fell out. I like gold, but it's volatile. Guess the dollar isn't looking too good to some our overseas debt-holders.
dumpbush

[Cassandra]

6. I remember it well but...

I wasn't in the jewelry business then. I went for more than 10 years without changing my prices.

[hamerfan]

8. Ouch.

It's gotta be rough being in any business dealing with gold now, much like any business dealing with energy costs. I know contractors are getting hammered, because they give hard bids to complete jobs before work is started. Once the bid is accepted, they have to hope their energy costs don't eat up all the profits.
Just stay on top of the market reports for gold, and don't price yourself out of business, one way or the other. Good luck to you, and let's both hope things settle down a bit soon,.
dumpbush

[xchrom]

5. wish i had invested in gold.

[distantearlywarning]

7. Want to buy precious metals?

Try this website: www.bulliondirect.com

If you are worried about recession, a drop in the dollar, inflation, etc..., I suggest you take physical possession of what you buy. The above site will send the actual commodity to you for a reasonable shipping charge.

(And no, I don't work for them, nor am I any kind of stockbroker or anything like that - I just know a little bit about buying metals)

[mccoyn]

9. Could this be partly caused by increase demand from electroics?

All computers have a little bit of gold in them to make sure the contacts between components don't corrode. Its a very thin layer (and alloyed with nickel, I think,) but there have been a lot of computers built in the last few years. Especially with the recent industrialization of India and China. A small number multiplied by a big number, I'm not sure what that results in.

[Cassandra]

10. The bulk of it is really the dropping dollar.

I have some designer friends who buy their gold in euros and they haven't had the volatility we have. I keep meaning to google a site to show me gold prices in euros but haven't done it yet.
Here it is:
http://goldprice.org/news/2005/06/euro-gold-price.html

From the longer term charts it looks as though euro-priced gold was steadier for a long time but has taken a jump recently because of a French vote on the euro. This is still more about currencies rather than supply.

[Cassandra]

11. Another take on this from Billmon

http://billmon.org/archives/002423.html

[mod mom]

13. Is one countiries gold coins preferable over another countries?

If not, why differences in price?

[Occulus]

14. I tried to get my mom to buy gold...

She already has a decent sum invested in other things. She poo-poohed me.

This was over a year ago. :eyes:

[garybeck]

15. Thom Hartman was saying $1000 or even $2000 is not out of the question

m'gosh.