Where to Buy Gold Bars: Tutorial for Novice Investors

Buying gold is a great way to ensure wealth for years to come. It keeps your money in something solid that always holds value rather than paper and coins whose value can change or even diminish over time.

That being said, how to get gold can be a little confusing. Investing in gold is a good way to ensure your money keeps or even increases its worth over time. There are a lot of questions around keeping gold, one of the first is probably being where to go to buy gold bars. That’s what I’m here for, this article will help new investors learn how and where to buy gold bars.

What Are Gold Bars Worth?

Before we get into the best places to buy gold bars, why buy gold in the first place? Gold is valuable for its beauty and practicality. We use gold in art, jewelry, and of course, currency. It also stays beautiful, where as other coins such as quarters eventually fade and breakdown, leaving them devalued. Gold is also rare, but not so rare that there is too little to use as currency. While the exact dollar value of gold is suspect to change, it will always be worth something. The below video serves as a good explanation as to why gold is so valuable and why it is such a great investment.

Where is the Best Place to Buy Gold Bars?

When buying gold, you usually hear about bars and bullions. Before we talk about where to buy gold bars, let’s make sure you know what someone is trying to sell you. A gold bar is exactly what it sounds like: a bar made of gold. But what’s a gold bullion? These are gold pieces that are at least 99.5% gold. These bullions can be bars or ingots but are not gold coins. So now the question can be asked, “Where is the best place to buy gold bullion in the first place?”

The internet has changed the way we come into contact with people and has changed the way commerce is being done. Not surprisingly, the internet is also a great way to purchase gold. But as in any industry, you must ensure that you are buying from reliable sources.

Editor's Note:Online seller Money Metals Exchange is an excellent and trusted source of gold offered at the lowest prices.

Buying online opens opportunities for excellent deals, but also for scams. There are, more often than not, discounts offered for specific payment methods or even lower premiums to be paid. It is recommended that when buying gold, you be aware of how much gold is worth at the time, or the spot price, to have a proper comparison of what a good asking price is.

What About Banks?​

Another question that comes up is, “Can you buy gold from banks?” This is a little trickier than other methods. Not all banks sell gold bars for one (especially smaller banks). This is a less recommended option, mostly for its dependency on what bank you work with and how willing and/or able they are to sell gold. However, there are several large banks out there that do make it possible to buy gold from them at a fair price.

A Second Option

Buying physical gold can be difficult. There is another option for owning gold, however. Sometimes the best bet is for gold to be bought in stocks or Exchange Traded Funds (ETF). This offers you the option of owning a gold bar without keeping it in your own home, safe, or bank. The fact that ETFs hold your gold bars for you can also take some of the stress off of you always having to know where a physical asset is. Gold comes in small quantities and can easily be lost or stolen.

You simply have to work with a stockbroker and purchase an ETF and in essence you become an owner of a piece of gold without actually having to own the physical asset. You reap the benefits of the appreciation if the value of the price of gold goes up. However, as expected, if the value goes down, your ETF share price goes down in value and can lose money is sold at that time.

Important Things Not to Do

It is crucial to remember not to buy gold from anyone who calls you. There have been reports of people calling as sales representatives and try to sell gold. This is especially suspicious if your number is registered with the Do Not Call Registry. This also goes for any suspicious or spam email you receive with anyone trying to sell you gold. Not doing these will go beyond ensuring that you get the best, but also will help you avoid getting scammed out of your money.

Another thing to avoid is pawn shops. These are sometimes used for buying gold, although usually in the form of coins, bullions, and jewelry rather than solid bars. The price of these gold pieces are going to be much higher than what you could get somewhere else. In addition, if you’re not sure exactly what you’re looking for, you might not get real gold.

What to Buy

It is important to buy gold that’s worth your money. Whether you buy a solid gold bar or some other gold bullion, make sure it is at least 99% pure gold. The other 1% or less is an alloy. This is small enough that it won’t devalue the gold and is usually a mix with silver or copper. A bar from a trustworthy company will usually show a stamp of the company who formed the bar as well as purity. On a good, trustworthy bar, this number usually sits at 99.99%.

Conclusion

So, where do you go to buy gold bars? The internet is probably the best place. It is important in this case to make sure you use reliable sites to shop from. It is also important not to buy from anyone who contacts you, whether it is through email or a phone call. Pawn shops are also a less than reliable bet for buying gold.

Lastly, if you don’t want to store the gold bars you buy, gold stocks or ETFs may be your best bet. Investing in gold is a great way to protect and diversify your net worth. Buying doesn’t have to be stressful, but follow these simple principles and you will be on your way to having a nice, shiny asset in your portfolio.

Itching for more information on how to buy gold bars?  We created a in depth guide on how to buy gold bars and we go into further detail of other alternative​ gold investments at this link.