Korean Job Discussion Forums

jdog2050 · Joined: 17 Dec 2006

So this was brought up as a blurb in another thread--

Basically if you want gold without too much risk--shady dealers, buying lumps at once, etc, Shinhan has an account where you buy grams of gold instead of depositing money.

The grams are insured by the bank and the bank must always have them on hand. They're selling this to Koreans as an investment, but I'd say you should have one in this economic environment.

My plan is to buy maybe $500 worth and if the price of gold slips my account to, say, $480, I'll yank it.

I think this is a great deal because you can yank the account any time, and your main responsibility is to check gold prices at least once a day.

D.D. · Joined: 29 May 2008

So you want to lose 20 bucks?

jdog2050 · Joined: 17 Dec 2006

JungMin · Joined: 18 May 2005

What amounts of gold are you able to buy (1 ounce, 1/2 ounce, 1/4 ounce, etc)? Any idea how much tax you have to pay on gold purchases? Can you sell it at any time?

Sorry for the questions jdog, but i'm curious as last year I bought a bunch of gold and silver abroad. But this sounds like a much better idea.

jdog2050 · Joined: 17 Dec 2006

Dodgy Al · Joined: 15 May 2004 Location: Seoul

What are the charges / commision rates like?

jdog2050 · Joined: 17 Dec 2006

JungMin · Joined: 18 May 2005

I just went and opened the account and as far as I can tell, they charge 4.5% commission. It was 1.5%, but as of February they now charge 4.5%. I could be wrong....but thats what it looks like when I go into my account.

Jeff's Cigarettes · Joined: 27 Mar 2007

Think I'll wait until the gold sale the Fed is planning and get in at a low price.
4.5 is a pretty hefty wack if u ask me. Shocked

Dodgy Al · Joined: 15 May 2004 Location: Seoul

JungMin · Joined: 18 May 2005

Ok, correction.

I misunderstood the pop-up. I just called their help line. To buy and sell there is no fee. If you wish to take physical possession of your gold, it is approximately 4.5%. But she said the charge can vary up or down. But to buy it and then sell it again (cash), there is no fee.

Sorry for the confusion. I saw the '4.5% fee' and got all excited.

cobright · Joined: 10 Oct 2008 Location: Rochester Hills, MI

OK, take this like a good friend is with you up on that ledge. Put the bank book down and step away from the gold. If a commodity has to advertise on late night info-mercials, think twice about investing in it.

To the OP. You want $500 in gold, why? Honestly you will get a better return for your money spending it on something nice for yourself. Maybe you need a new laptop or a TV? Because $500 worth of anything isn't going to do you any good.

Let's just say... In a year, gold shoots up $200 an ounce. This won't happen but for argument sake... So that means in that whole year, your $500 made you about $100.00. (gold is at $930 per ounce, $500 buys you about a half ounce...) Gold prices fluctuate 40-80 bucks a year, even when gold was doing all kinds of crazy stuff, never got much further than $100 change in a year. So realistically, the best you're likely to get if the market trends continue is $20-40 bucks. And to get that you give up the use of $500. Go buy a vespa with that money then calculate what your time is worth and how much you made in time not having to walk everywhere Idea

But here is the worst part. The American housing market collapsed because prices didn't represent the actual value of the homes. Prices were driven up by speculators using real estate as an investment. In terms of actual value, gold doesn't really have any. The intrinsic need for gold is more than accommodated by a tiny % of world gold supply. Gold has value only because people desire it and because it can be quantified as rare. But, like US home prices, that perceived value is artificially high. Driven up by speculators. It's a bubble price. Since 1975 Until 2005, gold has moved around between the $300 mark and the $500 mark. The world demand of gold for any actual use (jewelry, electronics, rappers teeth) hasn't changed in the last few years. The increase in demand for gold is from speculators and as soon as the banks start lending again and as soon as the next dot.com craze or whatever hits, that money will come out of gold and go right into venture capital where it belongs.

Now if you can put $500 a month away then get a CD from a bank in some country with little chance of an economic collapse. Korea is a decent choice. Iceland not so much.

There's my 2 pennies