GoldDabbler

I think that was the first thing the Mrs asked when we bought our first sov. Cashback! Fairly sure it was a big fat no on gold purchases, as we were about to upgrade our membership to VIP to cash in. Agreed Costco aren't the cheapest but factor in the online P&P and waiting around for deliveries and I'm a Costco convert.

I wonder if Costco will special order what you want in if you call them. My local store’s good with getting stock in on a weekly basis, usually six sovs at a time which sell within days. It's a race to beat the other interested parties sometimes. I Never thought I’d be buying gold with the shopping. It’s still a novelty. I’m getting pretty good myself lol. I’ve got a magnifying glass (I don’t know what I’m looking for) a digital calliper (22.05 for sovereign diameter - I spent weeks thinking it was 22.5 and wondering why my Costco sovs were undersize) and a scale (7.98 grams for sovs) and a pair of Mickey Mouse gloves to stop the fingerprints (even though all my sovs are in capsules) Thanks for the info. I believe my mums friend’s aunt’s brother once spoke to a man who knew of an acquaintance who may have once passed by his shop. But it’s only a rumour. One … monster … box of sovs? Oh I accept! If you haven’t any sovs, happy to take a case of 1oz Brits instead Thanks very much for compiling that list Gordy. I’ll copy it down and refer to it as I expand my gold dabbling horizons.

Regarding the price compassion sites, yes, I’ve looked but until I feel more confident with sending a few hundred quid across for a state unseen sovereign I’ll stick to ordering my car insurance on them I’m new to stacking and yet to feel confident in purchasing online at any retailer barring the old RM given the abundance of fake sovs out there. I understand there are many reputable companies, although as a newbie I wouldn’t know one from another. That’s one of the reasons why I joined this forum, to find out where more experienced stackers buy their investments. I‘ll admit buying gold from Costco lacks the charm I’d expect from a dedicated bricks & mortar store. And the experience when buying precious items counts for a lot imo. But it's the only game in town.

Oh I don't buy off Costco then. I go to the Royal Mint instead

I think one of the reasons Costco staff aren’t as knowledgable as specialist dealers is that they haven’t been selling their PM range for very long. October of last year I believe Costco introduced PMs. That said the staff are really friendly and me buying locally takes the hassle out of waiting for postie to deliver my stuff. Costco don’t buy back from individuals. I’ve asked and it was a big “Nooooo waaaayyy, you buy it you own it!” Compared to online bullion dealers, Costco's PM sales are generally more favourable (imo) as they lag behind the live price by at least 24 hours. So If I fancy a sov’ and I see the price shoot up elsewhere, ie RM, BBP, I give Costco a ring and usually find they are a good few pounds cheaper. By nipping down and snapping up a couple of sovs there and then I save a few bob compared to that current live price - before Costco updates its systems again with the new live price, which is still lagging behind the current price by 24-36 hours. Ad infinitum. I’ve not asked Costco advice on silver or gold bars. I just look at them in the display case and go “Nope, can’t afford that, nope can’t afford that!” Same with 1oz gold Brits. Oh so lovely and oh so expensive. No idea if Costco do TSF but after my Mrs told the girl serving us about the end of the world and how gold is the only ‘money’ worth saving she (the girl) decided to buy a sov herself. So who knows. She might be reading this very thread.

Thanks for explaining. It makes sense. I'll just avoid rolling up with pillowcase full of readies and carry on using my debit card when buying my Costco sovs.

I read somewhere there's a ten grand limit on gold purchasing per year. Any idea what thats about?

I’ve taken to picking up the odd sovereign or two at Costco during the monthly shop and wondered where the forms they have me fill in each time I make a pm purchase go. I’ve asked several managers and got several replies, all as clear as mud, and I’m still wondering what Costco do with my purchase details. Do they wait until I’ve spent ten thou’ annually and then fire the forms off to the taxman or do they sit on all the forms in a basement X-Files type filing cabinet until they age off? I don't want to get clobbered by some unexpected pitfall through stacking pms I'm not aware of. Any and all answers will be appreciated, even the wrong ones.

It might 'just be' bullion, but I'd still expect some quality control, especially at the prices pms go for, and especially at the prices the RM charge. I’ve tried to get my head around the investing side of things and understand a scuffed bullion coin is probably just as valuable as an unstuffed one. but I still want my coins looking pretty, regardless. I think that adds to the satisfaction of buying, collecting, and storing. And imo no one wants to see a bedraggled mess of scuffed and scratched coins in their stack. I for one don't. Takes all the fun out of it. Up to now I've been very lucky with RM coins. The bullion sovereigns and 1oz silver Brits I've bought have all been just fine. All good. OCD yet to be triggered

Happened just before my divorce as well :G

Not if you do what those clever chaps in 'The Italian Job' did and spruce up the suspension. Then again, supercar. Get's nicked along with a boot full of gold. Not the best day to be had lol.

Now all you need is a signature check of the local postie and see if it resembles a man's 'parts'

I had one of my paintings displayed in an art gallery and sold it. But it was a community exhibition and I only got £20 quid for it The frame cost me more lol.

Hopefully from the budget range, price of food these days

I know the feeling. I bought a sov last week and thinking about getting another this week. If anything collecting pms has stopped me spending money on silly things. Like food.

Exactly why I started buying pms. Sadly I wasted money in previous years on endless hobbies and projects in the name of indulging myself. I was happy for a time but ultimately realised they were an expensive waste of money. Perhaps it's the current state of the world but now I'm watching every penny I spend with a view to investing in pms rather than taking up watercolours or fishing or anything else I come across on You Tube and think, I'll try that! All those missed sovereigns I could have bought over the years instead of the dried up painting materials lying around not worth a bean

I'm not sure if there's a way to tell if a PVC flip is a none-PVC flip but to err on the side of caution, if it looks like a duck and walks like a duck, that's enough for me to look for a different option. Any coins I buy that come in PVC flips I swop into acrylic capsules. It's not worth the worry of wondering if your coins are one day going to turn green and mouldy thanks to encasing them in material better suited for drainpipes.

The colour isn't so bad if you spend three hours getting the lighting just right for the photos Look at the pretties! Shiny shiny!

True, recent sovereigns do look more like a copper penny than the esteemed gold sovereign I imagined myself owning as a kid ... but once you get over the copper colour, the tiny size, the fact that this years design isn't even St George slaying a dragon but some other design entirely, once you get over all of that and accept the current bunch of sovereigns don't look much like sovereigns at all, then all is good Roll on next year, I can't wait to meet St George

Welcome. I'm newish myself. Great site. Lots of helpful people. The place is addictive, esp' the photos of shiny shiny. Ps those sovs are going to keep increasing in value imo. Grab one while you can before you're kicking yourself at next years price of £400 plus quid Then again the price might plummet, what do I know? Gold and silver, oh so pretty so who cares either way

Unless the seller is in hospital, on remand, or has passed away suddenly, I can't imagine any other scenario where they can't manage a get a quick message out to you with an update on your purchase within a two week time frame. Of course these days even a mobile phone can get online and access sites like this making the chances of involuntary non contact to complete the purchase even slimmer. Hopefully you have covered yourself financially should the worst happen.

Thanks for all the replies chaps. There’s a lot of info and good ideas in them. My main issue with stacking silver is my micro sized safety deposit box which still costs an arm and a leg. And I don’t want to pay any more for a bigger box. I can stack £1600 quids worth of sovereigns in the same space as £25 quid’s worth of silver, and with my box space being at a premium I’d rather stick gold in there than silver. That said I really like silver. I’m quite enamoured with silver 1oz Brits, bought a few already but I don’t want to stack them at home due to safety issues ie; I can handle the telly getting nicked but I don’t fancy my investments going along with it. And to further muddy the waters, due to silver not holding a lot of value relative to size, renting another deposit box seems counter intuitive. I think on the whole, paper based investments are best for me when it comes to silver, something I’d not considered until I read the responses on this thread so thanks again to the members who offered that advice. And I’ll collect a few silvers Brits along the way to play with. I think they’re as alluring as sovereigns imo. Gold & silver, reminds me of the Christmas tree when I was a kid. Gold and silver baubles, very hypnotic. Thanks again for all the comments, great forum.

So tempting. I've got a few silver Brits already from the RM and they sure are pretty. Pretty enough to build a stack though? Choices choices.

I'd like to imagine silver increasing in value due to the state of the world but really have no idea either way. I'm tempted on a punt of stashing a couple of silver one ouncers away each month in blind hope, but then again why waste the money when it can go into gold. Rambling thoughts from me there. Clear as mud

I’m stacking sovereigns atm and also thinking about investing in silver too. I’m liking the 1oz Brits but unsure if there’s any real investment value what with them currently being around £25 quid a pop. I cant see much of a return in 10 or 20 years time. And I don’t want to have to pay for storage on a load of silver that wont give me much profit. Any thoughts by silver stackers? Bear in mind I’m new at this game and still finding my PM investing feet lol. To summarise my post, is silver worth stacking?