# Making gold bars and selling them?



## handsoftheninja (Apr 17, 2011)

What is the process of selling gold bars I made at home? Can I sell them just like that or do I have to send them to a mint to stamp them?


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## Anonymous (Apr 17, 2011)

If you want to post them for sale on the forum......http://goldrefiningforum.com/phpBB3/viewforum.php?f=58
This catagory will be some help if you plan on selling it off of the forum, http://goldrefiningforum.com/phpBB3/viewforum.php?f=58


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## handsoftheninja (Apr 17, 2011)

I have been reading on this site for hours upon hours soaking up as much as I can and I have seen your name quite often, I am barely beginning and honestly just looking to start small and snowball from there. But I would like to ask questions if I may to make sure my first step in this new venture is not my last.


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## element47 (Apr 17, 2011)

Here's my response to your inquiry: Work backwards. Work backwards from that picture of a happy buyer walking away from you having exchanged his dollars for your product. How do you plan to make that happen? 

In order for a buyer to have confidence in and thus be willing to pay real money for your output, whether bar or coin or button, they have to have some confidence as to the quality/purity of your product. And if you claim your materials are for example, .999, then they have to have some confidence in what amounts to your claim of purity. 

Now, you could supply an independent assay. That may cost you $35-$100. And yet that assay result is a piece of paper and how would anyone know that that test/assay result applies to the blob of metal you hold in your other hand while saying "this assay applies to this chunk of gold". How would anyone know? Is there a numerical stamp on your chunk of gold? Is it unique? Is it credible? Is it just a generic stamp from a generic stamp set? 

Each of these pieces of uncertainty potentially devalues your product in the eyes of a potential buyer who, after all, is probably buying gold for certainty. So these forces "fight" each other. If you have a Credit Suisse ingot with a serialized COA that matches the s/n stamped on the obviously commercially-minted bar, or a Gold Eagle, this doesn't really come up. Though I myself insist on weighing gold coins when I buy them at coin shows. 

Your product will NEVER be a Credit Suisse ingot. It will NEVER be a Canada Maple Leaf. Without proof of content, unless you can just convince someone that you are an accomplished refiner, your product is not going to be as fungible nor as marketable as those well-known forms. This is reflected by your ability to sell your "nameless" chunk of gold to a refiner and get 90%, 95%, or 97% of spot times your delivered weight. 

The question is, and don't take this as an insult, why should anyone believe that what you are offering is real gold at the purity you say it is?


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## sebastionay (Apr 17, 2011)

element47 said:


> Here's my response to your inquiry: Work backwards. Work backwards from that picture of a happy buyer walking away from you having exchanged his dollars for your product. How do you plan to make that happen?
> 
> In order for a buyer to have confidence in and thus be willing to pay real money for your output, whether bar or coin or button, they have to have some confidence as to the quality/purity of your product. And if you claim your materials are for example, .999, then they have to have some confidence in what amounts to your claim of purity.
> 
> ...



That's a good habit, back in the days of the British empire using a scale to weigh gold coins became common place because people handling cash started taking tiny flakes off them to make a fortune.


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## element47 (Apr 17, 2011)

In this era of widespread fakery, it's absolutely the barest minimum test of authenticity against the possibility of a gold-plated fake. If I were handling greater volume I would have one or more of those Fisch thingys.

edit: Oh, and if I really know I am going to buy coins at a coin show I will bring a caliper and a small database cheat sheet for the diameters and thicknesses of coins I might be in the market for.


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## handsoftheninja (Apr 17, 2011)

Well this is why the beginning phase of questions comes in. I am fairly new and must learn before I can go do. To be trusted I must create quality items from the start so finding out how to properly go about refining is my first step. After some time I can make a name for myself and guarantee the quality of my work.


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## Harold_V (Apr 18, 2011)

handsoftheninja said:


> Well this is why the beginning phase of questions comes in. I am fairly new and must learn before I can go do. To be trusted I must create quality items from the start so finding out how to properly go about refining is my first step. After some time I can make a name for myself and guarantee the quality of my work.


That worked for me. You must be painfully honest with your customers, and know what you're doing---otherwise you can inadvertently do something stupid. It takes very little to destroy one's reputation and credibility. 

Harold


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## handsoftheninja (Apr 18, 2011)

I agree. I would rather do it right from the start, If I do not then I can lose credibility before I even get it. I am looking forward to learning as much as I can. I have even started deconstructing old computer components. So when the time comes I will have lots to test on.


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## handsoftheninja (Apr 18, 2011)

"Studying until you have it right and starting with one type
of scrap would be a good idea. As well as taking your time."

Jim


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## nevadatime (May 23, 2011)

why not make .999 gold shot and whoesale to jewelry mfgs? Why make bars and try to sell retail?


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## Harold_V (May 23, 2011)

nevadatime said:


> why not make .999 gold shot and whoesale to jewelry mfgs?


My experience dictates that jewelers, in general, do not have a firm grip on what constitutes pure gold. Some willingly remelt old jewelry for casting new objects. However, those that are discerning will want to insure that they are purchasing gold that is without issues---for example---is lead free. 

That's a pretty tall order for a novice to guarantee---for he may not understand the importance, and often disregards that which he has read, not understanding the significance. Less than acceptable quality may get passed off, so they generally want some assurance that you can provide good quality. Saying you do may not be enough (rightfully so, I may add). 

When I first refined for others, my quality, while acceptable, was marginal. In time it was improved to at least equal industry standards. Customers learned to trust my work, which eventually lead to making sells at spot price easy. Before that can happen, _*they*_ must trust your work. It pays to be the best you can be, and to improve if you are not. Otherwise, you may never find buyers that are willing to take the gamble on buying your material. Then, and only then, can you hope to get spot price. That places you in a very desirable position, for buying for spot is generally not possible when making purchases from major refiners. That makes you more than competitive with them, so consumers will seek your product in favor of saving money. 

Harold


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## Anonymous (May 23, 2011)

handsoftheninja, It looks as though you have some great advice to work with.It may seem like a tall order to fill,and the processes are long and tedious sometimes,but if you take your time and go slow at first,make sure you check everything you plan on doing before you do it,and do not skip a step because you think it is unnecessary,then you will be just fine.
Patience is teh key to most of this.Some of these procedures take literally weeks to complete,however most of your gold procedures will only take a day or two.
As far as the question about what to sell/and where to sell.....I just started dealing with a new buyer a couple of months ago,and already we are at a point where he does not test my gold.I just take it to him,he weighs it,and starts counting out hundreds.He pays almost full spot,and he is very close to me.It took me a while to find him,but I am sure you too can find someone like that,not too far from you,if you look hard enough.


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