Selling is where the spread bites
Most bullion guides tell you how to buy. Far fewer explain what happens when you want your money back, which is a shame, because selling is where inexperienced holders lose the most. The metal is worth what it is worth. What varies — sometimes a lot — is how much of that you actually receive.
This guide covers how a dealer arrives at a number, what makes your holding worth more or less, and what to have ready.
How a buy price is worked out
Start with spot. That is the global benchmark price for one troy ounce of the metal, quoted in USD and converted to NZD, and it moves continuously through the trading day. If you have not read it, where the spot price comes from is useful background.
A dealer then works out what they can pay against that benchmark. The gap between the buy price and the sell price is the spread, and it exists because the dealer has to authenticate, hold, insure and eventually resell what they take on. A tight spread is a sign of a liquid, easily verified product. A wide one usually means the opposite.
Practically, the things that move your number are:
- Weight and purity. The base of every calculation.
- Mint or refinery. Recognised names — Royal Canadian Mint, Perth Mint, Royal Mint, US Mint, major LBMA refiners — are faster to verify and more liquid.
- Ease of authentication. A standard one ounce Maple Leaf is checked in seconds. An unmarked bar of unknown origin is not.
- Condition and packaging. Original tubes, capsules and assay cards matter more than people expect.
- Market demand. What is moving at the time.
What tends to sell well, and what tends to disappoint
Recognised bullion coins and bars from known mints are the easy end of the market. They are standardised, widely traded and quick to price.
The disappointments are usually predictable. Novelty and "collectable" pieces bought at high premiums rarely hold those premiums on resale — they trade closer to metal value than to what they cost. Jewellery is priced on its metal content, not on what was paid at retail. Anything with a purity that cannot be established will be discounted for the uncertainty, or declined.
The honest general rule: the closer a product sat to spot when you bought it, the closer to spot it will sit when you sell it.
What to bring
Turning up prepared genuinely changes the experience, and often the number:
- The items themselves, in their original packaging where you still have it
- Assay certificates or mint cards
- Purchase paperwork if you have it — helpful for both pricing and your own tax records
- Valid photo identification
That last one is not optional anywhere reputable. Dealers in New Zealand have customer identification obligations, and a buyer who does not ask for ID should worry you rather than reassure you.
Five mistakes that cost sellers money
- Selling in a hurry. Forced sales get forced prices. If you can choose your timing, choose it.
- Taking the first quote without context. Ask how the number relates to spot. A dealer who will not explain that is telling you something.
- Cleaning or polishing coins. It does not help and can actively reduce value. Leave them alone.
- Breaking up sets or tubes. Sealed, complete lots are often worth more intact.
- Ignoring the tax side. IRD's published view is that most bullion sale proceeds are taxable income, even though New Zealand has no capital gains tax. See tax on gold and silver in New Zealand before you sell, not after.
Selling to Williams Bullion
We are opening a bullion buy back service at our Christchurch showroom. We expect to commonly buy gold and silver bullion coins, gold and silver bars, bullion rounds, recognised mint and refinery products, and selected collectable coins. Items are checked for weight, purity, mint or refinery and overall condition, quotes are market linked and move with spot through the day, and there is no obligation to sell.
If you are not sure whether what you hold qualifies, get in touch and we can tell you before you make the trip.
This article is general information only and is not financial or tax advice. Prices move constantly and any figure quoted is valid only at the time it is given.
Visit the Williams Bullion showroom at 124 Peterborough Street, Christchurch, or call +64 3 667 2327.