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Table of Contents
- What discounts are available?
- How much is the metal worth now?
- Do I pay sales tax?
- Why do some 1oz gold coins/bars cost more than others?
- Can I return it to Costco?
- Where can I sell it?
- Should I buy physical metal or an ETF?
- What about mining stocks?
- How should I store my metal?
- Is physical metal only for crazy preppers?
- Can I make money by quickly flipping Costco metal?
- Is Costco metal useful for getting credit card bonuses?
What discounts are available?
Costco Executive Cash Back
- Executive members earn 2% cash back on all Costco purchases, including gold and silver.
- Limited to $1,250 cash back per 12-month period (equivalent to $62,500 spend).
- Refunds are Costco credit, not cash, usable only at Costco locations (not online or at gas stations/food courts). However, you can use them to purchase shop cards which can be used online and for gas.
- Bank of America Customized Cash [bankofamerica.com]: 3% cash back if you select "Online Purchases" as your category at Costco.com; up to 5.25% with Preferred Rewards (limited to $2,500 in spend per quarter); only 1% at physical Costco stores.
- Chase Freedom [chase.com]: Occasionally/unreliably offers 5% cash back for warehouse clubs, but limited to $1,500 in spending, resulting in about 3-3.5% cash back for one ounce of gold.
- Bank of America Unlimited Cash [bankofamerica.com]: Up to 2.625% cash back with Preferred Rewards; unremarkable 1.5% without preferred rewards.
- Other Cards: Many cards, including Wells Fargo Active Cash [wellsfargo.com], Citi Double Cash [citi.com], and Citi Costco Visa [citi.com] offer 2% unlimited cash back.
How much is the metal worth now?
A troy ounce (ozt) is 31.1g or 1.09oz.
Spot prices:*JM Bullion buy prices**:
- PAMP 100g gold bars [jmbullion.com]
- PAMP 50g gold bars [jmbullion.com]
- 1ozt Gold American Buffalos [jmbullion.com]
- 1ozt Gold American Eagles [jmbullion.com]
- 1ozt Gold Canadian Maple Leaves [jmbullion.com]
- 1ozt Gold PAMP bars [jmbullion.com]
- 1g Gold PAMP bars [jmbullion.com]
- 10ozt Canadian Mint Silver Bars [jmbullion.com]
- 1ozt American Silver Dollars [jmbullion.com]
- 1ozt Platinum Canadian Maple Leaves [jmbullion.com]
- 1ozt PAMP platinum bar [jmbullion.com]
** JM Bullion is one of the few vendors that publish buy prices online, so I've listed them for reference. This is not an endorsement of JM Bullion (or of any seller). JM Bullion generally pays close to top dollar. You can shop around and probably get a little more, but you won't get a lot more.
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Do I pay sales tax?
Sales tax varies by state. Detailed state-by-state information [usgoldbureau.com]
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Why Do Some 1oz Gold Coins/Bars Cost More Than Others at the Same Spot Price?
Prices reflect both metal value and collector value. For example, an American Buffalo has higher collector value than most PAMP bars, even though both contain the same metal value at 1ozt of gold. If you only care about metal value, opt for the lowest-priced products.
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Can I return it to Costco?
No. All sales are final. No price adjustments or returns. Costco does not buy gold, and is unlikely to cancel your order before it ships.
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Where Can I Sell It?
Lots of places will buy gold. Shop around for the best price.
- Local coin shops often pay well and provide immediate cash.
- Online vendors such as JM Bullion [jmbullion.com], Kitco [kitco.com], and AMPEX [apmex.com] offer competitive prices but you must pay insured shipping.
- Jewelry stores and pawn shops will buy gold but typically at lower prices.
- eBay is not recommended due to potential issues.
Is physical gold better or worse than an ETF?
Neither option is inherently better; they each have unique advantages and disadvantages:
- Transaction Costs: Buying physical metal often incurs transaction costs, which is the difference between the buying and selling price. However, executive cash back and credit card discounts often eliminate these costs, or even create a negative transaction cost, allowing for small, but risky profit if you quickly sell.
- Holding Costs: Gold ETFs have no transaction costs at most discount brokerages, but incur holding costs. ETF management fees range from about 0.1% to 0.3% annually. Over time, this means that the metal value of physical gold will always outperform ETFs over the long term, as management fees accumulate about 1% every 4-7 years.
- Security: You are responsible for securing physical gold. If you have a safe place to store it, the holding cost is zero. ETFs securely store and insure the metal for you.
- Tax Reporting: Brokerages and ETFs will file a 1099 with the IRS. In contrast, selling physical gold usually does not result in a 1099 unless the sale exceeds $10,000. Some individuals may misuse this for tax evasion, but that is a felony, with penalties of up to $250,000 in fines and up to five years in prison.
- Theft Risk: Electronic gold accounts can be hacked and are not immune to theft. The debate over whether physical or electronic gold is more susceptible to theft is inconclusive, and will depend on how well you secure your electronic accounts and/or physical assets.
- Value Considerations: ETFs represent a "pure metal" investment, focusing solely on metal value. Physical gold may also have collector value, which fluctuates independently of metal prices.
- Sales Tax: ETF purchases are exempt from sales tax, which is a big advantage in states that impose sales tax on physical metal purchases.
- Simplicity: ETFs are sold in one market, at one price. Your broker handles tax, cost basis accounting, and beneficiary tracking, and the ETF handles storage and insurance. You must manage these things with physical gold. In addition, when you sell, you have to shop around for the best price.
- Short-term trading: Electronic gold is superior for short term trading. Physical gold is less convenient, may have a transaction cost, and must be shipped. Electronic gold management fees are negligible over the short-term. Electronic gold also enables futures trading.
What about mining stocks?
Mining stocks are not metal and are inherently different investments. They tend to move in the same direction as the metal they mine, but that is not guaranteed, and they are also correlated with the overall stock market. There is no apples-to-apples comparison between stocks and gold.
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Where Should I Store My Metal?
- Store it securely, avoiding obvious places like safes, jewelry boxes, or bedroom drawers.
- Consider well-hidden locations to prevent theft.
- Do not tell people you have gold in the house.
- Store with receipts so you can prove cash basis to the IRS when it is time to sell.
- Add a note with the location of the metal with your estate documents. This way, if something happens to you, your executor or guardian can find the metal. Otherwise, it may be lost forever in your hiding place.
Is physical gold for crazy preppers?
Not necessarily. Gold can be a valuable asset in uncertain times, but it's not the primary focus for most preppers. A prepper would be more interested in stockpiling ammunition, fuel, freeze dried food, and toilet paper. All of these are more useful during a zombie apocalypse than gold, both for practical use and for trading with others.
Gold may be an asset of last resort if electronic markets and/or the dollar are seized, taxed, or fail. In any working society, there will probably be a market (perhaps a black market) for gold. But, the same can be said for a lot of other physical assets. The difference is that gold is a decent investment if the zombie apocalypse doesn't come, while most other physical assets are not.
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Can I Make Money by "Flipping" Costco Metal?
Potentially, but it's risky due to price fluctuations during the selling process, and with the 5 ounce limit, there isn't a lot of profit to me made.
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Can I use Costco Gold to meet the spend limit on a credit card deal, such as Chase Ink's? [thepointsguy.com]
Possibly, but there are other ways to reach the spend amount. You take the risk gold will go down between when you can buy and sell it. As a lower-risk alternative, you can pay taxes via credit card with a fee under 2% and get your money back with your tax refund with no risk.
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15 Comments
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My method for manufactured spending is usually quarterly tax estimates at pay1040.com. There is a 1.75% fee, but you probably get 1-2%cb, and getting the money back with your next tax refund is guaranteed by the government. You can reduce your employment withholding if you want the money back earlier.
Go around to the local coin shops or look at online outfits like Kitco for quotes. Those usually provide the best prices when selling.
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