Hi Guys, I'm going to be in Dubai in the next couple of weeks and am thinking of buying some gold over there. Has anyone had good experiences buying gold bullion from Dubai? Any tips or heads up would be appreciated. Thanks, Lunty
Be careful... Many of the sovereigns are jewelers copies. They are gold (maybe 21 carat at worst) but just not original. They usually contain an extra stamp, which essentially says copy in arabic. Like you can read that...
Have a suggestion, if only for the novelty of it... http://www.gold-to-go.com/en/ Is this not the future we all want?
I saw quite a bit of gold in the airport. The most interesting were called 'Ginis' but looked a bit like unconvinvcing sovereigns. I think that might have been a phonetic spelling of Guineas! There were plenty of gold chains etc. I never ventured out into the Gold Souks, I don't really trust dealers in Australia, and I can come back to them if I have a problem. I would stick to duty free and save your money that way but if you do buy any gold be sure to report back to the forum, my in-laws are heading that way in the next couple of months!
Make sure u get the right thing at the right price...find below the URL for latest gold prices in Dubai n the forex rates. www.khaleejtimes.com/forex.asp
Was there recently. Go for the gold souks. Jewellery can be bought for just over spot of you can haggle. vivians is a good place to start. Know the spot price before u go. Also there are gold vending machines at the base of the khaleej.
sorry, make that the burj khaleefah for the vending machine. cant remember prices. As for bullion, i tried and found no where. Vivians is on the ground floor of the Gold Souk (indoor part). Good luck.
You can buy Bullion at the Gold Jewelers at the Airport Duty free shops. They sell the PAMP bars there usually a little cheaper than what you could buy them for in Australia. They have all the sizes ranging from 1.5 grams right through to 1 kilo. They also sell Perth Mint products as well but they are dearer than what you could get back here in Oz.
Arh Dubai... nothing like going to a foreign currency exchange there and getting ripped off 30% of your currency and then having the shutter slammed in your face when you take issue.... happened to me twice there... My story wasn't alone among tourists there... Keep your transactions small I don't know why you'd buy gold there when we produce so much gold straight out of the ground here in Oz.
There are a couple of good shops in the Gold Souk that only sell bullion. Mostly Pamp or Valcambi bars, and if you like silver they sell Emirates Silver 1Kg and 500g. I've also seen small gold rounds, but they are I think aimed at Indian market and not something I recognize. I don't see many coins if any. One is called Lakoo's and the other I can't remember right now. I'll check when I get home and update you. They are much cheaper than at the airport, and there is no question about getting ripped off, all they do is sell bullion and I have never heard of any fakes. Not sure about the sovereigns, I've never seen them here. There is a vending machine is at Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi, I didn't know there was one at Burj Kaleefa, will have to go check it out.
OK, the two shops in the (old) gold souk that I have found for bullion are......... Anjali - 2516'16.64"N 5517'53.89"E Lakoos - 2516'12.16"N 5517'52.58"E Lakoos have two shops next to each other, one for smaller denominations and the other for 1kg and up. If you can't find the shop, just ask someone in one of the other shops and they will point you in the right direction. They are down side street of the main souk. I have purchased from both. Anjali have Pamp bars and Lakoos have Valcambi. Thanks MJ, I will go have a look. I would like to get some roo's but had not found anywhere selling them.
I'm also going to dubai later this year. and would like ot know what the premiums are like with the vending machines and whether if we use credit card there will be extra charge
Premium is about $110 for a 1oz roo. Machine accepts cash in various currencies, and I think it may also take debit card. Credit cards not accepted. If you want low premium then go to the souk, as mentioned above. The vending machine roo comes in a nice(ish) package, but I don't think I will be adding to my stack from there regularly. The bars have picture of the burj on them. Same premium on the 1oz bars, but there are also various fractionals.
Hey guys thanks for the tips, great info. Well I'm in Dubai now and well be here for the next month. I will be soon checking out the 2 shops at the gold souk soon. I have already been to the new gold souk and found a nice little shop and got a good deal on a valcambbi 2.5 gm gold bar for a small starter. ( I could not help myself ) The problem is now, what should I do. I have $10,000 AUD to spend on gold bullion and I have these questions running around my head. 1. should I buy up big now because of the dip? 2. wait until the end of the month? 3. buy 1 ounce bars or buy gm bar and get more little bars? 4. pamp or valcambi? 5. will I have issues getting home on a plane with that amount? 6. or forget it and keep the money in the bank or buy shares What do you think? What would you do? What should I do Any comment would help. Cheers Lunty
Anything 10000 dollars and over must be reported at the airport to customs you have to fill out a form and its a bit of a hassle plus its an additional paper trail. I would definately buy some now as prices look pretty good but I would buy maybe a little every week till u leave so if price continues to drop you get a good cost average. I'd say buy 9k in gold so you don't have to declare it. As said above fractionals are probably the most liquid but them premium is a little higher may be good to buy a mix of ozs and fractionals. Stay away from stocks though if GFC2 hits I'll be buying some shares. Have fun over ther, happy shopping!
But gold bars aren't cash so the AUD 10000 limit doesn't apply? Or if you buy 1oz AU gold coins then if each of them say "100 dollars" on them you can bring 99 of them in without declaring anything, since they are legal tender?
Open to interpretation, you have to declare goods purchased overseas exceeding $400 or 1000 I cant remember. So, for bars it definitely falls into that category. For legal tender bullion, you might get away with it, but if I am the customs officer, I will make you swap your coin with my dollar bills
Lunty, you will see on the bar your bought, the name of one of the shops I mentioned. Lakoos. I guess they are the authorised importer and have there own packaging. I have some the same. I will be interested to hear how you go with coming back into Australia with your metal. Be shore to report back here. In theory any investment grade metal is GST free, but you should declare it, and worst is that they confiscate it until you fill the correct forms. Keep all your receipts.
