hi, thinking of going to china/hong kong soon. anybody know a good reliable place to buy bullion over there? any input is appreciated. thanks
It would be my pleasure All part of my training for possibly one day launching "Panda Tours"! http://forums.silverstackers.com/topic-20908-shanghai-part-i.html
http://www.goldcoins.hk/hk/about.asp I bought 2 sets of 2012 (1.9ozt each) bullion Gold Pandas from these guys this week, their spread is slightly higher than BoC but still good. They also have a stack of Chinese coins (numis) but I find their prices to be slightly high (before haggling). They have a large variety of numi if you're looking, even the hard to get 1/2oz Kuan Yin silver coin sets they have them in OMP.
The only important information on there is... Shop A,G/F,Golden Hill Mansion,209 Hennessy Road, Wanchai, HongKong Tel(852) 2854 0498 Fax(852) 2581 1475 They are a retail store with helpful people, I think they speak English just waltz in and ask. Not sure about buying online, never tried and I don't think they ship overseas.
One thing I like about the Chinese is that they're always willing to do business. Even if they don't speak English well, they'll quickly understand what you want, pull out their calculator (or abacus) and give you a quote. Then the haggling can begin. Price agreed, you walk away and transaction done. I contrast this to the Japanese way of doing business in Japan. You walk into the store, it's obvious you're a foreigner and then awkwardness ensues. You also get the feeling they want you out of the store as soon as possible, because you're not doing business in the way they expect from their domestic customers. Not because they hate foreigners, but because they want to stop feeling awkward as soon as possible. There will be a lot of "sumimasens" and "chottos" and not much of helping you to get what you want (because you're not expressing yourself to them in the way that they've been trained to expect). This is not my experience from PM buying, but the principle applies across all markets, i would think.
Definitely HK Hennnesy errm perhaps Loquart rd. Wanchai. Gold shops end on end as far as the eye can see. Dont just go in and say your looking (rude). Take a glass of water if they offer it and if they grab you a seat sit and if you dont wanna buy be polite and say you may come back bow n nod ya head and fart around courteously leaving. Keep an eye out for shops just opening they usually have pretty good specials I bought a few ounces 24ct jewelry/ figurines what not at spot plus 2%. I saw sweet F all in China choice wise tho it may have changed and if you do buy gold in China for crying out loud dont show it off or wear it. Pick pockets all over the show and theyre really professional. Hk is heaps safer imho and less of a language barrier Cheaper digs may be found a 20 minute ferry ride away on Lamma island well it use to be that way if you want to save on accommodation. Been to HK 6 times and lived in Wanchai twice. Good Luck.
