What Is The Best Place To Buy Gold In The UK?

Few investments have worked as well as gold has as a store of wealth and for hedging against bad events including inflation, economic upheavals, and war. Apart from its stability during turbulent times, gold is also a great way to diversify a portfolio due to its continuing price growth and constant demand globally.  All of these factors make it a popular investment option. Once you decide to invest in gold, the next question should be where you can buy some. To help answer this question, we will look at the best places to buy gold in UK.

Why Should You Invest In Gold?

Before we look at the best place to buy gold, we have to ask, “Why should you invest in gold?”. Gold is a stable investment that helps investors hedge against inflation. Since its price is always increasing, barring some volatility and price dips from time to time, gold is a great long-term investment option. This also makes it great for wealth creation.

Third, gold provides liquidity when your other investments are not doing well.  Such liquidity is important during an economic downturn where you would like to buy undervalued investments. The demand for gold, and therefore its price, increases at this time, which gives you the liquidity you require.

Lastly, gold is a safe and tangible asset. Many investors love the feeling of security that holding their gold gives them. This is different from financial securities like stocks and bonds that exist on paper and within the different agreements written when investing.

Knowing all this, where is the best place to buy gold UK?

Traditional Shops

Although things are moving online, it is still possible to buy gold from traditional physical stores. These stores typically sell bars and coins, and their costs are a bit higher than you would get elsewhere. This is because they have to account for the costs associated with running a physical store as well as sourcing the gold products they sell.

There are two main advantages of doing this. First, you can see the gold before you buy it. Many shops let you bring a friend or an expert to examine the gold, be it coins or bars, to see that it is authentic.

Second, you can take possession of the gold as soon as the purchase completes. With other options like the marketplaces we will look at below, you have to wait for the gold to ship to you or for it to be placed in storage. You are never quite sure of what is going on with your gold unless you do a lot of due diligence beforehand.

Online Marketplaces

Online marketplaces are becoming increasingly popular for buying and selling gold. The best thing about these marketplaces is that they are great for those who would like to invest in different kinds including Sovereign and Britannia coins. These marketplaces source the coins, even the rarest of them, and make them available to buyers and investors on their websites.

While you can find exactly what you are looking for when you buy gold bars or coins through an online marketplace, you can never be sure you are buying an authentic product before buying. Relying on authentic customer reviews and enough research should tell you what to expect from specific sellers.

Another problem you might run into is high premiums. Some marketplaces charge a high markup over the spot price of gold. Here too, you have to do your research to ensure you aren't paying too much over the spot price.

The Royal Mint

The royal mint remains the best and cheapest place to buy gold UK if you are interested in investing in different types of gold coins. You can always be sure that you are getting an authentic product with the Royal Mint because they sell gold that they mint themselves. This is also the reason why their prices are so reasonable; there is no markup.

The problem with this report is that you cannot buy gold coins the Royal Mint does not mint from their online store. If you would like options like the American Eagle or Krugerrands, you have to look elsewhere.

Post Offices

Many people do not realise that they can buy gold at the post office. Royal Mail has partnered with the Royal Mint to allow investors to buy collectable coins from the mint through various post offices. Because they partner directly with the Royal Mind, these post offices are the best place to buy gold in London and many other parts of the UK.

Buying gold coins through different Post Office branches is easy. Once you visit their website, you are encouraged to download their catalogue that shows all the coins you can purchase through them. The collection listed will be very similar to what you get with the Royal Mint, but there will be some items not included.

Next, visit your nearest branch and ask if they have the coin(s) you would like to buy. If they do not have them in stock, they can order them for you from the Royal Mint and you can either collect them at the branch or have them shipped to you via mail.

Apps

While relatively new, buying gold through a reputable app is one of the most straightforward ways of burying and investing in gold. Investing in gold through apps like the Metfolio app is the best way to buy gold because you can start with as little as £1 and keep increasing your gold as you go. You also get free storage, which most other services charge for, as well as insurance in case something happens to your gold.

Another reason why Metfolio is the best place to buy gold online UK is that you can let them store the gold for you for free or take delivery of it for physical management. Lastly, Metfolio does not charge you any fees should you decide to sell the gold on Metfolio. Zero fees is especially important for short- and mid-term investors.

Conclusion

These are the best places to buy gold in the UK. They all have their pros and cons, but we urge that you do your research and go with reputable dealers and marketplaces. Keep an eye out for markups, as these can make your investment too expensive and, therefore, not worth it.

‍